So, who's picking up Soulcalibur IV this week?  If so, are you going Yoda or Vader?

It could be a bit hard to recapture the fan base after the dubious showcasing that was SCIII, but a diehard Soul aficionado such as myself has eagerly been looking forward to this first HD entry in the series.  The newly implemented Soul Gauge looks to be aiming to keep battles alive and feisty, which could be especially beneficial in online matches - but let's just hope these new Critical Finishes doesn't break the game.

I'm a Talim and Cervantes player by nature, but that could all change depending on what they've done to them here.  I'm curious to see if Amy plays any differently from Raphael, too.

PSN people, here's hoping for the opportunity to kill you as well as tofu with my sword.  Or something.

I tried to get the Gamestop clerk to break street date for me today, when I traded in a few things.  *sigh*  So I have to go back tomorrow to pick it up for the PS3.  Vader trumps Yoda, I don't care what 1Up claims.

I really want to hear the soundtrack... and I really don't want to pay $30 for a stupid strategy guide.  Suprisingly, I've seen no torrents for it.  I doubt it is complete anyway, so here's hoping an OST announcement is forthcoming from Japan.

Taki, all the way. If I end up getting the damn game, it'll be on 360. Yoda, I guess? Yay for Space Grover!

Man, we'll see. I have to be honest; The only aspect of the Calibur series has been the music. Nothing else except for the art really stands out. But it adds so much, so I'll continue playing.

Not my cup o' joe, but y'all have fun.

You want it, you got it.

Oh wow, Zane can make albums appear.  For your next trick, how about a Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis Box Set?

Sorry, that was off topic.  Please continue the Vader vs. Yoda discussions.

-Mike

I splurged for it rather suddenly, surprising myself. I was content to let it go until I'd heard the Premium Edition would have exclusive DLC (Curse you, Namcooooo). I don't physically have it yet, but it should arrive by week's end. I'll have to be careful who I play it with though, because MAN did they go overboard with the T&A. I'm not a prude, but I kinda hope I can use the wardrobe editor to put them all in double-plush parkas.

I skipped over SC3 back when, but I remember playing the demo. Is there an option to switch out the English voices, because what I'd heard of those was painful. I'm also curious to hear what Japanese Vader sounds like ("いいえええええええ"?).

EDIT: Oh, and I'm a Kilik/Taki man, myself, with Maxi or Seung Mina (f--- her new spelling) as backups.

Not very revealing, but we talked to Yura over at Eminence about their work on the project:

http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=188

More fun than anything else.  Was hoping to find out who else, if anyone, was involved with the soundtrack.  SC2 is till my favorite.

Just picked up the game this morning.  I don't get home till tonight, but we've got a PS3 in the break room to squeeze in a few rounds.  Reckon I'll hardly get a turn though, even if it's my copy. o_o

From what I've heard, the option to switch between languages is in SCIV.  Same went for SCIII, and yeah, while the English voices are generally hilariously bad in this series, I rather dug Tira's mischievously macabre tone.

I could provide an upload, if you'd like - but again, I won't be back home until tonight.  Lemme know!

*snicker*

Angela, after I eat, I'm going to pick up my copy, SVU season 7, and some groceries, so I'll hear the music sometime after that.  Thanks though!

YES!

I mean... er... yeah, that's a good read.

I'm Space_Lion on PSN, and I'm a Lizardman player.  I'm still adjusting to the controls using my new stick.  So, come and get your free wins... while you can. 

Good god, Vader is inept.  I just want to smack him in the face and tell him to go back home.

Also, I want a fighter stick.

You and your reptilian warriors, Abrahm.  First Bowser on Brawl, now Lizardman? :p

I just got done playing a few extensive rounds online with a local friend - and while the match speeds stayed pretty consistent throughout, there was this unfortunate split second input lag that pretty much threw off both of our timings.  It's do-able after you get used to it, but I just can't see serious players putting up with something like this for long.

Was it just us, or did any of you experience the same thing?

Sorry, Angela, I've not had a chance to try it online yet.  I was unlocking a character, then got disgusted and went back to FFXII and finished it.  I must say, that game was awesome.  Time to start Revenant Wings!

I figured I'd post this rant here:

You know, Soul Calibur kind of ticks me off... well, not the game(s) in particular but the people who play them that have no idea or interest that Soul Caliber x is actually the x+1 game in the series. It's unbelievable the number of people I've talked to that have no clue about Soul Edge/Blade being where it all began.

Sometimes I think I'm the only one that liked the original or the fact if you blocked too much you could lose your weapon for the remainer of the round. To be honest I really don't like many of the characters outside the original roster either...

The other thing that bugs me... [spoiler]

WHY DOES THE NUNCHUCK GUY ALWAYS* HAVE TO DIE IN THEIR ENDING? *note: yes, you can change the endings in Soul Blade so said character lives but the dissapearance of Li Long until Soul Caliber III kinda supported the idea he did die... which sucked because he was my favorite character

Also, on the subject of voice acting, has anyone ever noticed how the VA for the victory taunts in Soul Blade doesn't match the characters lips on the PSX version but does in the Arcade version because the taunts are different for some reason? That's always made me scratch my head...

Okay, I'll shut up now...

Yeah, it's shocking how many fans of the series don't know that it started before the first Soul Calibur (perhaps similar to Shadow Hearts/Koudelka?).  Personally, I'm not that big on fighting games but did enjoy Soul Edge/Blade up to Soul Calibur II.  I was always completely demolished by anyone I knew who was actually good at fighting games, but still... loads of fun.  I'm also totally sick of how boobalicious the series is getting, but I'm probably totally in the minority there.

I honestly only enjoyed Soul Edge.  None of the Soul Calibur titles.

SCII had some awesome music though.

Worth finishing, huh? That game beats my ass every chance it gets. If it were not for the Quickenings, I wouldn't be getting anywhere.

Hm.  I beat the game at lvl 53 with the same 3 characters I used throughout, never bothered leveling up the others, nor did I use quickenings and espers after I got all the augments I wanted.  I went after quite a few hunts, up until a certain one that gets you a nice weapon and accessory, but I got none of the optional espers----after a certain point, I stopped using them and relied on physical attacks (tanking Vaan and going after a few nice swords and a spear to use).  Perhaps you are going after something too soon?  I died a few times in the game, but mainly early on when I was so gung-ho to go after things.  I also only grinded for fun (the battle system, gambits, etc finally clicked for me and I was just so giddy) for a few levels at one point too.

btw, as for SCIV, I still hate Vader.  I am, however, enjoying the Apprentice and the normal characters.  So, the game no longer disgusts me... for now.  The character creation system isn't really impressing me with anything other than its sheer number of menus, but I've seen some nice stuff characters people have made online, so it's just a matter of time before I unlock enough stuff to make it intriguing.  Anyone make anything special yet---Link?  Birdo?  King Hippo?  Obama or McCain?  Gambit?

Not to hijack the thread but count me in with the people who enjoyed Soul Edge the most of the series.  Played Soul Calibur 1 and 2 a bit and I suppose they have more complex gameplay but few of the new characters are appealing and I'm not fond of the more anime'fied and/or "augmented" direction of the character designs in recent installments.

You guys have fun with SC4 though

I think it's just that I'm playing the game like Final Fantasies past, and not really utilizing the gambit system. All of my dudes are physical attackers, which means bad news when I have to fight a flyer, and in general, my system is just badly set up. Almost 70 hours in of leveling, doing hunts and chains, and I still get my ass handed to me in major battles (although not as much recently. A lot more so in the beginning.).

Maybe I should just start over, and play the damn game the way it was intended. :P

Huh.... Did your enjoyment of the game really hinge on the anticipation of Vader alone?  Truthfully, I haven't even bothered using him yet - but I did end up playing on the Star Wars stage a couple of times.  Hurray for the use of "Duel of The Fates" and "Star Wars Main Title"!

Anyway, I've been using Talim almost exclusively.  She's marginally better than her SC3 counterpart, but not quite as refined as SC2's.  Her Wind Charmer 2 is still out, and her WC1 is kind of quirky as far as finding decent maneuverability.  Guess I just need to get used to it.

Kilik's pretty excellent this time, too.  Makes a great contender online.

Angela, no, but he's necessary to endure to unlock the Apprentice, and I'm eagerly anticipating that dude's upcoming game.

Alright, spent some time with the game. Tough to get used to the controls again. Guard impacting seems tougher (maybe just me. I could only do it with any degree of aptitude with my favorite characters). New costumes are awesome, and the game looks incredible. Don't like the soundtrack as much as previous entries, but maybe that will change.

Character creation is sweet. Taki is f---ing hot in chain-mail. But I guess that applies to women in general *secretly wishes more women would adopt that style*.

Played Yoda for a while. He's short, making him kind of difficult to hit, but he doesn't flow as much as I would like. Don't plan on using him much, outside of unlocking shit. Need to unlock the Apprentice, now.

Speaking of characters, Taki still rules, and Raphael is no longer a character I will make fun of. His alternate costume has kind of a Char Aznable thing going on that I totally dig. You can bet my next character creation will be an attempt at recreating the legendary Red Comet.

Talking of which, I guess Yutaka Izubuchi designed one of the bonus characters. Nice to see him take a break from doing kick-ass Gundam designs for Sunrise. :D And some of the bonus characters aren't half bad, my favorite being Hilde. Got that whole Holy Knight thing going on that's awesome.

Cool beans, indeed. I wonder if I an play online with owners of the PS3 version?

I'm not sure if Hilde is really considered a "bonus" character, per se.  She has her own fighting style, plus she has her own slot in the player roster - so she can probably be considered an official new character.

Shura's pretty awesome, though.  In some ways, she's better than Cervantes from whom she's based on.  From what I've seen, she seems to have a bit more speed, as well as range, over Cervy.

An impossibility, I'm afraid.  Though I'd wager there would be some serious throwdowns between Xbots and Sony fanfolk based on console allegiance alone. ;p

Woops. You're right. My bad.

I really like Hilde. She looks great in her armour and her playing style is completely new. She actually looks like she'd fit right into a direct sequel to SC1, taking that game as the base style.

Unfortunately, she's about the only thing I like about the game so far. No, that's not true - I love the background with the dodos in it.

Poor ol' Nightmare. He went from being a kick-ass demon knight in SC1 to SC4 where he's a Michael Bay Transformers reject in one form and a packet of sweets in his other.

YES!

The last week was very busy for me, and I wasn't able to play online at all.  I'll try to get some games in soon.

Man, people are making some really slick character designs.  Check out what Neogaf has created in their thread.

Of particular awesomeness:

Travis Touchdown: http://www.daviddino.com/sc4travis.jpg
Kratos:  http://ps3life.nl/data/upload/7_p06803-w1217510331.jpg
Old Snake:  http://www.daviddino.com/sc4oldsnake.jpg
Vamp:  http://i38.tinypic.com/9qeerc.jpg
Phoenix Wright:  http://n1nj4.net/~ferrio/random/soul_ca … cter12.jpg
Adrian Andrews:  http://n1nj4.net/~ferrio/random/soul_ca … cter18.jpg
Ryu Hayabusa:  http://i38.tinypic.com/2qcpax5.jpg
Subzero:  http://i36.tinypic.com/5p4d4z.jpg
Piccolo:  http://i38.tinypic.com/2ynjpj5.jpg
Sagat:  http://www.daviddino.com/sc4sagat.JPG
Cammy:  http://i37.tinypic.com/wia9zo.jpg
Morrigan:  http://i33.tinypic.com/20tf5uv.jpg
Galford:  http://i38.tinypic.com/2yyp2pt.jpg
Geese Howard:  http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j294/ … se_SC4.jpg
The Joker:  http://www.411mania.com/game_screenshots/6691.jpg
Harley Quinn:  http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/wh … uinn02.jpg
Sephiroth:  http://www.daviddino.com/sc4sephiroth.JPG
Zack Fair:  http://www.daviddino.com/sc4zack.jpg
Elhaym:  http://i33.tinypic.com/6rhhdz.jpg
Tidus:  http://i33.tinypic.com/2z5ue7q.jpg
Wakka:  http://images40.fotki.com/v1250/photos/ … 127-vi.jpg

I'm pretty impressed with what people have been able to do with the character customization... it makes me more interested than anything else I've seen on the game so far.  I think I'd definitely have some fun playing around with that.

Some of those are excellent. I particularly like the Phoenix Wright and the Old Snake.

Wow, those are just....WOW.

How insanely detailed can Character Customisation get?
I don't own this game, but this makes me really curious.

I done been trynna do some kind of Samus variant, but no luck with the hair. I've done much better with Karin (of Shadow Hearts). Maybe I can do Yuri now.

Holy crap, Shantae! I'd kill a blameless man to get that recipe. Although it probably involves parts you can only get through the Tower, something I've yet to touch. So far the only real custom character I've made (outside of pulling in random characters to buy out the shop's inventory) is a monocled samurai with cotton-candy forelock and beard. It looks pretty amusing...and thinking on it now, I'm tempted to try making a Luke Atmey.

General thoughts on the game itself are vaguely positive. Fighting itself is OK, but I haven't learned any of the new tricks yet. New characters are a little disappointing, since most of them are clones, and The Apprentice just pisses me off. Also some characters' designs have been ruined (Astaroth, Ivy, Nightmare), the music's pretty much a wash and the Beast Girl's constant howling and yelling has made Mute a regular thing. But in general the gameplay feels like it has its heart in the right place, and that's the important bit.

I want to get re-accustomed to a respectable degree before going online, but I'll let you guys know when I do.

P.S. Setting up billing information on a PSN is a vicious pain in the ass (it turned out I wasn't supposed to enter a space between "APT" and my number), but having echochrome nearly makes up for it. Awesome game.

I tried the demo of the PS3 version and, as I expected, I didn't like it all.  The original SC for DC is still the only one of these I've liked.  Oh well.