Soulcalibur III is a fighting video game produced by Namco as a sequel to Soulcalibur II and the fourth installment in the Soulcalibur series. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. An improved arcade version, Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, was released in 2006. It was the last Soulcalibur game to receive an arcade version, as IV onwards did not have an arcade release. It is the second in the Soulcalibur series’ 1590 A.D. trilogy games, between II and IV. The game includes new modes such as Tales of Souls, an interactive story-driven mode comparable to Edge Master Mode from Soul Edge; Character Creation, in which players can create custom characters from 13 total occupations, with multiple weapons and fighting styles; and Chronicles of the Sword, a real-time-play mode that allows players to take their created souls through adventures of their own. The game also has the largest character roster — 24 characters playable in Tales of Souls mode and an additional 18 playable in all other modes — and largest battle stage selection in Soul series history.