is a 2007
action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Definition
An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...
developed by
Project Soul
is a fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are a total of seven main installments and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books in the S ...
and published by
Namco Bandai Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...
for the
Wii. It is a
spin-off of the
''Soulcalibur'' fighting game
The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
series.
The game features seven
playable characters, most prominently
Siegfried and
Ivy; it is set in-between the first two installments in the series, ''
Soul Edge'' (1996) and ''
Soulcalibur
is a fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are a total of seven main installments and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books in the ...
'' (1998), and follows Siegried's journey as he seeks the true power of the legendary sword Soul Edge.
Gameplay
The game features competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes in addition to the single player story mode.
Synopsis
Plot
The story of ''Soulcalibur Legends'' takes place between ''
Soul Edge'' and ''
Soulcalibur
is a fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are a total of seven main installments and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books in the ...
'', and is based around
Siegfried Schtauffen's transformation into Nightmare. The game begins as Siegfried finds Soul Edge on a ship. He battles Cervantes on the deck of the ship. Later, Siegfried is tasked by the
Masked Emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
to find the remaining pieces of Soul Edge in order to use it to win the war against
Barbaros of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.
Characters
The game features seven playable characters:
Siegfried, Ivy,
Sophitia, Mitsurugi,
Astaroth
Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Astetoth), in demonology, is considered to be the Great Duke of Hell. He is described as a male figure, most likely named after the unrelated Near Eastern goddess Astarte.
Background
The name ''Ast ...
α (a prototype for the character in other games),
Taki and
Lloyd Irving, who is a guest character from ''
Tales of Symphonia''.
Series staples Nightmare and Cervantes make an appearance in the game as non-playable bosses. Assassins,
Berserkers and
Lizardmen from ''
Soulcalibur II'' also appear in the game as generic enemies.
*Sultan Barbaros (voiced by
Kenji Nomura)
- Barbaros originally appears to be the main villain in ''Soulcalibur Legends''. He was once the leader of a band of thieves when his band discovered Soulcalibur in the home of a general. Barbara, part of the same gang stated that Barbaros changed personality-wise when he claimed Soulcalibur. The spirit sword bestowed Barbaros with immense power, causing him to grow into a giant and allowed him to conquer the Ottoman Empire where he crowned himself
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
. He fought against the Holy Roman Empire, leading an army of Evils (monsters) to lay siege to the city of
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. The Masked Emperor enlisted the help of Siegfried to regain the shards of Soul Edge and combat Barbaros since Soul Edge was the only weapon that could stand up to Barbaros and Soulcalibur. After recovering all the shards Siegfried battled Barbaros and defeated him, causing Soulcalibur to emerge from his forehead.
*Fafnir - After the Evil Seed event,
Fafnir the dragon is a
Guardian who appears as a boss character in the game. Fafnir was the first dragon and that all the myths about dragons all over the world were inspired by him. He was slain by the hero Sigmund (whom Siegfried is named after) who slew the dragon using his sword Requiem. According to the legend, Sigmund asked his friend to reforge his broken sword, Gram, who gave his life for the sword. In his grief, Sigmund renamed the sword Requiem in honor of his friend and after defeating Fafnir he placed Requiem in an altar in the ancient Cathedral where Fafnir roosted. In the 16th century Fafnir is one of the Guardians that holds a shard of Soul Edge. The heroes need to enlist the aid of a scientist named Leonardo who claimed to have invented a weapon that could kill a dragon, which were needed because Fafnir could not be fought while in the air by conventional means. With these weapons Siegfried and Ivy are able to slay Fafnir and recover the shard. Later on Fafnir and the other guardians are revived by Soulcalibur but are slain once again by Siegfried.
*Ilona Farkas (voiced by
Atsuko Tanaka)
- Iska Farkas' sister who got taken by Barbaros. Iska is always mumbling about Ilona and how he regrets not saving her. When Barbaros attacked Hungary, Iska fled but forgot Ilona. The Masked Emperor was made to look like her, revealed at the end of ''Soulcalibur Legends''. Before his death, Iska starts to say something to her, but it is cut off. Their graves are shown at the credits, showing that Ilona did die or at least had a headstone dedicated to her.
*Iska Farkas (voiced by
Romi Park)
- He is one of the key characters in the game. Despite being initially presented as an ally, he is eventually revealed to be the main antagonist, having manipulated the characters into retrieving Soul Edge and Soul Calibur for his use. He is a refugee and
Hungarian prince who serves as a court jester for a Masked Emperor. Iska has
heterochromia with one blue eye and one red eye. His belts also correspond to this trait. He was born in
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
who lived with his sister Ilona until the usurper sultan, Barbaros, attacked the city and destroyed it, though his sister allowed him to escape with his life by sacrificing herself. Iska then went around the world looking for shelter, but all those that took him in eventually betrayed and used him, and then he studied under the famous alchemist
Paracelsus
Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.
H ...
who taught him much at
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, until Iska disappeared, stealing Paracelsus's notes on the creation of
false humans and was said to have made at least one successful artificial human. He thought up a crazed scheme to take over the world using the swords Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, to gain power for his lost sister. He used Paracelsus's notes to create a homunculus, made to look in the form of his sister. She managed to become the Masked Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He faked a story of being brought in by the "Masked Emperor" and becomes her court jester. His scheme comes into effect, as his homunculus has Siegfried and several other companions reluctantly agree to help the Holy Roman Empire against Barbaros of the Ottoman Empire (who wields Soul Calibur) by strengthening Soul Edge, which Siegfried wields. Iska is very persuasive in keeping his comrades to uphold their agreements and constantly reminisces about missing his sister and his home, lamenting his weakness, and wishes that he had strength and power which he did not have then to survive the pains of his life. After Soul Edge regains power and Siegfried kills Barbaros, claiming Soul Calibur, the "Masked Emperor" claims Soul Edge and tries to attack Siegfried and claim Soul Edge for Iska. However, a new version of the Evil Seed comes from Soul Calibur as the two swords clash, knocking Siegfried far away. Siegfried ends up sealing Soul Edge's power after realizing that he killed his own father at the peak of the Himalayas, however keeps it. He also gets Requiem here. The group storms Vienna to defeat the Emperor, and after Siegfried does, he plants Soul Edge into the ground alongside Soul Calibur. Iska then claims them (restoring Soul Edge's power using Soul Calibur), revealing his scheme to Siegfried. He then attempts to kill Siegfried, but Siegfried instead wins and Iska dies. During the credits there are two graves that say Iska Farkas and Ilona Farkas. Siegfried keeps Soul Edge, eventually succumbing to the Evil Seed and becoming Nightmare.
*Ammon - He is a Guardian and boss character in the game. Once a powerful pharaoh, Tutoankuamen (shortened to Ammon) of the
Old Kingdom of Egypt
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty ...
ruled with queen Ankhesenamen in his temple named the Temple of Ammon. One day, the queen fell ill from a disease from which Ammon's most experienced doctors and healers could not treat and she died soon after. He became so distraught after she died that he sought the Soul Edge hearing of its properties to try and revive her. Once acquiring it, he studied it to see if he could use its power to but no avail. After a long period of having devoted himself to researching it, he began to grow weaker with each day due to its influence until he himself died. Sometime afterwards, a shard of sword that been had already been in the hands of the Cervantes and then destroyed by the Sophitia made its way into the depths of his temple where he was entombed due to their prior association. Over time his guards stationed inside would slowly become
corrupted with Ammon himself being revived and twisted by its power to act as Guardians.
*Geki (voiced by
Naomi Kusumi) is a boss character. He is the counterpart of Maki, and during Geki's second and third battles, he fights alongside her. After coming in contact with a shard of Soul Edge, he and Maki became Malfested Guardians. He's appeared in ''
Soulcalibur VI
is a 2018 fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Dimps, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. As the seventh main installment and a reboot (fiction), reboot of the ''Soulcalibur'' series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 ...
'' though under a different role.
*Maki (voiced by Yukie Maeda) is a boss character. She is the counterpart of Geki, and she fights alongside him during his second and third battles. After coming in contact with a shard of Soul Edge, she and Geki became Malfested Guardians. She's also appeared in ''Soulcalibur VI'' though under a different role.
Marketing and release
''Soulcalibur Legends'' was released on November 20, 2007 in North America, and was released in Japan on December 13, 2007.
On January 11, 2008, it was announced that
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
had signed an agreement with Namco Bandai Games to distribute the game and ''
Soulcalibur IV'' in PAL-region territories, including Europe and Australia.
The game eventually saw a release in these territories on August 28, 2008.
A
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
adaptation was published during the first year of the Japanese publication ''
Kerokero Ace''. The adaptation featured Siegfried, Iska and Ivy joining together on the main quest of the game. The adaptation's style was mostly comedic, including frequent
4-komas with running gags (such as Siegfried's annoyance that Ivy towered over him).
Reception
Reviews for ''Soulcalibur Legends'' have been mixed.
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
lists the aggregate score for ''Soulcalibur Legends'' at 52/100. It scored far lower than the main series games and is the lowest selling of the series.
References
External links
Official website
{{Soul series
2007 video games
2008 video games
Action-adventure games
Bandai Namco games
Cooperative video games
Hack and slash games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Soulcalibur video games
Video game spinoffs
Video games developed in Japan
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games scored by Masaharu Iwata
Wii games
Wii-only games