Overview

The date is September 9th, 1999 and I have just arrived home with my new Dreamcast. I bought five games on that day, Sonic Adventure, Blue Stinger, Ready 2 Rumble, the House of the Dead 2, and Soul Calibur. I sat there and revelled in the glory of this brand new console, unable to speak, crying tears of joy. Once I broke the trance, I began to set up my Dreamcast. As I neared completion of the setup process, an essential query came up in my mind - what game should I play first? Well, I have five choices and two genuine contenders: Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur. Guess which one I chose - Soul Calibur!

I first turned the game on and watched the opening cinematic clip. Wow! I'm already amazed by the game, and I haven't even played it yet. Okay, the movie is now over, and I'm just itchin' to get into the actual game. I get to the character selection screen and browse through the characters and settle on Voldo. I first played Kilik, the bo toting 19-year-old martial arts master. The game was mind-blowing. I was used to playing the Dreamcast because I would go to my local software retail store and hog the Dreamcast sample machine until I just felt guilty for keeping everybody else waiting for so long, but I had not played a game that was this visually beautiful ever in my entire life! Within the first twenty seconds of play, I knew I was playing something extraordinary.

Gameplay

Soul Calibur's gameplay is the most solid I have seen on the Dreamcast yet. Although you are playing an extremely linear game where all you do is fight, you don't ever get bored. The standard Arcade mode game is entertaining and challenging, especially if you're playing on a harder skill level. Once you get up to the very hard difficulty, you'll rarely land two hits in a row because the CPU controlled opponents are so effective at blocking your attacks. Altogether, there are eight fights in the Arcade mode game, including a climactic final battle with Inferno's intergalactic creature.

The part of the game that will keep you coming back time after time is the Mission Battle mode. Mission Battle is the normal game with variations on the theme. Another thing that adds to this games formidable replay value is the hidden characters, at least eight of them in total. Each character is exquisitely animated with multiple motion-captured moves, different fighting styles, and unique looks.

Graphics & Sound

What can I say about Soul Calibur's graphics, except that they're just plain beautiful. The first time you see a character perform a move at a blazing 60fps in the most fluid motion you have ever seen, you may very well have to weep tears of joy. I have never once seen a graphical flaw in all the hours I've spent playing this game. The lighting in Soul Calibur is amazingly realistic; Inferno (basically a walking fireball) casts jumpy shadows all over the place as he rushes you with his sword, ready to slice you in half.

The sound incorporated into the game is just amazing. Every time I kick someone in the teeth (hold back, hit B), they let out a painful little grunt that tells me they felt that. Thanks to this game, I now know how to say key phrases like "You suck" and "Need more souls" in Japanese (those are the two most commonly used Japanese phrases in the world today, just to let you know). I like that they didn't dub the voices over in English; it would have just made the game seem a little lame to me. The Japanese voices add a feeling of gritty realism to the game that feels all too right.

Conclusion

If you don't own this game, what the hell are you sitting here reading this for? Buy it!