SoulCalibur II

 GameCube
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 210 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 186 out of 210
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 210
  3. Negative: 6 out of 210
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  1. asjklas
    Jun 22, 2011
    10
    One of the best DC games ever get one of the best fighting game sequels to date. Pros: Excellent graphics, sound, and control; likable characters; lots of easy-to-learn combos; lots of single-player and multiplayer modes; Link is the best of the trio's exclusive characters. Cons: No online play.
  2. ArturG.
    Apr 4, 2005
    10
    This IS the best fighting game ever!
  3. ChristopherP.
    Nov 22, 2003
    6
    It obviously looks great and plays smoothly but i just don't think it's a significant step up from soul calibur. the toning down of guard impacting and parrying i think was a mistake because defense is extremely difficult now. button mashers can very easily win against all but the most expert of players, and the whole atmosphere, from the visuals to the music and sounds justIt obviously looks great and plays smoothly but i just don't think it's a significant step up from soul calibur. the toning down of guard impacting and parrying i think was a mistake because defense is extremely difficult now. button mashers can very easily win against all but the most expert of players, and the whole atmosphere, from the visuals to the music and sounds just lacks the esthetic qualities of the original. it's unnecessarily frustrating as well due to the underpoweredness of some of the most impressive moves and the overpowering of quick, tap-tap-tap moves. it just loses its appeal too fast.… Expand
  4. GlenR.
    Sep 27, 2003
    0
    Too easy and i love Link but i completed the game in 1 day.
  5. AlvaroC.
    Dec 5, 2004
    2
    This is a button masher highly over-rated game.
  6. Shunior
    Apr 4, 2022
    9
    SoulCalibur II no puede estar menos que en el top 5 de esa consola! Para su momento no había nada que estubiera a su altura en graficos, controles, acción... y la participación de Link dejó un sabor aún más mejor para la experiẽncia de jugar SC en una Gamecube!
  7. NikN.
    Jul 2, 2004
    10
    Rarely do fighting games work for me. This, however, was quite the exeption. As opposed to many fighting games, this game is more than merely a bunch of grown men and women punching the crap out of each other. There is plenty of tactics and preferences, arsenals, costume designs, and countless unlockables things that could keep me playing this game until the cows come home. And I really Rarely do fighting games work for me. This, however, was quite the exeption. As opposed to many fighting games, this game is more than merely a bunch of grown men and women punching the crap out of each other. There is plenty of tactics and preferences, arsenals, costume designs, and countless unlockables things that could keep me playing this game until the cows come home. And I really like the character Kilik.....Go bhuddists! … Expand
  8. AzizK.
    Sep 22, 2003
    10
    ANOTHER EXCELLENT GAMECUBE GAME!!
  9. Afro
    Sep 30, 2003
    10
    This is one cool game, I could not belive that you could finish this game in a day(weapons master mode!
  10. Cantbbeat
    Oct 28, 2003
    10
    This game is gangsta better than the other soulcalibur. yall think the game is easy because yall put the diff. level on easy haha loserz...
  11. Hal9000
    May 28, 2003
    10
    I bought the Jap version of this game a month or so ago with a freeloader disc and i can tell you almost all the game is in english so god knows why its not guna be in the uk till autumn? Anyway this is the best beatemup I've played. it moves beautifully and plays superbly (mainly played as a multiplayer) and I liked it so much I would happily recomend paying £55 for it annnd I bought the Jap version of this game a month or so ago with a freeloader disc and i can tell you almost all the game is in english so god knows why its not guna be in the uk till autumn? Anyway this is the best beatemup I've played. it moves beautifully and plays superbly (mainly played as a multiplayer) and I liked it so much I would happily recomend paying £55 for it annnd I'm guna buy it for the Xbox as well... get it cos you wont be disappointed.… Expand
  12. AndreS.
    Jul 22, 2003
    10
    Soul Calibur ll looks tight and with Link it kicks ass! The gamecube version of sc2 beats the ps2 and xbox by a long shot!!
  13. CarlosA.
    Jul 31, 2003
    10
    It's an awesome videogame! excellent fighting and great characters.link is also great and the control on the characters is outstanding.
  14. MikeS.
    Aug 26, 2003
    10
    This is is one of the best games ever made.
  15. ZeroG.
    Sep 13, 2003
    10
    Link is the BEST!!
  16. TiksonY.
    Sep 30, 2003
    10
    This game is the worlds best fight game i seen. and Link is the best.
  17. RyanM.
    Sep 6, 2003
    10
    Fun as hell. Excellent graphics..GREAT!! control. BEST VERSION!!!! LINK
  18. A.S
    Jan 27, 2004
    10
    Man you wrote a lot...but this game is cool. Link is better than Spawn and Heihachi.
  19. EduardoR.
    Oct 21, 2005
    10
    I used to think Mortal Kombat Deception was the best fighting game for GC. I was wrong. Besides, you can play as LINK. It makes all the diference.
  20. JustinB.
    Oct 3, 2005
    10
    While its essentially a port from the DC, there isn't really anything that they could have done better. With great controls and a focus on timing on attack choice instead of Mortal Kombat's tedious and boring combo memorization, this highly intuitive fighter should set the bar as to what fighting games should be.
  21. BenjaminB.
    Jan 10, 2007
    8
    Soul Calibur II is a well-made fighter that has wonderful multiplayer and deep combat. The character models are breathtaking, and there's loads of unlockable weapons and other stuff. The only problem is that the computer players tend to be rather stupid, and the Weapon Master mode (SCII's story mode) is too long-winded and repetitive. But as far as two player duels go, it Soul Calibur II is a well-made fighter that has wonderful multiplayer and deep combat. The character models are breathtaking, and there's loads of unlockable weapons and other stuff. The only problem is that the computer players tend to be rather stupid, and the Weapon Master mode (SCII's story mode) is too long-winded and repetitive. But as far as two player duels go, it doesn't get better than this.… Expand
  22. JesseM.
    Nov 23, 2003
    10
    I LOVE this game! I mean after you beat Weapon Master it get's super hard to get more experiance points but the game still rules and is a blast!
  23. Wario
    Dec 30, 2003
    10
    This game is one of the best fighting titles ever. However I do think they could have put a bit more effort into the voice acting, especially Links.
  24. RobertC.
    Oct 31, 2003
    9
    This is a great game it is very similar to the original thuogh biggest problem is you'll beat it in 2 days.
  25. AnthonyC.
    Oct 31, 2003
    10
    Although i did like the first one i think SC2 has to be at least 20X better.
  26. BlancoA.
    May 14, 2003
    10
    Link looks incredibly cool in this game. I played it for about 20 minutes at E3 this morning, and I was far from disappointed. It certainly picks up from where the Dreamcast game left off in terms of quality gameplay.
  27. MIkeM.
    Jul 22, 2003
    10
    Its great, the best fighting game since Super Smash Bros.
  28. ShawnT.
    Jul 23, 2003
    10
    Greatest game since Super Smash Bros.? Try greatest game since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
  29. Dandle
    Aug 28, 2003
    9
    Excellent but admittedly not a quantum leap beyond the Dreamcast classic.
  30. Riposte101
    Sep 4, 2003
    8
    Namco?s Soul Calibur for the Sega Dreamcast was a landmark video game and a defining moment in my long video game history. It is what I consider to still be the best 3-D fighter ever made and well worth buying a Dreamcast just to play. KenshiroKing and I used to play until our thumbs bled and even today we still throw it in occasionally and end up playing for hours on end, all the while Namco?s Soul Calibur for the Sega Dreamcast was a landmark video game and a defining moment in my long video game history. It is what I consider to still be the best 3-D fighter ever made and well worth buying a Dreamcast just to play. KenshiroKing and I used to play until our thumbs bled and even today we still throw it in occasionally and end up playing for hours on end, all the while marveling at the spectacular combinations and guard impact strings we are able to assemble against each other. Enough reminiscing about Soul Calibur and let?s move onto its sequel. The story begins by me having to spend two hours standing in line waiting on the truck to deliver the game to the GameStop that I had pre-ordered it from. When it finally arrived, I promptly picked up all three versions of the game because each comes with an exclusive character, those damn marketing geniuses. Link of classic Nintendo fame is sick and tired of saving Zelda and decides to check out what the whole fuss is about a Soul Edge for the Gamecube. He comes wielding swords, shields, bombs, boomerangs, bows and sharp sticks. Where?s his hook shot? His tactics are almost as dirty as that Michael Jackson-looking, cheating pirate himself, Cervantes and that pistol-hiding off-hand sword of his. For a good laugh check out Link?s throw from behind the opponent. The Gamecube suffers from a directional pad that is so small that it forces the player to use the analog stick, which as an old skool fighting game player makes me cringe. The button placement is radically different from the Dreamcast, Xbox and PS2 controllers, thus making it a frustrating transition if you?ve learned to play the game on those formats. The buttons have different tensions, which makes it more difficult to pull off the slide button moves (where you slide your thumb from A to B). To make up for this design flaw the controller does provide the right analog stick that performs some of the more difficult to execute button press combinations for the controller with a simple thumb movement, something I would feel dirty using. Having the worst controller ever devised for a fighting game hampers the Gamecube, but the novelty of Link and graphics that are almost on par with the X-box make this version a decent pick. Heihachi Mishima is pissed somebody stole his diaper from Tekken 4 and he journeys to the past to wear Japanese sandals and kick ass on the PS2 version. I have always been a fan of the Sony Playstation Directional pad. They are perfectly suited to a fighting game. The buttons are also less raised when compared to the X-Box?s S-Controller. All this adds up to the PS2 taking the crown as the best controller of the three consoles. The exclusive character is a matter of opinion, but mine is that Heihachi is the worst of the three. The most glaring problem with the PS2 is the occasional slow down that occurs. This is unforgivable in any game let alone a reflex-based fighter. The PS2 graphics processor having preceded its competition by a full year has not aged well. This is shown clearly when comparing the three side-by-side against the X-box and Gamecube iterations. Even with all these problems, the controller is a big factor in the decision to go with this console. Possibly because he shares the same colors (black and green) as the console, the X-box version has Spawn as the exclusive character. He comes sans cape, but with a shit-eating grin as he subtly plugs his upcoming Spawn game made by guess who, Namco. Although Spawn is a positive addition to the game, how many of us would have preferred the Master Chief swinging around a Covenant sword or two and Cortana jumping out and doing some shit talking for him? All of us? Thought so. Nonetheless Spawn, who is agile and high-kicking enough to be given the moniker Ninja Spawn. Although, his range is limited with his axe, he makes up for it with his furious feet and being able to fly about and rain hell fire down on unsuspecting foes. The X-box version comes out swinging with the best graphics and sound (720p HDTV support and Dolby Digital 5.1). It also boasts the second best character and controller of the three. Get this version if you have an HDTV or home audio system. Everybody from Soul Calibur is back in one form or another. Besides the console exclusives, new to the game are also Raphael, a rapier twirling fencer, Talim, a slight tonfa wielding girl, Cassandra, a short-sword and shield specialist and Necrid a Todd McFarlane inspired stealer of other character?s moves. If you played the original Soul Calibur not much will be new to you here and that is the biggest problem with the game. The only real change is in the aesthetics. The enhancements of an overhauled graphics engine, some combat tweaks, a few new characters and new stages do not a sequel make. This game should have been called Soul Calibur 1.5 rather than 2. I mean seriously, could we have at least gotten new weapon demonstrations for fuck?s sake. Speaking of combat tweaks, the characters have an annoying momentary pause right after they get up that was not there before in Soul Calibur. The weapon master mode is the largest means by which to unlock stages, characters, weapons and outfits and that is almost incentive enough to go through it. The process of doing so was as close to torture as I want to ever get. The dungeon crawling fights for some of the missions almost had me turning off the game and forgetting about the unlockables. As a veteran of Soul Calibur, the difficulty was marginal and the computer A.I. is as pathetic as it was in the original. Rather than enjoying my time with the game it just became a matter of sitting there and pounding out the missions. The game really shines in the one on one mode. Soul Calibur 2 should be praised on its great versus game that still conjures up the same feelings as the original. My complaints about the game are silenced once I sit down against a human opponent. With skilled players, the fights become something more and live on in memory as elaborate dances. No other game can do that. That is why this game still kicks the ass of every other fighter out there. … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best GameCube Game of 2003
5
#5 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2003
1
#1 Most Shared GameCube Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. Eurogamer
    100
    For the vast majority of the gaming world, this is quite easily the best 3D beat 'em up ever made.
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  2. Edge Magazine
    90
    No other beat 'em up developer is quite as willing to experiment with the form in a bid to stave off the moribundity that's gradually subsuming the genre. [Import - June 2003, p.88]
  3. NTSC-uk
    90
    No two battles are ever the same, something new always seems to crop up each time. It is the essence of fun, dedication and competition that causes players to continue competing and hoping to get better. [JPN Import]
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