Game Watch Interview With Project Soul’s Daishi Odashima

As most of you may know, Namco Bandai recently held an event in Tokyo for Soul Calibur V revealing details about the game’s online mode. During that same event, Game Watch was able to conduct a small q&a session with director Daishi Odashima.

Here’s the transcript of the interview as translated by DenjinDhalsim.

Q: Why is SCV set 17 years after the last game?

A: There are several reasons but basically we really wanted to make a NEW Soul Calibur. We’ve added many new game mechanics so the gameplay itself is quite different from the past games and we felt that setting it 17 years later accentuates that this is a new chapter in the series. There’s no significance with the number 17 but it works well with the timeline we had in mind for the different characters who appear in the game.

Q: What’s the inspiration behind the new characters Viola and Z.W.E.I.?

A: Well, we actually came up with those characters back in the SCIV days so we don’t remember the specific inspiration behind them but we did want to make some characters who can place things (traps etc.) on the screen and use those to attack with. We tried that with Algol in the last game but we didn’t get it quite right so we’re trying again with Z.W.E.I. and Viola.

Q: Did you have any difficulty in making the guest character Ezio?

A: Characters from a single player game move quite differently from those in a versus game as they generally don’t have to worry too much about the opponents they are fighting but in a fighting game you have to think of the characters who are defending against them so we had to make sure he was not overpowered. We also thought that it would be Assassin’s Creed fans rather than Soul Calibur fans who would want to play as him so we made him a good character for beginners to use.

Q: What characters would you recommend?

A: As far as ease of use goes, It would be Patroklos and Pyrrha. If you want to deal a lot of damage then Nightmare and Siegfried are good. Pyrrha, Z.W.E.I. and Natsu are the most popular with our staff.

Q: Did you have any difficulties bringing in Critical Edge and other new systems?

A: We were initially concerned that adding another gauge may be confusing for series’ fans but we decided that being able to do a powerful move when you build up the Critical Gauge was a simple enough concept to grasp. We had to think a lot on how to implement it in a way where not only the experts are able to build up their Critical Gauge.

Q: Why did you changes the mechanics for the Guard Impact system?

A: In the prior games if you asked us how to use the Guard Impact system then we couldn’t have given you a simple answer. The commands differed for the high and low Guard Impacts and we had no answer other than “throw them” for people who had trouble dealing with constant Guard Impacts. We decided to make the Guard Impact much better but also make it rely on the Critical Gauge to balance it all out. We’ve also unified the button presses to A+B+K for all techniques that require Critical Gauge.

Q: Is frame advantage the only merit you get from a successful Guard Impact?

A: If the opponent does not use a Reverse Impact then you can easily punish the opponent after a successful Guard Impact. You cannot however, Guard Impact a Critical Edge.

Q: If you are hit after an unsuccessful Guard Impact, will it be a counter hit?

A: No.

Q: How much frame advantage do you get from a Just Guard?

A: Less than what you get from a Guard Impact.

Q: Did you make any adjustments to accommodate beginners?

A: It’s been said that Soul Calibur is a game where you can do anything, which is good, but while having fun just mashing on the buttons is ok, it’s not really how we want it to play and it also makes it hard for players to have a clear goal. We wanted beginners to have a clear goal, so we increased the damage of combos so that you can have the mindset of “if I can hit 3 combos then maybe I can win this round”. We also made it so you gain extra Critical Gauge when you are close to losing the round so there is an added comeback factor.

Q: What was the concept behind the online aspect of the game this time?

A: At it’s core Soul Calibur is a versus game but it also offers a great story, great atmosphere and character creation. It’s fine to enjoy these different aspects of the game separately but we’d like to bring all of them together in the online modes. While you could share information (customized characters, stats etc.) over the internet in the past, we’ve also made it possible to do within the game by using the Soul Link system.

Q: Did you have any difficulty while working on the online aspects of the game?

A: Implementing the Global Colosseo was the most difficult as it is relatively untrodden ground that we were treading. There are many new features within this mode but we’ve tried to make it simple to grasp and cohesive in relation to the rest of the game.

Q: Tell us about the tournaments that will be held twice monthly in the Global Colosseo.

A: There will be random matches assigned within the lobby and you battle for the most wins. It’s pretty straight forward but there are no prizes for winning it.

Q: Tell us about the online ranking system.

A: There are 25 ranks from E5 ~ A1. This helps separate players into groups where they can play against opponents of a similar skill level. Once you get better you’ll be put up against better opponents.

Q: With Soul Link you are able to link up to 3 people. What if you want to link with more than 3 people?

A: You would have overwrite one of the other players if you wanted to add someone past the initial 3 you have chosen. The Soul Link will be quite visible in the menu screens etc. and we don’t think you could really keep up with that much information about all your friends, so just choose the people you really want to follow closely.

Q: Any plans for DLC?

A: We can’t tell you any details about this right now but as far as a yes or a no, yes we do have plans to release DLC in the future but we will release that information at a later date.

Q: Do you have any ideas about further sequels?

A: We’d like to make up till SCVII but we only have rough plans at this point. It also depends how well this game does.