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Retro|Spective 048: Cyber Troopers Virtual On

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    Retro|Spective 048: Cyber Troopers Virtual On

    Can we get a thread on an R|S featured franchise to coincidentally get a thread on Era too for the fourth week in a row?
    Let's see as this week we discuss...




    Mainline Entry 01 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On
    Formats: Arcade, Saturn, Playstation 2 and PC
    Another form of 3D fighting, Sega's arcade title stood out by keeping that L at the end of its title and by taking a rear mounted camera view as the player darted around the arena tackling their opponent in a one on one robotic battle. The game was equally well known for its elaborate twin stick controls which helped to mimic the action of piloting your chosen machine and Sega even brought a version of the controller to the Saturn edition of the game. By being so distinct within the fighting genre, the game easily drew attention to itself and Sega had something of a hit on its hands. Years later a remaster would also hit PS2.



    Mainline Entry 02 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram
    Formats: Arcade, Dreamcast and Xbox 360
    A new generation of hardware meant a new sequel came along. The clear jump from the outset was the slick visuals of the sequel which otherwise was a very typical follow up offering more variety in fighter selection and arena design than the original entry was capable of.



    Mainline Entry 03 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Force / Marz
    Formats: Arcade, Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
    The third entry deviated from the previous games design by pairing players up into teams of two thereby allowing four player matches to take place. As a result AM3 made the gameplay slower to maintain balance. The game was later ported as Marz with some changes made but mostly the same content, this latest entry wasn't well received and the series came to its end.



    Share your thoughts and memories of the Virtual One series

    #2
    Awesome games who’s mass market appeal is limited by requiring an expensive peripheral to play it as it was meant to be played...

    However, for those that do jump in and purchase a set of Twin Sticks, it’s a great arcade experience at home. I first came across the game in the Troc and, being an anime/mecha geek, I instantly fell in love. When I found out there was a Dreamcast port and controller to go with it I immediately placed an order with VGI.

    More recently I’ve reacquired a set of Twin Sticks and I’ve been getting back into the game. I’d love to find someone close with a set-up so I could finally get some link-up two player action on.

    Comment


      #3
      Loved the original. Getting the demo on a disc from the Sega Saturn mag at Christmastime is one of my great gaming Xmas memories; I cycled to the shop during a snowy evening and passed Santa Claus on a sled being pulled by reindeer (seriously) on the way there.

      I got it for Christmas that year and barely played anything else for 6 months. I mean, the Saturn version is far from perfect, but it was still a fantastic game.

      I never quite got into the DC one as much, sadly, even though I know it's meant to be an absolutely amazing game.

      Comment


        #4
        I really enjoyed the Saturn and DC versions but the Saturn version is the one I go back to most. Still have a set of Twin Sticks and an adaptor so I can use them with both consoles.
        I fondly remember the first time I played the sit down arcade version at the Trocadero in London. It's a lot more fluid than the Saturn version but my practice at home meant I didn't lose a game against anyone that day.
        Virtual On is one of those games that highlights why arcade games were once upon a time so special. Powerful hardware and custom cabinets with support for multiple players each with their own screen. Sega were on a roll with their Model 2 games and the home conversions made the humble Saturn truly feel special.

        Comment


          #5
          My memories mostly came from the Saturn version too. Despite the set up being that of a fighter it never really felt like one, the arcades controls really were what made the game so unique to play so I can see why it failed to gain traction as it moved past that initial entry.

          Comment


            #6
            Remember playing the Arcade Model 2 game in Blackpool and not having a clue how to play it, got the Saturn version and started to really appreciate and find out, just what a deep and tatical fighter this game was.

            The DC version of Part II is the best though, a simply amazing port with the best visuals I had seen off the DC (at that stage) and the amount of options and online components for the time was simply staggering.

            Plus unlike Hartley Hare, I've held on to my DC Twin Sticks

            Comment


              #7
              A series that I haven't spent enough time with. I remember thinking the Saturn version was quite fun. The Dreamcast version impressed me with its attractive graphics. The talk of DC Twin Sticks has got me thinking they are something I should have got my hands on.

              I might see what what the PS3/360 version is like.

              Comment


                #8
                I always admired the existence of VO more than I enjoyed playing it. My mates loved the Saturn game but it always just looked a mess to me. I tried VO:OT with a twinstick too but it never really clicked. Not engaging enough for me to want to invest the time it probably needed.

                I preferred Cyber Sled

                Comment


                  #9
                  I flipping LOVED VO on on the Saturn.

                  The music is brilliant and I still listen to it these days.

                  I never bought the twin sticks but I did have that dodgy UK arcade stick(the black one with a stick that felt like it was built on top of the original UK controller's dpad) and it was actually decent once I found a nice button layout.

                  At one point I considered making my own twin sticks using a pair of identical Amiga/whatever joysticks wired up to a Saturn pad but never got round to it.

                  Listening to the OST on YouTube right now!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    It's Wednesday which means it's clue time:

                    Clue for R|S 49: Totally POPtastic

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I never played any of these games, which is odd for a mech game, but I looked in awe at the ostentatious arcade cab.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Wow someone didn't have their Weetabix when they posted this, clearly you were in a rush Superman Falls, so I've rejig the whole series post and added all the missing content I could spot.




                        Mainline Entry 01 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On
                        Formats: Arcade, Saturn, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
                        Another form of 3D fighting, Sega's arcade title stood out by keeping that L at the end of its title and by taking a rear mounted camera view as the player darted around the arena tackling their opponent in a one on one robotic battle. The game was equally well known for its elaborate twin stick controls which helped to mimic the action of piloting your chosen machine and Sega even brought a version of the controller to the Saturn edition of the game. By being so distinct within the fighting genre, the game easily drew attention to itself and Sega had something of a hit on its hands. Years later a remaster would also hit PS2 with added characters, before a Model 2 emulated version was released only in Japan on Xbox 360 & PS3.



                        The PlayStation 2 secret character can be seen in this video, it's the original Fei Yen which according to the story vanished without trace:


                        Mainline Entry 02 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram M.S.B.S. v5.2
                        Formats:
                        Arcade, Dreamcast
                        A new generation of hardware meant a new sequel came along. The clear jump from the outset was the slick visuals of the sequel which otherwise was a very typical follow up offering more variety in fighter selection and arena design than the original entry was capable of, this first version only saw release in arcades and as ahidden unlock mode on the Dreamcast verson. Balancing issues lead to a number of changes for the Dreamcast release.



                        Spin Off Entry 01
                        - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram M.S.B.S. v.5.45
                        Formats: Dreamcast and Arcade
                        A heavily rebalanced home port with a number of new stages and even a redesigned Public Port stage to change the see through, which cause confused to some players in matches. The Saturn on the robots back were changed to Dreamcast's and this late version included a VMU slot in the arcade machine for players to use their custom colour designs in game.



                        Spin Off Entry 02 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram M.S.B.S. v.5.66
                        Formats:
                        ArcadeandXbox 360
                        5.66, never reached the Dreamcast and only received a home port on the Xbox 360, it included three new player robots, making it the definite release of the game.

                        Mainline Entry 03 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Force
                        Formats: Arcade and Xbox 360
                        The third entry deviated from the previous games design by pairing players up into teams of two thereby allowing four player matches to take place. Largely due to few of the original team working on it, AM3 decided to made the gameplay slower to maintain balance to the 2 vs 2 format. It was widely dislike due to the poor game speed and targeting system. It's only plus was the huge range of robots you could play as and use in game.



                        Spin Off Entry 03 - Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Marz
                        Formats: Arcade, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3
                        A single player game based on the Force engine, it includes some of the Force robots and a cut down arcade mode, but was a very different title with the games main selling point the huge story mode and a huge number of hidden routes and robots requiring countless playthroughs to unlock.



                        Some of the Marz story mode in action:


                        Spin Off Entry 04 - Toaru Majutsu no Dennou Senki Virtual-On
                        Formats: PlayStation 4
                        A recent cross over with the series A certain Magical Index, the game has been largely panned due to the poor gameplay and is unlikely to be released in the west.



                        While the series might not have that many direct games, it does turn up all the time in other series from Super Robot Wars, Shenmue and recently Senko no Ronde 2 as DLC on PS4:



                        Share your thoughts and memories of the Virtual One series
                        Last edited by S3M; 11-07-2018, 12:49.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Atticus View Post

                          I preferred Cyber Sled


                          I wish Namco would release a compilation of their 90s 3D coin-ops. I've been saying that for ages now.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            [MENTION=4087]S3M[/MENTION]
                            Yep, I try to squeeze typing these up in between other things and VO's releases aren't as distinctly marked out like most series so I clumped iterations together.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Never played these games back in the day. I wrote it off as a "here's an arcade only experience for you."

                              Years later I played Senko no Ronde on the 360 and loved it.

                              So when I got a hold of the 360 version of this it took about 10 mins of playing to realize "holy sh!t, this is basically Senko no Ronde from a different camera angle!"

                              From then I was hooked. I can remember getting constantly wrecked by JPN players on the 360 version

                              Comment

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