Soul Edge
1995 · Fighting · Arcade
Overview
Soul Edge (1995), released abroad as Soul Blade, is Namco's weapon-based 3D fighting game and the first in the Soulcalibur series.
Deep Dive
In 1583 nine warriors hunt for Soul Edge, a cursed sword that feeds on the soul of whoever wields it. Every fighter carries a weapon, and a Weapon Gauge drains with each blocked blow; empty it, and the fighter is left to fight unarmed. Guard Impact lets players knock attacks back, and a ring out is possible only when an opponent is knocked out of the arena. The PlayStation version added the story mode Edge Master and five unlockable characters.
Developer Story
Project Soul developed the game on Namco's System 11 board, the hardware behind Tekken, and it reached Japanese arcades on 13 September 1995. The PlayStation version followed in December 1996 and was a UK bestseller. Soulcalibur followed in 1998.
Did You Know?
- It was the first game made with motion capture using passive optical markers.
- The PlayStation version's opening won a SIGGRAPH '97 award for best game video of 1996.
Sources & further reading
- Soul Edge — Wikipedia
