In the late 90s, fighting games were a dime a dozen, but none offered the revolutionary gameplay that Soul Calibur did. Originally known as Soul Edge, the game quickly gained a large fanbase in arcades. However, the release of Soul Calibur on arcade machines did not meet the expectations of publisher and developer Namco. Fortunately, the franchise found success when it was transferred to the new and promising Sega Dreamcast system.

Soul Calibur was a game changer for the Dreamcast, introducing players to a movement system that allowed them to move along a third axis, giving a sense of freedom and opening up potential for combat. Other fighting games such as Tekken and Virtua Fighter also offered players the ability to move along a third axis, but Soul Calibur’s system was more advanced and allowed for full range of motion.

To make the game more accessible to beginner players, the developers added buffering of techniques, making it possible to focus on the game process rather than memorizing strict combinations and timings. Soul Calibur’s combat system with the use of melee weapons resulted in the creation of special videos called “katami”, which demonstrated the basics of each character’s fighting style.

SoulcaliburVI-slowmotion-system

The plot of the game continues the story from Soul Edge, its events took place three years later, after the heavenly warrior Sophitia and the ninja Taki saved the world from a potential 25 years of terror under the leadership of the pirate Cervantes. A group of young warriors, including three holders of sacred weapons, will have to stop the chaos by protecting the world.

The version of the game that came out for the SEGA Dreamcast was superior to the original for arcade machines. This allowed Soul Calibur to become one of the most popular fighting games of all time, still considered as one of the best games of all time according to Metacritic. The game also won three awards: #1 Best Dreamcast Game of 1999, #1 Most Discussed Dreamcast Game of 1999 and #1 Most Shared Dreamcast Game of 1999.

In addition to the standard game modes, Soul Calibur also offered players a task mode where they could earn points to buy costumes for heroes and other collectibles. The series has focused on a combat system with the use of melee weapons, and has been a title of more than just a fighting game created for e-sports tournaments. The latest game in the series Soulcalibur VI, received help from the Tekken 7 team and gave up their slow motion system.

If you’re looking for a revolutionary fighting game that offers a sense of freedom and opened up potential for combat, Soul Calibur is the game for you. With its friendly combat system, task mode and collectibles, it’s a game that appeals to both competitive and casual players. So, don’t miss out on the chance to experience one of the best fighting games of all time.

Characters

In Soulcalibur, the player is given 20 characters, 10 of which at the beginning of the game and the remaining 10 you can open during the storyline of the game.

Soulcalibur_character_Kilik

Kilik (キリク, Kiriku) – one of the main protagonists of the Soul series. He is by nature a gentle and shy guy with strong willpower. With a noble heart, but has a quick temper in his hands, he also likes to joke when there is time for it. Pure and strong-willed, Kilik has a strong sense of justice and a desire to fight, train hard and do what needs to be done.

Maxi (マキシ, Makishi, also written as 真喜志)  – was a pirate traveller from Shuri in the Ryukyu Kingdom. His father was a confident merchant of the kingdom, but he was not allowed to trade abroad and therefore he was forced to trade only with his own country. Maxi spent most of his first voyages sailing between the local harbours. During this period, he learned to wield nunchucks for self-defence, and as a result, he became a strong youth.

Cervantes de León (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, Serubantesu de Reon)  – he first appears in the Soul Edge series as the series’ main antagonist, known as the Immortal Pirate. The fighting style of the character is designed for medium and close range, he knocks down the opponent with his hands and delivers a fatal series of blows with two swords.

Hwang Seong-gyeong (ファン・ソンギョン, Fan Songyon, Hanja: 黄星京, Hangul: 황성경) – is a Korean swordsman who first appeared in Soul Edge and then in Soulcalibur 3. And in Soulcalibur VI (6) he returns as a bonus character with a completely new combat system and appearance.

Soulcalibur character Hong Yun Seong
Soulcalibur character Mitsugiri

Heishiro Mitsurugi (御剣 平四郎, Mitsurugi Heishirō) – is a key character in the Soul series, physically a well-built Japanese man with long hair. He sets himself a single goal to find the most powerful warrior in order to fight him for the title of best. He is considered a neutral character with fairly pronounced moral principles. The main weapon is the Katana.

Nathaniel William “Rock” Adams (ロック・アダムズ, Rokku Adamuzu) – is a fictional character in the Soulcalibur series that is not available since the beginning of the game. You can open it as you progress through the storyline.

Soulcalibur character Rock
Soulcalibur character Seong Mi Na

Seong Mi-Na (ソン・ミナ, Son Mina, Hanja: 成美那, Hangul: 성미나) – first encountered in Soul Edge, followed by Soulcalibur. She is a strong-willed girl who strives to be the best in everything. She is very determined but sometimes very confident and often mocks her opponents. Through her complexes of imperfection, she really does not like when someone considers her weak. The first weapon you see her with will be the Scarlet Thunder.

Siegfried Schtauffen (ジークフリート・シュタウフェン, Jīkufurīto Shutaufen) – the central character of the Soul series and the protagonist of most parts, where in fact he is the mainstay of Soulcalibur and the most significant character. By nature, he is a slightly arrogant and arrogant white-haired German in shiny armour, who never stops when achieving his goals. But after being fired in Soul Edge, he ceases to be selfish and in Soulcalibur he tries to correct all the mistakes he made. The main weapon is Requiem.

Soulcalibur character Siegfried
Soulcalibur character Sophitia

Sophitia Alexandra (ソフィーティア・アレクサンドル, Sofītia Arekusandoru, Greek: Σοφιτία Αλεξάνδρα) – a key character in the Soulcalibur franchise. She is a friendly, loyal, courageous and strong-willed woman who is devoted to her homeland and will do everything to protect her even at the cost of her life. She loves her children very much and with a great desire decided to join Soul Edge in order to protect her daughter Pyrrha, whose life is at the mercy of Soul Edge. Despite all these qualities, it can be considered very tough due to the adoption of a very difficult decision that very few people could withstand.

Taki (タキ, also written as 多喜) – Since her debut in Soul Edge, she’s very easily recognizable for her tight bodysuit, high hairstyles and costume that protects the demon. In the first part, Taki wears a Japanese demon mask and also has only one Rikki-Maru sword. As a ninja, she puts her mission first. She easily sees deception and uses her best attack to defeat her opponent.

Soulcalibur character Taki
Soulcalibur character Voldo

Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo)  – a character that first appeared in Soul Blade and was subsequently present in all parts of the sequels.

Inferno (インフェルノ Inferuno) – the main antagonist of the series, the last boss and the main villain of the first three games. He first appeared in Soul Blade as SoulEdge and later in Soulcalibur. When he first appeared, he looked like Cervantes, wearing the same bib, jacket and boots, but the rest of his body was covered in violet flames.

Soulcalibur character Inferno
Soulcalibur character Arthur

Arthur (アーサー Āsā) – was a replacement character for Mitsurugi in some countries where samurai depictions such as Korea were prohibited. It also looks and moves just like the Mitsurugi with some cosmetic differences. The details of his biography are unknown, but it is assumed that he was an orphan and grew up without parents, in the port town of Southampton until the age of eight, and then received an offer from a sailor with whom he became friends to become a sailor. For several years he served as a mascot for the ship, until they reached Japan, where he was adopted by a noble merchant. The merchant considered it nothing more than a good find from the west

Astaroth (アスタロス, Asutarosu) – a golem character from the Soul series, first appeared in Soulcalibur. Ares, the god of destruction, longed for Soul Edge to remove his father Zeus from the throne, so he ordered Kunpaetku, the great priest of the Fygul Cestemus order, to seek him out. The Astaroth Golem was created in the heat of hell under the divine protection of Ares to lead his quest.

Soulcalibur character Astaroth
Soulcalibur character EdgeMaster

Edge Master (エッジマスター Ejji Masutā) – this character has a mysterious past and is famous for his skill in wielding various weapons, and his past and his name are known only to him. He served as an advisor and martial arts teacher for the Ling-Sheng Su Temple (臨 勝 寺) – who descended and the mountains, only to take part in the succession ceremony of sacred artefacts to the temple and teach his heirs before he burned it down after a fatal night Evil seed.

Isabella “Ivy” Valentine (Japanese: イザベラ・バレンタイン – アイヴィー, Izabera Barentain – Aivī) – a sword that had a name of its own accompanied and protected her on her travels to defeat Soul Edge. When she crossed paths with Nightmare, the one who breathed life into her sword, she agreed to help him at Summoning of souls. She did not yet know that this was part of the evil sword’s plans.

Soulcalibur character Ivy
Soulcalibur character Lizardman

Lizardman – is a half-man, half-beast, created as a result of experiments, they do not remember their human life, and as a result, they become servants of priests.

Nightmare (ナイトメア, Naitomea) – the main antagonist of the series. He is the lord and living embodiment of the cursed sword Soul Edge, the target of most of the other characters in the series.

Soulcalibur character Nightmare
Soulcalibur character Chai Xianghua

Chai Xianghua (チャイ・シャンファ, Chai Shanfa, Chinese: 柴香華 Pinyin: Chái Xiānghuá) – cheerful young girl. She is cute and sometimes seems to behave like a child, including playfully slapping on the buttocks. She never gives up and is loyal to her friends. She shares a lot with Ling Xiaoyu from Tekken and Lei Fang from Dead or Alive.

Yoshimitsu (吉光) – At first he started out as a vengeful warrior who was single-minded in his desire for vengeance and his quest for Soul Edge in order to bring about retaliation, often describing himself as a demon from hell. But despite his exclamations, he is obliged to do good and cannot tolerate injustice. After Sophitia saves his life, he decides to honour and avenge his clan as a messenger of goodwill rather than bloodshed.

Soulcalibur character Yoshimitsu

Recommended Sega Dreamcast emulators

If you don’t have the original console and want to play your favourite retro games on a PC or Mobile device as tablet or smartphone with iOS, Android, then the only way out is to use a game console emulator. The most popular and high-quality emulators of them are:

Demul – Sega Dreamcast emulator ( Windows support only. You can find more information about Demul by link ).

Flycast – is suitable for those who need a multi-platform emulator that supports Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android. ( installation on iOS devices is done via iTunes).

Redream – is also a multi-platform emulator with support for Windows, Linux, Linux ARM, MacOS, Android. ( doesn’t have iOS support).