Soulcalibur II

Did You Know?

• The game had a marketing budget of $9.4 million.
• A high-definition port titled Soulcalibur II HD Online was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.
• The GameCube version was re-released as a launch game on the Nintendo Classics service on the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.

Gameplay

Soulcalibur II refines the system with easier step and avoid mechanics, arena walls that replace ring-out on all sides, and wall-specific moves. A three-step Soul Charge system, a clash system producing a white flash when two attacks hit simultaneously, and Guard Break attacks that put a blocking player into a post-guard-impact state are introduced. Just frame moves reward precise timing with additional hits. Modes include Arcade, Versus Battle, Team Battle (up to 3 characters, no cutscenes or endings), Versus Team Battle (up to 8 characters), Time Attack, Survival, and Practice, plus Extra versions allowing use of Extra Weapons and unlockable stages. The 7th Arcade battle is a fixed Destined Battle shared by pairs of characters, except for home console-exclusive characters.

Characters

Four new playable characters appear: Cassandra (style derived from Sophitia), Raphael, Talim, and Yunsung (style derived from Hwang). Charade is an unlockable character that switches styles each round, like Edge Master and Inferno. Console versions include Necrid, created by Todd McFarlane, and three platform-exclusive guests: Heihachi Mishima from Tekken on PlayStation 2, Link from The Legend of Zelda on GameCube, and Spawn from McFarlane's comic on Xbox. Cloud Strife was originally intended for the PS2 version but the licensing deal fell through. The HD version includes Heihachi and Spawn. Returning playable characters are Astaroth, Cervantes (unlockable), Ivy, Kilik, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Taki, Voldo, Xianghua, Yoshimitsu (unlockable), and console-exclusive Seung Mina and Sophitia (both unlockable). Inferno is the main boss but not playable. Nightmare's third costume is Siegfried, though still called Nightmare. Assassin and Berserker play like Hwang and Rock, who do not return. A generic Lizardman has the same moves as the original Lizardman. These three bonus characters lack Extra Weapons and have limited selectability depending on region and mode.

Plot

Set in 1590 AD, four years after Soulcalibur, the game begins after Nightmare and his followers collected enough souls for a restoration ceremony at Ostrheinsburg Castle. Three young warriors assaulted the castle, defeated the cult, and felled Nightmare. The evil soul inside Soul Edge then sent the warriors into a vortex of hellfire. Soul Edge's aura revealed Krita-Yuga's true form as the holy sword Soul Calibur. The holy sword won the battle, and both swords along with Nightmare were sucked into the void and expelled elsewhere. Siegfried Schtauffen regained his mind and set on a journey of atonement, but the blade took control each night, absorbing souls. Four years later, the Azure Knight returned. Warriors came into contact with Soul Edge's fragments, revealing the sword's survival. The fragments caused chaos and evil, and each warrior embarks on a journey to possess or destroy the evil sword, while Nightmare rampages anew to restore Soul Edge.

Reception

Soulcalibur II received critical acclaim, with average scores of 91.3% (PS2), 92.3% (GameCube), and 91.6% (Xbox). Greg Kasavin of GameSpot called it one of the most refined, accessible, and best-looking 3D fighting games. IGN's Kaiser Hwang praised it but noted similarity to the first game. PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life gave it a perfect 10/10, stating it would ruin many modern fighting games. The game was involved in a collusion scandal at EVO 2004, making it unwelcome in the fighting game community until 2010. It won Most Addictive Game at the 2003 Spike Video Game Awards and Console Fighting Game of the Year at the 7th Interactive Achievement Awards, also receiving a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Animation. Official Nintendo Magazine placed it 41st on a list of greatest Nintendo games in 2009. Complex ranked it the 14th best fighting game in 2011. By July 2006, the GameCube version sold 850,000 copies in the US, earning $32 million. Combined US sales of Soulcalibur games reached 2.6 million units by July 2006. The PS2 version received a Gold sales award from ELSPA for at least 200,000 UK sales.