Bandai Namco has announced the closure of Soul Calibur: Lost Swords, currently set for November 30th. Lost Swords is a free-to-play Soul series game on PlayStation 3, similar to Tekken Revolution. It offers microtransactions that are designed to enhance the experience of the game by doing things like removing play limits that are built into the game to begin with. It also introduces a weapon crafting system with an elemental attribute rock-paper-scissors feature.
The game has also been met with a significant amount of criticism, ranging from the structure of its free-to-play monetization incentives, it being only single player, and some quality-of-life elements such as loading times. The basic gameplay has been heavily simplified; there are no ringouts, counter hitting (!), and Just Guard (which admittedly is specific, but other games already implement Just-blocking without any commotion.) These are all mechanics that add depth and variety to Soul Calibur — they aren’t exclusive propositions, and so offering a comparatively pared-down experience can leave players wanting. I have a hard time imagining anyone thinking ringouts were a contemptible part of the Soul experience thus far.
One of the aspects of this game that was embraced is that it marked the return of popular Soul characters such as Taki, Cassandra, and Sophitia, albeit in their Soul Calibur IV getups.
Bandai Namco produced a trailer to commemorate their achievements with the game below. They boast slightly more than two million downloads for this title, among other statistics.
This is definitely not the end of the Soul series; Bandai Namco has solicited the opinions of fans regarding character popularity. As it stands, Bandai Namco is also pushing their other 3d fighting franchise’s new title in arcades: Tekken 7. That game has been in Japanese arcades for a while, so it’s possible we may learn more about a Soul sequel later this year. But it’s as the trailer says – “The warriors may fade, but their souls will ignite again.”
