Man, October 19th can’t get here soon enough.
I didn’t get to play a lot of the Soul Calibur VI beta, but I got some hours in -- and that taste test has me hungry for more. Am I going to go pro with it? No chance. Am I going to stick with it forever and ever? I don’t know; I hope it becomes a part of my rotation, even with the tower of backlogged games looming over me. For what it’s worth, I’m more excited about this game than I have been about pretty much any other fighter released since…well, I guess Tekken 7, and it’s been a hot minute since I touched that.
No time for lamenting lost Phoenix Smashers, though. Here are some miscellaneous thoughts I have about Soul Calibur VI prior to release. Disclaimer right off the bat: I’m not an expert and haven’t touched the franchise in six years, so don’t expect a 100% accurate analysis. I’m doing this by the seat of my pants. As one should, ostensibly.
Okay? Okay. Here we go.
No, wait. I’ll do you one better.
--All right, let’s get serious for a minute. Even though the game’s not out yet, it’s a safe bet that SCVI will live or die based on the quality of its netcode. And sure, truly optimal fighting game play means local matches (from couches to tournament stages), but I thought we established by now that that’s not viable for every single person on the planet. Whatever the case? Any given fighting game is crippled when its netcode can’t handle the strain, and SCVI is no different.
--In fact, having good netcode might be even more important for this game, given its setup. Being able to Guard Impact (I.e. deflect blows and create openings in your foe’s offense where there normally aren’t holes) is crucial. Countless other factors are crucial as well. Not being able to punish mistakes, use the 8-way run to move out of the way, react to incoming strikes, or simply block will frustrate even the most dedicated fan. I say as much, because some of my beta matches put me through a dismal amount of lag. And to be clear: I’m usually not someone who’s bothered by, or even aware of, a little slowdown.
--Well, I say as much, but having played my share of fighting games over the years, I know lag. It’s a problem that’s been persistent with virtually everything I’ve played, Street Fighter V well among them (where successfully-landed supers can be given the BITES ZA DUSTO treatment). So it’s disheartening to fear that, once the official release comes out, there might be a level of lag that hamstrings the fun.
--With this being a beta, I’m optimistic that things will turn out okay -- and to be sure, it’s not like every match I played had me dueling underwater. Betas and stress tests and the like are there for a reason, and I’ve got reason to believe the guys at Bamco are well aware of issues by now. Then again, the bigger problem might be whether or not the install base/pool of continuous players on PSN is enough. According to my brother (resident fighting game zealot), the Tekken 7 base is a ghost town on PSN. So I guess they all jumped back into Street Fighter V? Can’t get enough of Ken, I suppose.
--My bro’s not taking any chances with PSN, netcode- or player base-wise. As far as I know, he’s planning to get the PC version. I would consider it if my PC wasn’t a spruced-up toaster, but we’ve compromised and he’ll let me play the game whenever I want -- which is fair, given how much he’s been hogging the PS4 lately. Plus, I’ll be able to (reportedly) unlock customization options as I go, for his use and mine. Again, a fair tradeoff.
--Speaking of customization? Okay, listen. I’m throwing down the gauntlet, here and now. I know that everybody’s itching to make their own skeleton warriors -- Bamco even did a poll to see who wanted what race, and skeletons came out on top -- but I refuse to join that team. I don’t have anything against skelemen or the people that enjoy them, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut…come on, man. Mummies, tho.
--I want to fiddle around with the character creator (and to a lesser extent, character customization) to my heart’s content. To be perfectly honest, it’s not as if I’m itching to make every OC I’ve got bumping around in my head -- least of all because of how non-viable it would be, since the majority of them are fist-fighters. Plus I went down that road once with earlier SC games, with…mixed results. So as long as I can make a mummy with Raphael’s moves, put him in a spiffy hat, and call him Mumford, I’ll be content.
--Well, there is one other thing I’d like to try. I’m assuming -- with some confirmation from videos -- that you can outfit characters in full costumes from the core cast. You can kit out Sophitia in Talim’s costume, if you want. And I’m guessing that the other options -- hair, face, etc. -- will let you do something similar for the customs. So basically what I’m wondering is this: can I make Sophitia from top to bottom, but use the other variables in the game to tweak her stats?
--If I remember previous games right, increasing the height increases the range at the cost of speed. Following that? If I maxed out Custom Sophitia’s height, would I be able to bridge the gap on one of her weaknesses and make a stronger character overall? Granted, it’s not as if her range is so pitiful that she’s helpless, but she’s sharing a game with guys like Nightmare, Siegfried, Kilik, and Ivy; being able to take the fight to them from a safer distance would suit my fancy. Plus I don’t mind dumping speed for range, so it’s another fair tradeoff.
--I’m interested in seeing what other customization options there are (perks? Loadouts?). It’s probably not competitively balanced, but I can deal with that. Not like I’m heading to the main stage of EVO anytime soon. If Octopath Traveler has taught me anything, it’s that I’ve got a thirst (and a knack) for pushing game systems and tool kits as far as they’ll go for the sake of an advantage. Can I boost her range? Can I boost her power? I want to test it out. Or, at the very least, push the needle forward on creating the big-bodied female grappler that’s so consistently denied to me in games.
--I know why, though. Anyone who’s unwilling to put a woman of irregular size in their fiction is proud to bear the mark of cowardice on their chests like a scarlet letter. Change my mind.
--This is as good a time as any to segue into talking about Sophitia, though. If/when I stick with the game, there’s an extremely good chance that she’ll be my main (with Raphael as my sub). I’ve always been a fan of her, and I don’t see a reason to drop her now. Especially since I’ll have to do a bit of soul-searching; Soph and Raph are my two, but right now they’re the main two I care about. I’ve parted ways with Mitsurugi in previous games, and I’m not too excited about playing Kilik even if (or precisely because) his range could give me a big advantage. I thought that SCVI would give me new characters to get hyped about, but alas.
--And no, Groh doesn’t count. I’ll explain why in a bit, but for now? Fuck that guy in particular.
--Given her treatment (or lack thereof) in the last game, I’m happy that Sophitia is back and one of the frontrunners in this latest title. With that said, I’m wary of the fact that it’s seeming like a reboot. I don’t have confidence in the story’s quality, but what I really care about is how it treats the characters -- and I’m worried that the runback Bamco has done is going to take away something crucial from the character. Sophitia’s devotion to her family and motherhood gave her an interesting angle for her arc, especially given that she became a Soul Edge patsy for her kin. What happens when you hit the reset button on that? I want to find out, but I’m wary about the answer.
--Anyway, onto gameplay. As erroneous as it may be, I want to say that Sophitia is the Ryu of this game. That’ll be doubly-true if Cassandra shows up and establishes herself as the Ken, but right now my big dumb nutso brain has slotted Mitsurugi into that role. In general, it does seem like Soph has the tools she needs to be a jack of all trades. Good speed, a mixture of high and low attacks, strikes out of sidesteps, and literal pokes. Since I remembered a decent chunk of her moves from older games, it didn’t take long for me to hit my stride -- and by extension, find a decent, simple combo into her super.
--Since she doesn’t have a big whompin’ sword like Nightmare, there are going to be foes with better reach than her. To compensate? She has the Angel Step, which gives her a little dash and moves she can execute out of it. It might end up being a critical part of her move set, though I didn’t tap its full potential in my beta run; now that I think about it, I vaguely remember having two stages of it in a previous iteration. I’ll have to take a closer look in the future.
--Speaking of move sets? I think that something anyone can appreciate about this game is that, presumably, there aren’t 100+ moves to go through like in Tekken. Granted you didn’t need to know 100+ moves there to succeed; as long as you had a handful that suited you (and optimal combo damage, and proper fundamentals), you were golden. Plus, that makes it possible for you and your opponent to fight properly; observing patterns and adapting to player habits is a strategy in its own right.
--So I’m willing to bet SCVI works on the same axis, even with a smaller move list. Pay attention to what your foe’s doing, and you have the tools you need to stop their offense cold. Then again, it’s not a guarantee. The pace of matches is surprisingly frenzied at times, and at this early stage when most people don’t know what they’re doing, it’s “practical” to mash out attacks as fast as possible. Basically, that becomes a “strategy” in itself.
--The big question mark surrounding this game and its fun factor (at least from where I’m standing right now) is how effective button-mashing will be. Can you win just by mindlessly swinging? You shouldn’t be able to, but the Silver League in SFV is still plagued with Kens who mash out DPs at every chance. It’ll be even worse with SCVI, because someone flailing is a threat to anyone who tries to get close. And, more pressingly, it might be actively impossible to stop/condition them if poor netcode hamstrings your defenses.
--The saving grace here might not be Guard Impacts, but something even more basic and less risky: just moving. Since it’s a 3D fighter, you don’t have to respect every last one of your opponent’s moves; step out of the way and you can launch your counter there. I can’t confirm this without research or testing, but I suspect that vertical attacks have speed, range, and generally (possibly?) more built-in combo strings -- with the tradeoff being attacks that can get crushed by a simple sidestep.
--Horizontal attacks crush sidesteps (and by proxy, verticals crush, or at least hamper, forward/back steps). In terms of properties, how do they stack up? I can’t confirm anything, partly because it’ll probably vary from character to character. Kilik’s still got a nasty 3-hit combo with his horizontals. So we’ll see how it goes with that. If I had to guess, though, I’d bet that horizontals will get you through the lower-ranked tiers, because they beat out sidesteps. They’re beaten in turn by jumping and crouching, but with the franchise being what it is, those maneuvers aren’t as instinctual as they are in other fighters.
--There is one other new mechanic, though: the Reversal Edge system. It’s kind of like a super Guard Impact, or even a Red Focus Attack from SFIV; you’ll deflect a hit and strike back, and if you hit, you’ll enter a minigame with your opponent. Time gets slowed down (a la Tekken 7), and you can do another input to try and gain the edge in a fight. At first I thought you could only do one type of move, but it might in fact be that you can do whatever you want in the slowed-down time. So the Reversal Edge is less of rock-paper-scissors (well, relatively speaking) and more “choose the one move from your kit that’ll save you from getting murdered.”
--Then again, you can block or 8-way run while in Reversal Edge mode, soooooooooooo…sometimes the best move to make is no move at all.
--Who’s going to be the most popular character online, I wonder? Time will tell. Still, I fought a handful of familiar faces, and I’d bet that the pool will feature them in some capacity. Mitsurugi, absolutely. Nightmare, he’s gotta be in there, too. As an aside? CRIPES. Those two do some RIDICULOUS damage if you let them -- and with single hits, too. And at times it seems like Nightmare has better range than Kilik, not to mention his unique power-up/armor/counter mechanic. Or whatever it is.
--This isn’t all that surprising, but Xianghua and Talim might be bad matchups for me as a player. I’ve consistently proven that I can’t handle speed-types in…well, any game (Tracer gives me the blues in Overwatch), so the one Talim I fought against danced all over me. So did the Xianghua player, though he/she also had the advantage of playing WAY more of the beta up to that point, at least if the points he accumulated are any indication.
--I got a match against a Voldo, and that was an experience. I spent most of it wondering “How do you fight this guy?” and going “Wait, he can do that?” Also, I know his looks are…decisive…but in the wake of the JoJo anime gaining a legion of followers (myself among them), it kind of takes the impact away from his appearance when all I can picture is a Pillar Man.
--Oh yeah, Groh’s in this game. Fuck Groh.
--In terms of combat, I don’t think he’s overpowered or anything. But as I said to my brother, just looking at him makes me irrationally angry, and I know exactly why: he’s the Lars Alexandersson of this universe. What is, he’s so ill-fitting in terms of the style and aesthetic -- an instantly-dated “sign of the times” that goes full anime and never looks back. You never go full anime. He’s some kind of stoic mercenary guy with an eyepatch and needlessly flashy moves, as opposed to the rest of the cast that at least tries to fit the era/realism.
--Plus he has the power to go Super Anime God Super Anime, complete with glowing hair, even flashier moves, and teleports all over the place. It’s so needlessly garish, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. What is it about this company and having the sixth main entry in its fighting game franchise feature an anime caricature, and then try to push him as the bee’s knees? I mean yeah, I want new characters in the game, but not like this. Not like this.
--I swear to God, if the story mode follows Groh and tries to sell him as the best guy ever like T6 did with Lars, I’m going to dunk my brother’s PC in the trash. It’d be an acceptable loss.
And that’s all I’ve got for now. Hope to see you guys again soon once the full game releases. With any luck? I’ll be able to report back here with good news. If nothing else, I’ll at least be able to make the super fighting mummy of my dreams.
See you next time. And keep fighting the good fight against the skelemen fanatics.
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