History Trivia / SoulSeries

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Due to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' license expiring, all DLC for ''Soulcalibur IV'' was removed from digital stores. ''SCIV'' is one of the few Namco fighting games that is not backwards-compatible for the UsefulNotes/XboxOne for this same reason.

** ''Soulcalibur'' was this for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, being a launch title and a PolishedPort of the original arcade version that is widely considered to be one of the best-looking, if not ''the'' best-looking game of its time, and is one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic. Anyone who didn't buy a Dreamcast for ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' was likely buying it for this.
** ''Soulcalibur II'' was one for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, despite being multiplatform, [[JustHereForGodzilla mainly because]] [[GuestFighter it had]] [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] [[UnexpectedCharacter in it]].

** Though Namco fighting games had been UsefulNotes/PlayStation exclusives at that point (including ''Soul Blade'', the home port of the series' first game ''Soul Edge''), ''Soulcalibur'' was only released as a Dreamcast exclusive because it was, at the time, the only console powerful enough to run it. By the time the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] came out, the development team was already working on ''Soulcalibur II'', so they decided to skip porting the first game. It did eventually receive an [[UsefulNotes/XboxLive Xbox Live Arcade]] release, but is still unavailable to [=PlayStation=] users.
** ''Soulcalibur II HD Online'' was brought to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360, bringing with them both Heihachi and Spawn for both platforms. The lack of the game on ''any'' Creator/{{Nintendo}} platform (either the UsefulNotes/WiiU or the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]]) means that Link, the only remaining GuestFighter, is forever tied to his original [=GameCube=] appearance.

** According to ''II''[='=]s localization producer, Nao Higo, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] was originally supposed to be the guest character for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of the game. However, the deal with Creator/SquareEnix fell through at the last minute, resulting in Cloud being replaced with the internally-owned [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]].
** Project Soul originally wanted a ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' character, likely Kasumi, to be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} version of ''Soulcalibur II'' as the ''DOA'' series was exclusive to the brand at the time, but couldn't get the rights due to then-Team Ninja head honcho Tomonobu Itagaki's [[DuelingWorks feud]] with Namco over the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' series. As a result, they got ComicBook/{{Spawn}} to be the Xbox guest character, since they were already partnered with Todd [=McFarlane=] to create ''Soulcalibur II'' action figures and OneShotCharacter Necrid. After Itagaki left Team Ninja, ''Dead or Alive'' and ''Soulcalibur'' joining forces through guest characters would eventually materialize in ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi 3 Ultimate''.

** ''Soulcalibur II'' was one for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, despite being multiplatform, [[JustHereForGodzilla mainly because]] [[GuestFighter it had]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] [[UnexpectedCharacter in it]].

* TalkingToHimself: While mostly averted (as most characters have their own distinct voice actor), there are some exceptions.
** The original ''Soulcalibur'' saw the introduction of the series' incarnation of [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Yoshimitsu]], voiced by Creator/NobuyukiHiyama -- the voice of Siegfried/Nightmare. It wouldn't be until three games later that this trope remained in effect, as Nightmare and Yoshimitsu respectively were not recasted until ''III'' and ''IV'' (as shown above).
** In ''IV'', Nightmare and Astaroth are both voiced by Creator/MichaelMcConnohie in English. (This is also the case in ''Legends'', though Nightmare and that game's version of Astaroth, Astaroth α, never directly interact.)
** Also in ''IV'', Heather Hogan voices Amy and a custom voice.
** ''V'' gives Nightmare a new voice, but his time around he shares his actors (Creator/YasunoriMasutani and Charles Klausemeyer) with Raphael in both versions. This is likely because Raphael (or at least his body) is all but said to be Soul Edge's new host.
** ''V'' also has Siegfried sharing his English voice actor Creator/RogerCraigSmith with GuestFighter [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio]], due to a RoleReprise from [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed his own series]].
** For a certain value of "talking", in the [=GameCube=] version of ''II'', Nobuyuki Hiyama [[RoleReprise reprises]] Link's battle cries as he did in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (specifically Adult Link). As Hiyama already voices Nightmare (or rather Siegfried under the Nightmare identity) ''and'' Yoshimitsu, they end up sounding very similar.