Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold.
- JP release: 27th March 2003
- NA release: 27th August 2003
- EU release: 26th September 2003
- Developer: Namco
- Publisher: Namco
- NGC Magazine Score: 92%
- Mods Used: None
This is the one arcade fighter I did play as a kid, and while I don’t like the genre, I still enjoyed this one. SoulCalibur 2 also did something interesting with its console versions: each player got an exclusive character. Xbox got the comic book character Spawn (a deal which has something to do with Todd McFarlane handling the toys for the game and designing a new character), PlayStation 2 got Heihachi from Tekken (due to negotiations for getting Cloud from Final Fantasy 7 in the game failing) while GameCube owners got something special: Link from The Legend of Zelda.
SoulCalibur 2 is a 1v1 fighting game which has a lot of depth but still manages to be fun for newcomers (or people like me, who are just awful at games like this) by having some simple moves and a ton of complex moves. Combinations of buttons are also mapped to the c-stick for easy access to some special moves. It works well. It does annoy me that the tutorial uses symbols that aren’t your controller buttons, though.
There’s plenty of modes, such as arcade, single fights (although, like many fighting games, you can’t play this with the CPU and I’ll never understand why), versions of these that let you use extra weapons you can unlocked, which is done via the weapon master campaign, which lets you take a character through a series of missions and is a great mode.
But for me, it’s all about having a blast with Link, I felt like I had the freedom to experiment with his moves as I always had something to fall back on: his throw. If ever I was in trouble, all I would need to do is walk to the edge of the arena, press the throw button and Link will turn around and throw them off the edge, winning you the round instantly. Overpowered, yes, but fun. Other characters can perform similar throws, but Link’s just seems to be more consistently successful. He also has his bow, boomerang, bombs and a really amusing alternative throw where he jumps on his opponents shoulders, rides them like a horse (whipping their butt with his sword) before somersaulting and hurling them. Amazing.
Great
Put simply, it’s the best fighting game on any system – and any challenger’s going to have to go some to knock it out of the ring. Go on, treat yourself – you’ve been working hard, hey, you deserve it…
NGC Magazine #85
Remake or remaster?
A good remaster would be great, but I don’t see it happening with Link being part of it. There is a HD version (with no Link) but that seems to have issues.
Official Ways to get the game
There’s no official way to buy this version of SoulCalibur II, but you can play it via Nintendo Switch Online
Europe
Japan
North America
GameCube Games by Date
2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
@Glen-i, @S.C.G! Myself and occasionally @Dcubed play this via NSO. So much fun. Whilst button mashing can get you wins there is definitely more to it. Link is fun to play as and using Link on the tiny stage is nothing but a cheat.
My favourite arcade fighter! For similar reasons as was said here. Every character has a set of moves with “Smash-esque” inputs. You know, “direction + button” that provide a large amount of ways to approach a fight. Get past the initially confusing button labels, and anyone can have fun with it.
It’s amazing what one character can do for a game, because I’m pretty sure the GC version sold the most, despite being, you know, on the GameCube. And the care put into Link’s weapons and movements is exemplary.
I also like the one where he slams his opponent onto their butt, and then proceeds to shove them forward a bit before using their back to do a back flip.
Yes, even the typical Zelda block puzzle is in his move set!
Soul Calibur 2 is one of my favourite fighting games ever. Despite what some bitter Capcom fans might say, there were some awesome, mainstream-friendly fighting games around at this time.
Like many, Link made me pay attention to this game. Since I was already at an age where I had to be picky with what I wanted to purchase, that wasn’t enough, but it did make me pay attention to demo reel in stores: seeing two CPUs fling swords at each other was fine and all, but after seeing Taki perform a grab, followed by a Kilik grabbing her from behind (and you know that’s one sick move), I realised that this was fundamentally Tekken with weapons. Coupled with good reviews from magazines, I was sold.
My first few days with it, I had some cousins staying over. Didn’t take long for everyone to gain some favourites, and it was a riot. It helps that they weren’t that enamoured by Link, so we really explored that cast from the start (like, you don’t need to be good with Voldo to have fun with him).
Later on, my best friend got it for PS2, and that was THE multiplayer game for us for a very long time (roughly until Tekken 5 was released, give or take), which yes, it means I played this game alternating between two different controllers. Using some easy characters was fun and all, but after exploring the movesets more in-depth, I found out I loved playing with stances and particular mix-ups (in 2D games, these would be “Rekka” characters). I loved using the likes of Taki (some real funny mix-ups), Maxi (THE button-masher extraordinaire, with mix-ups so wild, even I couldn’t tell what was going to come out), Assassin (quick and with range, he was a lot like Hwoarang), Astaroth (the grappler, natch), and above all, the king of stances, my main Voldo.
The series would eventually into a variety of other directions, and they never really recaptured the “magic” of SCII. Visually, they would add a lot of distracting special effects to the moves (so many flashing lights), lean far too heavily into guest characters (no, I still don’t think Darth Vader was a good guest… but Ezio and Kratos were excellent, at least), as well as investing a lot into the create-a-character modes (they’re fine, but at odds with the rest of the series’ ambiance), and the story would get equal parts bleak and confusing.
All of this could be forgiven (heck, a lot of it were good ideas, and I legitimately love SC6)… but for whatever reason, they insisted on committing the cardinal sin of changing the characters’ movesets (inputs) arbitrarily from game to game. Mind-boggling. SCII!Voldo will turn into the back-stance if I sway the joystick in a quarter-circle, whereas SC3!Voldo requires a two-button combination. Just…why!? It was a real downer.
Anyway! Soul Calibur 2 is excellent, actually, and I’m really happy that it can be played in a modern console.
The apex of the Soul Calibur series. Just an immense wealth of single and multiplayer soundtrack, a God-tier presentation that still holds up till this day, a soundtrack to die for; and a combat system that is smooth as silk, and both highly accessible and oceans deep if you want to plumb its depths.
This was the last game in the series to be designed for the arcades first & foremost; and it really shows in the end product. The game went through extensive rebalancing following its initial arcade release the year prior, and Namco used all that extra time to flesh out the game with a massive single player mode and a swarth of additional weapons, characters and modes. Future games would all be designed primarily for the home console (and later, online play) and would all suffer for it; as they all failed to capture the magic of the first two games (+ Soul Edge); focusing instead on things like Create a Soul and online multiplayer/e-sports.
I came in as something who liked Soul Edge and adored the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast; but SC2 absolutely blew me away. By far, my favourite fighting game of the whole generation; and deserving of every single accolade it earned.
And playing it on GCN Nintendo Classics today? The game absolutely aged like fine wine, with animation and visuals that still look superb to this day, and a fluid combat system that makes Tekken look like a complete janky joke by comparison. Quite possibly the best game that Namco ever made; and (having played every single version of SC2 ever released), I am confident in saying that the western GCN release is still the best one. It looks the best, has the most refined gameplay and has the best exclusive character (Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman were all originally non-playable in the original Japanese release).
That being said though? The arcade version is still worth checking out if you ever get the chance, not just because of its gameplay differences, but also because it has a mode that remains exclusive to it until this very day; the Conquest Mode. A really fun mode that pits you against other players’ ghost AI fighters as you conquer a world map and take over the arcade cabinet from other players! 😀