For the first game in the stage of history its pretty mid but that's expected since it is the first game. My biggest gripe is how easy it is to get ring out thanks to what I call SQUARE STAGES which makes it pretty easy to just kick your opponent around until the reach the edge of the stage and get close enough to fall out, you can also do this with the final boss which is how I beat the game. Choosing your main doesn't matter too much when everyone in the game is broken lol just find the character that fits your style the best and you'll be good to go.
Soul Calibur and the series onwards (except 5, we don't talk about 5) is a pretty big improvement compared to this game so just start with the REAL first SC game.