History YMMV / SoulSeries

** Even to this day (i.e. the ''SCVI'' era), people continually ask Bandai Namco for ''Soulcalibur'' to "return" to Nintendo consoles, which they have responded with "maybe later" responses to rather honest admissions (which is they don't do it to avoid backlash over having/not having a Nintendo-exclusive character like [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] or even a ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' character in the roster). Where the fandom is divided is the debate if there should be a Nintendo version (be it the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch or its successor) and if that version deserves an exclusive character the other consoles (and PC without mods) will never have, since the idea of an exclusive first party Nintendo GuestFighter is the one of the biggest reasons many fans want the franchise to return to a Nintendo console.

** [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]-exclusive {{guest|Fighter}}. Singlehandedly got more people into ''Soulcalibur II'' than any other system's guest character. In fact, the [=GameCube=] version is one of the few multiplatform games in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames sixth generation of consoles]] to sell best there.

** The general fandom consensus is that ''Soulcalibur II'', the [=GameCube=] version especially, is the best game in the series, though this is still widely debated due to the [[PolishedPort excellent]] [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] port of ''Soulcalibur'', which is considered to be far superior to the Arcade versions, and a good contender for the best game ever released on the console. [[note]]Metacritic scores have ''Calibur'' rated higher than its sequel (98% vs. 92/93%), and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AraJT_xQHB8#t=13m57s most critics were of the opinion that]] the first ''Calibur'' was such a landmark, innovative 3D fighter that its sequel, no matter how many objective improvements it made, simply didn't have the same impact, but more fans lean towards ''II'' for the tightening of mechanics from ''Edge'' and ''Calibur''; [[SerialEscalation the expansion of character movesets, fighting arenas, and game modes]]; and the introduction of {{guest|Fighter}} characters, Link most notably.[[/note]]
** There is also a sizeable camp [[TakeAThirdOption that instead]] deems ''III'' as the best game of the series, citing the colossal amount of single-player content -- you have individual stories for each character with MultipleEndings, Chronicles of the Sword, a fun and varied Mission Mode, Arcade, a random Tournament Mode, not to mention the now iconic Create-a-Soul feature with a vast array of character creation options that future iterations would never quite match. The most common complaints are ''III'' being exclusive to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 whereas ''II'' was MultiPlatform and [[CasualCompetitiveConflict the questionable gameplay balance and number of glitches that arose from the single-player focus]], and the game rated lower than either of its predecessors on Metacritic (86%), but ''III'' is typically held up as the last entry of the ''Soul'' series' "golden age" -- and almost entirely on the strength of its single-player experience.

** Voldo's ''Soul Edge'' ending, emphasized by bad [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation PS1]]-era voice acting.

** While the concept of a GuestFighter had existed before ''Soulcalibur II'', it wasn't nearly as widespread until ''II'' brought it to the public's attention. Back in 2003, it was a novel concept and was a major selling point by having a platform-specific guest character, specifically [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]] for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, ComicBook/{{Spawn}} for UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] for UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube. This was the point where many requested guests to appear in other games, which is precisely what happened. Now that having at least one guest (and oftentimes more) is so pervasive and common in the FightingGame genre that it's more or less expected these days, many gamers are more annoyed by it than wowed, particularly in titles that aren't meant to be {{Massive Multiplayer Crossover}}s. All the while, this also makes ''II'' seem less unique in hindsight, as its use of guests are now so commonplace that some have wondered what was so special about it. Though ''II'' is still held in high regard, the guests are often not one of the reasons for it ([[JustHereForGodzilla apart from maybe]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse Link]]).
* PolishedPort: At the time of its release, the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] port of ''Soulcalibur'' was highly praised for being not [[ArcadePerfectPort arcade-perfect]], but drastically arcade-''superior''! In fact, ''Soulcalibur'' is often considered to be the best game ever released for the console and quickly became a KillerApp, selling over one million copies in the span of four months.

** The [[UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade XBLA]] port of the original ''Calibur'', while otherwise very competent, was a victim of Microsoft's at-the-time 200 MB size limit on XBLA games [[note]]which was raised a mere ''month'' later when ''VideoGame/BionicCommando Rearmed'' was released[[/note]]. As a result, every character was unlocked from the start, the game lacked the Dreamcast original's Story Mode, and there was no online play.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Tira wears a skin-tight bodysuit and caters to the "Hot {{Goth}}" fandom. She's also TheOphelia, which can endear anyone to fans if they're attractive enough.
** Ivy counts as well (she's not the current poster girl for [[MsFanservice/VideoGames the Video Games section of the Ms. Fanservice page here]] for nothing), but only during ''Soulcalibur'' (and even then, Ivy was merely an AntiVillain misled by Nightmare's scheming); she'd undergo a HeelFaceTurn afterward and become a more heroic, if not [[AntiHero morally gray]], character.
** A few others could also fit the criteria at various points in the series (such as Raphael), depending on how far you're willing to stretch the definition of the word "evil."

* FranchiseOriginalSin: The use of {{Guest Fighter}}s that tends to annoy fans nowadays began with ''Soulcalibur II'', considered by many to be the best entry in the series. While back then it was considered a neat idea made into reality, the fact that, today, [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny virtually every game has at least one]] has made it a little harder to see the inclusion of guests as an "innovative" concept. Often, fans hold the sentiment that staple veterans, [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan]]-[[IconicSequelCharacter favorites]], and other highly requested characters get shafted in favor of a fighter who will [[OneShotCharacter only be there in one game]], [[BaseBreakingCharacter may not have universal appeal]], and/or [[FishOutOfWater looks jarringly dissimilar to the rest of the game]] in either aesthetics and/or gameplay, something that came to a head when ''Soulcalibur IV'' included [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda and Darth Vader]].

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny:
** ''Soul Edge'' was the first 3D fighting game where all characters were able to sidestep around opponents (or to use their terminology, 8-way run), which became a standard in Namco's 3D fighters thereafter.
** While the concept of a GuestFighter had existed before ''Soulcalibur II'', it wasn't nearly as widespread until ''II'' brought it to the public's attention. Back in 2003, it was a novel concept and was a major selling point by having a platform-specific guest character, specifically [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]] for UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, ComicBook/{{Spawn}} for UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] for UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube. This was the point where many requested guests to appear in other games, which is precisely what happened. Now that having at least one guest (and oftentimes more) is so pervasive and common in the FightingGame genre that it's more or less expected these days, many gamers are more annoyed by it than wowed, particularly in titles that aren't meant to be {{Massive Multiplayer Crossover}}s. All the while, this also makes ''II'' seem less unique in hindsight, as its use of guests are now so commonplace that some have wondered what was so special about it. Though ''II'' is still held in high regard, the guests are often not one of the reasons for it ([[JustHereForGodzilla apart from maybe]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse Link]]).

** The games that featured guests ([[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]], ComicBook/{{Spawn}}, [[Franchise/StarWars Vader, Yoda]], [[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed The Apprentice]], [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]], [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed Ezio]], [[Franchise/TheWitcher Geralt]], [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Haohmaru]]) included them for the [[JustForPun soul]] purpose of introducing people who wanted to use them in a fighting game to the series.

** The ''Franchise/StarWars'' characters. Everyone likes [[EvilIsCool Darth Vader]], but not necessarily as a ''Soulcalibur'' fighter. Although they helped introduce new fans to the series similar to Link in ''SCII'' (especially Vader), the fact that they [[AnachronismStew come from a futuristic sci-fi setting]] [[note]]which is still technically "a long time ago"[[/note]] was ''not'' taken lightly. [[TierInducedScrappy Yoda]] deserves special mention for his height making him rather unorthodox to play as, and because many Xbox 360 users were stuck with him rather than the much, ''much'' cooler Vader (until the DLC came out). The fact that many fans had been [[WhatCouldHaveBeen hoping for]] [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]], who only afterwards got to be in the less popular ''Broken Destiny'', did not help matters.

* MemeticLoser: Rock. He's so forgettable that fans were actually ''glad'' to see him removed from ''V'', and it's been joked that ''an actual rock'' would be more interesting than him. His TierInducedScrappy status has also given him the reputation that he's a weak fighter in-series as well despite the lore implying nothing of the sort. [[note]]It should be noted that in the actual series canon, Rock defeated Lizardman and then fought Sophitia ''to a draw'' with a broken weapon and [[BadassNormal no divine abilities]] compared to Sophitia having god-given skills and a divine weapon. Additionally, Kunpaetku, high priest of the Fygul Cestemus sect, created Astaroth at Ares's request using Rock as a template. So saying that he's "weak" lore-wise is more than a little unfounded.[[/note]] He's also been eclipsed by his MorePopularReplacement Astaroth, who ironically was created using him as a template in-universe.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** Hilde, not really for her ranking (there are characters ranked higher than her) but rather for how easy it is to win via Ring Out with her. During the ''Soulcalibur IV'' tournament at [=EVO2k9=], every time a Hilde player was featured on the main stage, the entire ballroom would be filled with people booing.
** Rock has been considered a [[JustForPun rock-bottom-tier]] character for pretty much the entirety of his existence. His moves tend to be either slow, predictable, or both, leaving him with only a handful of ground throws to rely on and rendering him a serious one-trick pony. It doesn't help that the series has Astaroth as an alternate MightyGlacier character who's better than Rock at the few things Rock ''can'' do.

*** Chester as the chronicle's last boss. In contrast to his AntiClimaxBoss encounter in Chronicle 10, he has been upgraded from [[TierInducedScrappy Thief]] to Swordmaster, buffing him up significantly. And enjoy his "All Guard Break" stronghold ability!

** A semi-recurring joke is that, due to most of the female cast [[FanservicePack becoming curvier, shapelier, and generously more endowed with each new game]], Sophitia's character artwork in ''IV'' depicts her crying not due to [[TheWoobie her]] [[BreakTheCutie story]] [[ForcedIntoEvil progression]] [[http://imgur.com/v3bvG but because of]] ''[[GagBoobs back pain]]''. Possibly {{ascended|Meme}} in ''VI'', where Amy's taunt against Sophitia or Ivy has her snarkily ask if their back hurts.

** Players will more likely resort to traditional battles rather than real-time skirmishes, especially 1v1. Real time skirmishes, aside from being time-consuming, are guaranteed to inflict damage on both units. By engaging in the traditional battles, not only can the player pause all action on the map, but they can also score perfect wins by abusing the various AIBreaker moves found in ''III''. Not to mention that some bonuses requires several perfect victories. This is also the reason why Knight and Infantry units are negligible.

* TierInducedScrappy: Thief is statistically the second worst job in Chronicles of the Sword, but becomes the worst job thanks to its choice of weapons. While Dancer is the worst job stats-wise, it is offset by excellent weapons choices, especially [[GameBreaker Soul of Xianghua]]. Thief, however, has none of those. The default weapon style, Dagger, has very weak AIBreaker moves and is awkward to use. Thief has two souls, Yun-seong and Tira, but Yun-seong has no discernable AIBreaker moves, and Tira is also available on Assassin, an advanced and better job.

** ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI'': [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Azwel]], the [[BigBad main villain]] of the "Libra of Soul" story, was formerly a high-ranking member of the Aval Organisation. While a member, [[EvilutionaryBiologist Azwel]] performed terrible experiments that turned people violent and murderous, and at one point during his tenure, Azwel forced a group of ruffians to fight to the death and questioned the survivor, relishing the man's guilt, anguish and conflicting emotions. Eventually leaving Aval, Azwel stole a fragment of both Soul Calibur and Soul Edge and formed the Qualifiers, naming himself the [[DarkMessiah Leader of Humanity]]. Azwel continued his experiments while searching for Astral Fissures to absorb and strengthen his fragments and create full duplicates of the two swords. His final goal was to use the swords to sacrifice [[PlayerCharacter The Conduit]] and create an "Ultimate Seed" that would wipe out much of humanity while the survivors would ascend with himself in charge. Driven by his fanatical "love" of humanity, Azwel was a madman who saw people as playthings that exist for his amusement.