What truly distinguishes SoulCalibur from its genre contemporaries is a pervading sense of adventure. It tells a grand tale of knights and ninjas, axe-wielding goliaths and pirate warriors, all struggling over mythical weapons of good and evil. It accents this with a rousing orchestral score and grandiose narrations about entwined destinies and inescapable fates. Sure, deep and rewarding mechanics are at the heart of every good fighting game--and SoulCalibur VI certainly has that--but for this series, adventure has always been the soul.That spirit of adventure is most evident in SoulCalibur VI`s two story modes. Libra of Souls is the meatier of the two and takes inspiration from SoulCalibur II`s beloved Weapon Master Mode. It`s part fighting game, part role-playing game, part Dungeons & Dragons campaign; you create and customize your own unique fighter using options that, while serviceable, aren`t nearly as robust as the ones in Bandai Namco`s other fighter, Tekken 7. From there you embark on a journey that will take you across the world, and along the way you`ll cross paths--and swords--with both named characters and generically named bit-parters.Libra of Souls tells its story primarily through text, but it`s all surprisingly engaging, with dialogue and descriptions setting the stage for the inevitable fight and giving even its throwaway opponents a bit of flavour. The story`s conceit for making you travel around the world is that you`re `malfested` with an evil energy and must absorb Astral Fissures to stay alive. Although you`re ushered between main quest missions, various side-quests pop up around you, with NPCs asking for a hand solving their problems. Naturally, the solution each time is a sword-swinging contest, but the game does a valiant job of world building along the way to give texture to its fantasy universe. You`ll learn that Ceylon is a major producer of cinnamon, which is favoured by royalty and thus very precious, and that hamlets are being deci ...
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