In 2003, Soul Caliber II was released for the Playstation 2, GameCube, and X-Box systems. Its weapon-based combat system quickly caught the attention of countless fighting game enthusiasts, and it's rich, engrossing, and inventive storyline caught the attention of...of...well, those people who like rich, engrossing, and inventive storylines. Furthermore, each system had its own 'guest star.' The Playstation 2 version had Hihatchi (from Tekken), the GameCube had Link (Legend of Zelda), and the X-Box version had Spawn. But, no matter what system it was played on, the game displayed a fun and engrossing battle system, smooth graphics, and excellent music and sound effects. Soul Caliber II is hailed as one of the all-time greatest fighting games, and rightfully so. Good stuff.

System: GameCube, Playstation 2, X-Box
Genre: RPG
Year made: 2003
Raw Score: 9/10

Story

The game's story is vague. Each character is moving towards a goal, has a specific reason to move toward that goal, and does something at the end when he reaches that goal. If you think about all the character's motives (as well as the game's backstory if you're willing to read through the profiles) you can get a reasonably good feel for what is going on. This is exactly what a fight game's story should be: interesting to think about, but too vague to interfere much with the mindless violence.

9/10
Characters

Each character has a vague backstory (in a good way) and is interesting to play as. That's about all you can ask for in a fighting game.

Also, I enjoyed the way that the game had an extra character for each of the systems it was released on. The Playstation 2 version of the game had Hihatchi, from Tekken, which was cool (personally, I would have been happier with Dante, Cloud, Auron, or Kratos, but he did alright). The GameCube version had Link, from the Legend of Zelda series - which was awesome! I loved playing as Link. Finally, the X-Box version had Spawn, from the comic book series, who was pretty cool...not sure what he has to do with the X-Box, exactly, but he was ok. Personally, I would have gone with the guy from Fable, or possibly the girl from Jade Empire, but meh, I guess you can't have everything.

10/10
Gameplay
Soul Caliber II is truly a great fighting game. The characters are all fun to use, and each offers a unique and interesting fighting style. Including two different versus modes (one where different weapons have different effects, one where all the weapons are the same) was a good idea, as it will satisfy players who want the combat to be character-based rather than weapon-based. I also fell in love with team battle mode. My friends and I spent countless hours pitting our 5-man teams against one another.

That said, the various weapons you get are not always well-balanced. Some weapons are simply too powerful. Mitsirugi's Damascus Sword, for example, does absurdly high amounts of damage. This is supposed to be balanced by the fact that he can't block, but all the really does is encourage whoever is playing as him to button-mash so he might not have to. Link's Great Fairy Sword also has a feature that heals him over time, which is way too useful to allow for a fair fight. Most of the weapons are well-balanced, but there are enough exceptions to make things occasionally frustrating.

Also, some character - *cough* Raphael *cough* - are way too button-mash friendly. Again, most character require skill to use, but there are enough exceptions to make things frustrating sometimes.

As an added bonus, the game has a surprisingly sprawling and in-depth single player campaign (in addition to the standard arcade-style one) that combines the action of a fighting game with the joy of exploring dungeons and a world map.
8.5/10
Lasting Appeal
This game's various versus modes kept my friends and I entertained for months on end. Lenghty single player campaign is nice too.
10/10
Visual

The graphics are excellent. The environments are rich in detail, and beautifully done (personally, I was a big fan of Link's 'Hyrule Temple' level). The characters are well-designed, and their motions are fluid during battle. No matter what system you're playing the game on, the graphics leave nothing to be desired.

10/10
Audio
The music is good, and the sound effects that occur throughout the battles are alright (the noises that the gimmick weapons made a really funny). The voice acting is good (it's mostly limited to taunts and battle cries, but it's good none the less). Nicely done.
10/10
Overall
Soul Caliber II is a great game. It has a great battle system, a good cast of characters (even guest stars), and an ever-pleasing array of high quality graphics, music, and sound effects. Highly recommended!
9/10

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