Whether it was weirdo warrior Voldo’s bizarre gimp-meets-Wolverine aesthetic (the only skimpily dressed male character and er, not a sexy one), or the impassioned announcer that bellowed out the result of each match, the series’ high production values and charming sense of character made it immediately stand out from its peers, spawning five successful sequels. Launching in 1995 – under the name Soul Blade in the west – this medieval button masher’s stunning visuals and over-the-top characters made it an instant cult hit. Turns out, that something was a 3D fighter with purely weapon-based combat. But with both the casual and hardcore fighting game fan now already catered for, SoulCalibur needed to offer something truly unique to make it stand out. Boasting suspiciously smooth-looking visuals, eye-brow raising (but highly memorable) characters and a deep yet intuitive combat system, this historical beat ‘em up instantly left its mark on the genre.Īfter Street Fighter’s 2D combat demanded players master complex combos, Tekken’s pitch of a fully 3D and newbie-friendly brawler was a bit of a no-brainer. While Tekken may be the PlayStation fighter that most 90s kids remember, SoulCalibur was always its cooler and better-looking cousin. A Higher Calibur of Fighting Game The 90's PlayStation classic Soul Blade kickstarted the franchise. Yet, where SoulCalibur VI‘s mechanics and presentation feel thoroughly modern and fresh, its representation of women is still disappointingly stuck in the past. Yet, with last year’s Tekken 7raising the bar pretty spectacularly for 3D fighters, we were surprised to find that SoulCalibur’s combat still feels just as sharp as it did two decades ago.
Given its sword-slinging combat, there’s no small trace of irony in that fact. For gamers of a certain age, the SoulCalibur series holds an almost weaponised degree of reverence.