The Soulcalibur series has long been a high-quality franchise, originating in the arcades and then coming to consoles first on the tragic Sega Dreamcast, where it was hailed as one of the greatest fighters ever made. And since then, the series has maintained within its lineage a high standard of exquisite graphics, solid gameplay, and in depth combo system. That’s why it is so unlike Namco to put out such an under-produced and generic game like Soulcalibur Legends. This game’s trademark has been its exclusivity to the Wii console, having been tailored from the ground up for Nintendo’s motion-sensing machine. While some of the features, like the motion control, work, the game just fails in most areas.

The story is recognizable to fans of the series and features lots of the characters and mythology that is present in older games. Your main character, Siegfried, finds Soul Edge and it makes you its host – think of the ring from LoTR.  Siegfried then becomes engaged in a war against Evil (yes, the monsters are literally named Evil) and only his newfound sword can destroy them for the empire. But the story has never really mattered in any fighting game to date, has it?

While the story is introduced with a pretty interesting sequence, for the rest of the game you are forced to watch – excuse me, READ - the most boring dialogue boxes. The 2-D cutout characters “interact” in front of a map, while the most abhorrent dialogue spits out like some sort of Victorian-era manga comic.

The mechanics are really the novelty in this game, and that’s really exactly what they are. Arming your Wii-mote, you will swing up, down, left, right, or forward for a corresponding sword swipe or forward-stab from Siegfried. The motion registers pretty well and I was surprised that it could differentiate left or right swipes, and even upper-cuts and downward slashes. Similarly, pulling back, forward, left, or right with the Nunchuck will cause you character to evade in that direction. There are a few extra moves, like evade-attack or jump-attack, but that’s is pretty much it.

 Unlike previous SC games, this game has no in-depth combo system, and very quickly you will get bored of the five basic moves your character has. I started wondering in my first hour of gameplay, mainly out of boredom, what would happen if I just grabbed the connector cord and swung the Nunchuck and Wii-mote around like a lasso. For the sake of my roommate’s safety I decided not to, but I would bet I could get through the levels a lot faster. 

The real problem with this game is its repetition. While I know it is just a button-mashing action game, where the buttons have been replaced with waggles, it still is insanely repetitive. You run a little, enemies appear out of now-where, you throw your arms around a little, you run some more, and then more enemies appear - Rinse, wash, and repeat.

The graphics are similarly repetitive and bland. The second level literally just has a big green mass surrounding you, Turok style, to represent the mountains. Other artistically vacuous settings feature almost no detail, simple 64-era modeling, and big geometric shapes. Strangely, the character models look somewhat decent. Siegfried, the main character, actually looks like a developer put some attention into the design. The level designs and puzzles are likewise boring and generic.

The game also suffers from horrible camera work, especially when running through hallways. I was running little Siegfried through one of these corridors when, after innocently turning a corner, a huge boulder from out of nowhere smacked me down. I waited for a moment, but no more boulders came. The problem persists later on because only after you turn the corner will the camera show you what is there.

The game offers decent co-op and versus modes, and there are some unlockable characters to sift through on your idle hours. As well, you can upgrade your character and get new weapons, but unless you’re one of the hardcore SC fans, I don’t suspect this will matter much.

But SC Legends is not totally devoid of fun. The initial novelty of motion control is cool and it does have its moments, but this game is just a one-liner, and no full-length game can last that long on something so shallow.

Gameplay: 6.0
The controls are well done; it’s just this novelty can’t keep an otherwise horrible game afloat.

Graphics: 5.0
While the character models are decently drawn, the environments and story presentation are some of the worst on the Wii.

Sound: 6.0
While the triumphant, and repeated anthem of Soulcalibur blares in the background, you will cringe at the characters’ cheesy one-liners.

Difficulty: Medium
As long as your arm doesn’t cramp, you’ll make it through this game.

Concept: 6.0
The idea of a Wii exclusive, featuring motion is a great idea; however, this is not the way it’s supposed to be done.

Multiplayer 7.0
The co-op and versus modes can extend replay value, for a little while.

Overall: 5.5
This is just another classic case of third-string development trying to adopt a popular franchise to the Wii.
While there are some good moments, in the end, Legends does not have the right stuff.