Namco has just announced that Soul Calibur IV is currently only lined-up for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008, but Nintendo’s Wii is getting an exclusive adventure spin-off in the form of Soul Calibur Legends later this year.

And now Famitsu magazine in Japan has revealed the first firm details of what we can expect from the game. Since the scan of the magazine (which can be seen at the bottom of this article) is all in Japanese, thankfully IGN is on hand with the translation.

Legends is being described as a ‘gaiden’, which is Japanese for ‘side-story’, moving away from the usual one-on-one fighting to instead focus on third-person “sword-based action,” where players are pitted against several enemies at the same time. These enemies are set to be lifted from all previous outings, right from Soul Edge through to Soul Calibur III, as well as having new creatures to fight with.

The protagonist of the game is a young sixteen-year-old boy by the name of Iska, who is of the imperial bloodline and is travelling with the Soul Calibur veteran, Siegfried Schtauffen. Other characters that will be instantly recognisable to long-term fans include Taki, Mitsurugi and Ivy, all of whom will be playable, along with Siegfried. Whether or not Iska himself will be controllable is yet to be revealed. The game has players using both the Wii controller and Nunchuk for on-screen movements, with the Wii-mote’s vertical or horizontal motions being translated into slashes in the same directions. As for the Nunchuk, this is used for character movements and can be shaken to dodge attacks, whilst the face buttons are utilised for blocking and jumping.

The controls are actually malleable, with them changing depending on which character you are in charge of and there will be new characters revealed the further you progress into the game. It will not only be fighting that makes up Legends, though, as gamers will have to keep a keen eye out for dangerous traps and troublesome obstacles that are found within dungeons. You will also have to keep your wits about you as using locations to your advantage during battles is a necessity, especially during boss battles. As for those bosses, an example in Famitsu talks about a boss encounter where two characters can be chosen and switched between freely.

For those unsure about the team working on this project, the game is definitely in good hands as it is being produced by Jin Okubo (director of Soul Calibur II and III) and directed by Tetsuya Akatsuka (Lead Game Designer of Soul Calibur III, and Game System Director of Soul Calibur II). Soul Calibur Legends is designed for newcomers to the series, with a simple control element being implemented to back this up, and the stages on offer can range from as short as five minutes up to around fifteen-to-twenty minutes. But do not worry as Bandai Namco is going to include “a considerable number of such stages,” according to Akatsuka-san, to ensure the longevity is strong.

As well as the intriguing solo mode, the team is including support for multiplayer gaming where gamers will be able to fight against each other, as well as team up to beat your foes as a fighting duo. Okubo-san states that this aspect is still under consideration, but a split-screen scenario will likely be chosen to allow full immersion. The game is only 40% complete right now, but the company is still pushing for a Winter 2007 launch in Japan.

Be sure to check out the first scan of the game below [ Click to Enlarge ]:

Keep your eyes locked to Nintendic for even more updates…