Soulcalibur x Star Wars

Soulcalibur x Star Wars is a spin-off title in the Soul series of games. It features many characters from the Star Wars and Soulcalibur universes, and follows the gameplay of its predecessors.

The game was made as a Marvel vs. Capcom-style crossover "inspired" by the inclusion of several Star Wars guest characters in Soulcalibur IV.

List of playable characters and respective weapons
Unlockable characters are bolded.

Soulcalibur characters

 * Algol - Assimilated Soul Edge & Soul Calibur
 * Amy - Rapier
 * Astaroth - Giant axe
 * Cassandra Alexandra - Short sword and shield
 * Cervantes de Leon - Longsword and pistol sword
 * Dampierre - Dual punching daggers
 * Hildegard von Krone - Short sword and spear
 * Ivy Valentine - Snake sword
 * Kilik - Bo staff
 * Lizardman - Hand ax and small shield
 * Maxi - Nunchaku
 * Heishiro Mitsurugi - Katana
 * Nightmare - Soul Edge zweihänder
 * Raphael Sorel - Rapier
 * Rock Adams - Giant mace
 * Seong Mi-na - Halberd
 * Setsuka - Iai sword hidden within an umbrella
 * Siegfried Schtauffen - Soul Calibur zweihänder
 * Sophitia Alexandra - Short sword and shield
 * Taki - Dual kodachi ninja swords
 * Talim - Elbow blades
 * Tira - Ring blade
 * Voldo - Dual katars
 * Chai Xianghua - Chinese jian sword
 * Yoshimitsu - Katana, wakizashi, and sashimono''
 * Hong Yun-seong - Chinese dao sword
 * Zasalamel - War scythe

Star Wars characters

 * Ahsoka Tano - Lightsaber
 * Anakin Skywalker - Lightsaber
 * The Apprentice - Lightsaber
 * Asajj Ventress - Dual lightsabers joined by a cord/double-bladed lightsaber
 * Boba Fett - Blaster rifle and jetpack
 *  - Lightsaber and blaster rifle
 * Chewbacca - Bowcaster
 * Count Dooku - Cross-hilt lightsaber
 * Darth Caedus - Lightsaber
 * Darth Krayt - Dual lightsabers
 * Darth Maul - Double-bladed lightsaber
 * Darth Revan - Lightsaber
 * Darth Vader - Soul Edge lightsaber
 * The Emperor - Lightsaber
 * General Grievous - Quadruple lightsabers
 * Han Solo - Blaster pistol
 * Kyle Katarn - Lightsaber
 * Princess Leia Organa - Vibro axe and blaster pistol
 * Luke Skywalker - Soul Calibur lightsaber
 * Mace Windu - Lightsaber
 * Mara Jade - Lightsaber and blaster pistol
 * Maris Brood - Tonfa-style lightsabers
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi - Lightsaber
 * PROXY - Mimetic combat processor (mimics other characters' appearances and fighting styles)
 * Qui-Gon Jinn - Lightsaber
 * - "Astromech arsenal"
 * Yoda - Lightsaber

Original characters

 * Gertrude - Ring blade and various concealed weapons
 * Jetek Kalshmra - Blastersaber
 * Straifnir - Viking sword

Guest character

 * Indiana Jones from the Indiana Jones series - Bullwhip and revolver

Soulcalibur stages

 * Jyakudai Villa: Virgin Snow
 * Tower of Remembrance: Apex
 * Wolfkrone Monument: Clockwork Trap
 * Thesmophoros' Shrine
 * The Adrian: Ghost Ship Deck
 * Ostrheinsburg Castle: Battlement
 * Distant Marsh
 * Money Pit Basement
 * Armory of the Warrior God
 * Fygul Cestemus Grand Shrine
 * Phantom Pavillion: Arena

Star Wars stages

 * Throne Room
 *  Docking Bay: Bridge Overhang
 * Training Room
 * Beast Arena
 * Lava Banks
 * Generator Room
 * Ewok Village
 * Generator Room
 * Ewok Village
 * Generator Room
 * Ewok Village

Bonus stage

 * Temple of the Golden Idol

Gameplay
Soulcalibur x Star Wars is a fighting game where two players each choose a character and have their characters fight each other on a Soulcalibur or Star Wars themed stage. An "HP Gauge" records the amount of health a character has remaining, while a "Soul Gauge" depletes if a character blocks attacks and increases over time or if a character hits the opponent with attacks. If the Soul Gauge is empty, the character is put into a vulnerable state where their protective equipment is destroyed and, if certain conditions are met, the opponent can perform a powerful finishing move (known as a "Critical Finish") on the character.

Certain Star Wars characters that are Force users, such as Darth Vader, also have a "Force Gauge" that is drained as the character uses certain powerful attacks, which are often Force powers from the Star Wars universe. If the gauge is drained, then the character is temporarily stunned. Like the Soul Gauge, this gauge can be filled up over time or by landing attacks on the opponent. This gauge was also present for the Star Wars guest characters in Soulcalibur IV; however, in Soulcalibur x Star Wars, it regenerates at a much faster rate. Due to the fact that the Soulcalibur characters Siegfried, Nightmare and Algol are discovered to be Force-sensitive during the game's storyline, they use the Force Gauge and Force powers as well.

New to Soulcalibur x Star Wars are Star Wars characters who primarily use projectile weapons, such as Han Solo. (The Soulcalibur character Cervantes uses a pistol sword as well as a longsword, although his attacks are mostly geared towards close-range sword fighting.) Such characters can perform special long-range projectile attacks on the opponent, giving them an advantage in combat. However, many firearms attacks can easily be blocked by guarding or deflected using a "Guard Impact" move, due to the fact that they do not hit immediately. This allows enemy characters to come closer, which causes a disadvantage for the firearms character; almost all firearms characters have sub-par close range attacks that are mostly designed to knock the opponent further away or give a big enough disadvantage to move into long range again. Notable exceptions are Boba Fett and, to a lesser extent, Mara Jade and Jetek, who can fight relatively well at close range due to their various weapons; this has caused many members of the tournament community to label Fett as "broken" and "overpowered".

Character creation
The character creation mode from past Soulcalibur games returns in Soulcalibur x Star Wars. Like in Soulcalibur III, characters are assigned a "class" (such as Assassin, Dancer, Barbarian, Jedi Knight, Sith Lord, Bounty Hunter, Trooper, etc.), each with a unique moveset. Depending on the class, a character may also be assigned the moveset of an already-existing normal character (for example, a character in the "Bounty Hunter" class can be assigned the "Soul of Boba Fett" discipline). Characters can be given customized equipment collected by the player, as well as hairstyles, facial features, voices, etc. of the player's choice.

In addition, like in Soulcalibur IV, standard characters can be customized as well. Both their primary and secondary outfits are made out of customizable parts, and characters can also be given alternate equipment collected by the player, as well as alternate hairstyles and color changes. However, some parts, such as Vader's helmet, can only be assigned to specific characters.

Characters
The game features numerous Soulcalibur and Star Wars characters, including Indiana Jones as a guest character. Originally, the boss character Algol from Soulcalibur IV was not supposed to return for any future game, but due to demand from fans, he returns in Soulcalibur x Star Wars reprising his role as one of the final bosses, along with Luke and Vader.

In addition, several new characters were created for the game:
 * Gertrude is Tira's younger adoptive sister, a poltergeist inhabiting a giant marionette-like body that retains a very human-like face. She seeks revenge on her sister for murdering her and her family. Like Tira, she wields a "ring blade", and can also use various weapons concealed in her puppet body. She was inspired by a previous Soulcalibur bonus character, Ashlotte Maedel, as well as the Naruto character Sasori.
 * Jetek Kalshmra is an exiled . His father was executed by Darth Vader during the, but thanks to his undying faith in the , he was able to train himself to become a powerful Jedi. He hid on an unknown planet in order to evade detection by the , observing Luke's struggle against the Empire from the sidelines, ready to spring into action and replace Luke were he to fail. Jetek wields a blastersaber, a new weapon that can function as both a lightsaber and a blaster.
 * Straifnir is a seafaring Viking warrior whose crew was slaughtered by the pirate Cervantes when he was possessed by Soul Edge. Straifnir therefore vowed to have revenge on Cervantes and Soul Edge. In order to interfere with Cervantes' current goal of obtaining Soul Edge, Straifnir seeks the spirit sword Soul Calibur so that he can destroy Soul Edge and kill Cervantes; however, the spirit sword is unwilling to answer to his requests due to their impure nature. Straifnir wields a Viking sword.

In addition, soldiers and troopers such as and, as well as characters such as  and , appear as minor enemies, and can be created in the game's character creation mode.

Voice actors
Several actors from the Star Wars films, such as Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu) reprise their roles as the voices of their respective characters in the English dub of the game. This has been used as a major selling point of the game, as the actors from the films, especially Jones, rarely reprise their roles in other Star Wars material. Other Star Wars movie characters are voiced by stand-ins who also voiced the character in Expanded Universe material, and the Expanded Universe characters are all voiced by their original actors. In Japanese, all Star Wars and Soulcalibur characters are voiced by their most recent Japanese voice actors.

Story
The story takes place after the events of Soulcalibur IV, and in several different time periods in Star Wars canon (predominantly during the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, although characters from other eras appear as well). However, it is considered non-canon in both Soulcalibur and Star Wars canon.

Reception
Soulcalibur x Star Wars has been received very positively. Reviewers praised the game's many features and intricate story, as well as the next-gen graphics. In addition, many of them found the English voice acting for the Soulcalibur characters to be a significant improvement over past games.

Criticism was directed towards the game not being too revolutionary and simply being a slightly amped-up version of past Soulcalibur games with a full Star Wars crossover aspect added. Reviewers also criticized the game's very steep "learning curve", meaning that they found that the game would be very difficult for new players to learn.

The Xbox 360 version of Soulcalibur x Star Wars was the best-selling game in the month of its release. The PS3 version was the third best-selling game of the month, behind the Xbox 360 version and the extremely successful Wii Fit 2 with Oprah!, while the Wii version was in second place. Soulcalibur x Star Wars is the best-selling game in the Soul series, and was the fastest selling Star Wars and Soulcalibur game upon its release.

Merchandise
A Star Wars Miniatures set based on the game was released. The set, Star Wars Miniatures: Legends of Soulcalibur, features characters from both the Soulcalibur and Star Wars universes. The set returns to the older format of 60 minis per set; this was for the purpose of including more Soulcalibur characters, as it has been stated that this will be the only crossover set with the series. A starter set has been released featuring Darth Vader and Mitsurugi, and the booster packs have art depicting Luke Skywalker, Ivy and Nightmare.

While not actually a Soulcalibur x Star Wars product, Fantasy Flight Games published an expansion for the Soulcalibur IV section of its UFS CCG timed for the release of Soulcalibur x Star Wars, featuring the Star Wars characters that were present in Soulcalibur IV. The set, Imperial Entanglements, features starter decks based on Darth Vader and Yoda, and also includes cards for The Apprentice, Mitsurugi, Taki, Voldo, Sophitia and Kilik. Due to the set's popularity, Fantasy Flight published the current incarnation of Star Wars as a CCG, the Star Wars Battle Card Game, which features alternate rules that make it compatible with UFS.

Hasbro also released a small line of Soulcalibur x Star Wars action figures as part of the regular Star Wars action figure line, similar to the Force Unleashed action figure line. Re-sculpted and re-painted Star Wars characters were included, as well as popular Soulcalibur characters. In keeping with Soulcalibur x Star Wars' status as a weapon-based fighting game, each figure comes with three interchangeable weapons: the 1P and 2P versions of their basic weapon, and their ultimate weapon.

In Japan, Tomy released a line of large motorized Soulcalibur x Star Wars "Super Fight Action" model kits based on characters from the game. The line was largely inspired by Tomy's ZOIDS line, and features similar snap-together construction, as well as electronic features such as motorized walking, light and sounds. The first two kits available featured Darth Vader and Nightmare, but other characters were released later, most of which were "armored" or "monster" characters such as General Grievous and Astaroth. These kits were later imported to North America by Hasbro.