Difference between revisions of "SoulCalibur"

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| dc_date_eu=1999-11-26 {{fileref|CVG UK 217.pdf|page=41}}
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| dc_rrp_uk=39.99 {{fileref|CVG UK 216.pdf|page=77}}
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| dc_date_jp=1999-08-05
 
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| dc_code_jp=T-1401M
 
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Revision as of 20:31, 9 September 2016

n/a

Soulcalibur title.png

SoulCalibur
System(s): Sega Dreamcast
Publisher: Namco
Developer:
Peripherals supported: Dreamcast VGA Box, Dreamcast Jump Pack, Dreamcast Arcade Stick, Visual Memory Unit
Genre: Fighting

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Dreamcast
JP 		¥5,8005,800 T-1401M
Sega Dreamcast
US 		T-1401N
Sega Dreamcast
EU 		T-1401D-50

SoulCalibur (ソウルキャリバー SōruKyaribā) is a versus fighting game developed by Namco and is the sequel to Soul Edge/Soul Blade. Originally released for Namco System 12 arcade hardware, the game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast with improved graphics and extra features. It was a launch title in North America. The European Dreamcast version was distributed and advertised by Sega Europe.

The Dreamcast version of the game has often been cited as one of the greatest fighting games ever made, being the highest rated Dreamcast game in existence. It has since been re-released on the Xbox Live Arcade service. SoulCalibur was followed by SoulCalibur II for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, though did not receive the same amount of praise as its predecessor..

Story

“ This is a tale of souls and swords, transcending the world an all it's history, told for all eternity.

The greatest weapons based fighter returns, this time on Sega Dreamcast. Soul Calibur unleashes incredible graphics, fantastic fighters, and combos so amazing they'll make your head spin!

Soul Calibur...
The ultimate fighting game.

„

— US Cover



“ Namco's first Dreamcast title - Soul Calibur brings you all the excitement and visual splendour of the original arcade version and more. Take up the ultimate challenge of skill and steel. Control one of 19 unique characters each with a vast array of weapons and realistic fluid movements making this the most advanced fighting game on any console. It's time to fulfil your destiny. „

— EU Cover


History

Development

It is thought that SoulCalibur was named as such due to trademark issues with its prequel, Soul Edge. Tim Langdell, owner of video game company Edge Games, had trademarked the term "edge" and aggressively challenged video game media which sought to use the name in the US, leading to Namco releasing Soul Edge as Soul Blade in Western territories. The entire series was renamed SoulCalibur to keep things consistent, and "Caliber" was thought to be purposefully misspelled to avoid a similar situation occuring again. Langdell was forced to drop claims of ownership over the "edge" name after challenged by Electronic Arts and their 2008 game, Mirror's Edge.

Release

While the game debuted at number one in Japan, SoulCalibur struggled to keep a high position in the weekly charts. Namco, disappointed with the game's sales, reportedly pulled out of Dreamcast development (save for some lower-budget titles and compilations) as a result[3]. The decision was controversial, as the game had yet to be released overseas at the time.

Versions

Arcade vs. Dreamcast

Compared to the arcade version, the Dreamcast version features improved graphics, including newly added 3D backgrounds. The gameplay has been tweaked, and enriched with new game modes, new costumes, and an extra character, Cervantes de Leon. New modes such as the Team Battle, Survival and the Training Mode are also included. In Missions Mode the player completes various missions to attain points, which can be used to buy various art and costumes. The new artwork section containins official artwork, fanart and high resolution pictures. Extra unlockables include "liquid metal' character costumes, a "Battle Theater" mode, the ability to modify the opening introduction theme by changing the characters appearing in it and an "Exhibition Mode" displaying characters performing their katas. In Mission Mode it is possible to add more characters to the "Exhibition Mode", such as Taki and Seung Mina).

Regional differences

The North American version of the game removed one of Voldo's suggestive codpieces featuring a bull. However, it is present in the European and Japanese versions.

Xbox Live Arcade

The Xbox Live Arcade re-release was a port based on the European Dreamcast version and was made available for download on Xbox Live Arcade on July 2, 2008. While the game included high-definition updated graphics and various Live leaderboards, online play was absent which makes it an exception amongst most games ported to Xbox Live Arcade. Other features from the Dreamcast version (Museum, etc., with the exception of Mission Battle) are also in the game. While the intro itself is removed from this port, the intro music is still in this port. All content is unlocked by the start of the game.

Production credits

Namco Production Staff
  • Senior Project Director: Teruaki Konishi
  • Project Director: Hiroaki Yotoriyama
  • Production Manager: Koh Onda
  • Motion Design Director: Masataka Ishiguro
  • Mission Battle Mode & Effects Supervisor: Tadashi Iguchi
Character System Design
  • Motion Capture Director: Jin Okubo
  • Motion Management: Naotake Hirata
  • Practice Mode Director: Tetsuya Akatsuka
  • Motion Design Co-Director: Kazuo Takahashi
  • Museum Mode & Enemy AI Director: Yoshito Higuchi
  • Tuning Director: Makoto Kiyokawa
  • Mission Battle Mode Coordinator: Yoshihiro Nakagawa
Programming
  • Lead Programmer: Shinobu Nimura
  • 3D System Programmer: Shizuka Matsuda
  • Stage Effects & Enemy AI Programmer: Yoshihito Iwanaga
  • Motion & Mission Battle Mode Programmer: Takashi Koshigoe
  • Sound & Special Effects Programmer: Tadashi Obama
  • Opening Demo & Camera Motion Programmer: Masaaki Hoshino
  • Interface Programmer: Hiroyuki Kobota
  • CGI Programmer: Teppei Kusakabe
  • Network System Support: Ryuunosuke Okazaki
Motion Team
  • Skeleton Model & Motion Design: Yoshihisa Yaguchi
  • Motion Design: Yukie Misaki, Nobuko Nimura, Tomoe Hirata, Naoko Ishizu, Isamu Sawada, Kaori Satoh, Shouji Nakamura
3D Character Development
  • Lead Artist: Ryoichi Ban
  • 3D Model & Texture Design: Akira Nakajima, Takeya Inoguchi, Yukiharu Taniguchi, Hiroaki Kado, Seido Ozawa, Hideo Yoshie, Masato Inagaki
Stage Development
  • Lead Artist: Kanako Iwasaki
  • 3D Model & Texture Design: Hiroko Noguchi, Tomoko Tomita, Momoko Daigo, Yasunori Yanagawa
Opening Demo
  • Director: Yasushi Shibue
  • Design: Yukiko Yokoo, Fuminori Tsuchiya, Sachiko Inoue
  • 2D Graphics & LCD Character Design: Taro Okamoto
  • Original Character Design: Kouji Mitsunaga
  • Title Logo & Graphic Design: Hideaki Ito
  • 2D Character Illustrations: Kiyotaka Tamiya
  • Package Design: Minako Matsuda
  • Interface Coordination: James Lisle
Sound
  • Music: Junichi Nakatsuru
  • Additional Music Production: Akitaka Tohyama, Yoshihito Yano, Takanori Otsuka
  • Sound Effects: Hideki Tobeta
  • Voice Talent
    • Kilik: Souichiro Hoshi
    • Xianghua: Aya Hisakawa
    • Maxi: Nobutoshi Hayashi
    • Mitsurugi: Toshiyuki Morikawa
    • Taki: Fujiko Takimoto
    • Sophita: Michiko Neya
    • Nightmare: Nobuyuki Hiyama
    • Astaroth: Banjo Ginga
    • Ivy: Yumi Touma
    • Narration: Jeffry Maning
    • Hwang: Wataru Takagi
    • Yoshimitsu: Nobuyuki Hiyama
    • Siegfried: Nobuyuki Hiyama
    • Rock: Takashi Nagasako
    • Seung Mina: Houko Kuwashima
    • Cervantes: Takashi Nagasako
    • Edge Master: Daisuke Gouri
  • Motion Capture Tech. Team: Takayasu Yanagihara, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Miho Nakasaka, Toshiyuki Hagiwara
  • MS Team: Tetsuya Kono, Kumiko Naemura
  • Motion Capture Actors: Kenichiro Tamayori, Takayuki Nakayama, Ken Shibata, Li Tianyuan, Jiang Chi
  • Tuning Unit & Production Assistants: Ryoji Ichikari, George Taguchi, Tsuyoshi Kiuchi, Akiya Ikeda, Satoshi Masukawa, Norikatsu Yoshikawa, Takuji Kanayama, Shinji Takino, Yasuki Nakabayashi, Naoyuki Kondou, Takeharu Kondou, Takashi Arai
  • QA Team (NTSC Version): Takashi Chida, Yusuke Morita, Shinya Suzuki, Shinya Inamoto, Miho Tanaka, Michitaka Motomura, Yasuhiro Komuro, Eriko Shiina, Ryuji Kurokawa, Yoshitomo Nakanishi, James Guirao, Dominic Lobbia
  • QA Team (PAL Version): Takashi Chida, Yusuke Morita, Shinya Suzuki, Shinya Inamoto, Miho Tanaka, Michitaka Motomura, Yasuhiro Komuro, Eriko Shiina, Ryuji Kurokawa, Yoshitomo Nakanishi
  • Special Thanks (NTSC Version): Kouji Kudou, Yokohama Chinese Wushu Society, Toshio Natsui, Yutaka Toya, Junichi Kawamura, Satoru Yamada, Kazuyuki Nikaido, Hiroki Tanaka, Kaname Takai, Yutaka Goto, Taku Tsuge, Kai Tanaka, Tsuyumi Toyoda, Noriko Kobayashi, Koichiro Shigeno, Hiroshi Goshowaki, Asako Ueno, Jason Arney, Masanori Kato, Jeff Miller, Jesse Taylor, Yoshi Homma, And All Namco Staff
  • Special Thanks (PAL Version): Kouji Kudou, Yokohama Chinese Wushu Society, Toshio Natsui, Yutaka Toya, Junichi Kawamura, Satoru Yamada, Kazuyuki Nikaido, Hiroki Tanaka, Kaname Takai, Yutaka Goto, Taku Tsuge, Kai Tanaka, Tsuyumi Toyoda, Noriko Kobayashi, Koichiro Shigeno, Hiroshi Goshowaki, Asako Ueno, Jason Arney, Hiroaki Ochiai, SDL International, Kats Sato (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Roberto Parraga-Sanchez (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Dave Thompson (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Angelika Michitsch (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Kim Shon (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Cedric Marechal (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Jason Cumberbatch (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Ross McLeish (Sega Europe, Ltd.), Sarah Ward (Sega Europe, Ltd.), And All Namco Staff
  • Production Coordinators: Toshiya Hara, Shinichi Tsuruya
  • Assistant Producers (US Version) (NTSC Version): Noriko Wada, Paul Guirao
  • Producer (US Version) (NTSC Version): Yasuhiro Noguchi
  • Translation Staff (PAL Version): Yasuhiro Noguchi, Noriko Wada, Paul Guirao
  • Executive Producers: Shukuo Ishikawa, Shigeru Yokoyama, Katsuo Nakamura
  • Co-Producer: Masuya Oishi
  • Producer: Hajime Nakatani
  • Produced by: Namco

TM & ©1998 1999 Namco Ltd., All Rights Reserved

Magazine articles

Main article: SoulCalibur/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) #1: "September 1999" (1999-08-24)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in DC-UK (UK) #3: "November 1999" (1999-10-26)
Logo-pdf.svg
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Print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #2: "Décembre 1999/Janvier 2000" (1999-12-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
100 №14, p68/69[6]
98 №92, p96/97/98/99/100 №95, p110/111/112
100 №216, p76-79[7]
100 №3
90 №1, p12-17[8]
90 №3, p54-57[9]
100 №1999-25, p17[10]
95 №, p32[11]
94 №2, p54-56[12]
90 №76, p84-86[13]
100
100
100 №556, p40
98 10/14/1999
100 01/01/2000
95
94 №103, p98-101[14]
100 №1, p44-47[15]
Sega Dreamcast
 97
Based on
18 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
576 Konzol (HU)
98
[16]
Arcade (UK) PAL
100
[6]
BGamer (PT)
100
[17]
Consoles + (FR) NTSC-J
98
[18]
Consoles + (FR) PAL
98
[19]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
100
[7]
Dreamcast Arena (IT) PAL
95
[20]
Dreamcast Monthly (UK) NTSC-J
90
[21]
Dreamcast Monthly (UK) PAL
90
[9]
DC-UK (UK) PAL
100
[22]
Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) PAL
100
[23]
Dreamcast: Das Offizielle Magazin (DE) PAL
100
[24]
Dreamcast Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
100
[25]
Dreamcast Magazine (UK) PAL
94
[26]
Dorimaga (JP) NTSC-J
95
[27]
Dreamzone (FR) NTSC-J
98
[28]
Dreamzone (FR) PAL
98
[29]
Edge (UK) NTSC-J
90
[13]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
100
[30]
Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast (RU)
88
[31]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
100
[32]
Fun Generation (DE) PAL
100
[33]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
88
[34]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
100
[35]
GamesMaster (UK) NTSC-J
96
[36]
GamesMaster (UK)
96
[37]
GameZine (UK)
100
[38]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
92
[39]
Gamers' Republic (US) NTSC-U
100
[40]
MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-J
90
[41]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
90
[42]
Man!ak (PL)
100
[43]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
94
[44]
Neo Plus (PL)
100
[45]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
100
[46]
neXt Level (DE) PAL
95
[47]
Next Level (AR)
98
[48]
Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) PAL
100
[49]
PC Expert (FR) PAL
100
[50]
Player One (FR)
94
[14]
Play (PL)
95
[51]
PSX Extreme (PL)
97
[52]
Revista Oficial Dreamcast (ES) PAL
100
[53]
Sega Magazin (DE) NTSC-J
90
[54]
Strana Igr (RU)
95
[55]
Strana Igr (RU)
90
[56]
Video Games (DE) PAL
90
[57]
Sega Dreamcast
 96
Based on
47 reviews

SoulCalibur

Dreamcast, US
SoulCalibur DC US Box Back.jpgSoulCalibur DC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
SoulCalibur DC US Disc.jpg
Disc
SoulCaliburDCUSInlay.jpg
Inlay
Dreamcast, EU
SoulCalibur DC EU Box Back.jpgSoulCalibur DC EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
SoulCalibur DC EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Dreamcast, JP
SoulCalibur DC JP Box Back.jpgSoulCalibur DC JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
Soulcalibur dc jp disc.png
Disc

External links

References

  1. ↑ File:CVG UK 217.pdf, page 41
  2. ↑ File:CVG UK 216.pdf, page 77
  3. ↑ File:EGM US 124.pdf, page 58
  4. ↑ Official Dreamcast Magazine, "November 1999" (US; 1999-10-05), page 61
  5. ↑ Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel, "Mars/Avril 2000" (FR; 2000-xx-xx), page 41
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:Arcade UK 14.pdf, page 68 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Arcade UK 14.pdf_p68" defined multiple times with different content
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 File:CVG UK 216.pdf, page 76 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 216.pdf_p76" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ↑ File:DreamcastMonthly UK 01.pdf, page 11
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 File:DreamcastMonthly UK 03.pdf, page 54 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:DreamcastMonthly UK 03.pdf_p54" defined multiple times with different content
  10. ↑ File:DCM_JP_19990813_1999-25.pdf, page 17
  11. ↑ File:Dorimaga_20021011_JP.pdf, page 32
  12. ↑ File:DreamcastMagazine UK 02.pdf, page 53
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 File:Edge UK 076.pdf, page 84 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Edge UK 076.pdf_p84" defined multiple times with different content
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 File:PlayerOne FR 103.pdf, page 98 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 103.pdf_p98" defined multiple times with different content
  15. ↑ File:ROD ES 01.pdf, page 44
  16. ↑ 576 Konzol, "Május 2000" (HU; 2000-xx-xx), page 32
  17. ↑ BGamer, "Dezembro 1999" (PT; 1999-1x-xx), page 94
  18. ↑ Consoles +, "Septembre 1999" (FR; 1999-0x-xx), page 96
  19. ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1999" (FR; 1999-1x-xx), page 110
  20. ↑ Dreamcast Arena, "Gennaio 2000" (IT; 2000-01-10), page 68
  21. ↑ Dreamcast Monthly, "September 1999" (UK; 1999-xx-xx), page 12
  22. ↑ DC-UK, "November 1999" (UK; 1999-10-26), page 10
  23. ↑ Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel, "Décembre 1999/Janvier 2000" (FR; 1999-12-xx), page 72
  24. ↑ Dreamcast: Das Offizielle Magazin, "November 1999" (DE; 1999-11-11), page 16
  25. ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "1999-25 (1999-08-13,20)" (JP; 1999-07-30), page 17
  26. ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 2" (UK; 1999-10-21), page 54
  27. ↑ Dorimaga, "2002-18 (2002-10-11)" (JP; 2002-09-27), page 32
  28. ↑ Dreamzone, "Octobre 1999" (FR; 1999-09-xx), page 65
  29. ↑ Dreamzone, "Decembre 1999" (FR; 1999-11-16), page 75
  30. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1999" (US; 1999-09-07), page 216
  31. ↑ Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast, "Izdaniye chetvertoye, dopolnennoye" (RU; 2002-xx-xx), page 218
  32. ↑ Famitsu, "1999-08-13" (JP; 1999-07-30), page 40
  33. ↑ Fun Generation, "11/99" (DE; 1999-10-13), page 52
  34. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 7, Issue 10: October 1999" (US; 1999-xx-xx), page 20
  35. ↑ GamePro, "October 1999" (US; 1999-xx-xx), page 130
  36. ↑ GamesMaster, "October 1999" (UK; 1999-09-09), page 84
  37. ↑ GamesMaster, "Christmas 1999" (UK; 1999-11-29), page 65
  38. ↑ GameZine (UK) (+0:00)
  39. ↑ Game Informer, "October 1999" (US; 1999-xx-xx), page 64
  40. ↑ Gamers' Republic, "October 1999" (US; 1999-09-18), page 74
  41. ↑ MAN!AC, "10/99" (DE; 1999-09-01), page 56
  42. ↑ MAN!AC, "01/2000" (DE; 1999-12-01), page 88
  43. ↑ Man!ak, "Listopad 1999" (PL; 1999-xx-xx), page 20
  44. ↑ Mega Fun, "10/99" (DE; 1999-09-01), page 70
  45. ↑ Neo Plus, "Styczeń 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 69
  46. ↑ Next Generation, "November 1999" (US; 1999-10-19), page 116
  47. ↑ neXt Level, "November 1999" (DE; 1999-10-08), page 44
  48. ↑ Next Level, "Octubre 1999" (AR; 1999-xx-xx), page 38
  49. ↑ Official Dreamcast Magazine, "December 1999" (UK; 1999-11-11), page 64
  50. ↑ PC Expert, "Hors-série December 1999: Gamespot.fr Magazine" (FR; 1999-1x-xx), page 55
  51. ↑ Play, "Lipiec 2001" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 17
  52. ↑ PSX Extreme, "03/2001" (PL; 2001-0x-xx), page 38
  53. ↑ Revista Oficial Dreamcast, "Enero 2000" (ES; 1999-12-20), page 42
  54. ↑ Sega Magazin, "October 1999" (DE; 1999-09-06), page 14
  55. ↑ Strana Igr, "Sentyabr 1999 1/2" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 66
  56. ↑ Strana Igr, "Sentyabr 2000 2/2" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 21
  57. ↑ Video Games, "12/99" (DE; 1999-11-17), page 72
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