Soul Blade for PSone Review

The Gameplay

Soul Blade is a weapons-based fighter combining in-depth storylines and interweaving pasts to create the most innovative fighting game for the PS1. The evil Soul Edge is the bane of all the character’s existence. It’s all they live for: some to destroy the sword, and some to wield it. The warriors range from ninjas to swordsmen to odd guys dressed to frighten you. Pick one of the characters and battle through different stages to fight the Boss.

Use combos and dodges, blocks and parries and even the elusive Guard Impact to defeat your enemies. Don’t forget the annoying ring out and fun-to-use throws. Man, are those ring outs annoying or what?

The Graphics

Just like Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast had beautiful and lush graphics, Soul Blade for the PS1 had lavish backgrounds, nice polygon characters (remember, this is way, way back when 3D fighters were first populating consoles), and cool little cut scenes. The best moment you will witness in terms of graphics in Soul Blade is the opening movie. This nice cinematic movie set the standard when it came to intro sequences and story cut scenes. Running smoothly, the intro movie rivaled anything Final Fantasy 7 could produce.

The Control

Movement in Soul Blade is fast and swift. If you can stay on top of where your character is and can respond efficiently, then you can keep your opponent guessing and set yourself up with a nice combo.

Where the control falters slightly is weapon response. There is a little delay after pressing the corresponding attack button. You have to plan your move one attack ahead so you can hit the button in time for the combo to keep going. I didn’t know this was a thinking man’s game!

Thompson’s Two Cents

Soul Blade has basic modes and mediocre controls. But with the cool characters, tight graphics and addicting gameplay, Soul Blade will please any fighting fan. One main disappointment, and this only counts for the subsequent Soul Calibur games, is that Li Long from Soul Blade does not make it into the sequels. I won’t tell you why, so you’ll have to play the very first one to find out. Just don’t forget there’s 3 sequels to go along with Soul Blade.