I actually prefer Soul Blade to any of the Calibur games. It's a bit slower and not as fluent but the fighting is a lot more strategic, rewarding patience and skill.
Hahaha! I completely agree. Something about this game just gets me hooked and I'm not sure whether it's because how well it presents story or because that combat is just so damn satisfying in ways fighting games wish they could be.
Man this is one of the best games on PS1. I got this in twinbox of Soulblade & Tekken 2. I had so many fun fights. I also love the music in this game very much. I use to do this that I put the game on & play the music while I draw, read or practice martial arts. Good times.
This game was superfast loading considering it had to render a high polygon count and super effects. I'm still amaze at this game...very fun to play and the reply value is very high. 9 out of 10!
Unlike it's famous Namco fighting series brethern,Tekken this game has fewer selectable fighters than the aforementioned series...however Namco added lots of costumes(05 for each character),soundtrack variations and multiple selectable weapons and endings(the latter depending on quick time button presses).)
Soul Blade had an excellent story mode where you could go around and collect specialized weapons for each character by completing missions, some of which were fairly challenging. The weapons gave different stats and could be used in the regular single- and multi-player challenge modes.
Oh man played this around 20 years ago. The soundtrack, the stages and the game play were amazing. The fact that you could go around the world collecting weapons and using them in all other modes was amazing. I still remember Taki's ultimate move, It was called Hayley's comet she would pause for a second charge up her blade and scream as she unleashed the attack
1997 was arguably the best year for PS1. Bought this the day it came out in the UK in May 1997 and spent all summer playing it and Rage Racer (which came out a couple of weeks later). We also had G Police, Castlevania: SOTN, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, and the mighty Final Fantasy 7 😅
How? HOW?!? How can he review the game and not lose a single word about the fantastic soundtrack? Great game overall and part of my childhood but the soundtrack is not just great, it's far beyond great! Absolute masterpiece! Thanks for the review :-D
Man I remember coming home from school,grabbing a snack,then running to my room to play some soul blade,played it forever,it was definitely my all time most favorite game for the PS1
I LOVE the deadpan NAMCO voice. Its one of my favorite aspects of both this game and Soul Calibur. "You are a true hero, and your legend will never die."
I can remember exactly. I played it in my youth. It has brought me a lot of joy. The following parts were also very successful. My favorite character was Mitsurugi. I am looking forward to the next new version "Lost Sword". Will probably play it on the PC because of the graphics
I remember seeing this in the arcades on release and couldn't believe how incredible it was. Playing it was even better. Then when It came to the PS1 I was just in Heaven! Awesome. And yes the intro sequence was brilliant. Nice review =)
Ahh the nostalgia!! This was the best fighting game of the mid 90s for me, dare I say it even better than Tekken 2 (only slightly though) hats off to Namco, I was so lucky to be a child during this era.
I still love this game today - it looks mint on a half decent CRT in RGB, and that soundtrack.. I always talk about it, the best music out of all the series I reckon.
A great game from back in the day, i always preferred the Soul Blade/Caliber series to Tekken. The graphics look a lot better than i thought they would for a mid 90's PS1 game and the gameplay looks smooth and fast.
I was just thinking about this game this morning when I was walking into work. Saw this Mitsubishi and then thought about Mitsurugi and then Soul Blade. Definitely had not drunk my coffee yet.
My friends and I played this game for hours every weekend for months. We bought a dreamcast on launch day just to play the sequel, which was even better.
Still need to hunt down a copy of this as I have every game besides this and the original. No clue why Namco didn't put the HD version of the first one up on PSN or Nintendo Network like they did XBL :(
sistaledaren It's hard to find black label near mint copies for me. Only way I buy old games to ensure they work for a long time since they are so old now. Anyway, right now I can't go pursue buying a lot of luxuries so it's not a priority at the moment.
xOmniCloudx Why not buy a cheap beat up copy for now so you at least have it & can play it until you find a mint one? :) Hope you can buy games again soon anyway! :)
sistaledaren It's a waste of money to buy a copy I'm going to get rid of as a placeholder, especially since I can easily emulate the game for free on my PC or PSP until I get a mint copy hehe. Thanks for wishing me well :)
xOmniCloudx Yea I'm very anal about ps1 games. I picked up a greatest hits version of this and I was just like "Uhhh why can't this green be black." The black labels have waaaay more value and I get bummed out at retro game stores being only able to find green label versions of the game.
Soul Blade/Edge and Soul Calibur were the best in the series. 2 and 3 were perfectly fine, minor additions to gameplay, perfectly competent entries in the series. 4 was not as good, but still acceptable. 5 was utter shit. I wouldn't mind seeing a reboot that goes back to a more Soul Blade/Edge style of gameplay with, a few updates, of course.
Most people don't consider this game cannon.soul calibur didn't get its start on the PS, it stared life as an arcade game, then there was a PORT for the PS, which evolved in to soul calibur for the dreamcast.
i still have my original disk. thank God it hasn't broken. When i was a youth, i would sometimes put the disk in and turn the game on just to revel in opening sequence, even if i only had a few minutes to spare. omg, the intro music! *sigh* :} i would have dreams about this game -actual dreams- like a new undiscovered mode, bc i wanted so much more of this game. (Sophitia running through the greek ruins to find gems et al and match those in the way.)
Soul Blade also was a pioneer in thoughtful and creative secret ending for characters. Sadly when the Calibur name starts, the endings were all a lot more lackluster.
Actually Mark, I'd say that in 1996, the Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Killer Instinct series' had taken over from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat for the most part...
wow, this had amazing graphics. I first saw, and said: wait, didn't it have background graphics only in the arcade? Then I remembered that that was Dead or Alive. The programmers did awesome job with this one.
One of the best game on Playstation (top 5 for sure) and a true milestone in the fighting genre. I played it (in japanese flavour) for endless hours (maybe 3/400 hours minimum)! Also won local tournaments! A 10 out of 10 game with innovative yet polished gameplay, top notch visuals, one of the greatest intro ever made, stunning selectable soundtrack (this game has 3 different f*cking soundtracks!! Go to listen the Super Kahn Session NOW!), well designed characters and interactive end sequences!
Still have this precious piece of junk lying around somewhere. Hope I can find it- I can't wait to get my hands on this baby again. I remember this being one of the first games that I ever played, and this video's got me feeling all nostalgic. So excited to play it again.
Playing the arcade version (ver. 2) made me almost never block (in all fighting games)or kick (in SC).Why?Cause the arcade had malfunctioned block and kick buttons.
Arcades were dominated by 3D fighters in 1995. As soon as Virtua Fighter came out in 1993, every developer scrambled to make a competitor. Tekken probably wouldn't have been made if it weren't for Sega with VF. Street Fighter Alpha and the Capcom Marvel fighters of 1994-2000 kept the 2D fighter popular in arcades though.
Yeah everything about this game was great. It's still one of my favorite fighters of all time. I liked it better than Soul Calibur II even. I never really played Soul Calibur all that much.
you could have mentioned something this game that the other Soul games don't have, the weapon meter that goes down and eventually you could lose your weapon .... nice feature that never came back
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I actually prefer Soul Blade to any of the Calibur games. It's a bit slower and not as fluent but the fighting is a lot more strategic, rewarding patience and skill.
I might be able to agree with you on that were it not for Ivy! I still might.
Hahaha! I completely agree. Something about this game just gets me hooked and I'm not sure whether it's because how well it presents story or because that combat is just so damn satisfying in ways fighting games wish they could be.
Man... this was the 1st game I played on the PS1. That intro forever blew my mind. It's still awesome.
this game was my life as a kid
mine's too man! still playin it :D
Man this is one of the best games on PS1.
I got this in twinbox of Soulblade & Tekken 2.
I had so many fun fights.
I also love the music in this game very much.
I use to do this that I put the game on & play the music while I draw, read or practice martial arts.
Good times.
One of the best 3D fighters on PS1. And that is saying a lot considering it competes with greats like Tekken 3 and Bushido Blade!
So many countless hours playing this game! Still have my copy. Awesome!👍🏿
Great vid.. just ordered soulblade tonight from the bay for me and my son to play. Happy days!! 👌
Just ordered a copy too and started playing it yesterday. Great fun and a change of pace from the other soul calibur games
@@coelophysisbauri4070 defo 👍
This game was superfast loading considering it had to render a high polygon count and super effects. I'm still amaze at this game...very fun to play and the reply value is very high. 9 out of 10!
Unlike it's famous Namco fighting series brethern,Tekken this game has fewer selectable fighters than the aforementioned series...however Namco added lots of costumes(05 for each character),soundtrack variations and multiple selectable weapons and endings(the latter depending on quick time button presses).)
Soul Blade had an excellent story mode where you could go around and collect specialized weapons for each character by completing missions, some of which were fairly challenging. The weapons gave different stats and could be used in the regular single- and multi-player challenge modes.
Now this brings back many memories. :) One of my all times faves for the PS1, and I still have it today.
Oh man played this around 20 years ago.
The soundtrack, the stages and the game play were amazing.
The fact that you could go around the world collecting weapons and using them in all other modes was amazing.
I still remember Taki's ultimate move, It was called Hayley's comet she would pause for a second charge up her blade and scream as she unleashed the attack
Mark,
Your CGR reviews have been better than ever. Keep it up! Also, we all think its about time you did a review of POWERSTONE.
This was one of my favorite games on the first PlayStation.
And the intro is just epic, stayed with me forever.
To anyone that hasn't seen it, check out voldo's bad ending from this game, he rubs the sword on his face until it breaks.
1997 was arguably the best year for PS1. Bought this the day it came out in the UK in May 1997 and spent all summer playing it and Rage Racer (which came out a couple of weeks later). We also had G Police, Castlevania: SOTN, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, and the mighty Final Fantasy 7 😅
How? HOW?!?
How can he review the game and not lose a single word about the fantastic soundtrack?
Great game overall and part of my childhood but the soundtrack is not just great, it's far beyond great! Absolute masterpiece!
Thanks for the review :-D
Man I remember coming home from school,grabbing a snack,then running to my room to play some soul blade,played it forever,it was definitely my all time most favorite game for the PS1
I LOVE the deadpan NAMCO voice. Its one of my favorite aspects of both this game and Soul Calibur.
"You are a true hero, and your legend will never die."
I can remember exactly.
I played it in my youth.
It has brought me a lot of joy.
The following parts were also very successful. My favorite character was Mitsurugi.
I am looking forward to the next new version "Lost Sword".
Will probably play it on the PC because of the graphics
I remember seeing this in the arcades on release and couldn't believe how incredible it was. Playing it was even better. Then when It came to the PS1 I was just in Heaven! Awesome. And yes the intro sequence was brilliant. Nice review =)
Edge Master Mode was an absolute superb stroke to enlighten a fighting game.
Seung Mina and Lin Long were my favorite characters =) good times playing this game when I was a kid at the arcade
Mark you should preview the game discs before the gameplay, it would add a nice touch just getting to see how they look.
Ahh the nostalgia!! This was the best fighting game of the mid 90s for me, dare I say it even better than Tekken 2 (only slightly though) hats off to Namco, I was so lucky to be a child during this era.
Best fighting game ever made
I just watched the SCIV reviews a few days ago. Good timing :) I wonder if Mark is going to do the rest of the soul series.
ahh good ol' times! when my bro had the ps1, I and him play this game like crazy! I still miss Soul Calibur 3 :'(
Taki forever!!!
I still love this game today - it looks mint on a half decent CRT in RGB, and that soundtrack.. I always talk about it, the best music out of all the series I reckon.
It was my first game from Soul series and I instantly fell in love with it when played it first time.
Ahh nostalgia, love this game, the intro for this game was so cool.
Awesome, I still have this CD too.
I couldn't agree more Talim is such an awesome character in the series
The announcer certainly got better over time, peaking at SC II. And the CG intro was VERY good for 1996.
The Deadliest Warrior games are very similar to Bushido Blade. Kind of a spiritual successor type thing. They're actually pretty good.
I think it depended on what weapons you used and what difficulty setting you had it on. In practice mode, you could even turn weapons off manually.
Surprised this is your first time reviewing this game honestly. But glad that you did.
A great game from back in the day, i always preferred the Soul Blade/Caliber series to Tekken.
The graphics look a lot better than i thought they would for a mid 90's PS1 game and the gameplay looks smooth and fast.
Ahh, December 1997 at Toys 'R Us.
I was just thinking about this game this morning when I was walking into work. Saw this Mitsubishi and then thought about Mitsurugi and then Soul Blade. Definitely had not drunk my coffee yet.
Maxi didn't replace Hwang since they were both in Soul Calibur 1 He replaced Li Long. Yun Seong is actually Hwang's replacement.
"Does a Soul have a Blade, an Edge, or a Calibur..." What a great intro to this review. You truly continue to impress me Mark ^_^
Loved this game back in the day. It's defo in my top ten fighting games.
My friends and I played this game for hours every weekend for months. We bought a dreamcast on launch day just to play the sequel, which was even better.
Taki has always been my fav in the series. Thats why I was sad when I played Soul Calibur 5.
Still need to hunt down a copy of this as I have every game besides this and the original. No clue why Namco didn't put the HD version of the first one up on PSN or Nintendo Network like they did XBL :(
+xOmniCloudx Found a copy yet? It's not a very rare game. Even in my country it is very easy to find!
sistaledaren It's hard to find black label near mint copies for me. Only way I buy old games to ensure they work for a long time since they are so old now. Anyway, right now I can't go pursue buying a lot of luxuries so it's not a priority at the moment.
xOmniCloudx Why not buy a cheap beat up copy for now so you at least have it & can play it until you find a mint one? :) Hope you can buy games again soon anyway! :)
sistaledaren It's a waste of money to buy a copy I'm going to get rid of as a placeholder, especially since I can easily emulate the game for free on my PC or PSP until I get a mint copy hehe. Thanks for wishing me well :)
xOmniCloudx Yea I'm very anal about ps1 games. I picked up a greatest hits version of this and I was just like "Uhhh why can't this green be black." The black labels have waaaay more value and I get bummed out at retro game stores being only able to find green label versions of the game.
Soul Blade/Edge and Soul Calibur were the best in the series. 2 and 3 were perfectly fine, minor additions to gameplay, perfectly competent entries in the series. 4 was not as good, but still acceptable. 5 was utter shit. I wouldn't mind seeing a reboot that goes back to a more Soul Blade/Edge style of gameplay with, a few updates, of course.
I played this game in 1995...Thanks for sharing man. I appreciate the video! Awesome!
Why is it triangle to select things? Every other game ever made uses the x button to select things!
Most people don't consider this game cannon.soul calibur didn't get its start on the PS, it stared life as an arcade game, then there was a PORT for the PS, which evolved in to soul calibur for the dreamcast.
No its considered canon, Siegfried!'s ending is the canon path to Soul Calibur
i still have my original disk. thank God it hasn't broken. When i was a youth, i would sometimes put the disk in and turn the game on just to revel in opening sequence, even if i only had a few minutes to spare. omg, the intro music! *sigh* :}
i would have dreams about this game -actual dreams- like a new undiscovered mode, bc i wanted so much more of this game. (Sophitia running through the greek ruins to find gems et al and match those in the way.)
Soul Blade also was a pioneer in thoughtful and creative secret ending for characters. Sadly when the Calibur name starts, the endings were all a lot more lackluster.
WOW! This game looks beautiful even by today's standards, I can only think how mind blowing Soul Blade be if I played it 16 years ago.
i grew up with this game and i loved it
Wow, for 1996 this game looks awesome!! I may have to pick it up somewhere...
i love this game so much. cervantes' transformation gave me nightmares though- i was 6 at the time
Namco blessed Sony with straight up 🔥 in the 90’s.
I found this at Goodwill about 3 months ago,I'm gonna try it out today
Actually Mark, I'd say that in 1996, the Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Killer Instinct series' had taken over from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat for the most part...
Hey Mark, review ALL THREE console versions of Soul Calibur II so you can decide which guest star you like better.
i loved this game back in 96
One of the best PlayStation games... with one of the best intros EVER!
i never had this game on ps1 but i did play it and i felt that it was incredible and underrated
Also the animations and graphics stand the test of time even today, it still looks very good for an early PS1 game.
wow, this had amazing graphics. I first saw, and said: wait, didn't it have background graphics only in the arcade? Then I remembered that that was Dead or Alive. The programmers did awesome job with this one.
Best ps1 intro ever. I used to watch it every time i played.
Sophia's death cry is priceless 'wha.a.a.a.' she sounds like a ship almost.
One of the best game on Playstation (top 5 for sure) and a true milestone in the fighting genre. I played it (in japanese flavour) for endless hours (maybe 3/400 hours minimum)! Also won local tournaments!
A 10 out of 10 game with innovative yet polished gameplay, top notch visuals, one of the greatest intro ever made, stunning selectable soundtrack (this game has 3 different f*cking soundtracks!! Go to listen the Super Kahn Session NOW!), well designed characters and interactive end sequences!
Still have this precious piece of junk lying around somewhere. Hope I can find it- I can't wait to get my hands on this baby again. I remember this being one of the first games that I ever played, and this video's got me feeling all nostalgic. So excited to play it again.
I love the intro to this game.
Battle Arena Toshinden please do a review of that ps1 game it was awsome!!..
The ring-outs remind me of Virtua Fighter.
A real overlooked gem. Nice one!
The intro is BADASS
Playing the arcade version (ver. 2) made me almost never block (in all fighting games)or kick (in SC).Why?Cause the arcade had malfunctioned block and kick buttons.
when i was into fighting games back in the day this was one of my favs :)
Soul Blade kicks ass. I love the intro .
Soul Blade/Soul Caliber Is My Second Favorite Fighting Game On The PlayStation Next To Tekken
Wow.....i've never seen the first one. It looks just as good as the Dreamcast version. Wow!!!
Best freakin' intro ever. Man, I had a blast playing that thing. ^_^
One of the first games i got for my PlayStation. Such an amazing game.
Never played this one but it looks really good. Mark btw you should DEFINITELY review Ninja shadow of Darkness for PS!
Used to spend my afternoons on the arcades playing this, along with Tekken 3 and Alpha 3. Good fucking times.
Wasn't this, like Dead or Alive, running on a higher resolution than other PSX games ? I also notice less wobbly textures.
To this day, ever since playing this game, I refer to all Mitsubishi vehicles as Mitsurugis. Awesome game.
Arcades were dominated by 3D fighters in 1995. As soon as Virtua Fighter came out in 1993, every developer scrambled to make a competitor. Tekken probably wouldn't have been made if it weren't for Sega with VF. Street Fighter Alpha and the Capcom Marvel fighters of 1994-2000 kept the 2D fighter popular in arcades though.
Yeah everything about this game was great. It's still one of my favorite fighters of all time. I liked it better than Soul Calibur II even. I never really played Soul Calibur all that much.
You didn't mention that characters have alternate endings that you can play through after beating the final boss!!
This game was ahead at that time. A true masterpiece
I never played fighting games for the Playstation.
Now I know where to start!
Soul Blade review! It about time!!
I've lost a small fortune at the arcade during 90's - good old times.
That opening movie always got me jazzed to play the game.
The best intro ever made, a very nice game. I thingh this game is much better than Tekken 3 por PSX
Transcending history and the worlds, a tale of soul and swords... eternally retold.
Ohh, good arcade memories. I miss those days.
Ony of my first Fightingames. Loved it so much!.
you could have mentioned something this game that the other Soul games don't have, the weapon meter that goes down and eventually you could lose your weapon .... nice feature that never came back
I loved this game. Music. Combat. Awesome.