Nintendo Wii Fanboy

1UP recently got a chance to go hands-on with the latest build of Soul Calibur Legends, and things are looking up after the title's E3 showing. Not only do they report improved framerate and textures, but they make the gameplay sound like something worth waiting for as well. The folks at 1UP got to try out one of our favorite characters, Taki, and though apparently her damage output is still being adjusted, her famous speed continues to be a strong asset. It's good to hear that each characters' individual style of play -- one of the things we've always enjoyed about the franchise -- has a real bearing on how you approach challenges, and the "team of two" aspect that allows you to keep two fighters in your party at all times for different situations really sounds like it could be a lot of fun. 1UP has gotten us excited about Soul Calibur again, and we can only hope that Legends lives up to the franchise name.

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?

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?