Preview
Platform:
WiiDeveloper:
Namco Bandai Games, Inc.Publisher:
Namco Bandai Games AmericaPreviewed by
Justin Fassino on 2007-07-11
When
Soulcalibur Legends was announced for Wii and, just a few days later,
Soulcalibur IV was announced for the PS3 and 360, gamers feared that the Wii title would be a cheap cash-in attempt making use of a well-known series. Fear not, Wii owners.
Legends was a pleasant surprise for me today, and it's shaping up to be a fun game that uses the Wiimote in all the right ways.
Taking place in between the events of
Soul Blade and the original
Soul Calibur,
Legends focuses on Siegfried and the events that caused his transformation into Nightmare. Before beginning a stage, you'll pick two characters to play as from the cast of well-known
Calibur stars. Once inside the game itself, you can tag in and out on the fly by pressing both buttons on the nunchuk. This is great in and of itself as it allows the player to adapt to situations based on characters' fighting styles (and each character will have their own signature style), but when you go a step further and add a two-player split-screen mode to the mix, it becomes a waggle-waving fiesta.
Speaking of waggling, that's the main method of attacking. The Wiimote can read side-to-side movements for horizontal attacks, vertical slashes for vertical attacks, and even a "push" motion as a stabbing lunge. By waving frantically, you'll be able to combo together hits just like in the fighting game, only it's much more intuitive because what you see on the screen is an extension of your own arm. Some characters will even require unique manipulation of the Wiimote, like Ivy. Instead of slashing, whip-like motions will be employed to snare opponents and cause some havoc.
All characters have individual special moves as well. By far the coolest part of the E3 build of the demo is Mitsurugi's special move. By turning the Wiimote with your wrist so the buttons face down, Mitsurugi will sheathe his sword in preparation for a strike. By then whipping the Wiimote forward, he unleashes the pent up energy on enemies. So very satisfying and badass. You can also perform dash maneuvers by simply flicking the nunchuk in any direction. If you hold the guard button and then flick the nunchuk, you can perform a guard break (if you time it correctly).
The stage in the demo was not very complex, and in fact was very linear. The enemies were not much of a challenge as long as I kept moving and slashing, and the boss was a pushover once I learned its pattern. But these issues did not detract from the fun I had playing the game, and I came away with the sense that the development team knows what they're doing. It's not a graphical showcase by any means (the game looks about on par with
SC 2), but it's one of the only games on Wii so far that accurately captures sword fighting action.
Wii owners should not be upset.
Legends will end up being a fun romp through the
Soulcalibur mythos and a quality game in the series. If you really want that fighting game spirit, you can even battle your friends via the split-screen versus mode.
Look for
Soulcalibur Legends to be released later this year.
