Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul

Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul is a 3D, third‑person, one‑on‑one fighting game that brings the classic manga’s mythic battles to life. Players can choose from 48 Saints and other characters, battling across fully 3D arenas while following two story modes – Legend of Cosmo, which retells the 12 Houses through Hades arcs, and Battle of Gold, featuring new Gold Saint story segments. The game introduces a faster‑recharging Cosmo gauge, a Seven Sense Awakening bar for powerful Seventh Sense attacks, new Photon projectiles, Assist Phrase boosts, and Cosmic K.O. finishers.

Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul delivers a faithful retelling of the classic anime’s four major arcs, letting fans step into the shoes of Seiya and his fellow Saints for a nostalgic brawl. While the game boasts a generous roster and a respectable amount of unlockable content, its combat feels shallow, the visuals are modest for a PS4 title, and the overall experience leans heavily on fan service rather than solid fighting‑game design.

Gameplay & Modes

The core of Soldiers’ Soul is the single‑player campaign, titled Legend of Cosmo. It is divided into four story arcs—Sanctuary, Asgard, Poseidon, and Hades—mirroring the anime’s major sagas. Each arc contains a series of missions that alternate between cut‑scenes and one‑on‑one battles. The narrative is presented from the Saints’ perspective, and the game throws in a few new moments, most notably the Asgard saga, which had never been playable before.

Beyond the campaign, the title offers offline versus mode (local two‑player) and an online battle system with both casual and ranked matchmaking. Unfortunately, there are no additional modes such as team battles, survival challenges, or a robust training arena, so the variety of gameplay experiences is limited.

Combat System

Combat is built around a simple three‑button scheme: square for a basic attack, triangle for a stronger strike, with the usual block, dodge, and dash functions. The defining mechanic is the Cosmo gauge, which fills automatically as you trade blows or can be charged manually by holding L2. This meter fuels special attacks, including the series‑iconic “Big Bang” moves.

The system is intentionally accessible—newcomers can pick up the basics quickly, and the tutorial is brief. However, seasoned fighting‑game players will find little depth. Most characters share similar move sets, combos are short, and the AI can be defeated repeatedly with the same tactics. Over‑powered special attacks that strike from across the arena sometimes feel more like cheap hits than skillful play, reducing the sense of fair competition.

Visuals & Presentation

Graphically, the game runs smoothly at 60 fps in 1080p, but it does little to exploit the PS4’s hardware. Character models are faithful to their anime designs, and the cel‑shaded aesthetic works adequately, yet backgrounds are simplistic, textures lack detail, and animations are often stiff. The “Big Bang” attacks, which should be cinematic highlights, are underwhelming and lack the dramatic flair seen in comparable anime fighters such as Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm.

A few presentation quirks stand out: death sequences cannot be skipped, and after each loss Athena delivers an unskippable pep‑talk that must be dismissed by repeatedly pressing X. While these moments are harmless, they interrupt the flow and feel like unnecessary padding.

Audio & Localization

The game shines in its voice work, especially for Latin American players. The original Japanese cast is retained for the Japanese dub, and the Latin American Spanish dub features the series’ official voice actors, delivering a surprisingly professional performance. This level of care in localization has been praised by fans in those regions.

Replayability & Unlockables

A major draw is the sheer number of playable characters—over 30 Saints, each with multiple costumes and alternate outfits. Throughout the campaign you earn points that can be spent on Assist Phrases, which upgrade abilities and provide minor stat boosts. The sheer volume of unlockables encourages repeated playthroughs, and the Asgard saga adds a fresh setting that many fans had long awaited.

Online Play

The online component functions as expected, offering both casual and ranked matches. Netcode is generally stable, with minimal lag reported in most matches. However, the player base tends to gravitate toward the more powerful characters (e.g., Hades), which can lead to unbalanced matches and diminish the enjoyment for those who prefer a broader roster.

Pros & Cons

Pros
– Large roster of Saints with multiple costumes.
– Faithful retelling of the four major anime arcs, including the new Asgard saga.
– Plenty of unlockable content that promotes replayability.
– Smooth 60 fps performance on PS4.

Cons
– Combat lacks depth and strategic variety.
– Visuals and animations feel dated for a PS4 release.
– Unskippable death/pep‑talk sequences interrupt pacing.
– AI can be exploited with repetitive tactics.

Verdict

Saint Seiya: Soldiers’ Soul is essentially a polished version of its PS2 predecessor, Brave Soldiers, with a few graphical tweaks and a new Asgard chapter. For die‑hard fans of Masami Kur Kurada’s franchise, the game offers a satisfying way to relive the iconic battles and to collect a massive roster of beloved characters. For anyone else, the experience feels more like a shallow fighting‑game demo than a fully realized title.

Rating: 6.5 / 10