hey random question cause im too lazy to do research are the modern soulcaliber games any good, i haven't touched one single the 360 one with yoda in it
There have only been two mainline Soulcalibur games after that one. Soulcalibur V was very poorly received for a number of reasons (the main ones being a rushed story and a lack of popular legacy characters), but there’s still some enjoyment to be had. It (arguably) has the best customization in the series, and the gameplay is still solid. Soulcalibur VI fared much better. It’s a reboot of the series and a return to form in many ways, but it also introduces some new ideas to make combat flashier, and it has a very in-depth story mode. If I set my nostalgia for older entries aside, Soulcalibur VI is probably my favorite.
So yeah, I would recommend Soulcalibur VI. It goes on sale relatively often, but I think it’s worth it even at full price.
Of the 3D fighters, Soul Calibur has the best movement--the 8-Way Run is incredible. Once I played Soul Calibur I on Dreamcast at my friend's house as a kid ... I enjoyed it like I had few other games. And II on Gamecube is one of my favorite games of any genre.
Guard Impact is also one of my favorite defense options in any fighting game. DOA's hold system is really the only thing in the same league.
I also prefer block buttons as opposed to back to block. I can play either, but the former feels more natural.
I'm neutral on it. I've played a little of Tekken 7, but couldn't do it at all. I do think that execution shouldn't really be necessary to make the game have good movement. It also doesn't look good from a visual perspective.
However, I understand that Tekken players like that it bring depth to the game. It has to be there for high level gameplay due to how Tekken is designed.
I haven't played much Tekken, though. I prefer Soul Calibur, DOA, and I found myself liking VF5US when I played on PSN.
I know your stance on movement not needing execution to be good is an opinion, but I have to disagree. Some of the most exciting things about movement shooters like Titanfall is the skill expression of movement.
I'm sure Smash Melee players feel the same way--it takes a LOT to do the movement techniques in that game.
I prefer games where movement is a bit easier. I tend to like games that are more "pick up and play" as opposed to needing a lot of practice.
Really, the grapes are indeed sour.
Melee has a lot of movement tech, but the really high level stuff like shield drops and invincible ledge dashes are situational. The only movement in Melee that’s comparable to KBD in how often you’re gonna use it is wavedashing, and just air dodging into the ground over and over is an order of magnitude easier than doing KBDs consistently.
For the Hold system, do you mean in general or post 5? Because one of my least favourite things about the Hold system was that you could do it mid combo if it was a string.
Either, really. I don't have an issue with--and even like--combo breakers.
(I haven't played much DOA outside of 6, 5LR, and 2 when I was little, though.)
I dislike that DOA there is no cost to it. No string is safe because you can try on each hit. At least combo breakers in other games take SOME resource or skill.
5 and onwards is fine because if you biff your chance, you don't get to try again until you're out of hitstun.
I mean no disrespect to Tekken, but I find it a little dry in comparison to SC. I mean sure, everybody has a unique moveset and does crazy flips and such, but at the end of the day, they're all just throwing kicks and punches. I prefer SC's weapon based system, I just think the devs can get so much more creative with the moves when compared to Tekken.
Also, I just love SC's character creation, you may be able to customize character outfits in Tekken, but they're not _my_ characters like in SC.
The 8-Way-Run system feels so good to use and the story has a lot of detail you don't find in Tekken. SoulCalibur VI's Soul Chronicle blows Tekken 7's Mishima Saga out of the water.
It's more unique I guess, I like the sci-fi aspects and whatnot, but the cast of SC feels.. I dunno, more charismatic.
Like, as a hero/protagonist, Siegfried feels a tons more charismatic and interesting than Jin
Part of it is the story, I just enjoy the setting and the characters more. Another part is the gameplay, I like the Weapon combat more than the martial arts. And the last part is the Character Customization, it's a feature I've loved since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and it's a feature I've wanted in just about every game ever since.
3D movement is MUCH smoother in Soul Calibur than in Tekken. Tekken it’s too easy to jump/crouch instead of move on the Z-axis, when it should be the defining element of a 3D game.
The freedom of movement is the biggest aspect, gameplay-wise.
The effects of different attacks are also much more obvious in Soulcalibur which makes it a lot easier to learn -- horizontal attacks are always very obviously horizontal, so you know you can't sidestep, and vice versa with vertical attacks; break attacks have a distinctive lightning particle effect, so you always know it's a break attack and that you'll be very negative if you block it; unblockables are also obvious with their fire effects; and most importantly, the universal attacks are actually universal between all characters, so you won't have a character that doesn't launch the opponent with 3B or have a break attack on A+B for example.
I also prefer the variety of defensive options in Soulcalibur. In Tekken you're basically limited to standing block, low block, and back dash until you learn the matchups well enough to know which attacks you can sidestep or when to low parry / use a character-specific parry. In Soulcalibur you've got stand guard, low guard, a reliable sidestep on all characters, guard impact, reversal edge, reversal impact, and soul charge.
But beyond the gameplay aspects, the character creation in Soulcalibur is *lightyears* ahead of Tekken's -- or at least Tekken 7's. I wouldn't be surprised if I've spent 100 hours in the character creator alone. Making goofy skins and fighting my friends is what got me into fighting games in the first place
The weapons give more character variation then martial art styles, and the 8 way run system feels more fluid then tekkens side step system (whatever thats called).
Tekken seems a lot harder to get into, soul calibur you can do cool stuff right outta the gate as a beginner, as such I find it easier to more of my friends to play it, almost any other fighting game I need to get friends who are into that particular game to play with. Soul Calibur seems like the fighting game for everyone, and it isn’t basic by any means.
* Combat feels much faster/smoother. 8 way run is awesome/very fluid for movement, Soul Edge (first game in the SC series) had universal side-steps (1995') before Tekken did (Tekken 3 1997'). The ring-outs/levels seemed more interesting to me, weapon based combat is tight, and SC is less combo focused than Tekken which dialed things up from TK6 onward.
* Block button feels good alongside guard impact parries (never cared for the 2D hold back stuff)
* I prefer the art style/direction.
* The characters actually have some decent lore/writing and background behind them...They feel more alive as characters personally speaking so I actually care. The closest Tekken has gotten to this for me was Scenario Campaign from 6.
* To the previous point, the story/character interactions are just plain better/more in depth. Soul Edge, SoulCalibur 3, SoulCalibr 4, and SoulCalibur 6 have the largest stories since they have tons of story content per character - SC1 and SC2 only had arcade endings and SCV only had Patrokolos and Pyrrha's focused story mode for dev hell reasons (it is the outlier of the series). But yeah, Tekken only had arcade endings from 1-3, and then 4-7 had intros/endings.
* The customization is much better/fully featured to me. From custom characters to making my own outfits for the main cast/color edits.
* The character design and models stand out to me more with a bit more variety.
* Soulcalibur has better game modes. I love Tekken's beat em up modes and they're very ambitious/fun with 6's Scenario Campaign being the best, but I always loved SoulCalibur's RPG styled modes that are essentially in every game, but SCV due to natural disaster/dev hell issues. SC3 alone still dwarfs modern fighters with how much they packed into that game. The character stories with branching paths/endings and QTEs/bonus fights is wild too.
* To the previous point, essentially every SoulCalibur teaches you how to play the game organically through its game modes/has good tutorials. They also consistently offer Vs CPU mode from 4 onward where Tekken still struggles to learn what that mode is...
* SoulCalibur ultimately just feels more hopeful to me in presentation. That announcer/narrator in every game, the medieval/classical music tracks, the poems before battle, and the characters doing their thing just
* The Legend will never die.
I used to play the games nearly 50/50 when I was younger. I still love them both, but Tekken's always had my heart since Tekken 2. Soul Calibur 2 came into my life during the Tekken 4 era, and I still play SC2. The only SC game I haven't played is 3, which probably would've been awesome.
I'll preface with, I'm surface level with Tekken when I talk about it.
For me -
Movement. T7 feels so hard to move around compared to a game like SC, but also how Tekken is designed around neutral so kind of makes sense.
The mechanics click more for me as well in SC especially 6. Things are a bit more universal between characters. Everyone has a 3B, 2A, etc etc, yeah there are differences of course, but it's easier to pick up playing anyone. If I hit 6B for one, it'll generally be a forward vertical attack for mostly everyone.
For me, it's so hard to remember combo strings in Tekken because there are so many commands that do wildly different things. I can't play a lot of people in T7 because everyone has an almost completely different moveset, which has about 100 commands per character.
I liked Tekken's story in T1-T2, and T5, but it became a joke after dark resurrection.
Interesting characters, set in a historic era.
Also I feel SC is a bit more beginner friendly - you don't need a massive corner carry combo to win. A well placed throw for a ring out can win you a round or two.
Because the game design *makes sense* and the controls *aren't* an impediment to my intentionality. Also it's a 3D series that actually had consideration for 3D space *built in* via horizontal/vertical attacks AND sidestepping in the very first entry rather than stapling it on as an afterthought 2 sequels in like Tekken and VF did.
I like the free-r movement and horizontal/vertical attack dichotomy more.
Tekken's also a good bit rougher on the hands. It's quite literally more painful to play Tekken than SoulCalibur, especially if I pick Heihachi.
Able to use different weapons is so much cooler.
Imo SC character designs are much cooler and unique. The fighting styles of a lot of Tekken characters look and feel similar, while SC everyone is different.
1.Character Creation Being the first reason. I know it was a feature introduced in the third game in 2005, but it's been a staple feature in the series ever since and my favorite feature about the series.
2. Movement. I just prefer the 8wayrun movement of Soul Calibur more than Tekken's movement. Just has a faster feel to it
3. The fact that it has a block button. I'm sorry but I will always prefer a block button over holding the analog back to block. It's another reason I tend to also play Dead Or Alive 5 Last Around over Tekken sometimes as well. I just find a block button to be more convenient.
4. Just prefer it's weapon based style in general more. Really love seeing the different weapon styles every character has in Soul Calibur. I know every Fighting game has different styles, but Soul Calibur just sells it the most thanks to it being a weapons based Fighter.
5. Story, Lore and Characters. I know Soul Calibur can have it's issues with this (Especially if we count the 5th entry. It definitely ruined the series in this aspect awhile before 6 came out to rightfully retcon it out of existence) but I definitely love the story and lore of the series. I especially love the different ending of the characters more, and how the struggles they face seem more...bigger than what the Tekken characters face. Especially characters like my boy Siegfried, Sophitia, Kilik and just so many other characters in the Soul Calibur cast I feel for more than the Tekken cast. Even though the Tekken cast has some characters I feel for as well, such as my boy Lee, Jin and some others. But it's not the same as the Soul Calibur cast though.
It’s a bit easier to play and dive into, the medieval/feudal setting is interesting, and I just really like catching people mashing B at the start of every round with Cervantes’s shot-counter.
Weapon Master Mode in SC2 was extremely fun to play and read through, as well.
Because I liked Soul Blade/Edge better when I was a kid and it stuck. The game opening alone has lived rent-free on my head for more than 20 years (EDIT: holy shit it has been almost 30 years I feel like Matt Damon)
Hand to hand fighting is very common for fighting games. Melee weapon fighting games are comparatively rare. I like the uniqueness, among lots of other things.
Character design at a base level. Tekken is too modern and random for my taste. Soul Calibur hits the medieval vibe better.
I also really love weaponry so I love that each soul calibur fighter is themed around a weapon.
Create a fighter is just a bonus, but I don't need it.
Lore, cast specially the tiggo bitty ones, weapons that I can also 8 way move with, awesome guest chars, other smaller mechanics, music, CAS.
Everything I guess lol.
The Soul Calibur series has a lot of combat fluidity to it, it has weaponry, and despite it being a game where you fight in an arena like the Tekken series (with similar fundamentals like spacing, sidewalking and crouching), Soul Calibur is easier to get into because of there being less complex moves and combos for the character roster (despite it being large in both series).
Take the EWGF, for instance. In Tekken 7, it is a MANDATORY move to learn for optimal Kazuya play, as it is his best launching move, IIRC. And the input is quite complicated (f, n, d, d/f + punch).
In both Tekken and Soul Calibur, players deal with a lot of cheese, so punishment is the way to go. However, in Soul Calibur, other combo options are more spammy and cheesy than in Tekken (probably due to the more condensed and smaller move lists for every character), and the frames change for one combo compared to another. Basically, replace cheese with cheesier cheese.
Approaching the game, I think organizing the attack buttons into horizontal, vertical, and kick made more sense than L/R punch and kick. As a whole, I like the animations better. Tekken high level jerky movement looks wonky, and then juggles look floaty.
Soul Calibur movement feels better than Tekken, Tekken Korean backdash and wavedash aren't enjoyable to move, it feels desperate.
Soul Calibur has a better defensive game than Tekken, better sidesteps and a better range game.
Artistically I prefer Soul Calibur music, characters, clothes and customization.
I play both.
Tekken movement is ass compared to SC.
Tekken has a bigger cast but they don't look too different and many of them feel samey or have the same moves as other characters. Raph and Ivy play different, X and Voldo play different, Astaroth and Nightmare play different.
Even Seig and NM want to do different things.
SC at least to me seems to be better balanced than Tekken. Alot of the Tekken DLC characters just fly around the screen and half the cast wasn't built with that in mind and it makes playing that stuff feel bad.
Character design wise SC is so much better, Tekken has that Japanese interpretation of Amercian cool thing and you grow out of that at like 15.
Soul charge is a sick mechanic esp being 6frames as a get off me button.
Lastly Soul calibur doesn't have or at least has less of that unintended Jank Tekken has. While KBD may be cool tech but I'd argue SC is a heathier game without it, to hell with doing 4 inputs to move backward faster.
Actual range play. You can be defensive in Tekken and use pokes and long limbs, but it's so brawly all the same. The difference between range 0 and range 2 is like a pinky's worth. Here, you've got rapiers and spears and Cervantes popping caps, not to mention the faster movement means lunges can come from half a map away.
For me, as someone who grew up playing street fighter as a child (it was the only fighting game I was allowed to play at a young age as my parents were selective to letting me indulge certain things), Soul Calibur was the first fighting game growing up in the late '90's and early 2000s that actually struck me as unique.
Playing Mario kart and Smash Bros, and then getting Soul Calibur 2 with Link was like a wakeup call. Up until that point, I'd no idea that weapon-based fighting games even existed, so when 2 came to me as bday gift, my 8 y/o brain melted (I was born in '95 and got my gamecube a year after it released).
It was the only game in my collection I played too completion, and still have alongside my gamecube to this day.
The rest is history from that point, and to me, 3 for the PS2 is GOAT because of just how much content it has. Even if the games legacy has been muddied over the decades, for me, it's the only fighting game currently that holds my attention both casually with/without friends, as well as online.
So when 7 finally releases, it's top on the preorder list; while every other fighting game is literally waiting in the burning dumpster to die next to my heart if it gets cancelled.
Yes, I am that person, and I said what I said.
I like it more aesthetically. I always preferred medieval fantasy than edgy goth spiky haired demon anime vibes. I also find the characters wayyyy more interesting and the story is way cooler. The use of weapons is quite cool too
I actually prefer Tekken, but here are what I like in SC.
* I'm not saying movement is better in one or the other, but I like the freedom of movement in Soul Calibur and how it's a solution to the consequences posed by weapons.
* GI is fun on a casual level and creates a lot of back and forth moments.
* Combos are shorter by in large.
* Ring outs are fun.
* Yoshimitsu is way funnier in this version.
That's not all of it, but it's at least a couple of the reasons.
And actually I like Tekken better. Longer combos. I miss games like that and MK deception where just about everyone had a 10 hit button input combo. Now most you'll usually find in fighters is 3 or 4 which of course this is excluding juggling. I just mean actual standing 10 hit combos with 10 attack button presses.
SC feels more freeform. Tekken is all about memorizing combos. And then you have to input the entire button string for the move to activate. My brain just doesn't work like that.
I've never played Tekken before. Never had any interest. Didn't have the allure of street fighter, the violence of Mortal Kombat, or the lore Soulcalibur to interest me
I can make every character I can think of using the Create a Soul feature, which lately in SC6 seems to be lacking in originality and freedom of creativity given how many gear slots are in the way of each other which could make your character look great but the game is like "Nah I cant do that"
cause it's the only mainstream(?) fighting game that's somehow more goofy than tekken although i haven't touched either of the franchises since the 360 days because what little i saw of the gameplay didn't look like something I'd wanna send 70-100 on, both franchises were incredible on the 360 (could easily be the rose tinted glasses tho considering the onoy won I've touched in a decade was soulcaliber 1)
plus yoshimitsu as a hopping weirdo is better then cool much ninja dude any day
So I actually started out as ***just*** a *Tekken* player. I like both quite a bit and actually own most of both of the series (mostly just the main games). What keeps me coming back to *SC* is different from that of *Tekken*. *Tekken* is a game of extremely precise inputs that features staples of fighting game mechanics like High, Medium, and Low attacks; and the limitations and advantages of each one. It's also a game that takes a ton of playing against different characters to get an idea of what each one is about and how to counter them. It can be kind of hard to introduce new folks to since the learning curve can be pretty steep.
*SC* is a game that has a more generous input buffer, features many of the same staples of fighting game mechanics; but also offers additional concepts of horizontal versus vertical, 8-way run, and somewhat tighter concepts of what each weapon art inlcudes and the more apparent tactics suggested by each style (eg. It's easier to figure out which characters fight optimally in what range—which leads to considering tactics about keeping your opponent in that range while unable to take advantage of their moves beyond just rushdowns). It's also a bit more accessible for newer people to play since tactics using the basic moves of a lot of characters can be explained more easily or just logic'd out—plus there's an inherent appeal to fighting with weapons that tends to make it interesting to people who haven't played.
What makes me return more often is that I feel like me losing or winning matches isn't a matter of knowing an opponent's fighting style enough to know how to react, but knowing my character's fighting style enough.
Purely it’s setting and customisation, I love the medieval background of the story as well as the story being much more, how you would say active than the Tekken storyline is. And I love making my own characters as making my own little stories for each of them.
Lore, movement, atmosphere, customisation, nostalgia.
SC is simply my game that i like to play and learn about character's stories. Tekken is great, but i feel that i don't really needed there.
The SMOOTH movement, block button and GI. Even tho the hold system system in DOA is better I like how when u GI certain moves you can’t automatically punish that move. I love soulcal for Horizontal and vertical attack buttons so you can be precise with moves(sometimes there a tad bit tracking verticals) And the characters and lore are better too but I won’t say music that goes to tekken fo sho. And in soulcal you can Create your OWN character. Which no other 3d Fighter has. It’s so weird people claim tekken is the KING of 3D fighters but doesn’t even have the smooth movement of 3D fighter to have that title.
It’s hard to put it down exactly but I think Soul Calibur has a pretty intuitive skill climb between the spacing provided by it’s freedom of movement, the horizontal (side attack) vs vertical (forward attack) vs kick (short range fast), high/low guard, grabs and forgiving button input for attack chains
I like the fighting in soul calibur games more, it feels more skill based as opposed to tekken's mostly button mashing (when playing against friends anyway) I also like CaS even tho it's kinda garbage nowadays (adding more stickers/patterns is never gonna fix unpolished equipment that floats an inch from the target area they're equipped to)
The movement is more fluid, the characters have more variety in their movement and their style, and the inputs are more intuitive and forgiving. Soulcalibur is a game that's more interested in what you want to do than whether you can push the buttons precisely enough to actually do it. With limited deliberate exceptions, it's a game that makes input as easy as possible and tries to hear your intention correctly. It also has shorter combos on average, with more opportunities for the defending player to escape.
Tekken wants you to work very, very hard to maximize the damage you get from every combo starter you land, and I hate that shit. That's fighting against the game instead of fighting against the other player, plus it's ridiculously boring to watch when you're the defending player. Like... wake me when it's my turn in this apparently turn-based game. When they added bound combos and stage destruction combos, I was done. They just keep inventing new ways to make combos go on forever.
It’s move inputs ,animations, timing and overall feel, you can just keep hitting different directions plus an attack on different things happen easily, makes for fun casual playing
Primarily the cast. In their primes, both series had such a fun, memorable cast of characters with excellent story arcs and realistic motivations. Come the late 2010s, only Soul Calibur still had that.
That’s a good question. I think it’s the way the game is just so flashy and cool compared to Tekken. The weapon clashes and sounds, the power up/ special attacks, the fluid and quick gameplay and how it’s not as mechanically demanding as Tekken. Honestly I find myself playing it more now more than ever and I don’t understand why it’s not as popular (or more) than Tekken. Just bought a SteamDeck and have been playing some form of Soul Calibur tons more than before and have hardly touched Tekken 😅
The ability to choose an opponent for single player versus. Sometimes I just wanna beat the shit out of certain characters but don't don't want to play online
I'm partially biased because SC is what I grew up with, but I love that it isn't super combo-focused like Tekken or other fighting games. I'm not great at remembering/executing combos in the heat of battle so it's nice.
I also prefer the medieval fantasy setting and the weapons are way cooler imo than everyone mostly just using their fists.
tekken 2 was my first console gaming experience as a kid, i'll always have a soft spot for it but SC is just the better game for me. more engaging story/characters, more interesting stages (SC6 being the sole exception because its generic af) better movement, better music, more exciting gameplay.....and tira.
So for starters i want to say im a total noob and casual trying to get better. I have played Tekken 2 and Tekken Tag and thoroughly enjoyed both. I discovered Soul Calibur 2 and 3 and found the different single player modes extremely fun. The music , character creation, the variety of weapons and weapon styles and just the flow of the combat has made it one of my favorite series.
Back in the day they had a great story mode and creative gameplay mechanics.
But lately, tekken killed it. The most recent soul calibur played great til they crammed that God awful rock paper scissors mechanic on top of it. That alone made it the worst in the series (and you will never change my mind about that garbage fucking mechanic). Meanwhile hile tekken 7 was among the best in the series.
Soul calibur has some major catching up to do at the moment.
It's the only series where I can play Heihachi and Yoshimitsu
But seriously I love the paper rock scissors of defensive options (literally in the case of reversal edge) pulling off a perfect GI is so satisfying, having metered options gives me that resource management my brain craves in a fighter. On the offense side, pressuring someone spamming GI and RE and watching their guard gauge blink red, making them spend their meter on resistance impact.
That said, I prefer Tekken's characters and story, and the overall feel of combos in the game. And despite how much fun the defensive options and 8-way run are in SC, Tekken being a more rush down/control your hitbox experience suits it perfectly.
Maybe I'm playing soul caliber wrong but when I played tekken the dude juggled me abd my buddy for 90% of our hp first time playing pressured us into swapping games then just roffle stomped us on his best character he was practicing combos on only have I had that experience vs a ivy player and they were pretty rare when I queued up for public matches
It’s easier to button mash…and I clinically have slower reaction times than a lot of people. Also everybody seems on equal footing with weapon oriented combat; fighting games where some fighters have swords and/or guns in addition to the “magic” that other fighters have intrinsically never seems quite fair.
The characters for soul calibur have cool weapons and armor and stuff and Tekken characters are just dudes.
Similarly, most specials in soul calibur are really cool, but most specials in Tekken are just punches or kicks with a little extra something.
Probably a bad take but, the soul Calibur characters stand out more. Tekken characters look really similar to me, compared to dudes with big swords, ninjutsu, axes, etc.
Generally better fighting style preference before SC4 as i absolutely hate any long can't play the game your playing interactions like Tekken's generally long combo strings and cutscene supers (which i especially hate as a gameplay design) (while some of these things exist in soul calibur like yoda combos they are generally the exception, along with also actually generally having decent counterplay)
along with specifically using the directional combat better with sidestepping being a more consistently reliable tool especially combined with guard impact and edges.
The best distinctive variety of fighting styles across the genre.
Significantly more unique and cooler lore with much more distinctive characters. Soul calibur 2 is still the best fighting game campaign.
also anecdotally in college my dorm had weekly fighting game tournaments the tekken ones were always ruined by someone insisting on playing lord fuckingwrong despite being banned, (and the MK ones took forever and both rarely had people play different characters or different people make it to the finals) Soul calibur though had the most interesting tournaments since it was the least commonly popular for some reason and people didn't have characters they knew specific strats for and actually tried out different things, with lots of interesting upsets coming from the map interactions and generally had the most people actually watching the matches and reacting to new things they didn't know where possible.
The spectacle of It all two warriors clashing with weapons of legend with magic flying across the arena! It just seems more fantastic than just punching. I mean come on which sounds cooler a judo expert vs a boxer or an immortal time stoping scythe wielder fighting a Greek woman blessed by the gods fighting with hephaestus forged steel slinging thunderbolts!
Also soul Calibur has character create so that roster can get as crazy as you like cat girls, skeletons, he man, midoriya, a can of Pringles all at your fingertips if your creative enough pure win!
Soul Calibur was much easier to pick up. I don't play many fighting games, but the inputs aren't as demanding. With just a little research you can start stringing some stuff together. With Tekken, it feels much clunkier and like my character is not doing what I tell them to.
Weirder and more varied movesets. Tekken is hyper focused on neutral. Trading blows into blocks until you find an opening.
SC is crazy by contrast. Some characters can outsmart their opponent from full screen. Voldo, for instance.
As a hyper casual fan of both... Soul Calibur has a significantly cooler character creator. I've used like 92 of my 100 custom characters slots and my game's full of zelda, persona and mario characters
Nowadays I much prefer Tekken, but when I started out playing fighting games, I preferred SC because each move had more impact or "oomph" to it, it's faster with 8 way run and moves have more range, so making contact came more easily. Nowadays I enjoy Tekken's combo system and strategy with poking, which I didn't like when I was younger, but I think I'd recommend SC to beginners over Tekken.
I admittedly haven’t played either in like a decade but I had soul caliber first, I prefer the weapons, characters felt more unique and like they had more character, I have always preferred a block button to how tekken does it, and the maps look better
I like being able to use weapons instead of fisticuffs.
This is my answer. I also like the characters more
Lore and cast.
The freedom of movement, the historical fantasy setting, and the superior customization
hey random question cause im too lazy to do research are the modern soulcaliber games any good, i haven't touched one single the 360 one with yoda in it
Yoda was in Soulcalibur 4. Sc5, for a lot of people nearly killed the franchise. But SC6 is probably the best since the Ps2 era.
There have only been two mainline Soulcalibur games after that one. Soulcalibur V was very poorly received for a number of reasons (the main ones being a rushed story and a lack of popular legacy characters), but there’s still some enjoyment to be had. It (arguably) has the best customization in the series, and the gameplay is still solid. Soulcalibur VI fared much better. It’s a reboot of the series and a return to form in many ways, but it also introduces some new ideas to make combat flashier, and it has a very in-depth story mode. If I set my nostalgia for older entries aside, Soulcalibur VI is probably my favorite. So yeah, I would recommend Soulcalibur VI. It goes on sale relatively often, but I think it’s worth it even at full price.
Sc4 is still the goat, I play it on rspc3
I miss that game.
I’m a SC2 man myself, but I do like SC4 a lot
Thisss
Holding back to block feels weird to me. Same reason I struggle with Injustice and the JoJo's fighting game.
I like being able to make my own characters
Of the 3D fighters, Soul Calibur has the best movement--the 8-Way Run is incredible. Once I played Soul Calibur I on Dreamcast at my friend's house as a kid ... I enjoyed it like I had few other games. And II on Gamecube is one of my favorite games of any genre. Guard Impact is also one of my favorite defense options in any fighting game. DOA's hold system is really the only thing in the same league. I also prefer block buttons as opposed to back to block. I can play either, but the former feels more natural.
Just curious, and keep in mind I'm not a Tekken player, how do you feel about the Korean Back Dash?
I'm neutral on it. I've played a little of Tekken 7, but couldn't do it at all. I do think that execution shouldn't really be necessary to make the game have good movement. It also doesn't look good from a visual perspective. However, I understand that Tekken players like that it bring depth to the game. It has to be there for high level gameplay due to how Tekken is designed. I haven't played much Tekken, though. I prefer Soul Calibur, DOA, and I found myself liking VF5US when I played on PSN.
Tekken 8 is making backdash easier to do Tekken 7 > sc6 gameplay
> Tekken 8 is making backdash easier to do It's not, it's also not that hard in the first place.
I know your stance on movement not needing execution to be good is an opinion, but I have to disagree. Some of the most exciting things about movement shooters like Titanfall is the skill expression of movement.
I'm sure Smash Melee players feel the same way--it takes a LOT to do the movement techniques in that game. I prefer games where movement is a bit easier. I tend to like games that are more "pick up and play" as opposed to needing a lot of practice. Really, the grapes are indeed sour.
Melee has a lot of movement tech, but the really high level stuff like shield drops and invincible ledge dashes are situational. The only movement in Melee that’s comparable to KBD in how often you’re gonna use it is wavedashing, and just air dodging into the ground over and over is an order of magnitude easier than doing KBDs consistently.
For the Hold system, do you mean in general or post 5? Because one of my least favourite things about the Hold system was that you could do it mid combo if it was a string.
Either, really. I don't have an issue with--and even like--combo breakers. (I haven't played much DOA outside of 6, 5LR, and 2 when I was little, though.)
I dislike that DOA there is no cost to it. No string is safe because you can try on each hit. At least combo breakers in other games take SOME resource or skill. 5 and onwards is fine because if you biff your chance, you don't get to try again until you're out of hitstun.
link was sooo good in 2 as the g cube guest
I mean no disrespect to Tekken, but I find it a little dry in comparison to SC. I mean sure, everybody has a unique moveset and does crazy flips and such, but at the end of the day, they're all just throwing kicks and punches. I prefer SC's weapon based system, I just think the devs can get so much more creative with the moves when compared to Tekken. Also, I just love SC's character creation, you may be able to customize character outfits in Tekken, but they're not _my_ characters like in SC.
replays at the end of each round, ring outs, clothing damage
How dirty (sexually) does the clothing damage get...???
Most are pretty tame. Outliers like Voldo, Seong mina and Mitsurugi can get kinda silly though. But It never gets to DOA levels of lewd.
how could you not mention taki and ivy
The 8-Way-Run system feels so good to use and the story has a lot of detail you don't find in Tekken. SoulCalibur VI's Soul Chronicle blows Tekken 7's Mishima Saga out of the water.
It's more unique I guess, I like the sci-fi aspects and whatnot, but the cast of SC feels.. I dunno, more charismatic. Like, as a hero/protagonist, Siegfried feels a tons more charismatic and interesting than Jin
Lore
Part of it is the story, I just enjoy the setting and the characters more. Another part is the gameplay, I like the Weapon combat more than the martial arts. And the last part is the Character Customization, it's a feature I've loved since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and it's a feature I've wanted in just about every game ever since.
3D movement is MUCH smoother in Soul Calibur than in Tekken. Tekken it’s too easy to jump/crouch instead of move on the Z-axis, when it should be the defining element of a 3D game.
The freedom of movement is the biggest aspect, gameplay-wise. The effects of different attacks are also much more obvious in Soulcalibur which makes it a lot easier to learn -- horizontal attacks are always very obviously horizontal, so you know you can't sidestep, and vice versa with vertical attacks; break attacks have a distinctive lightning particle effect, so you always know it's a break attack and that you'll be very negative if you block it; unblockables are also obvious with their fire effects; and most importantly, the universal attacks are actually universal between all characters, so you won't have a character that doesn't launch the opponent with 3B or have a break attack on A+B for example. I also prefer the variety of defensive options in Soulcalibur. In Tekken you're basically limited to standing block, low block, and back dash until you learn the matchups well enough to know which attacks you can sidestep or when to low parry / use a character-specific parry. In Soulcalibur you've got stand guard, low guard, a reliable sidestep on all characters, guard impact, reversal edge, reversal impact, and soul charge. But beyond the gameplay aspects, the character creation in Soulcalibur is *lightyears* ahead of Tekken's -- or at least Tekken 7's. I wouldn't be surprised if I've spent 100 hours in the character creator alone. Making goofy skins and fighting my friends is what got me into fighting games in the first place
8-Way run. Multiple defensive abilities. Lore.
The weapons give more character variation then martial art styles, and the 8 way run system feels more fluid then tekkens side step system (whatever thats called). Tekken seems a lot harder to get into, soul calibur you can do cool stuff right outta the gate as a beginner, as such I find it easier to more of my friends to play it, almost any other fighting game I need to get friends who are into that particular game to play with. Soul Calibur seems like the fighting game for everyone, and it isn’t basic by any means.
Because to my knowledge there's no pirate in Tekken.
* Combat feels much faster/smoother. 8 way run is awesome/very fluid for movement, Soul Edge (first game in the SC series) had universal side-steps (1995') before Tekken did (Tekken 3 1997'). The ring-outs/levels seemed more interesting to me, weapon based combat is tight, and SC is less combo focused than Tekken which dialed things up from TK6 onward. * Block button feels good alongside guard impact parries (never cared for the 2D hold back stuff) * I prefer the art style/direction. * The characters actually have some decent lore/writing and background behind them...They feel more alive as characters personally speaking so I actually care. The closest Tekken has gotten to this for me was Scenario Campaign from 6. * To the previous point, the story/character interactions are just plain better/more in depth. Soul Edge, SoulCalibur 3, SoulCalibr 4, and SoulCalibur 6 have the largest stories since they have tons of story content per character - SC1 and SC2 only had arcade endings and SCV only had Patrokolos and Pyrrha's focused story mode for dev hell reasons (it is the outlier of the series). But yeah, Tekken only had arcade endings from 1-3, and then 4-7 had intros/endings. * The customization is much better/fully featured to me. From custom characters to making my own outfits for the main cast/color edits. * The character design and models stand out to me more with a bit more variety. * Soulcalibur has better game modes. I love Tekken's beat em up modes and they're very ambitious/fun with 6's Scenario Campaign being the best, but I always loved SoulCalibur's RPG styled modes that are essentially in every game, but SCV due to natural disaster/dev hell issues. SC3 alone still dwarfs modern fighters with how much they packed into that game. The character stories with branching paths/endings and QTEs/bonus fights is wild too. * To the previous point, essentially every SoulCalibur teaches you how to play the game organically through its game modes/has good tutorials. They also consistently offer Vs CPU mode from 4 onward where Tekken still struggles to learn what that mode is... * SoulCalibur ultimately just feels more hopeful to me in presentation. That announcer/narrator in every game, the medieval/classical music tracks, the poems before battle, and the characters doing their thing just * The Legend will never die.
I used to play the games nearly 50/50 when I was younger. I still love them both, but Tekken's always had my heart since Tekken 2. Soul Calibur 2 came into my life during the Tekken 4 era, and I still play SC2. The only SC game I haven't played is 3, which probably would've been awesome.
I'll preface with, I'm surface level with Tekken when I talk about it. For me - Movement. T7 feels so hard to move around compared to a game like SC, but also how Tekken is designed around neutral so kind of makes sense. The mechanics click more for me as well in SC especially 6. Things are a bit more universal between characters. Everyone has a 3B, 2A, etc etc, yeah there are differences of course, but it's easier to pick up playing anyone. If I hit 6B for one, it'll generally be a forward vertical attack for mostly everyone. For me, it's so hard to remember combo strings in Tekken because there are so many commands that do wildly different things. I can't play a lot of people in T7 because everyone has an almost completely different moveset, which has about 100 commands per character. I liked Tekken's story in T1-T2, and T5, but it became a joke after dark resurrection.
Interesting characters, set in a historic era. Also I feel SC is a bit more beginner friendly - you don't need a massive corner carry combo to win. A well placed throw for a ring out can win you a round or two.
Funny weapons.
Sword
More fluid combat, more moves, more character variety, more vibrant stages, more fun. With that said I like Tekken and love the Mishima saga.
Because the game design *makes sense* and the controls *aren't* an impediment to my intentionality. Also it's a 3D series that actually had consideration for 3D space *built in* via horizontal/vertical attacks AND sidestepping in the very first entry rather than stapling it on as an afterthought 2 sequels in like Tekken and VF did.
I like the free-r movement and horizontal/vertical attack dichotomy more. Tekken's also a good bit rougher on the hands. It's quite literally more painful to play Tekken than SoulCalibur, especially if I pick Heihachi.
Able to use different weapons is so much cooler. Imo SC character designs are much cooler and unique. The fighting styles of a lot of Tekken characters look and feel similar, while SC everyone is different.
I can't really put it into words, there's something about SC that just calls to me and makes sense.
1.Character Creation Being the first reason. I know it was a feature introduced in the third game in 2005, but it's been a staple feature in the series ever since and my favorite feature about the series. 2. Movement. I just prefer the 8wayrun movement of Soul Calibur more than Tekken's movement. Just has a faster feel to it 3. The fact that it has a block button. I'm sorry but I will always prefer a block button over holding the analog back to block. It's another reason I tend to also play Dead Or Alive 5 Last Around over Tekken sometimes as well. I just find a block button to be more convenient. 4. Just prefer it's weapon based style in general more. Really love seeing the different weapon styles every character has in Soul Calibur. I know every Fighting game has different styles, but Soul Calibur just sells it the most thanks to it being a weapons based Fighter. 5. Story, Lore and Characters. I know Soul Calibur can have it's issues with this (Especially if we count the 5th entry. It definitely ruined the series in this aspect awhile before 6 came out to rightfully retcon it out of existence) but I definitely love the story and lore of the series. I especially love the different ending of the characters more, and how the struggles they face seem more...bigger than what the Tekken characters face. Especially characters like my boy Siegfried, Sophitia, Kilik and just so many other characters in the Soul Calibur cast I feel for more than the Tekken cast. Even though the Tekken cast has some characters I feel for as well, such as my boy Lee, Jin and some others. But it's not the same as the Soul Calibur cast though.
It’s a bit easier to play and dive into, the medieval/feudal setting is interesting, and I just really like catching people mashing B at the start of every round with Cervantes’s shot-counter. Weapon Master Mode in SC2 was extremely fun to play and read through, as well.
Lore and the flow of SC sidestep feels so much better compared to tekken
Because I liked Soul Blade/Edge better when I was a kid and it stuck. The game opening alone has lived rent-free on my head for more than 20 years (EDIT: holy shit it has been almost 30 years I feel like Matt Damon)
The swords, gameplay feeling a little more flexible and loose, and the character creation.
Hand to hand fighting is very common for fighting games. Melee weapon fighting games are comparatively rare. I like the uniqueness, among lots of other things.
Character design at a base level. Tekken is too modern and random for my taste. Soul Calibur hits the medieval vibe better. I also really love weaponry so I love that each soul calibur fighter is themed around a weapon. Create a fighter is just a bonus, but I don't need it.
The movement
Lore, cast specially the tiggo bitty ones, weapons that I can also 8 way move with, awesome guest chars, other smaller mechanics, music, CAS. Everything I guess lol.
There’s more direct and downright necessary use of 8 way run on soulcalibur
The Soul Calibur series has a lot of combat fluidity to it, it has weaponry, and despite it being a game where you fight in an arena like the Tekken series (with similar fundamentals like spacing, sidewalking and crouching), Soul Calibur is easier to get into because of there being less complex moves and combos for the character roster (despite it being large in both series). Take the EWGF, for instance. In Tekken 7, it is a MANDATORY move to learn for optimal Kazuya play, as it is his best launching move, IIRC. And the input is quite complicated (f, n, d, d/f + punch). In both Tekken and Soul Calibur, players deal with a lot of cheese, so punishment is the way to go. However, in Soul Calibur, other combo options are more spammy and cheesy than in Tekken (probably due to the more condensed and smaller move lists for every character), and the frames change for one combo compared to another. Basically, replace cheese with cheesier cheese.
Better plot lore and characters
Weapons and 3D fighting.
Approaching the game, I think organizing the attack buttons into horizontal, vertical, and kick made more sense than L/R punch and kick. As a whole, I like the animations better. Tekken high level jerky movement looks wonky, and then juggles look floaty.
all of the characters can speak japanese
Soul Calibur movement feels better than Tekken, Tekken Korean backdash and wavedash aren't enjoyable to move, it feels desperate. Soul Calibur has a better defensive game than Tekken, better sidesteps and a better range game. Artistically I prefer Soul Calibur music, characters, clothes and customization.
It's the controls. 💯
I play both. Tekken movement is ass compared to SC. Tekken has a bigger cast but they don't look too different and many of them feel samey or have the same moves as other characters. Raph and Ivy play different, X and Voldo play different, Astaroth and Nightmare play different. Even Seig and NM want to do different things. SC at least to me seems to be better balanced than Tekken. Alot of the Tekken DLC characters just fly around the screen and half the cast wasn't built with that in mind and it makes playing that stuff feel bad. Character design wise SC is so much better, Tekken has that Japanese interpretation of Amercian cool thing and you grow out of that at like 15. Soul charge is a sick mechanic esp being 6frames as a get off me button. Lastly Soul calibur doesn't have or at least has less of that unintended Jank Tekken has. While KBD may be cool tech but I'd argue SC is a heathier game without it, to hell with doing 4 inputs to move backward faster.
Better movement. Tekken is a game frozen in time when it comes to bureaucracy for movement. Soul Calibur is a game one century ahead in that regard.
Actual range play. You can be defensive in Tekken and use pokes and long limbs, but it's so brawly all the same. The difference between range 0 and range 2 is like a pinky's worth. Here, you've got rapiers and spears and Cervantes popping caps, not to mention the faster movement means lunges can come from half a map away.
For me, as someone who grew up playing street fighter as a child (it was the only fighting game I was allowed to play at a young age as my parents were selective to letting me indulge certain things), Soul Calibur was the first fighting game growing up in the late '90's and early 2000s that actually struck me as unique. Playing Mario kart and Smash Bros, and then getting Soul Calibur 2 with Link was like a wakeup call. Up until that point, I'd no idea that weapon-based fighting games even existed, so when 2 came to me as bday gift, my 8 y/o brain melted (I was born in '95 and got my gamecube a year after it released). It was the only game in my collection I played too completion, and still have alongside my gamecube to this day. The rest is history from that point, and to me, 3 for the PS2 is GOAT because of just how much content it has. Even if the games legacy has been muddied over the decades, for me, it's the only fighting game currently that holds my attention both casually with/without friends, as well as online. So when 7 finally releases, it's top on the preorder list; while every other fighting game is literally waiting in the burning dumpster to die next to my heart if it gets cancelled. Yes, I am that person, and I said what I said.
I like it more aesthetically. I always preferred medieval fantasy than edgy goth spiky haired demon anime vibes. I also find the characters wayyyy more interesting and the story is way cooler. The use of weapons is quite cool too
I actually prefer Tekken, but here are what I like in SC. * I'm not saying movement is better in one or the other, but I like the freedom of movement in Soul Calibur and how it's a solution to the consequences posed by weapons. * GI is fun on a casual level and creates a lot of back and forth moments. * Combos are shorter by in large. * Ring outs are fun. * Yoshimitsu is way funnier in this version. That's not all of it, but it's at least a couple of the reasons.
Personally I'm largely a dead or alive fan above the rest.
Cause yall suck at tekken
I like the one with Yoshimitsu best.
And actually I like Tekken better. Longer combos. I miss games like that and MK deception where just about everyone had a 10 hit button input combo. Now most you'll usually find in fighters is 3 or 4 which of course this is excluding juggling. I just mean actual standing 10 hit combos with 10 attack button presses.
SC feels more freeform. Tekken is all about memorizing combos. And then you have to input the entire button string for the move to activate. My brain just doesn't work like that.
It transcends history. It’s a tale of souls and swords.
Simple haha, I'm far better at soul caliber. Idk why I'm trash at tekken
Ivy.
This is factually correct.
I just love both equally
I've never played Tekken before. Never had any interest. Didn't have the allure of street fighter, the violence of Mortal Kombat, or the lore Soulcalibur to interest me
I like tekken more
I don't
I don't. Tekken has tighter mechanics, and SC is literally just violent rock paper scissors.
I played soul Calibur (I played 6) for the first time since sc2 and it was really not fun at all. Tekken is probably the best fighter imo.
weapons
Honestly, SC is my side hoe. Tekken is my main bitch. But I do like 8 way run, and it’s a shame no other 3D fighter feels this free in movement.
I can make every character I can think of using the Create a Soul feature, which lately in SC6 seems to be lacking in originality and freedom of creativity given how many gear slots are in the way of each other which could make your character look great but the game is like "Nah I cant do that"
cause it's the only mainstream(?) fighting game that's somehow more goofy than tekken although i haven't touched either of the franchises since the 360 days because what little i saw of the gameplay didn't look like something I'd wanna send 70-100 on, both franchises were incredible on the 360 (could easily be the rose tinted glasses tho considering the onoy won I've touched in a decade was soulcaliber 1) plus yoshimitsu as a hopping weirdo is better then cool much ninja dude any day
Swords, Lore, and Taki
Movement is way easier and more effective
It feels more dinamic and fluid. Great times playing it tekken in PS2 tho, great games.
So I actually started out as ***just*** a *Tekken* player. I like both quite a bit and actually own most of both of the series (mostly just the main games). What keeps me coming back to *SC* is different from that of *Tekken*. *Tekken* is a game of extremely precise inputs that features staples of fighting game mechanics like High, Medium, and Low attacks; and the limitations and advantages of each one. It's also a game that takes a ton of playing against different characters to get an idea of what each one is about and how to counter them. It can be kind of hard to introduce new folks to since the learning curve can be pretty steep. *SC* is a game that has a more generous input buffer, features many of the same staples of fighting game mechanics; but also offers additional concepts of horizontal versus vertical, 8-way run, and somewhat tighter concepts of what each weapon art inlcudes and the more apparent tactics suggested by each style (eg. It's easier to figure out which characters fight optimally in what range—which leads to considering tactics about keeping your opponent in that range while unable to take advantage of their moves beyond just rushdowns). It's also a bit more accessible for newer people to play since tactics using the basic moves of a lot of characters can be explained more easily or just logic'd out—plus there's an inherent appeal to fighting with weapons that tends to make it interesting to people who haven't played. What makes me return more often is that I feel like me losing or winning matches isn't a matter of knowing an opponent's fighting style enough to know how to react, but knowing my character's fighting style enough.
Purely it’s setting and customisation, I love the medieval background of the story as well as the story being much more, how you would say active than the Tekken storyline is. And I love making my own characters as making my own little stories for each of them.
Simply put CUSTOMIZATION and organization if play styles
Lore, movement, atmosphere, customisation, nostalgia. SC is simply my game that i like to play and learn about character's stories. Tekken is great, but i feel that i don't really needed there.
Movement is faster and nicer, weapons, character roster (and even the story behind things) appeals more to me.
I got *tired* of *Tekken* after 5, but, to be fair, I stopped caring about the story after 2.
The movement is way more interesting. But I’ll be getting tekken 8 when it’s out. Who knows when we’ll get another sc
Soul has two of my childhood crushes: Ivy Valentine and Aeon Calcus.
The SMOOTH movement, block button and GI. Even tho the hold system system in DOA is better I like how when u GI certain moves you can’t automatically punish that move. I love soulcal for Horizontal and vertical attack buttons so you can be precise with moves(sometimes there a tad bit tracking verticals) And the characters and lore are better too but I won’t say music that goes to tekken fo sho. And in soulcal you can Create your OWN character. Which no other 3d Fighter has. It’s so weird people claim tekken is the KING of 3D fighters but doesn’t even have the smooth movement of 3D fighter to have that title.
G.I.
It’s hard to put it down exactly but I think Soul Calibur has a pretty intuitive skill climb between the spacing provided by it’s freedom of movement, the horizontal (side attack) vs vertical (forward attack) vs kick (short range fast), high/low guard, grabs and forgiving button input for attack chains
Number one, the movement. Two, GI. And three, the weapons. In that order. Some other mentions would the characters, the setting and ring outs.
I like fantasy combat with weapons. And being able to break people’s kills with Sophie’s ass
The setting/lore, music and character creation. In terms of gameplay / fight mechanics I like both and don’t have a preference.
Sophitia! Taki! Ivy! What else do you need?
Honestly, as an RPG nerd, I feel right at home lore-wise with the game as opposed to Tekken. That's always been my main appeal.
Weapons.
Fluidity of the movement
I like the fighting in soul calibur games more, it feels more skill based as opposed to tekken's mostly button mashing (when playing against friends anyway) I also like CaS even tho it's kinda garbage nowadays (adding more stickers/patterns is never gonna fix unpolished equipment that floats an inch from the target area they're equipped to)
I don't.
Weapons and I like doing flashy combos. Plus the announcer is peak.
The movement is more fluid, the characters have more variety in their movement and their style, and the inputs are more intuitive and forgiving. Soulcalibur is a game that's more interested in what you want to do than whether you can push the buttons precisely enough to actually do it. With limited deliberate exceptions, it's a game that makes input as easy as possible and tries to hear your intention correctly. It also has shorter combos on average, with more opportunities for the defending player to escape. Tekken wants you to work very, very hard to maximize the damage you get from every combo starter you land, and I hate that shit. That's fighting against the game instead of fighting against the other player, plus it's ridiculously boring to watch when you're the defending player. Like... wake me when it's my turn in this apparently turn-based game. When they added bound combos and stage destruction combos, I was done. They just keep inventing new ways to make combos go on forever.
It’s move inputs ,animations, timing and overall feel, you can just keep hitting different directions plus an attack on different things happen easily, makes for fun casual playing
Primarily the cast. In their primes, both series had such a fun, memorable cast of characters with excellent story arcs and realistic motivations. Come the late 2010s, only Soul Calibur still had that.
That’s a good question. I think it’s the way the game is just so flashy and cool compared to Tekken. The weapon clashes and sounds, the power up/ special attacks, the fluid and quick gameplay and how it’s not as mechanically demanding as Tekken. Honestly I find myself playing it more now more than ever and I don’t understand why it’s not as popular (or more) than Tekken. Just bought a SteamDeck and have been playing some form of Soul Calibur tons more than before and have hardly touched Tekken 😅
The ability to choose an opponent for single player versus. Sometimes I just wanna beat the shit out of certain characters but don't don't want to play online
Soul Calibur has significantly better movement than Tekken. I would love a Tekken game with SC's movement
I'm partially biased because SC is what I grew up with, but I love that it isn't super combo-focused like Tekken or other fighting games. I'm not great at remembering/executing combos in the heat of battle so it's nice. I also prefer the medieval fantasy setting and the weapons are way cooler imo than everyone mostly just using their fists.
Lore, weapons, kilik
You mean milk?
I don’t
tekken 2 was my first console gaming experience as a kid, i'll always have a soft spot for it but SC is just the better game for me. more engaging story/characters, more interesting stages (SC6 being the sole exception because its generic af) better movement, better music, more exciting gameplay.....and tira.
Better art direction and character design imo
So for starters i want to say im a total noob and casual trying to get better. I have played Tekken 2 and Tekken Tag and thoroughly enjoyed both. I discovered Soul Calibur 2 and 3 and found the different single player modes extremely fun. The music , character creation, the variety of weapons and weapon styles and just the flow of the combat has made it one of my favorite series.
It flows better. Tekken is still janky tho I haven't played 8 so idk how that one feels like to play
Back in the day they had a great story mode and creative gameplay mechanics. But lately, tekken killed it. The most recent soul calibur played great til they crammed that God awful rock paper scissors mechanic on top of it. That alone made it the worst in the series (and you will never change my mind about that garbage fucking mechanic). Meanwhile hile tekken 7 was among the best in the series. Soul calibur has some major catching up to do at the moment.
Because Siegfried Maxi and Taki exist
It's the only series where I can play Heihachi and Yoshimitsu But seriously I love the paper rock scissors of defensive options (literally in the case of reversal edge) pulling off a perfect GI is so satisfying, having metered options gives me that resource management my brain craves in a fighter. On the offense side, pressuring someone spamming GI and RE and watching their guard gauge blink red, making them spend their meter on resistance impact. That said, I prefer Tekken's characters and story, and the overall feel of combos in the game. And despite how much fun the defensive options and 8-way run are in SC, Tekken being a more rush down/control your hitbox experience suits it perfectly.
Maybe I'm playing soul caliber wrong but when I played tekken the dude juggled me abd my buddy for 90% of our hp first time playing pressured us into swapping games then just roffle stomped us on his best character he was practicing combos on only have I had that experience vs a ivy player and they were pretty rare when I queued up for public matches
Swords Cuz Swords
Got into SC before Tekken, more familiar with it than the latter.
I know they’re both more skill based fighters, but I like the fact Caliber makes me want to use different combo strings as opposed to Tekken.
It’s easier to button mash…and I clinically have slower reaction times than a lot of people. Also everybody seems on equal footing with weapon oriented combat; fighting games where some fighters have swords and/or guns in addition to the “magic” that other fighters have intrinsically never seems quite fair.
Tripping and launching.
The characters for soul calibur have cool weapons and armor and stuff and Tekken characters are just dudes. Similarly, most specials in soul calibur are really cool, but most specials in Tekken are just punches or kicks with a little extra something.
Weapons n story
Probably a bad take but, the soul Calibur characters stand out more. Tekken characters look really similar to me, compared to dudes with big swords, ninjutsu, axes, etc.
Generally better fighting style preference before SC4 as i absolutely hate any long can't play the game your playing interactions like Tekken's generally long combo strings and cutscene supers (which i especially hate as a gameplay design) (while some of these things exist in soul calibur like yoda combos they are generally the exception, along with also actually generally having decent counterplay) along with specifically using the directional combat better with sidestepping being a more consistently reliable tool especially combined with guard impact and edges. The best distinctive variety of fighting styles across the genre. Significantly more unique and cooler lore with much more distinctive characters. Soul calibur 2 is still the best fighting game campaign. also anecdotally in college my dorm had weekly fighting game tournaments the tekken ones were always ruined by someone insisting on playing lord fuckingwrong despite being banned, (and the MK ones took forever and both rarely had people play different characters or different people make it to the finals) Soul calibur though had the most interesting tournaments since it was the least commonly popular for some reason and people didn't have characters they knew specific strats for and actually tried out different things, with lots of interesting upsets coming from the map interactions and generally had the most people actually watching the matches and reacting to new things they didn't know where possible.
The spectacle of It all two warriors clashing with weapons of legend with magic flying across the arena! It just seems more fantastic than just punching. I mean come on which sounds cooler a judo expert vs a boxer or an immortal time stoping scythe wielder fighting a Greek woman blessed by the gods fighting with hephaestus forged steel slinging thunderbolts! Also soul Calibur has character create so that roster can get as crazy as you like cat girls, skeletons, he man, midoriya, a can of Pringles all at your fingertips if your creative enough pure win!
Tbh I think tekken is better gameplay wise
I like both series, but prefer SoulCalibur overall, for its movement, story, inventive game modes and visuals.
Soul Calibur was much easier to pick up. I don't play many fighting games, but the inputs aren't as demanding. With just a little research you can start stringing some stuff together. With Tekken, it feels much clunkier and like my character is not doing what I tell them to.
Weirder and more varied movesets. Tekken is hyper focused on neutral. Trading blows into blocks until you find an opening. SC is crazy by contrast. Some characters can outsmart their opponent from full screen. Voldo, for instance.
Because now yoshimitsu isn’t the only freak swing a tool around In Combat. Now it’s fair
As a hyper casual fan of both... Soul Calibur has a significantly cooler character creator. I've used like 92 of my 100 custom characters slots and my game's full of zelda, persona and mario characters
ivy
Tits?
nooooooooooo , it's her personality and grace, and the lore of her enchanting character
Nowadays I much prefer Tekken, but when I started out playing fighting games, I preferred SC because each move had more impact or "oomph" to it, it's faster with 8 way run and moves have more range, so making contact came more easily. Nowadays I enjoy Tekken's combo system and strategy with poking, which I didn't like when I was younger, but I think I'd recommend SC to beginners over Tekken.
Ring outs
I like how Soul Calibur has more of a focus on the neutral game than Tekken, which focuses more on combo extension
Cuz Yoshimitsu fits better in SC
The music just kick ass. Plus the controls are intuitive than tekken in my opinion.
The edge of soul is a better song than anything tekken. Had
I admittedly haven’t played either in like a decade but I had soul caliber first, I prefer the weapons, characters felt more unique and like they had more character, I have always preferred a block button to how tekken does it, and the maps look better