Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Namco Bandai laid down the law, proclaiming that we need post these two new trailers. Not only that, but they're forcing us to post these new screens. We don't want to, because we derive a sick pleasure in depriving you of things that may interest you, but sure enough Namco Bandai emerged from the darkness clad in white armor. So, consider yourself saved ... for now.

For the new screens, hit up the gallery below. For the other trailer, head past the break. Oh, and sorry for the lack of sound in the above trailer, the file we snagged from them was without it. The trailer past the break has sound though, we assure you.

Even though this game might have the potential to be the next Death by Degrees, we're still interested in getting our hands on it. The graphics may look dated at times, but the action looks spot-on. And we still think each of the characters have had their fighting styles and moves transitioned into the new game well.

What do you guys think? Does it have potential or is it just a pointless spin-off?

Soul Calibur Legends is an affront to the games industry. The horrendous gameplay and horrible graphics not only shame the Wii as a platform, but lower the reputation of a remarkable franchise. Wii fans should be appalled at Namco's clear lack of concern with the title, and should expect more.

Graphically speaking, Legends is nothing short of unacceptable. If the game could look even remotely like Soul Calibur 2 on Gamecube, we'd be, at the very least, satiated. Instead, what we saw were blocky recreations of our Soul Calibur favorites trapped in boring, poorly textured environments that make the Dreamcast original look like a modern technical achievement. There is absolutely nothing to praise about the visuals in Legends: the art is generic, and the characters are stiff and lifeless. The screenshots that have been released are poor representations on how this game really looks.

The gameplay doesn't fare any better. Legends is a mindless hack and slash with poor controls. Enemies stand around, dumbfounded, as you hack away at them by shaking the Wiimote. The combat is imprecise, and simply not fun. We did appreciate the dodge: shaking the Nunchuck will allow players to make a quick dash. There was no challenge or depth to the battles. Ultimately, each encounter was reduced to wild waggle sessions. Wii owners deserve a lot better than this -- Namco, we'd point to Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as an example on how to properly implement sword attacks in an adventure game (and please learn how to create a proper lock-on!)

If we had to give an award for most underwhelming disappointment of the show, Soul Calibur Legends is an easy candidate. Unless this game undergoes a serious redesign, don't expect the first Soul Calibur game on Wii to be anything more than a complete disaster.

After finally getting to see Soul Calibur Legends in action, we're not sure bashing a bunch of clay vases or fighting a boulder up stairs is our idea of the definitive hack-and-slash experience. Also, we're not convinced the game will have one-to-one gesture measurement, either. We are convinced that battling gigantic boss monsters is fun, though.

The Japanese site for Soul Calibur Legends is up and running, complete with screenshots and a few character profiles, and lots of room to expand for later content. Despite the change in gameplay, the site gives us warm and fuzzy feelings of familiarity. While this isn't the same ol' fighting game that we're used to from Soul Calibur, the mood of the series is definitely intact.

[Via GoNintendo]

The game's director, Jin Okubo, has been flapping his gums recently, talking about the spin-off title set to grace the Wii. In regards to how in-game characters will react to the player's gestures with the Wiimote, the in-game characters will apparently follow the player's exact movements. Jin states that by "swinging the Wii Remote as players please, in-game characters will perform the exact sword actions that players are thinking of." If you're wondering exactly what we're talking about, think about how the baseball bat moves in Wii Sports.

Jin also elaborated on how the nunchuk attachment will be used in-game, explaining that the "Nunchuk is mainly used for body movement, but by shaking the Nunchuk it's also possible to block incoming attacks, evade dangerous situations, and to perform other unique moves. And there are various moves that can only be pulled off by combining Nunchuk and Wii Remote actions."

The latest batch of Soul Calibur Legends screenshots isn't entirely new, but we think it's worth sharing. Famitsu posted the screens online that we previously featured in magazine scans, and the digital versions are much cleaner-looking. They're also no longer obscured by effusive Japanese blurbs.

It looks pretty good, especially for a Wii game. But why are the enemies so shrimpy? Mitsurugi can totally take on normal-sized people (and unnaturally beefy dudes like Astaroth up there), so why have we only seen him surrounded by pencil-necked mummies?

JeuxFrance has posted some scans from the latest issue of Famitsu, showing off images from Namco Bandai's upcoming spin-off title Soul Calibur Legends. The title is already confirmed to include Taki, as well as a franchise newcomer, but what we didn't know was that the game is 40% finished. That's a lot further along than we would've guessed.

Soul Calibur Legends is currently slated for a winter release in Japan.

Traditionally, the A and B buttons have mapped to horizontal and vertical slices, respectively. In true waggle fashion, Namco has felt fit to physically map these actions to the Wiimote. We're wary; the recognition will probably be fine, but seeing as how at least two-thirds of all moves in previous Soul Calibur titles involved the use of one (or both? What the heck?) of these actions, this might wear out its welcome very, very quickly. Also, the nunchuck is shaken for "evasion," whatever that means (guard impact?).

The title will allow for tag-teaming against a boss, as a second player can join in for cooperative fun. There's traps and obstacles and all that lovely goodness as well; for some more minor details, check out the in-depth IGN report. With the announcement of the true Soul Calibur 4 for the PS3 and 360 yesterday, are you guys still excited for this?

Hey, rumors are fun! We see two possibilities regarding this list of Wii games that "will be coming out" according to WiiYou.com. First: they scooped the entire world and got an exclusive look at a list of unannounced Wii games that nobody has heard anything at all about. Second, they didn't.

We're looking at the list, and it seems to be about half educated guessing and half dreaming. Call us cynics, but we're going to wait for verification before we go put our money down on F-Zero or Metroid Xterme.

Of course Sega Nerds latched on to the listing for Shadow the Hedgehog 2, but, in our minds, that's not the biggest news item on the list. We'd be more interested in hearing about the two Zelda games. Check after the post break for the full list.

1UP has got a pair of different pieces of concept art for the recently announced title from Namco Bandai in Soul Calibur Legends. Revealing that the game will revolve around Seigfried, it's also made known to us that the game will include many of the franchise's characters, as well as introduce a few new ones. Nothing else is really known about the game, other than the controls will include both the Wiimote and nunchuk.

Head on past the post break for the concept art.

You can stop holding your breath. The rumor is true! The latest issue of Famitsu proves that Soul Calibur Legends is heading to the Wii, bringing everyone here at Wii Fanboy Manor down to their knees as tears of joy erupt from our face with the force of a bursting dam. Obviously, the game will not be the spitting image of the franchise's 3D fighter norm, offering up fans of the universe a taste of something different.

Let's hope it doesn't turn into another Death by Degrees though.

Looks like Namco has been sending out a survey, fishing to see if Soul Calibur fans are digging the Wii. The survey was posted on a forum, and if it was posted in entirety, then the Wii is the only console they asked about. Could this be part of the preliminary research on a Soul Calibur title for the Wii? We can't express how much we hope that's the case. The Wii Fanboy staff spends a lot of its limited spare time discussing various fighting franchises, and there is some serious Soul Calibur love around here. If it were done well ... frankly, the level of our obsession might rival the Gyakuten Saiban love that dominates DS Fanboy.

We'll be watching this one closely, looking for any and all scraps of rumor. Who's with us? And what do you think about fighting games on the Wii in general?

[Via GoNintendo]