Soulcalibur VI

Soulcalibur VI (ソウルキャリバーVI, Sourukyaribaa Shikkusu) is the seventh installment in Namco's Soul series of fighting games. It is a soft reboot of the series which covers events starting pre-Soulcalibur, and was announced at The Game Awards 2017. It was released on October 18, 2018.

Development[]

The game began development before 2014.^[2] Like Tekken 7, Soulcalibur VI uses Unreal Engine 4. According to Bandai-Namco, Soulcalibur VI will focus more on story elements. According to the game's producer Motohiro Okubo, the game's code name in development was "Luxor" in reference to making the game feel more akin to the first Soulcalibur. ^[3]

Characters[]

Returning Characters[]

Heishiro Mitsurugi (御剣 平四郎, Mitsurugi Heishirō)	Mitsurugi is a veteran of the Soul series that has been in every game since Soul Edge. He wears a modified version of his Soulcalibur outfit.[4]
Seong Mi-na (ソン・ミナ, Son Mina, Hanja: 成美那, Hangul: 성미나)	Seong Mi-na returns wielding her signature spear Scarlet Thunder. Her outfit is a hybrid of her 1P and 3P outfits from Soul Blade.[5]
Taki (タキ, also written as 多喜)	Taki returns since her last main appearance in Soulcalibur IV. Her costume seems to be a mix of her different appearances.[6]
Maxi (マキシ, also written as 真喜志)	Maxi returns, once again wielding his nunchaku, Fatibal. He wears a modified version of his Soulcalibur outfit.
Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo)	Voldo returns wielding his katars and wearing a brand new outfit utilizes a split-design, something that was inherited from his 2P outfit from Soulcalibur III; the front half of his design is that of a squire and a man, and the back half is that of a woman and an aristocrat.[7]
Sophitia Alexandra (ソフィーティア・アレクサンドル, Sofītia Arekusandoru)	Sophitia is the older sister to Cassandra and Lucius. She is a veteran of the Soul series and is returning since her last main appearance in Soulcalibur IV. Her outfit is based on her Soulcalibur outfit.[8]
Siegfried Schtauffen (ジークフリート・シュタウフェン, Jīkufurīto Shutaufen)	Siegfried returns using his zweihänder once again. He is now redesigned to look younger since this game takes place around the same time as Soulcalibur.
Isabella "Ivy" Valentine (イザベラ・バレンタイン - アイヴィー, Izabera Barentain - Aivī)	Ivy makes her come back with her signature sword. She appears younger with a modified version of her Soulcalibur outfit.[9]
Kilik (キリク, Kiriku)	Kilik returns once again using his staff. He suffers from malfestation, being able to turn into a malfested form by using Soul Charge. His costume seems to be a mix of his different appearances.[10]
Chai Xianghua (チャイ・シャンファ, Chai Shanfa, Chinese: 柴香華 Pinyin: Chái Xiānghuà)	Xianghua returns since her last appearance in Soulcalibur IV, fighting with her Chinese sword. Her attire is a blend of her outfits from Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II.[11]
Yoshimitsu (吉光)	Yoshimitsu returns with a completely new look, while still donning an oni mask.[12]
Nightmare (ナイトメア, Naitomea)	Nightmare makes his return in the game. His appearance is an updated version of his Soulcalibur costume.[13] Once again, Siegfried Schtauffen returns as the character in the game as his face is revealed during Nightmare's armor break. Most of his armor is that of Siegfried's, albeit recolored to azure.
Astaroth (アスタロス, Asutarosu)	The original axe wielding golem Astaroth, who is also Maxi’s arch-nemesis, returns. His outfit is redesigned from Soulcalibur, except his skin is now dark grey.
Inferno (インフェルノ, Inferuno)	The will of Soul Edge, returning as an unlockable character. He appears as a monstrous skeletal demon wreathed in flames, and fights using an enhanced version of the fighting style of its puppet, Nightmare.
Cervantes de León (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, Serubantesu de Reon)	Cervantes, the infamous pirate captain of Seven Seas, the biological father of Ivy and the original known wielder of Soul Edge since Soul Blade, returns with his infamous large sword and small gun-sword Minerva. Aside his sporting a mixed hybrid between Soulcalibur II - Soulcalibur IV due to his main spectral form, he is now being given magma-like scar marks around his entire body, appearing on his body after his defeat in his first appearance, as well as through slaying his old crew after his resurrection, acting as a boost for his current form whenever it glows.
Raphael Sorel (ラファエル・ソレル, Rafaeru Soreru)	The noble fencer from Soulcalibur II returns, sporting a newer outfit that has him wearing glasses, and who is not yet the malfested vampire he was in Soulcalibur III - Soulcalibur V.
Talim (タリム, Tarimu)	Talim makes her return with her signature dual Elbow Blades and her wind-oriented attacks. Her outfit is based mostly off her Soulcalibur II costume.[14]
Zasalamel (ザサラメール, Zasaramēru)	Zasalamel returns since his last appearance in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, using his scythe and wearing a brand new costume. He can manipulate time and has inherited some moves from his alternate form, Abyss.

New Characters[]

Grøh (グロー, Gurō)	Grøh is a brand new character who is a part of the mysterious Aval Organization, shown wielding a double saber. He is on a mission to rid the world of "Outsiders".
Azwel (アズウェル, Azūeru)	Azwel is another new character, and the antagonist of Libra of Soul. He has the ability to conjure and control numerous weapons thanks to the power of a fragment of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur fitted in each of his gauntlets.
Guest Character
Geralt of Rivia (ゲラルト)	Geralt is a witcher and the main protagonist of the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. He is based on his CD Projekt video game counterpart rather than from the original novels.

DLC Characters[]

Season 1[]

Tira (ティラ, Tira)	Tira returns as the first DLC character sporting a new look, mixing various costumes from Soulcalibur III to Soulcalibur V.
Amy Sorel (エイミ・ソレル, Eimi Soreru)	The adopted daughter of Raphael returns as the third DLC character, sporting a completely newer look with some design elements borrowed from Soulcalibur III to Soulcalibur IV. Her fighting style has been further enhanced with new moves and roses which can be thrown to bolster her offensive and defensive capabilities.
Cassandra Alexandra (カサンドラ・アレクサンドル, Kasandora Arekusandoru)	The younger sister of Sophitia returns as the final DLC character of Season 1, sporting a new look similar to some of her previous costume designs from Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur IV, and a flashier fighting style.
Guest Character
YoRHa No. 2 Type B (ヨルハ二号B型)	2B is a YoRHa android from a distant future and the main protagonist of NieR:Automata, a game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix.

Season 2[]

Hildegard von Krone (ヒルデガルド・フォン・クローネ Hirudegarudo fon Kurōne)	The defender and princess of Wolfkrone. Hilde returns in this game with a new golden armor set that combines elements of her practical and regal costumes.
Setsuka (雪華)	Setsuka returns in this game, sporting a new look similar to some of her previous costume designs from Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV, while retaining the blonde hair color from her 2P outfit in Soulcalibur III and 1P outfit in Soulcalibur IV.
Masked Unmasked Hwang Seong-gyeong (ファン・ソンギョン, Fan Songyon, Hanja: 黄星京, Hangul: 황성경)	A Korean swordsman making a return for the first time in 15 years, with a brand new design that is a fusion of Assassin's from Soulcalibur II and early modern European military uniforms,[15] while also giving him new attacks that utilize Taoist talismans.
Guest Character
Haohmaru (覇王丸)	Haohmaru is a rōnin from the Tenmei era of Japan (late 18th century), and the protagonist of the Samurai Shodown series by SNK.

Plot[]

Soulcalibur VI is a soft reboot of the Soul series^[16] that it also takes place after Soulcalibur V, retelling the events starting from the second Soul game, Soulcalibur, while adding new scenarios, characters and general changes to the story, starting a new timeline. The main story revolves around the battle between the cursed sword, Soul Edge and the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, as well as having an individual storyline for each character.

Game Mechanics[]

• Soulcalibur VI introduces a brand new feature called Reversal Edge, which can be performed using a single button. This triggers a slow-motion exchange with a single button input from each player, with the outcome decided by a much more complicated version of rock, paper, scissors. The background music also gets louder drums while this happens.
• Armor Break makes a return from Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur V. It appears to break different sections of armor, as it did in Soulcalibur IV, and it also affects certain hairstyles.^[17][18]
• Another new game mechanic is called the Lethal Hit, an advanced system where landing certain moves in the right condition will send the opponent flying, and score an Armor Break after enough hits have landed.
• Guard Impacts make their return into the game. Similar to Soulcalibur V there is only one type of Guard Impact but, unlike Soulcalibur V, it does not cost meter although an unsuccessful Guard Impact will drain Guard Stamina instead, similar to Soulcalibur IV. In Soulcalibur VI, they can no longer repel Break Attacks.
• Critical Edges returns from Soulcalibur V, largely unchanged.^[19]
• Soul Charge returns since Soulcalibur III, completely overhauled. It temporarily puts the character in a powered up state that allows them to deal chip damage and grants them access to special moves and abilities.
• Character-Specific Abilities is another new addition. Many characters have a unique trait that separates them from others beyond the baseline template.
• Soul Attack is a universal attack that allows the character to become Soul Charged will remaining on the offensive. It is a new game mechanic that is added in season 2.
• Resist Impact is a more powerful Guard Impact that can repel unblockable and break attacks at the cost of meter. It is a new game mechanic that is added in season 2.

Game Modes[]

• Soul Chronicle is a new Story Mode, recounting the events of the first Soulcalibur through a main storyline and a storyline for each character, including Geralt of Rivia.
• Libra of Soul is a separate Story Mode. The player creates their own character and embarks on a journey.
• Battle: Arcade Mode, Versus, Training.
• Character Creation makes its return to the game with similarities to Soulcalibur V, and additional creation options like race.
  • With Geralt of Rivia's style being available, it is the first time that a guest character's fighting style is usable by created characters.
    • Subsequent guest character styles available include 2B's and, later, Haohmaru's style.
• Online: Ranked Match, Casual Match, Rankings & Replay.^[20]
• Museum:^[20] a mode that has the profiles of all the playable characters, background characters, stages, terms, weapons, etc., as well as a gallery of images from the previous games, a jukebox and even background lore that used to be hosted on the old Japanese Soulcalibur website.

Stages[]

The game features "Signature 16th century stages".^[21] The stages are:

Shrine of Eurydice: Cloud Sanctuary

Shrine of Eurydice (Evening)

Ostrheinsburg Castle: Hall of the Chosen

Windswept Plains

Astral Chaos: Tide of the Damned

Kunpaetku Temple: Serpentine Banquet

Master Swordsman's Cave: Azure Horizon

Master Swordsman's Cave: Wicked Depths

Master Swordsman's Cave (Evening)

Indian Port: Impending Storm

Snow-Capped Showdown

Sunken Desert Ruins

Cursed Moonlit Woods

Silver Wolves' Haven

Silver Wolves' Haven (Daytime)

Replica Kaer Morhen
(Geralt of Rivia's stage)

City Ruins: Eternal Apocalypse
(2B's stage; DLC)

Grand Labyrinth - Sealed Corridor
(available only in Training mode)

Gairyu Isle
(Haohmaru's stage; DLC)

Murakumo Shrine Grounds

Murakumo Shrine Grounds (Night)

Motien Pass Ruins

Faraway Meadow
(available only in Episode 6 of Hilde's Soul Chronicle mode and Mitsurugi's Side Story 3)

Downloadable Content[]

Season 1[]

Season Pass 1

• DLC1: Tira
• DLC2: 2B
• DLC3: Character Creation Set A
• DLC4: Amy
• DLC5: Character Creation Set B
• DLC6: Cassandra

Season 2[]

Season Pass 2

• DLC7: Hilde
• DLC8: Character Creation Set C
• DLC9: Haohmaru
• DLC10: Character Creation Set D
• DLC11: Setsuka
• DLC12: Character Creation Set E
• DLC13: Hwang
• DLC14: Character Creation Set F

Trivia[]

• Stages have a time-of-day system where the time-of-day changes during each battle round.^[22]
• It is the first game in the series to be released on PC.
  • Additionally, it's the first game in the series to be released on eighth-generation home consoles.
• It is the first mainline game without default alternative costumes for characters, replacing them with palette swaps of the main costumes. However, like in Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur V, characters can be customized to have additional costumes.^[23]
  • Unlike in previous games, due to the lack of alternate outfits, characters no longer have a 2P version of their weapons. However, some 2P weapons from older games have returned, now having a unique, distinct name.
• This is the third game to have more than one guest since Soulcalibur IV and the second game to have guests from more than one series since Soulcalibur II HD Online.
• The game's base roster does not have a single returning playable character that debuted in Soulcalibur IV - Soulcalibur V.
• On November 25, 2019, a new update introduced new moves for all the characters, adding new combo possibilities and new ways to overcome difficult situations. In order to provide even more depth to the game, two new Battle Mechanics usable by all characters were also added:
  • Soul Attack.
  • Resist Impact.
• Despite Soulcalibur VI retelling the events of the first Soulcalibur game, Rock, Edge Master, Aeon Calcos and Arthur—characters who were playable in Soulcalibur—are not playable in Soulcalibur VI. Edge Master, Aeon and Arthur do appear in the game as NPCs, and Rock is only mentioned by his nickname (the "White Giant") in the Museum.

Gallery[]

Logo[]

The current logo of the game. (Used on the boxart.)

The current logo used in reveal trailers.

The original logo of the game.

The current photo used on the SOULCALIBUR offical Twitter

Character Artwork[]

Mitsurugi's official artwork.

Sophitia's official artwork.

Grøh's official artwork.

Nightmare's official artwork.

Xianghua's official artwork.

Kilik's official artwork.

Ivy's official artwork

Zasalamel's official artwork

Geralt's official artwork

Siegfried's official artwork

Taki's official artwork

Yoshimitsu's official artwork

Maxi's official artwork

Talim's official artwork

Voldo's official artwork.

Astaroth's official artwork.

Seong Mi-Na's official artwork.

Tira's official artwork.

Azwel's official artwork.

Cervantes' official artwork.

Raphael's official artwork.

Inferno's official artwork.

2B's official artwork.

2B's and Ivy's official promotional artwork.

Amy's official artwork.

Cassandra's official artwork.

Hilde's official artwork.

Haohmaru's official artwork.

Setsuka's official artwork.

Hwang's official artwork 1.

Hwang's official artwork 2.

Screenshots[]

Sophitia and Mitsurugi clashing into each other during a 'Reversal edge'.

Sophitia dodging Mitsurugi's attack during a 'Reversal edge'.

Sophitia and Mitsurugi using their attack in a 'Reversal edge'.

Videos[]

SOULCALIBUR VI Announcement Trailer

Soulcalibur VI Gameplay Demo

Short gameplay clip

Soulcalibur VI - PSX 2017 Gameplay HD

Gameplay Trailer

Soul Cailbur VI - Gameplay Preview PS4

Gameplay Preview

Soulcalibur VI Sophitia Gameplay

Sophitia Gameplay.

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - The Agent in Black (Character announcement trailer)

Soul Calibur VI Ivy and Zasalamel Reveal PS4

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Geralt of Rivia (Guest character announcement trailer)

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Siegfried (Character announcement trailer)

SOULCALIBUR VI - Taki Character Reveal X1, PS4, PC-0

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Yoshimitsu (character announcement trailer)

SOULCALIBUR VI - Maxi Reveal Trailer PS4, XB1, PC-0

SOULCALIBUR VI - E3 Story Trailer-0

SOULCALIBUR VI E3 Developer Interview PS4, X1, PC-1

SOUCALIBUR VI - Talim Character Reveal PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Voldo Reveal Trailer PS4, XB1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Astaroth and Seong Mi-Na EVO Trailer Reveal Trailer PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Libra of Soul Story Mode

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Tira (DLC Character announcement trailer)

SOULCALIBUR VI - Azwel Character Reveal Trailer PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Cervantes Reveal Trailer - PS4, X1, PC

Soul Calibur VI - GAME MODES Introduction Trailer! (60ᶠᵖˢ 1080ᵖ)

SOULCALIBUR VI - Raphael Character Reveal PS4, XB1, PC

First 8 Minutes Of SoulCalibur VI's Libra Of Soul Mode Gameplay TGS 2018

Inferno Character Reveal

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Launch Trailer

SOULCALIBUR VI - Battle System Overview PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Basics of Combat ft. Mark Julio PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Basics of Defense ft. Mark Julio PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Character Creation Interview ft. Maximilian Dood PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Character Creation Interview ft. Mega64's Rocco PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - 2B from NieR Automata (Guest character announcement trailer)

SOULCALIBUR VI - PS4 XB1 PC - Accolades Trailer

SOULCALIBUR VI - Amy Character Reveal Trailer PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Cassandra Character Reveal Trailer PS4, X1, PC

SOULCALIBUR VI - Season Pass 2 Reveal Trailer PS4, X1, PC

「ソウルキャリバーVI」Season2 新技紹介動画

SOULCALIBUR VI - Hilde Character Reveal Trailer PS4, Xbox One, PC

「ソウルキャリバーVI」Season２紹介動画(2)

SOULCALIBUR VI - Haohmaru Gameplay Trailer - PS4 XB1 PC

SOULCALIBUR VI – Haohmaru Launch Trailer

SOULCALIBUR VI – Setsuka

SOULCALIBUR VI – Hwang Launch Trailer

Reception[]

Soulcalibur VI received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic getting a metascore of 80/100 on PC^[24] and 84/100 on both PS4^[25] & Xbox One.^[26]

External Links[]

• Soulcalibur VI on Wikipedia.
• The Japanese Soulcalibur VI website.
• Bandai Namco Entertainment's Soulcalibur VI website.
• Bandai Namco Entertainment EU's Soulcalibur VI website.
• The Steam page for Soulcalibur VI.

References[]