Namco today confirmed a September 1st release date for Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny for the PSP while detailing the game's extensive tutorial mode and its two new characters in an interview with The Playstation Blog. Magic Box also revealed a new system in the game.

Upon announcing the first portable Soul Calibur in April, Namco noted intentions to make Soul Calibur more accessible not by dumbing it down, but by providing a more comprehensive tutorial. Namco General Brand Manager Dennis Lee detailed those intentions a little bit more here.

Broken Destiny's story mode, called "Gauntlet Mode," will act as the tutorial, starting with basic instructions before teaching players the more advanced intricacies of Soul Calibur. "It really is a great way for beginners to learn the basics of the game, but also for Intermediate players to really work on the advanced techniques," said Lee.

Lee also says that Gauntlet Mode is supposed to be well-suited for portability. "You can do a couple of missions over a couple of minutes, or you can spend a lot of time and get really in-depth on how to play."

One of the deepest and most popular parts of Soul Calibur IV was the character creation mode which is being fully included in Broken Destiny along with some additions.

Every item from IV's customization mode will be included in the PSP game along with new ones. Players will also have the ability to change the size and position of items according to Magic Box, which has new images of Broken Destiny. Lee says that players will be able to take photos of their customized characters.

The Playstation Blog interview also described the kinds of moves and styles players will get from the new characters – Kratos from God of War and an original character Dan Pierre.

Kratos's moves and combos will be similar to the ones he uses in his own games. Many of his signature attacks and weapons like the Icraus Wings have already been seen since E3 2009.

"The team [at Project Soul] worked really close with the God of War team," Lee said. "It really feels like you're playing Kratos in a God of War game, but you're playing Soul Calibur."

Dan Pierre is supposed to be a sneaky character that uses unorthodox attacks with his concealed blades. "You can really throw your opponents off with attacks that don't really seem like attacks," Lee said, mentioning that Dan Pierre's different stances will play into this. "He has a lot of different attacks from the ground."

Magic Box also revealed some new additions to Soul Calibur's fighting system in Broken Destiny concerning the Soul Gauge and Critical Finishes. Players will be able to sacrifice their armor with an "Active Purge" in exchange for recovery of the Soul Gauge and an increase in Impact Guard. Critical Finishes can be done in this state by simultaneously pressing all three attack buttons.