Tag Archives: Namco

Soulcalibur II, GameCube

The Soulcalibur series is a line of classic arcade fighting games, created by Namco and their dedicated development team, “Project Soul“. And this is a conversion of Soulcalibur II – from arcade to GameCube – first published in 2003.

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Soulcalibur, Dreamcast

The Dreamcast version of Soulcalibur is an enhanced port of the 1998 arcade game by Namco. It was released worldwide in 1999 and features “ten new characters” and enhanced new graphics.

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Soulcalibur, Arcade

After the arcade game, Soul Edge in 1996, and the PlayStation conversion of that game in 1998 (called “Soul Blade” in the West), came Soulcalibur in 1999. It was made available in arcades first, as a two-player cabinet, and did reasonably good business.

The basic storyline is about a group of fighters battling it out for possession of a mystical sword called “The Soul Edge“.

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Soul Blade, PlayStation

Released in December 1996 in Japan, and in 1997 in North America and Europe, Soul Blade is the PlayStation port of Namco‘s Soul Edge arcade fighting game – the predecessor to the Soulcalibur series.

Soul Edge was a pioneering early attempt at using Motion Capture in a fighting game – for the realistic animation of the combatants – and it had quite an impact on fighting game fans when it was first released.

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Soul Edge, Arcade

Developed by “Project Soul” and released into arcades by Namco in April 1996, Soul Edge is a weapons-based, one-on-one fighting game that serves as the predecessor to the Soulcalibur series.

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Wonder Momo, PC Engine

Developed by Namco and published – in Japan only – by NEC Avenue in 1989, Wonder Momo is a conversion of a weird Japanese arcade game featuring a female lead character who must fight off attackers during a theatre stage play. And, if that sounds bizarre, then – well – that’s because it is! Unlike the arcade original, the PC Engine version of Wonder Momo has been fan-translated into English and Spanish, so is more accessible to Western audiences.

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Wonder Momo, Arcade

I first encountered Namco‘s Wonder Momo on the PC Engine, because it had received a fan translation, and I was curious to see what the game was about. I then discovered that it was a conversion of a 1987 arcade game, featuring a young girl called Momo, who can turn into a ‘superhero’ by building up her “Wonder Meter“.

This bizarre arcade game was only ever released in Japan, but has subsequently built up a cult following around the world, and has also inspired manga/anime, and resulted in a sequel that was released in 2014.

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Ordyne, Arcade

Released in Japan only, Ordyne is a cute and colourful (and very Japanese) one or simultaneous two-player ‘bullet hell’ shooter that was developed and distributed by Namco in 1988.

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Ghoul Panic, Arcade

First released into arcades in 1999, Ghoul Panic by Namco is a spooky Halloween-style lightgun shooter for one or two players that is heavily inspired by Namco‘s Point Blank series. The game was developed by Eighting/Raizing and features colourful, well-animated 3D graphics throughout.

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Point Blank, Arcade

Point Blank (aka Gun Bullet in Japan) is a minigame-based, humorous lightgun shooter for one or two players. It was created by Namco and initially distributed into arcades in 1994.

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