Soul (series)

The Soul series (ソウルシリーズ, Sōru shirīzu) is a weapon-based fighting video game series by Bandai Namco Entertainment. There are six installments of the video game and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. Originally released as an arcade game with Soul Edge in 1996, and later ported to video game consoles, more recent versions have been released for consoles only and have evolved to include online playing modes.

The central motif of the series, set in a historical fantasy version of the 16th century, are mythical swords, the evil weapon called 'Soul Edge' and the subsequent sword used to oppose this evil, 'Soul Calibur'. While it has developed during its various iterations, some of the characters and gameplay elements have remained consistent throughout the series. It is one of the most popular and successful franchises in the fighting game genre.

Project Soul is the internal Namco development group responsible for the Soul franchise after the release of Soulcalibur II. Although the games are usually simply credited to Namco itself, the team established its name to draw attention to the group's combined accomplishments.