Soulcalibur III

Soulcalibur III brought the third installment of the famous weapon-based fighting series to the PlayStation 2, and it did so in grand style. Alongside the established roster of fighters like Mitsurugi, Ivy, and Nightmare, it added several new characters, among them the scythe-wielding necromancer Zasalamel and the swordswoman Setsuka, and further refined the combat system with eight directions of movement, guard impacts, and weapons that change not only the appearance but also the fighting style of each character. Some characters from previous installments also returned after a break, or appeared for the first time in new forms, so even players familiar with the older Soulcalibur games will run into familiar faces in a different context.

This version was a PlayStation 2 exclusive and offered content that never made it to any other platform - the extensive Chronicles of the Sword mode, a turn-by-turn campaign with strategy elements in which the player commands their own army of characters, recruits units, and fights to control the world map. There was also an elaborate character editor, which let players create their own fighter with a unique look and set of weapons and deploy them both in classic duels and in the campaign mentioned above. This is rounded out by other standalone modes such as Soul Arena, with endurance challenges against waves of opponents, and the Museum, where progressing through the game gradually unlocks concept art and other development materials from the series. The sheer scope of these bonus modes makes Soulcalibur III on PS2 feel more like a complex bundle of several interconnected games on one disc than just a set of arena duels.

This makes Soulcalibur III far more extensive than the series' purely combat-focused titles, offering dozens of hours of content even for players uninterested in fighting other players.

Why play it: Soulcalibur III is for players who want more than just tournament duels - thanks to Chronicles of the Sword and the character editor, it offers the most complete and time-consuming experience of the entire series on PS2.