Soul Fighters is a turn-based fighting game, and can be played in 1-player mode (player vs. CPU) or 2-player mode (player vs. player). There are two characters to choose from: Taki (female character) or Mitzurugi (male character). There are thirty turns in each game. At the beginning of a turn, both players pick three moves for their characters to execute by choosing from a control panel. Players can choose from the following: move left or right, high/middle/low attack, defense, and counter-attack; a total of 11 options. After both players confirm their three moves, the characters execute the moves on screen, and the turn ends. The game is over when one player runs out of HP or when there are no more turns; in which case, the player with the most HP wins.
Is the game fun? Why/Why not?
The game is not particularly fun. The game-play is very repetitive and not very engaging or challenging. In fact, in 1-player mode, the same attack move can be used on an opponent over and over, every single turn and he will eventually die. Actually, for me, this technique was more efficient than actually trying to plan out a strategic combination of moves.
In addition to being repetitive, the game-play was also slightly awkward due to the turn-based battle system. Part of the fun of fighting games is the fast-paced exchange of moves in the heat of battle. This component is all but completely removed from the battle in Soul Fighters. As described above, players have to choose three moves from a panel, confirm their moves, all click again on the "show turn" screen, all before they see their characters make a move.
The game was also not fun because there is only one level of difficulty, games only last one match, and there are only two characters to choose from (each character can only be played by one player at a time, and is assigned to one side of the screen which never changes). This made for little variation in the gaming experience, causing the replay value of Soul Fighters to be extremely low.
What are the goals of the game?
The goal of the game is to beat the opposing player. More damage is dealt to an opponent by attacking and defending with the right moves, based on his/her selected moves for that turn. Players can win by draining their opponents HP to zero (K.O.), or by having more HP than their opponent at the end of 30 turns. After a winner is declared, the game is over and the player is returned to the title screen.
After this goal is accomplished I suppose one could play to win in the fewest number of turns, which I found out is about 3 or 4, if maximum damage is dealt every turn. After this point there aren't any other goals established by the game.
What is the game theme?
The game's theme is player-vs.-player anime-style Asian fighting. This is supported chiefly by Soul Fighter's artwork, environment, character models, music and more. The stage for the game is set by an opening sequence where Taki stands silhouetted it the moonlight on a rainy night. She disappears, and the screen cuts to Mitsurugi swing his sword by a waterfall in the jungle. The credits fly, to quickly to read, in an Asian-brush-strokes-style typeface. This is pretty much all of the explanation Soul Fighters offers to the player, and considering the depth of the content of the game (or lack thereof), I'd say that it's fairly adequate.
One element I thought was not cohesive with the theme was the control panel. The symbols used to represent different the different moves are medieval looking, and not in keeping with the oriental theme of everything else. Also not in keeping with the theme, the title screen is a textured backdrop that looks like a wet animal hide, with the words "SOUL FIGHTER," written in thick, wavy red letters, in the middle of the screen. The red letters resemble blood, and made me think the game would be gory, which it is not. Slight discrepancies such as these, as well as a total lack of story, make Soul Fighters's theme thin, and disengaging.
What experience(s) does the designer wish to the player enjoy? Does the designer succeed? Why/Why not?
It seems the designer wanted the player to enjoy a new twist on old fighting games. However, the repetitive, awkward game-play, paired with a weak, generic theme is the downfall of the game. In addition, the experience is made boring by the game's inability to evolve in difficulty, environment, etc. Overall, it was apparent that this game was not well thought out, and put together hastily or by an amateur. I wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends... except maybe as a not-so-funny joke.
