Soul Blade (Soul Edge) [DUCKSTATION]: Seung Mina (Seong Mi-na) - Arcade playthrough - 1P outfit

Now for something a little different. "Shine on", indeed. We're going super old-school with this one: just before the PS1 game's 30th anniversary in January 2027, no less. This video marks the very first time I've covered the VERY first Soul series game on this channel from Bamco (or should I say straight up Namco this time around)? Not only that, this is the first time I've played this game in over 3 decades. Yes, it's been THAT long, for I've had extremely limited exposure to this game compared to owning Soulcalibur for the Dreamcast back in the days. Before the timeline reboot with SC6, before Patroklos bombed the series with SC5, before Star Wars visited in SC4, before Siegfried and Nightmare's clash at the Lost Cathedral in SC3, before Raphael pierced Soul Edge's eye after fighting 3 strange guests in SC2, before Xianghua solo'd Inferno in SC1.... Back when Tekken 3 wasn't even on PS1 yet, back when stiff responding controls were still on the menu all over the place (this game is no exception...), and back when ambition was still on the minds of developers trying to build onto 3D graphics, Soul Blade [Soul Edge in Japan] hit the scene with a package that was leaps and bounds above it's contemporaries at the time. Graphics were one thing, which at the time, were pretty great, but the game's atmosphere and presentation was what hooked many a player to it and got the attention away from the likes of Battle Arena Toshinden (which was already starting to struggle as a series at the time on it's 3rd iteration). Right from the jump the game hits you with an epic introduction that truly marks the game's setting, characters and vibe with an olden world adventure in which you'll be battling the other castmates in the quest for the namesake swords, and it really doesn't let off the gas. From the announcer to the 3 music soundtrack styles to the artstyle and especially it's Edge Master mode, where you collect weaponry with buffs and perks as you go, Soul Blade was truly the start of gamers truly getting a feel on the potential of 3D fighting game experiences. The fact the game has it's endings rendered in the actual engine real-time and not FMV, complete with hidden interactive alternate endings, was mind-blowing at the time. Coming from the future (Soulcalibur VI) and looking back at the past, the core gameplay is about the same, though obviously more primitive. No 8-way run to be found here (that's SC1), so it borrows Toshinden's Down, Down or Down, Up inputs for sidestepping around the arena. Guard Impact exists as you would expect, yet, this was the main game that had introduced the original "Critical Edge" attacks [Combination Supers, which is where SC6VodkaVerse's "Violent Edges" originate from] and uniquely a Weapon Guard gauge that punishes overly defending by legit stripping you of your blades for that round. Every fighter has a simple to learn but hard to master moveset just like later games, and the AI... well, it'll play nice for a little before deciding to move like it's Marvel later in your runs, complete with blatant input reading even on Normal difficulty. Gotta love the old school vibes. Anyways, this video has me giving Seong Mi-na (...or, by using her original spelling before SC3, Seung Mina) the go-ahead to be the 1st pick to run the gauntlet. Hope you enjoy this olden throwback. 0:00:00 Boot-Up 0:00:23 Game Intro... no, THE fighting game intro. (This is still my all-time fave FG opening to this day). 0:02:40 Title Screen & Settings 0:04:32 Character Select 0:04:58 STAGE 1: Hwang Sung Kyung (Hwang Seong-gyeong) 0:06:43 STAGE 2: Rock (Nathaniel William Adams) 0:08:25 STAGE 3: Siegfried Schtauffen 0:10:39 STAGE 4: Seung Mina (Seong Mi-na - Mirror Match) 0:13:24 STAGE 5: Voldo 0:15:09 STAGE 6: Li Long 0:18:35 STAGE 7: Sophitia Alexandria 0:22:10 STAGE 8: Taki 0:27:30 STAGE 9: Heishiro Mitsurugi 0:36:07 STAGE 10: Cervantes de León [SUB BOSS] 0:44:56 Soul Edge forms... [CUTSCENE] 0:45:06 STAGE 11: Soul Edge (Inferno) [FINAL BOSS] 0:50:54 Mi-na's Ending (Alternate Input Version: press Down, Up as Mi-na is trying to explain herself to her father, but before she gets to her 3rd sentence.) 0:53:07 Credits