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[Sinatar]

So I've been jonesing for some Soul Calibur super bad lately, it's my favorite fighting game franchise and it's been a long ass time since 5 came out. Realized that I never actually played 3, I didn't have PS2 at the time and it's always had a reputation as the worst one, but I figured why not give it a go?

Honestly, I'm not sure what the complaints were about, perhaps some changes to the fighting system that I'm not good enough to notice? Or was it just butthurt about it being platform exclusive? Dunno, but this game is a ton of fun.

Huge roster, an immense amount of content (4 separate single player modes), some cool innovations like the Arcade mode having branching paths with different outcomes. It looks great for a PS2 game, has great music, and of course it's Soul Calibur so it plays great.

So what's the deal why is this always brought up as the bad one? I'm not seeing it.

 

[Sephzilla]

Soul Calibur 3 was great and I never understood the hate it got either. I always imagine it was salt from Talim players who got upset that she got nerfed compared to Soul Calibur 2.

The only huge complaint I had in this game was that the AI will difficulty spike like fucking nuts randomly in the single player modes.

 

[dr_p0p7ar7_]

I love the roster of characters and all of the alternate costumes for them, more than SC II I'd have to say. It's a shame it never came to other platforms, it would be nice if it became a PS2 on PS4 title.

 

[Inuhanyou]

The last good Soul Calibur.

 

[Secret Character]

What version are you playing on? US/EU/JP?

Reason I'm asking is because the US version is actually inferior to the version the other countries got. After the release of the US version, an arcade version came out with balance changes and some system tweaks. This is the version that made it to other territories. You should try to find the Arcade version or one of the other regions' versions.

 

[The Lone Dragon]

The most fun version of Yunseong resided within this game.

He wasn't as fun in SC2, and DEFINITELY not as fun in SC4.

For me the order goes: SC1 > SC3 > SC2 > SC5 > SC4

I love SC3...though I hear it had a lot of broken stuff in it competitively. This was before netplay and there was no arcade release (until the limited SC3 AE that was super rare in the US)...so I barely got to play it competitively.

 

[HKA6A7]

It's not the bad one (Looking at you, SCV), not even by a long shot, it's problem was coming after SCII.

 

[Man God]

It's better than IV and worse than I and II.

 

[Bumbletron]

The single player was nothing compared to 2's, and was seen as a huge downgrade in that regard in particular. The game also felt way too oppressive to players, with the ai feeling unfair a lot of the time (Setsuka, I'm looking at you). Other than that, and some general balance things in general, the game is still quite good. I loved all the cast additions in 3, though I still wish Zasalamel had more presence in games past 3.

 

[Falchion]

Tira and her hoops of doom were awesome.

 

[oneida]

SCIII is broke as fuck, look up variable cancel

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

The single player was nothing compared to 2's, and was seen as a huge downgrade in that regard in particular.

I think SCIII has the best single player modes in any fighting game ever made. You had in-depth tutorials, each per character, all your standard training mode and options, arcade, time attack/survival, then there were the hidden modes that need you to complete specialised objectives. A tournament mode, story mode per character with some choices as to what battles you want to fight, and then the most innovative mode: Chronicles of the Sword. Which is, still to this day, utterly unmatched. A Strategy mode in a fighting game? That was some amazing shit.

Not to mention SCIII introduced character creation where you could go to the in-game shop and buy clothes/armour and stuff like concept art and music. You can also unlock hundreds of items yourself by playing the game.

SCIII has the most in-depth, content-full SP content of any fighting game ever.

 

[Chinbo37]

All the soul caliber games are fun party fighters. I don't play at a high level or anything.

2 has the best single player modes though.

I really need another one

 

[Sinatar]

I think SCIII has the best single player modes in any fighting game ever made. You had in-depth tutorials, each per character, all your standard training mode and options, arcade, time attack/survival, then there were the hidden modes that need you to complete specialised objectives. A tournament mode, story mode per character with some choices as to what battles you want to fight, and then the most innovative mode: Chronicles of the Sword. Which is, still to this day, utterly unmatched. A Strategy mode in a fighting game? That was some amazing shit.

Not to mention SCIII introduced character creation where you could go to the in-game shop and buy clothes/armour and stuff like concept art and music. You can also unlock hundreds of items yourself by playing the game.

SCIII has the most in-depth, content-full SP content of any fighting game ever.

Yea I'm really not seeing how anyone could say SC3 has poor single player content compared to 2. It's different, but there's lots of it and it's all cool stuff.

 

[Skilletor]

Soul Calibur 3 was great and I never understood the hate it got either. I always imagine it was salt from Talim players who got upset that she got nerfed compared to Soul Calibur 2.

The only huge complaint I had in this game was that the AI will difficulty spike like fucking nuts randomly in the single player modes.

Hard to find vids since it's so old, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHhy_UXJaks

Notice that the Ivy that got GI'ed recovers before the other Ivy and gets a command throw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctELk2LAFOI

Yep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCyi-88wUYY

Variable Cancel broke this game. Which is unfortunate since the core gameplay is amazing.

If you didn't care much about vs. mode, SC3 was great, but VC destroyed the game at even a low level in versus play since it ruined how guard impacts worked, you could cancel moves like Mitsu's 22_66B with it and leave you at like +1203480298 advantage.

 

[higemaru]

I'm pretty sure SCIII has a glitch where the more you progress in Chronicles of the Sword, the more likely it is that the game will corrupt and delete all data on your memory card. I really like SC3 but that rumor definitely discouraged me from investing as much time as I wanted to in it

 

[jwhit28]

The hype for SCII was mostly from the guest characters. Then III ditched the guest characters and multiplatform altogether.

 

[Vimes]

Did the arcade version fix advanced player's complaints about the game? I never played at a level where variable cancels were a problem so I never understood the hate. So much content, goat OST, amazing stages.

Would love a re-release of this game. Soul Calibur hasn't been the same since.

 

[Creaking]

Soul Calibur III is amazing and is still one of the best examples of a fighter with great single-player content.

It deserves the HD Online treatment that II got, but including the balance changes that were made in the Arcade Edition. It'd be so good. Probably one of the best fighting games of all time.

The single player was nothing compared to 2's, and was seen as a huge downgrade in that regard in particular.

Huh...? What did II have single player wise that wasn't one-upped by III?

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I think after the guest characters in 2 introduced a lot of people to the series with a unique hook, the lack of that in 3 turned those same people off, resulting in a fair amount of negativity towards the game

 

[Skilletor]

Did the arcade version fix advanced player's complaints about the game? I never played at a level where variable cancels were a problem so I never understood the hate. So much content, goat OST, amazing stages.

Would love a re-release of this game. Soul Calibur hasn't been the same since.

It did. SC3:AE is probably my favorite SC.

 

[jmdajr]

Made no sense why it was PS2 only.

 

[finley83]

Absolutely loved this game, probably spent the most time in it of any fighting game. The single player content was amazing and it's probably amongst the best value for money next to Gran Turismo 4 thta I got on PS2. Wish I knew why it never got rereleased either as a PS2 Classic or an HD rerelease.

 

[kogasu]

I thought it was a fine entry honestly. Has some problems and PS2 exclusivity is meh but otherwise great. I'd watch out about that Chronicles of the Sword mode though. There's a chance a part of your save can get corrupted and make that mode unplayable. I'm unsure of the triggers but you can look it up on how to prevent and I think there is a fix as well. Just a heads up!

 

[NZerker12]

If you want to play the Arcade Edition with revamped movesets for Hwang, Amy and Li Long as well as playable Inferno (has modified Cervantes moveset) and bug fixes. You should rip your copy and follow this guide. However you do partially loose Ivy (causes stages to get all glitched can cause freezing) and loose Yoshimitsu (causes freezing and hard locks).

 

[chaosaeon]

The OST is great. I remember getting the CD with mine and I still have it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2XO9lUYO3c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrKCsVyVBjU

 

[timberger]

Good game, but it was lacking the polish of the first two. I can remember it having an appalling af save erasing bug.

Still better than IV or V though probably. Don't get why it hasn't been remastered yet tbh.

Made no sense why it was PS2 only.

Late gen release, other platforms were no longer as viable for third parties and it seemed to be a much lower budget effort than SC2. Makes plenty of sense.

 

[The Right Deal]

Return of the SC1 tracks and and the breadth of single player content made up for how janky it was. I prefer III over II, it felt much quicker to me and Zas, Setsuka and Tira were great additions to the roster.

 

[Creaking]

Made no sense why it was PS2 only.

Soul Calibur's release pattern has never made any sense

Soul Edge/Blade - Arcade > PS1

Soul Calibur - Arcade > Dreamcast >> Xbox 360 >> iOS > Android

Soul Calibur II - Arcade > PS2, Gamecube, Xbox >> PS3, Xbox 360

Soul Calibur III - PS2 > Arcade

Soul Calibur Legends - Wii

Soul Calibur IV - PS3, Xbox 360

Soul Calibur Broken Destiny - PSP

Soul Calibur V - PS3, Xbox 360

Soul Calibur Lost Swords - PS3 (other platform owners should consider themselves lucky)

 

[Murder. She Wrote]

Best way to play Soul Calibur 3: Dual maxi's with infinite health on the minimal egyptian stage. Its so fun trying to ring each other out and dodging.

 

[LCGeek]

2 like 3 and 5 all have issues compare to one so don't stink up the thread with talk of it. The only bad calibur is 4.

Arcade edition is my favorite of 3 as unlike the console version there is no vc cancel bug. Game was barely played in comparison to 2 due to being console exclusive, which in hindsight ruined series ability to keep what sc2 had grown.

Just frame gis
No g2
Expanded character commands, the most next to 1
No more size mishaps with hotboxes
No more bullshit weapon clashing
Best charge system next to 5 or 1
Create a soul
Only version with zasalamel

Cons
Missing talim

 

[Karsha]

Now if you ask me what this game did wrong I can't tell, the graphics were ok, lots of character, good story mode. All I know is that I played SC2 for over 100 hours getting all the weapons and stuff like that, while with SC3 I finished the story mode with all the characters, played some matches vs friends on the release and never bothered to go back.
So I guess the game did have something that wasnt right but again I cant tell (or maybe forgot it)

 

[Shadow Ranger]

The psychic AI was well annoying as a teen. Well annoying. Story mode wasn't as fun either, having to retread for different endings (don't like it in GG games either).

 

[dragonlife]

Ah, yes, Soulcalibur III, the game with the critical memory card bug.

Wiped everything. Good times.

 

[EhoaVash]

As someone who was a big fan of soup Calibur 2 on GameCube, I was disappointed that 3 wasn't on the cube that it was ps2 exclusive which I didn't have

But i did play 3 at a friend's house on his ps2. And yeah I was also a talim player lol game made me angry. Also idk if it was my friends CRT or what but the game looked down graded visually from SC2 on ps2

 

[Creaking]

Story mode wasn't as fun either, having to retread for different endings (don't like it in GG games either).

? There was only one ending per character (with a little command input that changed the outcome slightly). The only difference would be the battles es takes to get there. But that's how pretty much every fighting game with individual character endings works. SCIII just presented it differently. Gave the player choice, some story text to read, and optional bonus battles.

I guess the only annoying thing would be some of the interludes where you have to do a QTE to avoid an attack and were thus unskippable.

 

[Asriel]

Variable cancel was atrocious and pretty much ruined SCIII at a high level.

That said, they introed three great characters in Zasalamel, Setsuka and Tira, so it was still incredible fun.

 

[LCGeek]

Variable cancel was atrocious and pretty much ruined SCIII at a high level.

G2 ruined sc2 comp community. Wcmaxi was always right about that bug killing off the community.

 

[Gradon]

The best Soul Calibur game, hands down. I absolutely adored this as a kid, modes for days and so many unlockables!

My memory card corrupted several times because of this game....

It's if you delete any save data made before the Soul Calibur 3 save file, the memory card corrupts.

 

[DukeLongfellow]

Me and my friends enjoyed the RTS mode a lot one summer. Each of us made our own character (4 in total) and traded controllers when each of them entered battle. If I remember correctly, the custom characters also had different fighting styles to the original characters so you never felt like you were playing a rehash. Felt really sad that the mode didn't return improved in SCIV.

 

[CAR105 3]

The best Soul Calibur game, hands down. I absolutely adored this as a kid, modes for days and so many unlockables!

My memory card corrupted several times because of this game....

It's if you delete any save data made before the Soul Calibur 3 save file, the memory card corrupts.

That's nasty!

I never got to play it. However, I do love that the intro cinematic was about Siegfried's stuggle to free himself from Nightmare's memories.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Does anyone else think that the original Soul Edge is way underrated? ...at least in terms of the parts I can still remember 20 years later... But! It had the best Namco intro movie ever (and Namco was on fire for a long time with awesome intros) three different soundtracks​including the awesome Khan Super Session, and muthafucking Li Long screaming and stomping on dudes.

 

[Von Krukru]

That's the one I would love to see in HD on the PSN with netplay! Good content and roster, very good OST.

 

[Alfredo]

I remember a combination of the brutal AI and the long load times made the single player modes very frustrating for me.

 

[sixteen-bit]

This is where the series took an aesthetic nosedive. So garish.

 

[Triteon]

I really liked the RPG mode that was in 3.

Since then the games have felt barebones

 

[Tu101uk]

Glad to see a bit of love for my personal favourite Soul Calibur, I was fortunate to have a local arcade with SC3:Arcade Edition in it, the changes, bug fixes and fleshed out extra characters made it all the better.

Speaking of which, where the hell is my SC3:AE HD Remaster, Bamco? :<

 

[Maou]

The legend will never die, but it started to right around here. Alarms went off when it went straight to home release, but what stood out for me instantly was that it's sort of the end of Soul Calibur as a 3D series. By this I mean that the 8-way run is Soul Calibur 1 and 2's most meaningful contribution to 3D fighting (Tobal 2 did it first, but not enough people played it), and a big part of that is the ability to have GOOD attacks that work during the 8-way run, including ones that hit low. I was always struck by the complete dearth of low attacks in 8-way run in 3 compared to the huge volume in 2. Nightmare/Siegfried was my basis for this observation, but it seemed to hold for other players as well. One low attacks in motion are eliminated from a non-jump oriented game like this, you're basically stuck doing and blocking mid and high attacks forever. After about 1000 cumulative hours in 1 and 2, I think we checked out of 3 in about 20.

 

[Crankshaft]

3 is my least favorite (even behind the psp game) but I would still buy a remaster in a heartbeat.

 

[charsace]

3 Screwed the popularity of the serious. 2 was multiplat and crazy popular. It only died because of that step gltich. Locking 3 onto one platform was crazy. 3 was the time to push for the next level of popularity and sales.