Kayane's Hands-on Impressions of SC5

Namco graciously invited Kayane to come to GamesCom to try out the build of Soul Calibur 5 that they brought with them, but was unable to share her impressions of the game until August 30th because of a media embargo that was in place. Now that the embargo is over, Kayane stayed up until 6AM her local time in France just to share with the community her impressions of the game.

Check Kayane's blog for the full details, and leave a comment with any questions that you may have for her.

 

The concept of putting something on a meter seems like a step backwards into one dimensional thinking, to me. Wouldn't it be a deeper game if you thought of something more tactical to ascertain when a technique comes into play? It seems like Toga is trying to dictate our individual playing style saying, "Hmm you were not a very dynamic player before, so I'm instituting and allowance this time so you don't do that too much." Wouldn't it grow the dynamics of the game to instead think up a reason to benefit you were you not to resort such a redundant technique? Don't put me on a f***ing budget, make the game better with more freedom!!! Think!!

Toga, don't throw good money after bad. Try again! I'll help if you want.

 

I'm honestly fine with the Just Guard system but I just don't get why they are trying to change the Guard Impact system so drastically. I hope it is not to add to the validity of Just Guard because that, in my opinion, would be stupid.

I think GI is integral to the re positioning game of SOul Calibur; allowing you to push your self and the opponent away from walls if you can, getting you out of ring out situations, and pushing your opponents into advantageous situations for your win.

4 A+B+K to me sounds like we have one option for GI. It'd be noob sauce if it GI's EVERYTHING (hi, low, mid, spec. mid) and it'd be near useless if it just pushes in one direction/GI's only Hi/mids.

Not too worried that it uses gauge but I really don't like that idea either. I'm willing to wait for a video demonstration of this new GI system but at the moment I think it's not cool. You only get one input, it cost meter, and it doesn't repel lows? Thanks, Namco. Love you but...please. No.

What was wrong with the old GI system? Who complained about it? Seriously? I for one thought the GI system was near perfect.

 

I'm real confident with these developers now; almost (ALMOST) everything I heard from this blog, I liked.

For example, with this: "With Natsu, I JG the second hit of Pyrrhas’ BB, and I punish with garanteed AA"

That is awesome. You look at a sc4 tournament, and you see players taking turns doing BB, AA, B, whatever, right? All that's safe and there's no real mind game to it, its just wait and see when someone risks a more unsafe move. That 'after you, no no, after you' type of play WAS a boring aspect to the game.

This quote shows that there will be more mind games going on -- no more mindless BB spam. Now, you have to make that decision as the attacker -- go for single B and be safe from JG? Exploit my opponents use of JG and go for a throw/low? Use BB to keep my opponent honest, who hasn't used JG? Of course, I might be wrong, but how is that NOT good? It seems to make unused strings, like Xianghua's AAB, AA4B6B worth trying out again.

I was kinda hoping that she would've had a first look at Leixia, but I guess her model wasn't ready yet.... :(

The only thing I didn't like (or, rather, hated) was the prospect of yet another overpowered Ivy. GUARANTEED grab CE?? No start-up (from what I read)?! Huge damage payoff? That's straight garbage; that should be painfully obvious that there should be some kind of risk to using it. I also wish that they keep just a little bit of the execution barrier up for characters like Natsu and Ivy, but hey; that's me.

 

GI normally doesn't guarantee anything you can still be re-GI. And actually not being able to re-GI your opponent because you have no meter is pretty broken. You could basically guarantee a full combo just for doing a GI. As they are I think these two mechanics can be problematic. Reversed I think they make more sense.

Yes! that's what I'm talking about! re-GI. If it comes to that, it's anybody's game. That's what's making it so exciting: the clash of strike, block, and parry at any given time and due to nothing but the player's focus. The fact that these three can happen at any point is why SC used to be so intense. The fact that it was actually nothing but our wits that won the match is what set SC apart from the rest!

 

Mixed feelings about GIs being different input... also no more low impacts? Yikes. They might be restructioning the button input a little bit to give new comers a chance. Too bad it wont work.. muhah.

 

This Idea Of making the game Noob Friendly is screaming F U Veterans.
I dont know about the rest of you but im not lazy.
- a standing new Gi means u can gi lows standing or Just Guard "saw it on voldo vs pyrrha" Dumbness
-If countering after a Just Guard gives CH:) :) :) :)
- meter Guard Impact: dont care, think its fine but stupied
- JG BB interupts: HELL Yes, now lets see how stupied you are with your BB sword pokes/supresstion. Punish mindless BB whores Yes.

- cant GI lows namco your *&^% stupied
- why is it 4A+B+K to Gi Forward and not 6A+B+K -To Gi is to RepeL

-A gold halo on your head when being grabbed "For noobs right"
- White wind- sidestep "For noobs right"

- CE Supers that video animate and freeze screen, im i the only one that sees issue with this: Gi into supers all day, stun into supers, whiff into super, side step watch u do 2B whiff into super.

- Tira better be more like SC3 style with no life lose. tira is so dominating that she has to lose life doing moves but Algor can bubble spam all day. nice design namco monkeys.

- for the idiots out there that though Hilde wasnt goin to be in SC5 morons. The newest character in the series with the first charge able button system is not going to be in SC5. thats like says yoshi is not going to be in SC5 LMAO. OMG she didnt Age newest character in the series didnt age WoW.

-If you cant Gi HIgh and Low its not Soul Calibur. This is not the time to try anything new with the engine and mechanics Namco if you guys over there want to be inventive and brave do it with the new characters you tryed it with hilde in SC4 and that shit was broken. dont try and reinvent the impact system. THis CE supers are going to be spammed. Right now Ivy has THe Best Unblockable unduckable grab CE:) better make her super hugo style.lol

Change This shit Namco
Like OBAMA said YES WE CAN.
out of 10 stars
SC4 is at 5 stars
SC5 Demo is at 3 stars and fallin
If Namco fucks this up im just going to stick with TTagT2 and VFr5 till SC6 comes out.
Seriously which fans are they listen to Vet or Noobs cause i dont see Imitating supers and Mk style meter management are a Vet thing. same with the CAS, i just want every single character costumes from the entire SC Series. i can do without hotdog swords or clown hammers or squid swords.

 

This Idea Of making the game Noob Friendly is screaming F U Veterans.
I dont know about the rest of you but im not lazy.
- a standing new Gi means u can gi lows standing or Just Guard "saw it on voldo vs pyrrha" Dumbness
-If countering after a Just Guard gives CH:) :) :) :)
- meter Guard Impact: dont care, think its fine but stupied
- JG BB interupts: HELL Yes, now lets see how stupied you are with your BB sword pokes/supresstion. Punish mindless BB whores Yes.

- cant GI lows namco your *&^% stupied
- why is it 4A+B+K to Gi Forward and not 6A+B+K -To Gi is to RepeL

-A gold halo on your head when being grabbed "For noobs right"
- White wind- sidestep "For noobs right"

- CE Supers that video animate and freeze screen, im i the only one that sees issue with this: Gi into supers all day, stun into supers, whiff into super, side step watch u do 2B whiff into super.

- Tira better be more like SC3 style with no life lose. tira is so dominating that she has to lose life doing moves but Algor can bubble spam all day. nice design namco monkeys.

- for the idiots out there that though Hilde wasnt goin to be in SC5 morons. The newest character in the series with the first charge able button system is not going to be in SC5. thats like says yoshi is not going to be in SC5 LMAO. OMG she didnt Age newest character in the series didnt age WoW.

-If you cant Gi HIgh and Low its not Soul Calibur. This is not the time to try anything new with the engine and mechanics Namco if you guys over there want to be inventive and brave do it with the new characters you tryed it with hilde in SC4 and that shit was broken. dont try and reinvent the impact system. THis CE supers are going to be spammed. Right now Ivy has THe Best Unblockable unduckable grab CE:) better make her super hugo style.lol

Change This shit Namco
Like OBAMA said YES WE CAN.
out of 10 stars
SC4 is at 5 stars
SC5 Demo is at 3 stars and fallin
If Namco fucks this up im just going to stick with TTagT2 and VFr5 till SC6 comes out.
Seriously which fans are they listen to Vet or Noobs cause i dont see Imitating supers and Mk style meter management are a Vet thing. same with the CAS, i just want every single character costumes from the entire SC Series. i can do without hotdog swords or clown hammers or squid swords.

deep breaths dust buster. Dev team is listening to suggestions

 

Omega has a point, it would make more sense to have the JG take away meter (Therefore reducing its use) and the GI being back to its old style. And for gods sake if you going to make the GI A+B+K at least make it 6A+B+K not 4.

Also JG should definitely require 2-4 frames of precision otherwise I feel like ANY linked attacks will be JG. And one should be able to re-JG their opponent.

 

You look at a sc4 tournament, and you see players taking turns doing BB, AA, B, whatever, right?

That's what the GI was for, and sidestep! And if you knew your character, then you would know the move that would evade an oncoming attack and recoil upon your foe. Or, an attack that would be a GI and AT in one! (as in Kilik's "escaping bo" or "phoenix lunge" or Hwang's "piercing heaven~rainstorm" or "wind storm")

All that's safe and there's no real mind game to it, its just wait and see when someone risks a more unsafe move. That 'after you, no no, after you' type of play WAS a boring aspect to the game.

That will only result if there are new players; not some one who knows what they're doing. Anyways, I see that you are thinking about the mind-game possibilties, and that is good.

 

They won't release a broken game, I'm sure of it. Just don't say " this looks bad, trash it" for new stuff they came out with just because you didn't like it when you didn't even tried it out even once.

 

deep breaths dust buster. Dev team is listening to suggestions

I want to expressly second everything dust buster pointed out!

 

snip

alot of your theory doesn't make sense. you didn't really prove me wrong either.

GI and sidestep where in SC4, but it didn't stop AA/BB spam. You couldn't GI the second hit after upon block. Even if you get a GI, often times the reward wasn't that big (unless it was, like u said, Auto GI, but then that makes spam risk character specific, thus not good for balance). Not worth it, when the window is around 2-4 frames (I think), and your reward is usually small. Hence the 'safety' of AA/BB spam.

I'm weirded out by the GI nerf, but I'm confident in what Daishi's team has in mind :). I think it will make the game better off overall (minus the wake-up ultras/CEs, and overpowered Ivy manlychick nonsense)

 

alot of your theory doesn't make sense. you didn't really prove me wrong either.

GI and sidestep where in SC4, but it didn't stop AA/BB spam. Even if you get a GI, often times the reward wasn't that big (unless it was, like u said, Auto GI, but then that makes spam risk character specific, thus not good for balance). Hence the 'safety' of AA/BB spam.

I'm weirded out by the GI nerf, but I'm confident in what Daishi's team has in mind :). I think it will make the game better off overall (minus the wake-up ultras/CEs, and overpowered Ivy manlychick nonsense)

I'm not trying to argue with you. But please, if you're going to speak of how things in SC should work, the silliest thing you can do is to start out referring to SC4. hahaha

But look! You're right, it does make it character specific. But you're wrong about the balance, cause most characters had a auto GI by this time. So know your character. And when you aren't a newb anymore, you can take home the win, because the time you put in to knowing how to play paid off above those that are now newbs.

 

snippity.

noticed how I clicked the like button, because I like your reply. It made me smile :) Most characters have auto GI's? Have you seen how useful they were (outside of top tier characters)?

Oh and last time I checked, SC4 was part of the series. Namco told me

 

Edit: Forgive me, I'm a complete retard.

 

IDK where you get that AA and BB spam were dominating tournaments. AA and BB are both unsafe on block. The only time they work is when you're online and lag prevents you from punishing them before eating the next AA or BB.

Maybe you only played in online tournaments with bad connections?

Are you high ? Most AA or BB are safe on block.

Also some of you guys need to calm down a bit, you're assuming WAY too much...

 

nonsense I say

Are you serious? Do you play Soul Calibur?

My guess is you haven't played Sophitia yet.

 

I like the sound of a lot of these changes, but I hope NamDai gets a bunch of good players to thoroughly test everything before sending it out. JGing sounds way too risk free for the potential reward right now. If it remains unchanged, I can see the characters with good punishers completely dominating.

That being said, I REALLY like the changes they made to the soul gauge system. It sounds like the guard bar from Guilty Gear now, where if someone guards too much, you get the chance to do a ton of damage to them, but not instantly KO them like in SC4. Hopefully NamDai makes it so every character damages armor at the same rate.

 

This thread is nuts!

:P

 

I actually really like Just Guard's potential of reducing the use of BB AA 'spam'. Other non-SC players see high level SC play and say it looks heavily based on footsies and close-range poking. I want the mid/long-range game to become more viable in high level play.

With that said, I do think JG's should cost meter if it allows a guaranteed damage followup without the risk of execution error. From our understanding, GI's still have the risk of whiffing and there's the risk of a re-GI too.

JG = guaranteed damage, you regular guard if you mess up, no meter
GI = mixup for damage, unsafe if you whiff, cost meter

Meter cost would make more sense the other way around. Though I see a problem unintentionally JG-ing and losing meter you were saving up.

I also agree with what people are saying with the animation of JG. The weapons just go through your character without any force feedback and it looks awkward. Maybe if there was the slightest pushback after JG (without changing the frame advantage gained) or if the character was put off axis for JG-ing vertical attacks.