Oh, and don’t I mean revealed. Soul Calibur IV (or, to be accurate, Soulcalibur IV, since they’ve removed the space for some reason) was announced last month and now we’re getting some more info about it. I was reading the August issue of EGM and the cover story was on SC4 (let’s abbreviate to avoid the whole question of space or no space).
I loved Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast. It was actually the game that got me to buy the console. Soul Calibur II was a lot of fun, III was not quite as good but the series remains my favorite fighting game series. Unfortunately, there’s been a disturbing trend in the character design. The female characters have become hyper-sexualized to the point that I’m actually offended by the art that I’ve seen of SC4.
I can’t find the really most awesome shot that was in EGM but here’s one that I found on Gamespot:
You can’t see the true “glory” that is Ivy’s frontside but her backside gives you an idea of what’s going on with the look of the characters.
In the article, one of the developers is talking about a new way to win. He says there’s a way that doesn’t involve health or ringouts. And he indicates that we should look at the screenshots to get a clue to what it is. I think I’ve figured it out! It’s Strip Fighting! Every hit knocks some more clothing off of your opponent and you win when they’re naked! Clever of them to hide that in the screenshots.
Here’s what Taki has become. She’s covered up, but it looks like she got some porn-star-implants and her outfit is more body paint than actual coverage.
I’m truly upset about this. I want to play SC4. I’ve been quite excited for it from when I first heard rumors of it. Next-gen action fighter? Yeah! Next-gen jiggle tech? Nooo!
Come on, isn’t it enough to have excellent gameplay? Are they really truly attracting more sales by making these characters so ridiculously sexual? Because they’re repelling me.
Some co-workers suggested this was a war of escalation started by Dead or Alive. But we have to be bigger than this! The games industry needs to realize that juvenile antics and puerile art direction are not helping our market grow. The Wii is successful because it’s games for everyone, not because it’s approaching porn.
16 Responses to “Soul Calibur IV Revealed!”
Ick. I think I saw what you meant by Ivy - she was in the trailer. I don’t know how somebody could swim in that (or with those), much less fight. I just hope they didn’t ruin Talim on me. I always play as her and while I have less trouble with what my opponents look like, it makes me feel like a dirty old man if the character I’m playing has the slut thing going on.
Talim’s the only character from ANY of the fighter genre I can reliably crush Walsh with, btw. So they’d really, really better not screw this up. Or can I at least get a slider of some sort so I can turn it off?
Sigh.
Really? I thought you were a Taki player. And unfortunately, my second image there is of Taki and she looks awful. I haven’t seen Talim yet. Hopefully they haven’t slutted her up too.
There is a perfectly good explanation for all of this Tara…
Taki is wearing her new second skin armor to improve her ease of movement!…
and… she’s been eating a lot.. and put on a little more weight… due to really good genes and an overzealous workout regiment, all the weight has gone to,… ergh.. the right places?…
[...] Soul Calibur IV Revealed! [...]
[...] mentioned my opinions on the art direction of Soul Calibur before, but a new trailer has come out so I thought I’d [...]
Soul Calibur is a joke (in my humle opinion). Not only does it give Taki lemon-melon tits in every edition, they gradually make her look less japanese as well. Basically all of her costumes in SC are crap (esp. the mask that exposed her mouth).
I don’t know how many of you guys have played Soul Blade/Edge before, but it was the original instalment of the Soul series and whoever developed that game seriously had the right idea. It had an Edge Master Mode which created a unique storyline for every character and an extra soundtrack mode which let you run through three original albums. I’ll admit Takis’ boobs were big here too, but at least they were shaped better and she looked more Japanese, had a better wardrobe, and had a more mature/womanly face. In fact, every single other character looks better in Soul Blade looked better as well. If you don’t agree, then ask yourself why SC feels the need to capitalise on the fact they steal characters from more famous places (eg. Star Wars) as opposed to properly promoting their own. The SC character design team sucks, sorry to say.
I’d really appreciate it if someone could tell me how Soul Calibur managed to not crash and burn along with the Dreamcast like it should have, while Soul Blade sank into obscurity. If Sony had chosen to run with SB and keep the associated production crew, I firmly believe we would have a weapons-based fighting game far superior than anything the world has seen to date.
Hope I haven’t offended anyone. I really WOULD LIKE TO LIKE SC, but SB really is the better quality game. And don’t try to say ‘SB in-game graphics are crap’ because the game was still good for its time (considering how ancient it is) and if its graphics were brought up to modern standards, SC wouldn’t stand a chance against it. I think the reason SC outlived SB was because it had a more ambitious advertising campain in the early stages, but otherwise I’m baffled as to why things turned out how they did.
I’m open to further discussions, so feel free to agree or disagree with the above statements.
I have to agree with you on the character design! I think the reason the games succeed is because the combat is fantastic. I enjoy the actual strategy and battle elements of the SC games more than any other fighters. But as the visuals get more and more offensive, it makes me feel like they don’t want me to play their game. It’s rough, since a part of me is very excited for the new game (curious about playing with the Star Wars characters!) but I just don’t want to give them my money. Perhaps I’ll rent it.
“I think the reason the games succeed is because the combat is fantastic.” - Tara
Have you played SB before? I had no complaints about the combat system there.
And have you seen the new pictures of Setsuka???!!! She’s blonde! and her boobs….! Don’t even get me started. Seung Mina and Sophitia have also jumped on the pornstar princess bandwagon. Mina’s also looking fully wog. Makes me wanna go to Japan and bash down Namco’s door.
I played a little Soul Blade. I’m not saying it wasn’t good, I’m saying SC is good as well and that’s why it sells. But I’m totally agreeing with you on all the characters, they’re becoming disgusting. Some men I’ve spoken to about it have said “But the guys are bare-chested and perfect examples that no real man can possibly live up to as well!” but they still look mostly humanoid at least! And they don’t have advanced tech in them to make their bits bounce properly.
Yeah, seriously, what can they do with the guys? Supersize their ‘MALE’ parts down south and make THEM bouncey??? I’m sure that’ll go down well. Namco should just wake up to itself and realise it’s slitting its own throat with this approach. Sex sells they say? Well in this case I think it’s going to start hurting their sales.
What’s with the Soul Calibur hate?
Yea, I played Soul Blade, and I thought the Weapon Master (I think that was the name back then) mode was better than the same modes in the sequels. I also liked the additional weapons that you could purchase better in that one too, as they had an actual effect on the fighting and the introduction movie was certainly the best in the whole series.
However, all of that is meaningless when you just consider the gameplay. Soul Blade was fun, but at 30 fps, it was a bit choppy, though it looked spectacular with all the lighting effects (and Rock’s stage with the wheat - they haven’t attempted that again). The characters were also far less balanced - I could beat pretty much anyone with Siegfried’s BBA combo (which kept getting toned down in every sequel, but also SC’s introduction of the 8-way run negates its brutality anyway), or Seung Mina’s “yokette kono!” (that’s what I understand anyway) unblockable, which if timed properly after downing an opponent was a pretty much sure hit that took close to 70% of the opponent’s health off! The designs were a lot more realistic, yes, but the playability was not as good in the actual fighting section. Again, the Weapon Master mode was far better than its equivalent in any of the sequels, but that’s an extra perk, and not the main “meat” in a fighting game.
Going back to the SC series, the designs started a bit moderate - look for SC1 art, and all the females are a toned down compared to what they became in SC4, but the gameplay’s always been very good, and in the end, that’s what matters. Remember that SC was the fighter to introduce the 8-way move mechanic in a 3D fighter; that’s one heck of a contribution! And yes, the women are perhaps too enhanced, but what the heck. It’s a fantasy, and the men are near perfect too. I don’t get offended by a half-naked Rock with perfect musculature, so yes, even if Taki looks ridiculous to a point, why should it be offensive? Have fun with what it is, a fantasy created by an obviously very male team. My wife just laughs at it when she sees games like it and comments on how she’s sure the development team is all male, but she also grabs the 2P controller and has fun with either Talim or Kilik, which she favors. Ain’t that what gaming is about?
OMG, Antonio. SB’s game play was pretty damn good considering it was the VERY FIRST INSTALLMENT (i.e. the prototype) of the Soul series and if they had developed it more it would far surpass what SC has become today. In case you haven’t noticed, like every single fighter that was ever released (notably Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter) has had cases where certain characters had “overpowered” combos - and in the subsequent additions they normally try to address those things. Siegfried may have had an overpowered combo, but if you choose someone lightning fast like Li Long, the chances of him landing a hit are low anyway. On top of that, every character has a special unblockable move in SB. The mechanics of SB were also easier to follow when it came to weapon acquisition and status graphs in my opinion.
You’ve already made numerous concessions that SB is superior in certain respects even compared to recent installments of SC, so isn’t that telling you something about the potential SB had? How can you justify SC sacrificing all of SB’s extra “perks” just so that they can develop something as narrow as the actual game play. For your information, anyone with half a brain cell would appreciate that character and concept design, soundtrack, game play, in addition to extra features TOGETHER make up the “meat” of any game - otherwise it’s just another standard letdown project without any substance or personality.
What was great about SB was that it was almost a hybrid system of fighter and RPG. It had action, a well thought out story, awesome aesthetics and music, as well as substantial character development.
Game play in SC isn’t perfect either. You complain about SB characters being overpowered (even though it was the first Soul game EVER and can be forgiven), yet I’ve witnessed Zasamel literally drag his opponents out of the ring with a swift movement of his scythe. Talk about cheap. Perfecting the technicalities of game play are something that every game developer strives to do, so you’re going to have to come up with something more than criticism of SB’s fighting system to justify SC as the better overall game.
And I don’t think you realize just how important character design is when it comes to the image and playability of a game. I’m sure your wife does laugh when she sees what the “Soul” women have become, but that just attests to the fact that SC really IS a joke, a ridiculous laughing stock not to be taken seriously. Face it, the SC team are gradually f**king themselves out of the market by insulting an increasingly high portion of his market with over the top character designs. As for your opinion about the male characters, HELLO – read the 2 posts before yours! If you think that good games are about cheap tactics like overdoing the physical proportions of feature characters to the point of stupidity, then I guess you’re not a true gamer. Society’s f**ked up enough with all the porn floating around that I seriously don’t think it’s necessary to transfer those images to games as well which used to be enjoyed by a much younger audience too. My little brother and I were playing SB when we were 8 and 4 years old. There’s no way a child that age should be playing SC4 considering how pornographic the characters have become. In fact, they should think about rating SC R18+ or X if this is the approach they want to take. The character design team for SC clearly consists of a bunch of perverted geeks who need a good slap across the back of the head.
So no, gaming is more enjoying comprehensive systems that apply the best of everything in its genre. SC has effectively discarded all of SB’s finer points which you already acknowledged in favour of a much narrower, tasteless approach.
As a wise pro-gamer said, ‘SC is try hard. I’m surprised Taki doesn’t slice her own boobs off to be honest’.
For further reference, check out the article: Soul Calibur IV gets boob job - A tale of souls and swords, and ridiculous breasts @ http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/f/soul-calibur-iv-gets-boob-job/a-20070613124925139083/g-20070613105150193045
tl;dr: SB was the first Soul installment so there were bound to be problems. The proportions of the SC4 female characters are ostracising potential players.
By the way, even the title SoulCALIBUR is gay - it sounds like a try hard EXcalibur.
I think that money over morals is the way of the future and although i dont agree it doesnt matter because as with all things the powers of the many will overcome the few and we are the few.
Well I think the number of people who think the SC is goin overboard is increasing by the day so maybe the tides will eventually turn.
Also Shizuko is a nerd