Dear Namco, and developers of fighting games et al,
After viewing the recently leaked cover for Soul Calibur IV, I feel it's time we had a little talk. This "everything but the kitchen sink" approach is why I haven't been really, truly interested in a conventional fighter in over a decade. There are more egregious offenders (Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 boasted 42 playable characters), but really, Darth and Yoda?
This begs two questions:
1. Grasping at straws, are we?
2. Why aren't those lightsabers slicing through the swords?
Throwing crossover characters into the mix is nothing new, especially in this genre. Soul Calibur II caused a stir by including Nintendo's Link, Todd McFarland's Spawn, and Tekken's Heihachi for console exclusives. Fanboys love crossovers, as evidenced by the collective squeals resulting from Solid Snake's inclusion in Super Smash Bros Brawl. It's a marketing ploy, one that probably yields short term gains. But what about long-term brand loyalty? The anticipation for Soul Calibur II was huge, not so much with Soul Calibur IV. Brawl has blown the franchise's load, so to speak. Will the next Smash Bros game sell if it features Homer Simpson and Krang? Game mechanics matter in the long term, gimmicks don't.
You could say the same about every fighting game that has relied on constant expansion of breadth but little of depth -- and that's why I'll probably be playing Street Fighter II on the Virtual Console this July instead.