Waiter, there’s something green in my Soul Calibur

It’s time for another Soul Calibur sequel, and another surprising reveal of hidden characters that don’t quite belong. Soul Calibur 2′s inclusion of Link from The Legend of Zelda will likely go down as one of the greatest strokes of marketing genius ever. On top of that, it fit beautifully with the game and made somewhat twisted, logical sense. Spawn? Not so much.

Still, despite all of that, hardly anyone was expecting to see Darth Vader and Yoda turn up in Soul Calibur 4. It shouldn’t be too shocking, perhaps, as fighting game cameos seem to be in style as of late. Dead or Alive 4 even gave us a Spartan soldier (Halo) to fight with, though curiously not Master Chief, himself. That being said, was a Star Wars fighter really on anyone’s most wanted list?

We’ve seen a Star Wars fighter before, but those who played it generally prefer to forget it. We’ve also seen just about every other imaginable Star Wars spin-off game. When shall we finally see Yoda’s Rock Band? But does anyone want these games? In the case of Soul Calibur, there are certainly fans of the series who will buy it despite the inclusion of these characters. You can feel safe buying the main package and considering Vader and Yoda as Easter eggs, if nothing more. But will anyone buy simply for these characters?

Probably, and that’s why LucasArts continues to rent these beloved characters out. Still, one has to wonder why we continue to get such titles and miss out on the Star Wars titles fans really want. Where’s the Tie Fighter sequel? It’s been years, and seems likely to never happen at this point, but to many that series remains the pinnacle of Star Wars titles. Where are the titles that let us play as the characters we truly want to play as? There have been poor attempts in the past, including many of the movie tie-in titles, but why have the LEGO Star Wars titles been some of the few to ever get it somewhat right?

Yoda should be a blast to control as he goes nuts and flips out with his lightsaber in hand. One just has to wonder why it has to be against a Soul Calibur character, and not the legions of Storm Troopers we know he yearns to slice and dice.

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