Party Wolf at E3! It was AWESOME

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I am sure most of you know what E3 is, but in case you aren't aware, E3 is the the Electronic Entertainment Expo hosted in Los Angeles, California. You can see new titles that have been recently released/announced and try games that have a demo on the floor. I was given the opportunity to go to this and check out the newest version of SOULCALIBUR VI as well other things at the event. I'll have shout outs at the bottom for the people who helped me get to the event!

Before I get into the details of E3 2018, let's talk about what's new in SOULCALIBUR VI that was announced this week. As many of you have seen, SOULCALIBUR VI now has a story trailer and a release date. The game is coming out on October 19, 2018. We will also be getting a collectors edition that comes with all of the DLC, art book, soundtrack, and a Sophitia figure. SOULCALIBUR VI will be on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for players.

GAME PLAY OF SOULCALIBUR VI

At E3 we have been able to play a new build of the game that has all 13 characters that have been announced at this time. Here is a brief rundown of each of the characters that you can view by clicking on the spoilers.

Sophitia is a holy warrior that uses her sword and shield forged by Hephaestus. She is a very basic character that excels at hurting you for making mistakes with her iconic stab moves. If you're familiar with her old incarnations, then SOULCALIBUR VI Sophitia should not be a curve ball for you.
Mitsurugi is a samurai who is after Soul Edge in order to prove that he is the strongest in the world. Mitsurugi is great at applying strong lows and making sure you don't back away from him. SOULCALIBUR VI also returns his relic stance from previous titles that was removed in SOULCALIBUR V.
Xianghua is one of Kilik and Maxi's traveling companions that is set out to defeat Soul Edge. She uses her Chinese sword sword to apply basic mix ups as well as trick you with her stances and evasive options. Something to look out for this time around is her new Art of Phoenix stance that is used by Xiaoyu from the Tekken series.
Kilik is a monk that killed his entire clan due to the influence of Soul Edge and now lives to vanquish the sword's evil. He uses his rod, the Kali-Yuga, to be an effective fighter at all ranges. He now has a new mode (Soul Charge) where he turns into his Evil form that destroyed his temple. He essentially turns into a glass cannon. If you wish to learn more, check out @Hayate's character breakdown.

Groh is an assassin that is sent to destroy anyone connected to Soul Edge's influence, and is therefore hunting down Kilik. Groh uses a twin blade that he can separate into two swords in order to apply heavy stance pressure. He can also become malfested like Kilik when he Soul Charges and will be able to have cool tricks up his sleeves like teleportation. Here is another character breakdown by Hayate here for Groh.

Nightmare is the embodiment of the man who possesses Soul Edge. He uses his large sword to close the distance and tear you apart. If you are familiar with his SOULCALIBUR IV version, then you should be able to remember that he would gain temporary buffs when he explodes. In SOULCALIBUR VI that mechanic returns, but it will last throughout the entire round until you spend it on one of his Soul Charge moves. Nightmare has a much easier time acquiring this state with his new armored attacks. If you are familiar with Claudio from the Tekken series, then this mechanic should make a lot of sense to you.
Zasalamel is a scythe user that can use his magic to manipulate time to his advantage. Zasalamel is a good ranged fighter that can reel you in with his scythe in order to apply mix ups. New in SOULCALIBUR VI, he can cast a debuff on you that is indicated by the purple orb(s) flying around you. This can stack up to three times before capping. Zasalamel is able to spend all of his orbs at once in order to freeze time, but only after one of his specific moves connects with you on block or hit. Essentially, this is a frame data modifier.
Ivy is an alchemist that uses a magic extendable sword in conjunction with her iconic battle armor that distracts the players. This weapon naturally allows her to control a lot of the space on the screen. When her opponent is up close to her, she can use some of the best throws in the game to break their defense. New to SOULCALIBUR VI, she has a long range low where she plants her sword into the ground to ensnare and pull your legs into the air. Her serpents embrace stance also makes a return to SOULCALIBUR VI.
Geralt is the protagonist of The Witcher 3 and is the guest character for SOULCALIBUR VI. He uses his swords and signs to deal heavy hits and apply different types of magic on you. For example, his fire spells can do chip damage and he has another spell to armor through your attacks. Geralt will be a part of the SOULCALIBUR VI story mode, so be sure to check him out in there too.
Siegfried is the man haunted by his past self and wishes for his redemption. Similar to Nightmare, he deals heavy hits with his two-handed sword, but Siegfried's kit lends itself to a more defensive playstyle. In SOULCALIBUR VI, Siegfried receives an enraged mode when his life bar turns yellow. This allows him to deal more damage and lethal hits similar to the rage mechanic in the Tekken series.
Taki is a ninja of the Fu-Ma clan that is on a mission to expel demons and evils in the world. She uses her daggers to deal relentless fast attacks and she can use other ninjutsus to pair with it. New to SOULCALIBUR VI, when she uses her left handed dagger, her dagger will glow purple and she will deal chip damage to the opponent, thus making it harder to maintain a defense against her.
Yoshimitsu is a ninja of the Manji clan that has many strange techniques. He can fly around, pogo into the air on his sword, teleport, and steal parts of your soul. In SOULCALIBUR VI, Yoshimitsu has attacks that will take yellow orbs from the opponent. This is the soul stealing technique that builds on to his meter gauge. Yoshimitsu retains the SOULCALIBUR V brave edge system, which allows him to spend half of a bar of his meter on enhanced moves.
Maxi is a pirate that joins Kilik and Xianghua on their journey. He seeks revenge on the monster that killed his entire crew. Maxi uses his nunchuks to confuse the opponent with his 7 stances. In SOULCALIBUR VI, Maxi is now rewarded for looping from one stance to the other and will receive a stronger version of the attack from the stance that he is in.

In addition to new characters, we have also been introduced to a new unnamed mechanic that is similar to Just Guard in SOULCALIBUR V. The main difference is that in SOULCALIBUR VI, the defending character retains the block stuns that the attacks normally deal. This new version of Just Guard is easier to perform, builds your meter, and eliminates any chip damage the opponent does. Here is a clip from @crna_ruka's twitter.

https://twitter.com/crna_ruka/status/1005950963499163648

Old mechanics and characters seem mostly unchanged from the previous build, but there have been some really minor adjustments overall. If you've been following the game already then you should have no other surprises than the above mentioned.

PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

The first part of this gallery will show off the lines and people playing the game. The second part will have me and a few cosplayers. The last part will just have various places from the E3 area unrelated to SOULCALIBUR VI.​

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P.S. The Zasalamel cosplayer hooked me up with these sunglasses and breath mints for having the SC swag on. He was exceptionally cool. When we took the photo he said "Who is your main?" to which I replied "Kilik". He then said we weren't friends anymore, so I feigned ignorance and said I thought he meant secondary. Of course I main Zasalamel!

E3Cosplay1.JPGE3Cosplay2.JPGE3Cosplay3.JPGE3Cosplay4.JPGE3Cosplay5.JPG

Like I said the rest is pretty random. Enjoy!

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THE FANS OF SOULCALIBUR VI

In this part I'll just be sharing some feedback I heard. Overall, the only complaint I have heard was reversal edge, but at the same time that was also one of the things the more casual players appreciated a lot! For example, I was talking to and met @HMKilla (cool guy that has a big Kingdom Hearts community) in the Namco area and he was saying that he really loves that guard impact is back without meter and that reversal edge helps him a lot in having fun with the game. I could mention some other instances of what people thought, but why not show you two that I recorded? The first is me secretly recording two people I didn't know getting hype, and the second video is me interviewing @Blueboyb at a Carl's Jr. I'll also link an impressions video from Aris that was uploaded to his YouTube channel.




THE "OH MY GOD I MET OKUBO" SECTION

Honestly, I got super lucky with this one. I caught him super early on Thursday and introduced myself. He also made me fanboy a lot on the inside because he recognized me from the SOULCALIBUR VI exhibitions. I asked him a few questions, but keep in mind that I met him in the lounge, which is basically one of his few chances to just unwind, so I didn't want to pester him too much before he had to do adult stuff.

I asked him which of the characters are his favorite to play as. The answer he gave was kind of amusing. He told me that he likes playing Sophitia and Mitsurugi the most because those are the first characters that they made, so he feels like he doesn't suck as much with them out of familiarity. However, his favorite characters in the game overall are Groh and Geralt.

I also wanted to know if he found the development of SOULCALIBUR VI to be harder for him than when he was working on Tekken 7. He told me that when he joined the Tekken team, there was a foundation for him to build upon since the game was already in arcades. However, with SOULCALIBUR VI, he had to work extra hard since everything is being done from scratch essentially.

Okubo asked me of my opinion of the game at one point too. I told him that it is a really special game because there is a lot of freedom in defensive and offensive choices. In SOULCALIBUR V, the game was a lot more stiff defensively because of how long it took to recover from movement. In my opinion, SOULCALIBUR VI has a lot of freedom in how you can play the game since you have a lot of chances to avoid being still and blocking. The uniqueness of the characters also build a great identity for everyone that was kind of there before, but now it is very apparent. It is almost like SOULCALIBUR VI has become a 3D anime game in terms of diversity.

I really hope he understands how awesome his game is turning out and I really can't wait for all of you to play it later in October. I truly do.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS
Ok, so this part is very important because I literally could not have had this amazing experience without certain people. @MarkMan (@MarkMan23 on twitter) and @iReligious gave me a great opportunity to help them with SOULCALIBUR VI at their show. It honestly feels strange to say that I helped them because it really feels like the other way around. I'm very thankful that they allowed for the community to be there to try out the game and work with them. Thank you @Blueboyb for letting me not pay disgusting hotel fees too O_O. I hope you all enjoyed the article and I hope you are all as excited for the future of the series as I am.
 
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Michael Stabile

Michael Stabile

WHENS SOULCALIBUR VI
thanks for the great info! have been waiting for someone to dump out all this info, really cool that you got to meet Okubo-san also!

I've been so happy seeing him in interviews, it's very clear that he loves Soul Calibur and wants to make the absolute best rendition of it that he can. I also like his stance on esports from what he's said in interviews, which is essentially "just make a great game and the community will come". no need to push the envelope on the esports shit like Capcom does with every game

god I'm so fucking excited for this game
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info Michael, I can't wait to play this game, I'm extremely hyped, Yoshi seems like a different beast, as much as I loved him in 5, he was a simplified version of SC4 Yoshi, but this Yoshi, and all the chars, I can't wait
 

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Yes, Sir. The arena is lit. I'm about to give the world these hands. Road to 50 Subs. Let's get it.

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