Soul Blade

Soul Blade is a fantastic 3D fighter. Especially when it comes to phenomenal game play and originality. The controls remain primarily 2D in nature. Each character has a great number of special moves and grapple holds. And with time you'll find a deep fighting system that allows for numerous ground and air combos. In addition they each have their own unique weapon. Rock carries an Axe for example. He's a slow, lumbering character, but can inflict immense damage. Whereas Taki uses dual blades that are limited in range, but allow her to move around fast. 

Once you have your fun with Arcade Mode, you'll discover the fantastic Story Mode. Which takes your selected character through a number of unique challenges. Some of these challenges include surviving poison, walking in quicksand, timely limits, and other battle handicaps. A good portion of them are really tough and will take some mastering. The further you progress, the more weapons you open up for your character. Each weapon has its own look and stats that affect your overall performance. These new weapons can also be used in Arcade Mode.

Graphically, Soul Blade won't knock you over like other fighters. But the look is solid enough, especially for a Playstation game. Featuring lots of excellent light sourcing and texture heavy characters. Plus, the game has a great looking CG opening. Surprisingly, the endings used in-game graphics. Too bad the sequel, Soul Calibur, didn't follow this route with its endings.    

    
(pics by the pros at videogames.com)

 Overall 9.2

Review written by ShinjiZ for GameyPlace.com on May 15, 2001...