DAY 48 / GAME 48
Soul Calibur
I can't remember why I bought this game. I've never really been into fighting games, but for some reason I bought both this and Dead or Alive 2 for my Dreamcast at the same time. Maybe it was a Penny Arcade review or something else I had read online; either way it worked out quite well.
Previously I had enjoyed Mortal Kombat, but that was about as far as my fighting game experience really got. Even then, I only played it because my brother bought it. Soul Calibur felt different from the rest though. First and foremost it was a weapon based fighter where each character had a different fighting style with different hand-to-hand weapons like swords and staffs. This was the biggest draw for me. This gave each of the characters very distinctive differences in the manner in which they fight. Attacking, counter-attacking and blocking; weapon reach and stances all really gave your character choice more personality, which is important because there is little story in a fighting game to help build up each individual.
This was another thing that made Soul Calibur great. The single player missions were much different than usual. Single player in most fighting games are simply a ladder climb, where you fight your way to the top through increasingly more difficult opponents. But in this game, you made your way through a story and as you did you had different kinds of fights unlike your typical rounds. And for once, I actually had a fighter that I had really mastered. I played enough of this game that when friends were over, I was pretty much unbeatable. Not just with one character either, I made sure to perfect my skills with most all the available options.
I love this game. It's solid, responsive and had this real tangible feel to it that made the fighting feel less cheap and impossible than other games. The characters were interesting and the 3D/2D arena style really felt less restrictive than the usual fighter. It was another great game that reinforced how great it was to own a Dreamcast. I never did really get into any of the newer ones, but I think they just updated the graphics and made the clothing more revealing. So I'm happy to just hook this one up again instead.
Soul Calibur
Previously I had enjoyed Mortal Kombat, but that was about as far as my fighting game experience really got. Even then, I only played it because my brother bought it. Soul Calibur felt different from the rest though. First and foremost it was a weapon based fighter where each character had a different fighting style with different hand-to-hand weapons like swords and staffs. This was the biggest draw for me. This gave each of the characters very distinctive differences in the manner in which they fight. Attacking, counter-attacking and blocking; weapon reach and stances all really gave your character choice more personality, which is important because there is little story in a fighting game to help build up each individual.
This was another thing that made Soul Calibur great. The single player missions were much different than usual. Single player in most fighting games are simply a ladder climb, where you fight your way to the top through increasingly more difficult opponents. But in this game, you made your way through a story and as you did you had different kinds of fights unlike your typical rounds. And for once, I actually had a fighter that I had really mastered. I played enough of this game that when friends were over, I was pretty much unbeatable. Not just with one character either, I made sure to perfect my skills with most all the available options.
I love this game. It's solid, responsive and had this real tangible feel to it that made the fighting feel less cheap and impossible than other games. The characters were interesting and the 3D/2D arena style really felt less restrictive than the usual fighter. It was another great game that reinforced how great it was to own a Dreamcast. I never did really get into any of the newer ones, but I think they just updated the graphics and made the clothing more revealing. So I'm happy to just hook this one up again instead.
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