Before delving deeper into the guide, it's important for players to familiarize themselves with the arcane naming conventions used to describe the game's hundreds of moves.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, refer to the direction you should be pressing your joystick/thumb pad. These numbers correspond to the numpad on your keyboard, so if you ever get confused (and you don't want to come back to this specific page of the guide), glance at your keyboard really quick. This is direction terminology used in just about every online discussion forum on Soul Calibur we know of, so you will only be helping yourself in the long run by adopting it. Here is the break down:
1--down back 2--down 3--down forward 4--back 5--middle (or letting go of joystick) 6--forward 7--up back 8--up 9--up forward
The button terminology in this guide corresponds to the in-game button commands and not towards any console or controller configuration. "A" does not refer to the Gamecube controller's "A" button, but rather to Soul Calibur II's A move. The actual button you use will depend upon how you've set up your controller. Here is a less confusing explanation:
A--Horizontal attack B--Vertical attack K--Kick G--Guard
8WR--8-way run Cancel--move cancel QCF--Quarter circle forward (performed by rolling the joystick in the 2, 3, 6 direction) QCB--Quarter circle back (performed by rolling the joystick in the 2, 1, 4 direction) HCF--Half circle forward (performed by rolling the joystick 4, 1, 2, 3, 6 direction) HCB--Half circle back (performed by rolling the joystick 6, 3, 2, 1, 4 direction) Hold [button]--Hold button down, often used for charged moves. So "Hold K" would mean hold down K attack) # (or #)--The move can be executed using one of these two directions. So "1 (or 7)" means the move can be executed using 1 (down back) or 7 (up back). Straight on--Facing opponent Off Center Left--Facing opponent's left side Off Center Right--Facing opponent's right side Back--Facing opponent's back Backwards--When your back is facing opponent Spin--When a move forces an opponent into a spin Spun--When you are forced into a spin Rising--A move performed when rising from a crouched position. Ground/Grounded--When yourself or an opponent is laying on the ground. Pop up--When an opponent's body is launched into the air in a way that allows the opportunity for juggling. Slight Pop up--When an opponent's body is significantly launched into the air, but your character will not be able to juggle the body using normal mid height attacks (usually moves that are noted with slight pop up are good for following in with a low attack). Bounce--Bounce is similar to a pop up but starts off with the opponent's body slamming into the ground before becoming airborne. Juggling--Hitting the opponent's airborne, helpless body and prolonging the air time (no matter how small). Unblockable--A move that is so powerful an opponent will not be able to block it. Guard Break--A move that will break open an opponent's guard, opening up an opportunity to inflict damage. Guard Impact Properties--Moves that have Guard Impact Properties will be able to act just like a Guard Impact when clashed against certain moves. This usually happens when two offensive weapons end up slamming into each other.
In the character strategy sections, we will refer to two basic spacing systems: range and height. Range refers to how close or far away the character is from the opponent and height refers to what section of the body a move will hit.
Range is broken up into three areas: Short, Medium, and Long. When we mention a character having "an excellent short game", we are referring to that character being very good at sticking close to the opponent (where excellent medium would mean a character who can dominate from a step or two away from the opponent, and excellent long being someone who can smack the opponent around from a far distance).
Height is categorized into four terms: High, Mid, S-Mid, and Low. They are fairly self-explanatory and are used the majority of this guide in the move lists.
