Yesterday the trailer for Soul Calibur IV was released. For those not in the know, it's a weapon-based (typically swords or other bladed weapons) fighting game and also one of the few fighting game franchises that has managed to survive beyond the 90's fighting game explosion and subsequent collapse.

So why is a simple trailer for another iteration of a fighting game making news?

Apparently Darth Vader and Yoda have managed to secure a place on the roster - complete with light sabers.



From Gametrailers.com

Seeing licensed characters crossover into other licensed universes is not unheard of. Particularly in the realm of comic books, it happens with relative frequency. However, it is rare to see this happen in games.

Of course, when it does happen it usually makes some sort of sense and the two universes are at least somewhat similar. Aliens vs Predator wasn't too much of a stretch because they both dealt with alien creatures in a sci-fi setting.

However, Star Wars characters in a swords-and-sorcery fantasy setting is another story entirely. It makes one wonder what the logic was behind a move like this. It will certainly pull in extra sales from the fanboys who will buy anything and everything related to Star Wars... but at what price?

The consistency of both universes is lost. The fantasy setting is tainted by an alien and a reconstructed human with a respirator. The light saber, which can cut through metals in the Star Wars universe, now clashes harmlessly against the other metal swords rather than slicing through them like butter.

Perhaps consistency and "making sense" are irrelevant if the gameplay delivers a solid experience. Even if it does though, I don't know if I'll be able to shake the nagging feeling that these characters shouldn't be on the same screen together.