15. Soul Calibur II – PS2/GCN/XBOX

First (or rather, last) on the list is a game that made a huge splash on all three platforms. The sequel to the phenomenal Dreamcast fighter Soul Calbur, is a landmark video game in many ways. Fighting games are an interesting beast – they fall into a niche genre, but the fanbase is ravenous and extremely loyal. The best games of the bunch are highly stylized and specialized, carving a unique place in a genre where, on the surface, all the games look pretty much the same. Soul Calibur II succeeded in being both equal parts technical masterpiece and button-mashing fun fest, accessible to anyone who wanted to play with enough meat to entice even the most hardcore fighters. The most phenomenal part of this game, and the reason it found a place on this list, however, is the fact that it came to all three consoles.

Multi-platform games are more the norm than ever, as companies learn that the more systems your game is available for, the more copies you’re going to sell, and the more money you’re going to make. That said, it remains extremely rare for a fighting game to go multi-platform, a genre that rewards dedication to a specific game. Each version was basically identical, with the Xbox version having the best graphics, and the Gamecube version running the smoothest (in my opinion, the ‘cube controller also fit the game the best, but you all playing with a joystick couldn’t care less about that). The most significant difference was the addition of a unique character to each specific version. Playstation 2 owners got to play as Heihachi, from “that other Namco fighting series”, Tekken. Xbox owners could play as 90’s comic book character Spawn, while the Gamecube version fulfilled many a Nintendo fan’s dream, letting them fight as Link, from the Legend of Zelda series of games.

It is rare for a multi-platform game to be of such phenomenal quality, and it is equally as rare for a fighting game to be as inviting and as satisfying as Soul Calibur II. It’s sequel, Soul Calibur III, was a Playstation 2 exclusive, and was also very well received. For me, it was hard not to be disappointed that the multi-platform approach was abandoned, the genre retreating back to the platform where it felt most comfortable.