The first time I saw a picture of Yoda, similar to the one I have linked, battling a fantasy type warrior in a Gamespot news article on Soulcaliber IV, I thought it was a joke. I assumed it was either a mockery of the Star Wars franchise or of the particular game. Since reading a couple of more articles, I have learned that Yoda will in fact be a playable character in the fighting game Soulcaliber IV's Xbox 360 version. Interestingly, Darth Vader will be a playable character on the PS3.

Once I realized what Lucas Arts and Namco Bandai had planned I was really annoyed. Simply put, Yoda and Darth Vader are iconic Star Wars characters and should not be placed in a game that is not set in the Star Wars universe as we have come to know it in the movies. I believe this degrades the integrity of the Star Wars story. It is crass commercialism at its worst. It is, or at least should be, beneath Star Wars.

It also has a negative impact, at least from my perspective, on game play in a game like Soulcaliber. The way Vader and Yoda have been portrayed in the movies, the lightsabers they wield are awesome weapons, able to cut through steel, flesh and bone like a warm knife through soft butter. That combined with their force powers, these two character posses, should make any match with the other warrior characters in Soulcaliber, a very one sided affair. But of course for the sake of balance, I am sure that will not be the case.

I can totally understand why Namco Bandai would want to do this. Many gamers love Star Wars. Playing a game where you get to use a lightsaber as your weapon is really fun! It enhances their game's appeal (at least to some) and they certainly have no duty to protect the integrity of the Star Wars IP. However, George Lucas created Star Wars and he should protect it though. Certainly, the Star Wars franchise is his property and he do with it what he wants, but the point is he shouldn't! It is not like there aren't plenty of opportunities for him to make a buck on the Star Wars IP, without licensing it for an inappropriate use.

While I am disappointed in George Lucas and Lucas Arts for allowing this, I am certainly not surprised. We have certainly seen this sort of disrespectful use of Star Wars story before. When the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies first launched, although not perfect, its design when to great lengths to preserve the integrity of the Star Wars canon, even when doing so went against the conventional wisdom for MMOs. For example, early in the game Jedi were rare and the most powerful player characters. This was consistent with the movies, because the game was set in a time when the Jedi were all but extinct, and as we all know the Jedi were badass. Later in the life of SWG, apparently with Lucas Arts' approval, follwing the NGE any player could become a Jedi, without any mechanism to limit their number or visibility to the rest of the community, and they were more or less equal to other player characters. This directly contradicted the canon on the combat power of Jedi and the description of the time frame in which the game was set, between Episodes 4 and 5. This, and a general unwillingness to preserve the integrity of the Star Wars story, drove me and many other Star Wars purists from the game. I am sure there are many other examples through the history of Star Wars video games.

Before fans of Soulcaliber flame me, please understand this should not be taken as a criticism of Soulcaliber IV or any of its first three iterations. I have never played any of the Soulcaliber games and probably wouldn't have played Soulcaliber IV, even if there were no offending Star Wars characters in it. Based on what little I have read about it, I am sure it will be an enjoyable game for those that like 3d fighting game, unless of course, you are a Star Wars purist.