Smooth Moves
Up is down. War is peace. Love is hate. A is X.
Huh? See, the massive command lists for every character (each one subdivided into nine categories) in Soul Calibur® II were designed to be used on three platforms. That means, when you see “A” in the command, it really means “Horizontal Attack”—on Xbox, that’s the X button. Conveniently for combos, though, some buttons count as two. Here’s a rundown on the control screwiness. The command letter is on the left, and the actual Xbox controller button is on the right. Print this out and tape it to your coffee table.
A=X
B=Y
K=B or White
G=A or Left Trigger
A+B=Black
A+B+K=Right Trigger
Learning all the moves in Soul Calibur II is lot like memorizing a calculus book. Every fighter in the game—and there are dozens—has 37 squishtillion moves or so. The folks that made this game have seriously come up with every single analog combination. It is truly a remarkable time to be alive. So, if you’re like me, you’re going to choose a few fighters with a good mix of skills and use them to play through the game’s painfully addictive Weapons Master story mode.
With that in mind, here are some favorite moves for four of my preferred Soul Calibur II fighters. Commands in bold should be held. (Note: The indicated buttons are the Xbox commands.)
Is it Mifune? No, it’s Mitsurugi. Fight!
Mitsurugi
Stalk Shaver: D-pad down, B or White, Y
Found under the kick menu, this attack offers a great low sweep for foes that don’t up with the low block (and that ain’t uncommon). A fast mid-level follow-through will knock them off their feet.
Relic Moves: D-pad left, X+Y
All relic moves are listed in the Misc. menu. They’re the sort of “move tree” that lets you keep other fighters from knowing what to expect. The basic Relic command makes Mitsurugi draw back with the blade in a feint. Then, he can parry with a slew of different simple attacks, depending on the button-mashing that follows the initial Relic move. There are too many to list here, but it’s a nice variety of High and Low attacks, and there are a few Guard Impact opportunities.
Spawn
Hell Spiral~Levitation: X+Y
Press the Black button to launch a mid-level uppercut, and keep holding to levitate up. (There are lots of other different ways to Levitate, and you can launch a Levitate-linked attack from any of them—I just dig that uppercut). From that relatively safe vantage point, you can launch any number of sub-attacks off the Levitation tree described in the Misc. menu. I’m especially fond of the low-hitting Shadow Stalker Dive (press D-pad down and X) and the unblockable Sigil of Hellspawn.
What do little lambs eat again?
Ivy
Pleasure Change: Y+(B or White)
Ivy’s weapon can shift forms between sword and nasty blade whip. Get used to doing this often to keep foes guessing. There’s an unbelievable number of whip-related moves and throws—too many to list here—that can be devastating.
Embrace of Lust and Embrace of Lust (Held): D-pad forward, Y+(B or White)/ Y+(B or White)
Uh, huh-hu-hu-huh. Get it out of your system, Beavis. Despite the name, this is an incredibly effective move that will not leave the victim feeling romantically inclined. And, better yet, it’s easy. The first version is a nasty skewering move that drops your foe to his knees. The “Hold” variant (my current favorite Ivy move) knocks your enemy onto all fours as you wrap your whip around his neck. Very fetish-y, but more than that, very damaging to your opponent.
Taki
Shadow Cannon: X, Y, D-Left+Y+(A or Left Trigger)
This attack, which is so simple that even Chihdo could pull it off, gives you a fast High-Medium attack followed by an equally wicked low punch.
Possession: D-pad down, down-back, back
The Possession tree is packed with goodness and is therefore one of the trickier special stance modes in the game. But, if you can master the very particular D-pad motion that kicks it off, Taki will be very hard to put down. The unblockable Exorcism move (A+B), for example, is especially impressive, and the Bow Breaker throw (A+G) is painfully reminiscent of an early scene in Freddy vs. Jason. You know, the one with the folding bed.
By Ben Barker
