EGMi Cover Story for Soul Calibur V

EGM now has their June 6th issue of their magazine available to view online which features Soul Calibur 5 on the cover and an interesting interview with producer Hisaharu Tago and director Daishi Odashima.

You can click here to view the issue. You can also buy the current issue at your local news stand. Special thanks to Mr.Nobody for providing the tip.

 

I hate it when people say "Fighting games were getting too complex". NO. Fighting games were improving and getting better; fighting games were evolving...then the marred idea of 'accessibility' took fighting games several steps back.

Compare:
3S to SFIV (God knows how good SFIV could've been if it was based on 3S and the experience Capcom had acquired through previous fg's)
GG to BB
MVC2 to MVC3 etc

I have hope in SCV because of Daishi though, and the fact that Namco didn't go full retard like Capcom and Arc did.

 

Lol @ people saying Sagat Fighter 4 was more fun than Super. GTFO of here with that nonsense.

Vanilla was ugly and AE is looking just about as ugly.

Good article though.

 

"More than one and less than 50!"
So the cast might have grown or shrunk since initial planning?

I don't know what to make of this:
"...you won't see much back-and forth, and there won't be much meaning in using the less powerful moves that make up the main portion of the gameplay."

I took this as an indictment of say, street fighter IV's ultras, and how the threat of one can destroy the momentum of a match. And then he praised Street Fighter IV specifically.

Are 5/5 matchups across the board really what everyone wants in a fighting game (assuming this is possible in a game with character variance)? Sounds fancifully democratic but I don't know.

I understand what you're saying and I agree with you. I think people misunderstand the intent of the statement. And I know you have quite a bit more knowledge than I do so I hope I don't just come off sounding like an idiot. But, in regards to character matchups, I think that is what people really want in a manner of speaking. I think people would like to be able to play competitively and still give more regard to personal style than tier lists and risk/reward ratios.

That said it seems like something that's incredibly hard if not impossible to deliver on. At least not without the danger of some homogenization. Add to that that when a fighter is highly technical and another has a fairly simple methodology it becomes even harder to gauge balance. I think it's only realistic to expect that some imbalances are going to occur. What I think people have a problem with though is when a developer settles on a roster where one character's win brackets are 80% 6's and 7's and another's are 80% 3's and 4's. That's just lazy.

If you can avoid that, it wouldn't just be more democratic, it'd also be good design.

 

this wabi-sabi concept is troublesome. Obviously there's a large chance he's been misquoted. Hopefully he means "storyline wise" some characters were intended to appear stronger and some weaker. Gameplay wise that overall unbalance should never have been intended.

 

Lol @ people saying Sagat Fighter 4 was more fun than Super. GTFO of here with that nonsense.

Fun is subjective. Cant call a subjective argument nonsense :) that's just silly

 

Don't understand why you Internet people's bitch so much. I know for a fact that I'm going to play and love the game regardless.

Other than that, I don't think sc4 has been dominated by any one character so much as it has the top players in general. So, if they're going to focus on balance this time around, it can only mean better things. Really, can't even come to this site without my head hurting because of the bitching and dumb shit said by new players and people who figure it's their time to speak up. What you all NEED to be worrying about is how bad Lp is going to fuck your shit up once sc5 does drop!

 

"More than one and less than 50!"
So the cast might have grown or shrunk since initial planning?

Interview was probably done a while ago. They didn't mention any of the new mechanics at all. Around 26 is still probably the most accurate assumption.

 

You know, some of these comments... I just couldn't believe my what I was reading. And because I was reading it, most likely explains why developers think it's okay to have over powered characters. I was actually wondering if Harada is the only sane individual when it comes to balance after reading this article but then someone reminded me of Tekken 4 and how Tekken 3 blinded me from Jin's gdlk-ness in 4. Came to the conclusion Japanese seem people like unbalance. That's all I'm getting from it, and honestly, more then a few fans do, too. Screw "Wabi-Sabi". That shit ain't no "Fung-Shwei"!

In a perfect world, 5/5 across the board would be a heaven send! Who said 5/5 matchups means everyone has the same moves? Same properties on standing K? Some knock back qcf+Feirce? 5/5 across the board to me means that this character has just as many options to "win" as the opponent character has "to win"! Not "everyone's while rising A does equal damage." 5/5 across the board means skill and creative are the deciding factor for who wins and who loses! 5/5 across the board means Raiden's teleport speed didn't win you the match.

Again, a 50/50 match up across the board isn't going to happen. The best we can hope for is that 50/50 match ups are the "average". They're going to be some counter picks. Because of the diversity of the cast, especially in larger cast, tiny character A just doesn't have the speed to always get in on large character B's range. But to suggest a perfectly balance game would be boring? No. I'd find that impossibility amazing! I don't. Maybe some love finding the strongest character and find solace and that feeble strength; knowing this character dominates the majority of the cast and the better they are with them, the more money he/she will make. Maybe some like the challenge of picking the underdog and getting braggin rights in saying I make F tier gdlk. But then where's the diversity in the tournaments? I seriously fear for SSFIV AE becuase I enjoyed Super so much. I loved watching Super matches because their was diversity in character representation. Vanilla was Sagat vs Sagat. AE is looking like BlazBlu: Bang Vs Leichi, Leichi Vs Ragna, Ragna vs Bang, Bang Vs Bang. Cept it seems like it's gonna be Yun Vs Yun, Yun vs Yang, Yang vs Yun. Then all you hear on streams is "that character is bull shit because X, Y, Z..."

But I guess 5/5 board match ups is alot more entertaining then one 125,789,000.003/-47,-6, -88, 9, etc. Right? Because we all want to see the same three god tiers battle it out.

Fuck it... I ain't no pro. I play fighting games for fun. I watch pros for fun. And I'm getting this game regardless of stupid stigma's and dumb mindsets. Shout out to tier whores! Shout out to under dogs! And shout out to the quote of the year by Ono-"I think unbalance encourages community growth"!

 

Don't understand why you Internet people's bitch so much. I know for a fact that I'm going to play and love the game regardless.

Other than that, I don't think sc4 has been dominated by any one character so much as it has the top players in general. So, if they're going to focus on balance this time around, it can only mean better things. Really, can't even come to this site without my head hurting because of the bitching and dumb shit said by new players and people who figure it's their time to speak up. What you all NEED to be worrying about is how bad Lp is going to fuck your shit up once sc5 does drop!

DIS IS Y U MY NIGGA!!! (I CAN SAY NIGGA ON DIS SITE RITE?)
Chi-Town will b coming strong wen SC5 is release...

 

I DONT GIVE A DAMN!!! IM BUYING DIS GAME!!.....#SC5 GET HYPED!

 

On one hand we had Tago saying at E3 that they were going to focus on balancing the game, but on the other hand, Odashima has the final say in designing the game, and given his track record with SC3 and SC4 balance, I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

DIS IS Y U MY NIGGA!!! (I CAN SAY NIGGA ON DIS SITE RITE?)
Chi-Town will b coming strong wen SC5 is release...

I am offended! Watch your language sir.

On one hand we had Tago saying at E3 that they were going to focus on balancing the game, but on the other hand, Odashima has the final say in designing the game, and given his track record with SC3 and SC4 balance, I'm not getting my hopes up.

I'm sorry to say this, really I am, but it's been bothering me for awhile. Why are you so goddamn negative all the fucking time?

 

I am offended! Watch your language sir.

I'm sorry to say this, really I am, but it's been bothering me for awhile. Why are you so goddamn negative all the fucking time?

Because I care about the series and I don't want SC5 to have a competitive lifespan of a whopping 1 year like SC4.

 

Because I care about the series and I don't want SC5 to have a competitive lifespan of a whopping 1 year like SC4.

Okay, I can agree with that sentiment (and do) totally. And I'll leave it at that.

 

I dont kno about dat. Cuz SC4 is still having a great turn out at tournies no matter how unbalance it is..
Wit that said C U GUYS A SUMMER JAM or wateva da name of it is
N C U GUYS A DEV!!!

 

I dont kno about dat. Cuz SC4 is still having a great turn out at tournies no matter how unbalance it is..
Wit that said C U GUYS A SUMMER JAM or wateva da name of it is
N C U GUYS A DEV!!!

Oh shit, Chicago guys are coming to SJ? Nice!

See ya there (and hopefully at DEV too)!

 

HELLZ YEA.. SC5 GOT US HYPED! SO WE READY TO TAKE OVER! 8P

 

Yeah, Hawkeye's rich.

 

HELLZ YEA.. SC5 GOT US HYPED! SO WE READY TO TAKE OVER! 8P

Wish I could say the same for the Canadians, guess I'll have to do the same on my own =D

 

LOL @ LP... I'LL PAY FOR THE ROOM. As long as it $99 like u said...BxxCH BOY!