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It's a long way from the Dreamcast to the Wii....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 32
Date: November 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The Nintendo Wii was the first game console that I didn't buy to play Soulcalibur. Back in the day, I bought a Sega Dreamcast Console just to play the original Soul Calibur. Then Soul Calibur 2 came out on the PlayStation 2 Console Black, so I bought one of those. Next came Soul Calibur 3, which tried to add some RPG elements and wound up being a step back. Oh well. Then earlier this year I bought myself a Wii on the strength of its immersive sports games. And now, to my delight, we have Soulcalibur Legends on the Wii. This should be the ideal platform for a sword-fighting game, right?

The original Soul Calibur games were all about best-2-of-3 timed head-to-head swordfights in a variety of closed arenas. This game pits you against single and multiple opponents in what looks like open RPG-like settings, but they still seem to be relatively episodic. You move with the nunchuk and fight with the controller, which works OK; I'm still getting the hang of the way that moving the joystick and moving the nunchuck itself interact. Spinning 180 degrees is essential, but tricky.

Above all, this game is going to be a good workout. No more sprawling in front of the screen, button-mashing your PS2 controller. You play this game standing, moving, feinting, jabbing, slashing. This is going to be fun - energetic fun.

Soul Calibur as it should be

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: December 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Since Soul Calibur III, I had felt the game should be played as more of an RPG or quest mode. And boy, does Soul Calibur Legends deliver!

Instead of tedious, monotonous battles with the same characters, you fight your way through monsters and dragons and, when facing a person, it's a special treat. There's still a story behind it, but it's not so annoying to follow as in SC3.

My only real complaint are the graphics--or rather, the "drawings". As gorgeous as SC3 is, SCL is a let-down in that it's split between drawings and CGI. It's distracting, especially when they try to animate the drawings.

Fun game, though. They did good in releasing it for the Wii instead of the PS3.

Different but still good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game got a lot of bad reviews but it really doesn't deserve it. I think its very interactive and makes very good use of the wii-mote. I'm a big fan the soul series and I found this title to be really fun and was quite active while playing it (I wasn't standing there bored that is). The reason I think most of the fans didn't like this one is because the fans don't want change, it wasn't "THEIR" Soul Calibur. The camera could have been better and its really not a $50 game but once the price drops to around $25 I recommend it, it was a lot better than the reviews say.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this game a 7.8 (C+)

Not as bad as they say!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was very wary of this game because of all the bad reviews. My Brother in Law, however, is a very big fan of the Soulcaliber series, so he rented it to try. It was a lot of fun and I'm not even a big gamer.

He liked the way it controlled and even the rest of the game play. If you have your Wii set up properly you should have no problems with it reading your moves.

The biggest thing is that the levels are very narrow and there isn't much wandering to do. Is this game worth $50, heavens no. But for $14-20 it is definitely worth it. Consider that you can rent for $8, or buy for $15. If you don't like it, sell it and get your money back.

Also, today is the first time my BiL has ever used a Wii and he got used to the control of the game with no problems, so I think anyone should be ok. The people who rated this lower than 3 stars have very high expectations for such a cheap game.

SC Legends- just have fun with it!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a Wii exclusive title that is quite a departure from all the other SoulCalibur titles. This game is an adventure style game following the chronicles of Siegfried and several other -original SC characters new and old. This takes place in the 16th century and follows the exploits of your character and other souls engaged in advanture and fights for the ultimate sword with the ultimate power.

You use your wii-mote and nunchuck to manuver and master scores of moves for each character and guide them through highly detailed enviroment full of many pitfalls and enemies vying for or guarding what you seek. It allows you to see new depths of the SC storyline and universe, and provides tons of background and details for each fighter's quest and the stories that have lead them up to this point. It's a pretty nice departure from the regular fighting games that made the series famous, and was quite enjoyable.

It added a bunch of new features including:
-Wii exclusive: Designed specifically for the Wii, use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to master your character's suite of attacks in order to unify the pieces of Soul Edge
-Choose your allies wisely: Switch between the various characters encountered throughout your adventures to give you more versatility in every situation
-Classic Soulcalibur roster: Play and level up as your favorite Soulcalibur characters as you follow their path within history and level up through ranking system
-New enemies and bosses: Sword fighting capabilities are pushed to the limit as you encounter a lineup of new enemies and large scale bosses
-Weapon progression: Weapons evolve with your experience, giving you added control and more powerful attacks
-Spirit Break: Unleash your character's special Spirit Break attacks to crush your enemies with amazing effects
-Quest mode: Play in 12 different environments as the beautiful landscapes serve as your battlefield in 40 quests
-Multiplayer modes: Test your skills with or against a friend in various game modes
-Competitive: Compete for the highest body count as you defeat the fearsome enemies
-Versus: Fight against your friend to determine the true Wii weapon master

Overall, for a Wii game, I found it terribly enjoyable. I am a die hard fan of the series and of course judge it with bias, but it still holds true as a fun game and educational for those wishing to learn all the intracasies of the SoulCaliur universe and it's history. I'm sure we will be seeing quite a few easter eggs from this in SC4.

Have fun with it!

Misguided Expectations?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Soul Calibur Legends follows the story of Siegfried, and expounds upon the story between the games Soul Blade and Soul Calibur. Along the way you meet several more characters from the Soul Calibur Universe.

Ultimately, how you view this game depends purely on your preferences. Soul Calibur Legends shares characters and a storyline from the Soul Calibur series - that's it.

Let me try it this way: if you like Streets of Rage or Final Fight (which I do), you'll probably like this game. If you liked Sword of the Berserk, you'll be extremely familiar with, and enjoy, this style of game. If you're a hardcore Soul Calibur fan yearning for a more in-depth back story than what the Soul Calibur series provides in character endings, you may or may not like this game. If you're looking purely for an in depth combat game for the Wii like... hmm, oh, the Soul Calibur series, you will not like this game. And as we see from previous reviews, this is generally the case.

As far as action games go, the story arc is fairly in-depth; though, compared to RPGs, the storyline is almost non existent. The game assumes you know these characters, so there's very, very little character development for playable characters. Sometimes irritatingly, we learn much too much about the NPCs.

Repetition is the hallmark of beat 'em ups. There's no getting around that, otherwise Final Fight would've been a five minute game. If you're not a fan of or cannot tolerate mindless repetition, steer clear. Where this game shines is the combat system, which is tailored beautifully for the Wii.

Instead of the repetitive button mashing, almost all fighting controls are done with the nunchuk and wii-mote. Quickly flicking the nunchuk will have you strafe and dash, and moving the wiimote will result in an attack.

Let me be clear: there isn't much else past this. The gamely relies solely on these mechanics for enjoyment. There's no alternate configuration, i.e. using the gamecube controller. Quite frankly, if that were the case, this game would be exceedingly dull.

Finally, you need a bit of patience as Siegfried is a bit of a slow character, so the true enjoyment of playing isn't with him but with faster characters unlocked later, such as Lloyd, Sophitia, and Taki.

The good: The combat is surprisingly satisfying, since there's a tactile element (duh) that other games of this genre lack. The storyline is interesting, in that it fills in some of the gaps in the Soul Calibur universe. If you remember the mission mode from the SC series, the missions are set up in the exact same fashion, and finishing a mission averages about 10 minutes - a good amount of time for 'get in, get out' casual playing.

The bad: Because there are a lot of enemies, you'll find yourself with the dreaded 'wii elbow'. I can't imagine playing this game for several hours straight, since fatigue does affect the gameplay. The missions are too repetitive (you'll find yourself in the same locations fairly frequently), and there are too many of them - this kind of genre almost requires the game span to be short, which this game is not.

The gist: the actual gameplay is where this game shines, but Namco dulled it by making too much of it. Thankfully, missions are short so you can play when you please, but don't expect to finish this game anytime soon. Four stars for gameplay, three stars overall for the game.

Lacking in Several Areas

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: December 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Soul Caliber is a great fighting games series with a very loyal fan base. With Soul Caliber Legends, they tried to convert the series into an RPG. RGP fans will probably find it lacking, but Soul Caliber fans will appreciate the new look at their world.

First, the gameplay. In single player / campaign mode you go through a series of minor battles up until you hit a boss, like many typical RPGs. You swing the Wii remote around like a sword in order to make your attacks. The direction of the swing does matter - for example left-to-right acts differently than right-to-left. You can get a good workout playing this for a while!

That being said, the gameplay gets rather repetitive very quickly. There isn't a lot of thought or finesse involved. Also, the game itself is exceedingly short. You can finish the entire game in one day. With a fighting game you have a lot of incentive to keep playing, either alone or with friends, but here once the game is over, you really don't feel impelled to go back to it.

Normally in games like these the basic game is simple because the multiplayer is then complex and rich. However, Soul Caliber Legends doesn't offer much in this area. There are a few co-op, a few head-to-head and that's about it.

The graphics are a real mixed bag. In some cases, they are really very lovely and detailed. Whoever designed the wood parquet floor should get a gold star. On the other hand, some of the items are hideous looking, as if they were transplanted from a Nintendo-64.

I could complain about the tiny bikini outfit that they put the female into, but that's an issue with Soul Caliber as a whole, not just with this game.

The sound is equally mixed. Sometimes it seems almost good quality - and then at other times the dialogue makes you want to cringe. If this was a fighting game it might not matter much - but in an RPG, the whole point is the role playing environment, and it raelly stands out.

We've played a lot of so-so games through, and this was one we just lost interest in after a while. It's not engaging. And we are Soul Caliber fans, so we were the target audience for this game. I'd suggest this as a game to rent first, and then buy if you find you enjoy it.

Rating: 2/5

Good game to rent

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have always been a fan of the Soul Games. When I was a kid I loved Soul Blade and have owned every game after that. So when I noticed Soulcalibur Legends at my local store, I snatched it up right away. As I played this game, I realized something. The Soul games are the best fighting games I have ever played, it just doesn't translate well to the adventure genre.

The control scheme for the Wii is pretty easy to use and the graphics are solid, the main gripe I have is the gameplay itself. This game is incredibly easy and the levels are extremely repetitive. The story moves along at a decent pace, it just really isn't that interesting. All that being said, play this game. I just wouldn't shell out 50 bucks for it. I haven't had any of my buddies over since I got the game so the multiplayer action might redeem SC: L, but it took me only a few hours of play to beat the Quest mode.

Legends is a good addition to the Soul mythos, I just can't recommend this game to anyone but a completionist.

How to corrupt a decent fighting game...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is not a figthing game. It is a sword bashing soul calibur wannabe... The story line is weak. The graphics for a system like Wii is acceptible. The camera throughout the game is one of the worst that I have ever experienced. Gameplay is ok, but you get tired after doing the same things all the way. Please read the reviews and do not buy this. Namco Bandai should have worked harder if it wants to create a good game out of a legendary fighting game...

Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I never thought I would give a game in the Soul Calibur series a bad rating, but here we are. Soul Calibur Legends is a disappointing game on a number of levels (no pun intended), and would be purchased only by absolutely die-hard Soul Calibur fans who must have the next game.

The past Soul Calibur games have been fighting games - innovative games with some of the best gameplay, character design, extras, and graphics anywhere in the video game world. For whatever reason, Namco decided that for the Wii they would ditch all of that and go ahead and create a Dynasty Warriors-type 3rd-person action game, and forsake all of the fighting game elements. Don't get me wrong - I love Dynasty Warriors, and own many of the DW games. This is like DW only in concept, not execution.

Soul Calibur Legends allows you to play as a number of the characters from previous games (and some new ones), but the thrill of doing so is gone. The characters don't really have any unique moves of their own (the attacks are the same for everyone) and the game play is just the same old thing level after level. There is absolutely no challenge to this game at all - attacking utilizes the Wii remote's ability to slash and stab, but this decreases the fun level of the game even more: the controller is none too sensitive, so that you really have to try very very very hard to stop doing the same attack over and over. On top of that, the little things that made the other SC games so much fun - like a spectacular opening sequence - are missing. The opening sequence of this game looks basically like it was made of animated sketches colored on Photoshop. It's a shame that Nintendo couldn't have insisted on a better game.

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