LOS ANGELES — It’s easy for the team behind Soulcalibur V to admit that the fighting-game series has its flaws. The hard part is fixing them.

Speaking to Wired.com behind closed doors at the E3 Expo earlier this month, Namco Bandai producer Hisaharu Tago dished some details on the latest installment in the weapon-heavy fighting series, calling it “lighter, faster and more elegant” than previous Soulcalibur games. Soulcalibur V, which will be out next year for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, has a brand-new engine that Tago says is extremely responsive and fast-paced.

Tago says he has looked at fans’ complaints and attempted to address as many as possible with this sequel. Most importantly, he says, the game will be more balanced. Whereas Soulcalibur IV, released in 2008 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, would let players on the brink of death use all-powerful special moves to squeak out an unfair comeback, Soulcalibur V sets out to make the battles more strategic.

The game will feature 20 to 30 characters. Half are returning series favorites; the others are newbies. Confirmed returners include fan favorites Siegfried and the rugged Mitsurugi.

Tago also assured me that all the other major fan faves would make appearances in Soulcalibur V. Confirmed new characters include Patroklos and Pyrrha, the son and daughter of the older character Sophitia.

The popular create-your-own-character mode will also return for Soulcalibur V, and Tago says it will be better than ever, promising that players will have a plethora of options when developing their characters.

“The sheer number of options is by far the greatest we’ve ever worked with,” Tago said. “It’s at a level we’ve never seen before in a fighting game.”

In the style of similar online games, Namco will also create a central hub for multiplayer that it says will focus on building community, promising to listen to player feedback and patch as necessary once the game is released. Soulcalibur V is only about 15 percent done right now, but the team says it’s still on track to come out next year.