<s>
is	O
a	O
fighting	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Namco	O
team	O
Project	O
Soul	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Namco	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
series	O
of	O
3D	O
fighting	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
released	O
as	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
December	O
1995	B-Application
,	O
an	O
upgraded	O
and	O
expanded	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
in	O
December	O
1996	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
was	O
renamed	O
Soul	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
Europe	O
,	O
and	O
Australia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
and	O
critical	O
success	O
and	O
was	O
followed	O
up	O
with	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
in	O
July	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
created	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
so-called	O
8-Way	O
Run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
jump	O
maneuver	O
(	O
which	O
in	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
is	O
more	O
like	O
a	O
hop	O
)	O
moves	O
the	O
player	O
higher	O
into	O
the	O
air	O
,	O
even	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
pass	O
above	O
the	O
opponent	O
(	O
much	O
like	O
in	O
Tekken	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Character	O
moves	O
retain	O
a	O
feel	O
of	O
Namco	O
's	O
Tekken	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
feature	O
that	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
Soulcaliburs	B-Application
engine	O
is	O
a	O
rock	O
paper	O
scissors	O
situation	O
when	O
two	O
character	O
strike	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
locking	O
their	O
weapons	O
;	O
those	O
who	O
press	O
the	O
correct	O
button	O
have	O
the	O
advantage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
uses	O
an	O
optional	O
offensive	O
block	O
maneuver	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
Guard	O
Impact	O
"	O
that	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
intercept	O
incoming	O
attacks	O
and	O
push	O
them	O
back	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
momentary	O
opportunity	O
for	O
a	O
free	O
counterattack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
exception	O
to	O
this	O
rule	O
is	O
Cervantes	O
and	O
Inferno	O
(	O
known	O
in	O
this	O
game	O
as	O
SoulEdge	B-Application
)	O
,	O
who	O
can	O
get	O
a	O
ring	O
out	O
by	O
themselves	O
upon	O
performing	O
a	O
certain	O
special	O
attack	O
,	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
near	O
the	O
edge	O
of	O
the	O
arena	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soul	B-Application
Edges	I-Application
events	O
take	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
1583	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
tells	O
the	O
tale	O
of	O
warriors	O
searching	O
for	O
the	O
ultimate	O
sword	O
,	O
"	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
as	O
an	O
experiment	O
by	O
Namco	O
to	O
explore	O
the	O
possibilities	O
of	O
a	O
weapon-based	O
fighting	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
based	O
video	O
game	O
created	O
by	O
using	O
passive	O
optical	O
system	O
markers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
initially	O
released	O
in	O
arcades	O
in	O
1995	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Gamest	O
Mook	O
series	O
guide	O
book	O
(	O
GMC-30	O
)	O
was	O
published	O
by	O
Shinseisha	O
on	O
April	O
30	O
,	O
1996	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
couple	O
of	O
months	O
later	O
,	O
Namco	O
released	O
a	O
fixed	O
version	O
,	O
labeled	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
Ver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
overseas	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
was	O
renamed	O
Soul	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
to	O
avoid	O
potential	O
complications	O
due	O
to	O
EDGE	O
Games	O
 '	O
earlier	O
"	O
EDGE	O
"	O
trademark	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
20	O
,	O
1996	B-Application
,	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Sony	B-Device
PlayStation	I-Device
for	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
official	O
tribute	O
book	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
Official	O
Fan	O
Book	O
( ソウルエッジ	O
オフィシャルファンブック／年代記	O
)	O
was	O
published	O
in	O
the	O
Chronicle	O
series	O
by	O
Famitsu	O
on	O
March	O
31	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
port	O
kept	O
the	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
Ver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
II	O
roster	O
of	O
ten	O
characters	O
and	O
added	O
five	O
unlockable	O
characters	O
,	O
including	O
SoulEdge	B-Application
,	O
the	O
final	O
boss	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
PlayStation-specific	O
features	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
opening	O
CGI	O
cinematic	O
and	O
individual	O
endings	O
done	O
using	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
engine	O
rather	O
than	O
still	O
images	O
as	O
in	O
its	O
sequels	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
and	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
type	O
of	O
ending	O
was	O
finally	O
brought	O
back	O
in	O
Soulcalibur	B-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
The	O
concept	O
of	O
speaking	O
different	O
languages	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
Tekken	B-Application
4	I-Application
since	O
the	O
character	O
Julia	O
Chang	O
from	O
Tekken	B-Application
3	I-Application
speaks	O
in	O
her	O
ending	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
labeled	O
Soul	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
came	O
out	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
soundtrack	O
CDs	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
:	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
Original	O
Soundtrack	O
-	O
Khan	O
Super	O
Session	O
and	O
Super	O
Battle	O
Sound	O
Attack	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
Game	O
Machine	O
listed	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
on	O
their	O
March	O
15	O
,	O
1996	B-Application
issue	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
second	O
most-successful	O
arcade	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
annual	O
1996	B-Application
Gamest	O
chart	O
,	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
was	O
the	O
20th	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
Japan	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
game	O
was	O
more	O
successful	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
five	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	O
conversion	O
kits	O
of	B-Application
1996	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
able	O
to	O
achieve	O
the	O
same	O
level	O
of	O
arcade	O
success	O
as	O
Namco	O
's	O
popular	O
Tekken	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Next	O
Generation	O
magazine	O
,	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
"	O
enjoyed	O
less	O
success	O
than	O
it	O
deserved	O
"	O
in	O
arcades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
arcade	O
version	O
of	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
Version	O
II	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
four	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
is	O
still	O
the	O
slight	O
control	O
delay	O
,	O
but	O
character	O
movement	O
is	O
still	O
fluid	O
and	O
seamless	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
trailing	O
slashes	O
of	O
light	O
in	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
weapon	O
movement	O
is	O
as	O
gorgeous	O
as	O
ever.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
conversion	O
,	O
Soul	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
,	O
was	O
a	O
bestseller	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
popularity	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
been	O
re-released	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Greatest	I-Device
Hits	I-Device
,	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Platinum	O
range	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
The	I-Device
Best	I-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
game	O
received	O
very	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
later	O
commended	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
port	O
for	O
retaining	O
all	O
the	O
characters	O
,	O
levels	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
gameplay	O
from	O
the	O
arcade	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
four	O
reviewers	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
particularly	O
applauded	O
the	O
full	B-Application
motion	I-Application
video	I-Application
intro	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
story	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
PSM	O
named	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
as	O
the	O
fourth	O
top	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
listed	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
as	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
"	O
Fighting	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
(	O
behind	O
Street	O
Fighter	O
Collection	O
)	O
and	O
"	O
Best	O
Music	O
"	O
(	O
behind	O
PaRappa	B-Application
the	I-Application
Rapper	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PSU	O
listed	O
this	O
game	O
as	O
the	O
sixth	O
"	O
PSone	O
classic	O
"	O
most	O
deserving	O
to	O
be	O
remade	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
Complex	O
ranked	O
Soul	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
as	O
the	O
19th	O
best	O
fighting	O
game	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
's	O
opening	O
sequence	O
won	O
the	O
SIGGRAPH	O
'	O
97	O
award	O
for	O
the	O
best	O
game	O
video	O
of	B-Application
1996	I-Application
.	O
</s>
