Retro|Spective 023: Virtua Fighter

[Neon Ignition]

Something mysterious happened at Sega and whilst the fighting game resurgence came and went they managed to keep one franchise quietly tucked away, an absent contender to the crown...

Virtua Fighter

Mainline Entry 01 - Virtua Fighter
Other Versions: Virtua Fighter Remix, Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary Edition
Formats: Arcade, 32X, Saturn, PC, R-Zone, Playstation 2
Launched by Sega as one of the initial 3D fighter pioneer franchises, the game recreated the one on one versus gameplay of the many 2D fighters on the market but avoided the mistakes of many other attempts by stripping away projectiles and oddball mechanics to present players with a more thoughtful and grounded experience. Built on Sega's Model I arcade board, Virtua Fighter made the process of learning character moves and how to take down an opponent more of a technical exercise by focusing more on the fighting style your chosen character used and how that would best be utilised against that of your opponent. Due to the early days of 3D visual design, the Saturn received a speedily updated version of the game that updated the visuals and was followed much later by the anniversary version for PS2 that reutilised assets from VF4 to update the game one more time.



Mainline Entry 02 - Virtua Fighter 2
Other Versions: Virtua Fighter 2.1, Virtua Fighter Kids
Formats: Arcade, Saturn, Mega Drive, R-Zone, PC, Playstation 2, Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
The sequel really propelled the franchise into mass popularity where its only real direct competition was now the Tekken series. Sega moved rapidly onto their Model II arcade board for the sequel and as a result the game saw a huge visual improvement whilst also having all the technical and content changes and additions you could hope to see. The arcades saw an updated version referred to as 2.1 released from which Saturn and PC players could flick between in their versions even though this mostly changed just the balancing. The Mega Drive though, was the recipient of an early example of a demake with its incarnation that remade the content into 2D and altered some of the moves to what had been in place in the first VF game. Kids, meanwhile, was a slightly tweaked version of the game with mostly visual changes rather than being fundamentally its own game.



Spin Off Entry 01 - Virtua Fighter Animation
Formats: Game Gear
Spin Off Entry 02 - Fighters Megamix
Formats: Saturn, Game.com
Sega's mash up entry arrived on the Saturn as fever was building for the true third entry. The new title took characters from multiple Sega franchises such as Sonic, Virtua Cop and even Daytona and pitted them against one another but mixing in some mechanics from the Fighting Vipers series and the upcoming VF3 also. The game was another very positively received entry but its legacy has seen it kind of drift into the footnotes of time and it never received the kind of later porting other entries did despite being a strong seller for the Saturn.



Mainline Entry 03 - Virtua Fighter 3
Other Versions: Virtua Fighter 3tb
Formats: Arcade, Dreamcast
The arrival of the Model III saw the third Virtua Fighter also arrive and along with it more complex arena designs which added elements of verticality at times to the stage designs. This aimed to add an extra level of complexity to the combat as players would also have to factor in differences in player elevation to their encounters as well as the addition of a dodge button. The Dreamcast port took its name from the addition of a team battle mechanic and whilst the game was a commercial success the slight concerns surrounding the stage designs affected the next entry.



Mainline Entry 04 - Virtua Fighter 4
Other Versions: Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Virtua Fighter 4 Final Tuned
Formats: Arcade, Playstation 2
The fourth game saw the series shift, as with many Sega series, onto the Naomi arcade board line that fuelled many arcade releases at the time. One of the main changes the latest entry introduced was the addition of network functionality that was still at its infancy in gaming at the time. The game returned stage arenas back to being flat surfaces in order to make gameplay more balanced, this in turn making for a tighter experience that once again went down very positively for arcade goers. The PS2 was fortunate enough to receive two incarnations of this instalment but the Final Tuned update that added more stages and rebalanced the gameplay once again was only for arcades.



Spin Off Entry 03 - Virtua Quest
Formats: Gamecube, Playstation 2
The argument could be made about Shenmue and its connections to the VF franchise but really, the closest Virtua Fighter came to being an RPG was this clumsy title that saw the player take on the role of a boy playing within an online world. It was a highly mixed experience as a game and its connection to the VF series was fairly weak, more trading off the connection than utilising it.



Mainline Entry 05 - Virtua Fighter 5
Other Versions: Virtua Fighter 5 Online, Virtua Fighter 5 R, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Formats: Arcade, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
The final game in the franchise saw its first location tests in arcades a whopping thirteen years ago. It's console versions arrived in the following years and reflected the state of the arcade edition at the time of the ports release meaning the PS3 version of the game was based of VF5 Version B whilst the X360 version was based on VF5 Version C resulting in minor differences. VF5R was another arcade only update of the game most notable for the addition of another fighter and stages. Final Showdown marked the final console release for a Virtua Fighter game, arriving in digital form and closed out the series in as much high regard as it had begun.



What are your thoughts and memories on Sega's acclaimed fighter series that they seem reluctant to return to?

[Team Andromeda]

Playing Virtual Fighter with my next door neighbor on my brand new Import Sega Saturn the last week of Nov 1994 is my single happiest gaming memory and gaming day ever. I felt I was in the future and couldn't believe one could have 3D gfx like that on a home system and the game moved like it was choreographed by Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan; the animation was like nothing else seen around at the time (I'm sure Lai is based on Jang Lee Hwang character in Snakes In Eagles Shadow) Never forget too, playing Remix and seeing Saturn's High Res mode being used for the 1st time and then in 1995 (best gaming Christmas ever) VF II on the Saturn took it to ridiculous levels .

For me, VF 4 Evo is the most complete and best in the series (the quest mode is off the charts) and I also don't agree with the slack VF 3 on the DC gets (it's 98% Arcade perfect and a brilliant game) but for me, the Saturn VF game is the best and holds a special place in the heart. I loved the untextured, flat shaded polygon look, it plays like a dream and features the best music in the series and also the best sound effects to any Vs Fighter, they are still to this day... Bone crushing

Can only hope, what with SEGA Japan Arcade teams being on fire at the moment, AM#2 are working on VF 6 and hopefully bring back VF3 multi layered environments

[Atticus]

Virtua Fighter with my brand new Saturn (plus an extra controller) is one of my happiest gaming memories. I'd played the arcade a fair bit, and heard of the Saturn version coming with the console's impending release in Japan, and I was kind of interested. Then I saw footage on Gamesmaster of a Saturn running the game and that was it, I had to have it (phoned Dream Machines the very next day).

Me and my mates played VF for months on end (it became the new SFII). VF2 was better in many ways but I missed the more abstract polygon look and the impact of the sound effects. So my interest waned ... and even though I got 3tb with my Dreamcast I never fell for it in the same way (it looked PC'y to me). Then by 4 it looked like any other 3D fighting game.

[Team Andromeda]

Virtua Fighter with my brand new Saturn (plus an extra controller) is one of my happiest gaming memories. I'd played the arcade a fair bit, and heard of the Saturn version coming with the console's impending release in Japan, and I was kind of interested. Then I saw footage on Gamesmaster of a Saturn running the game and that was it, I had to have it (phoned Dream Machines the very next day).

I was also going to get a Saturn, but a remember than Ep of Gamemaster with that Import seller, how had sold his 1st Saturn on the day of the system release.

I rather the 1st game too Loved the look, the sound effects are the best ever, the remixed music was so much better and really good tunes (that I liked to listen too on the CD player) and it was just an easier game to pick up and play with mates. The latter games just became too deep for their own good and many of my mates, simply couldn't be bothered to learn all the moves and counters.

[Dogg Thang]

I had VF2 and 3 but I have to admit to never really liking either of them. They seemed all tappy-tappy and memory-testy when I far preferred the Capcom systems.

[DeathAdder]

I've always found this series very forgettable compared to other fighting games. The characters are not at all memorable.

[_SD_]

I don’t think I’ve ever had a go on a proper Virtua Fighter. I’ve played Kids, Last Bronx and Fighting Vipers... and that’s it. When it comes to 3D fighters I spent the most time with Soul Calibur and DOA.

[BigDeadFreak]

I never really liked the series as much as I wanted to. The idea of a more realistic martial arts simulation was, and is, very appealing. However, the games always felt too sterile and, whilst very technical, no more realistic than Tekken.

Also, by the time they came out most of my friends had either got bored of 1 on 1 fighters or were purely focussed on Tekken. As a result I've never played them on a decent level. Maybe I'd change my mind if I did but the games always seem a bit lifeless to me.

[Neon Ignition]

First time I ever saw Virtua Fighter in person was in a small games shop in Bolton where they had just imported the Grey Saturn. Could only see it being played but it intrigued. I'd say intrigued as it didn't wow me, I think because it all happened at a similar time to the reveal of the N64 and Mario blowing our minds. I eventually got to play the game on arcade and on its PAL release and it was okay (Remix never seemed enough of an upgrade to warrant bothering with) but VF2 stuck out more in my mind.

That game, especially with its use of high-res mode, looked great and the tightened gameplay made it click more. I was still deeply in the mind set of wanting a working 3D Street Fighter more so than what VF offered and I also still preferred the Tekken series at this point but VF2 felt like the point where the praise felt warranted.

I owned both VF Kids and Fighters Megamix for a while but neither felt impressive. Kids was fairly pointless whilst Megamix didn't feel like it was fully where it needed to be.

VF3, it was impressive and one I was happy to play on arcade when the opportunity came up. I never felt hooked enough to put much time into the DC edition but when it came to VF4 it felt like the series had nailed pretty much every component and by that time I thought more of the game than Tekken.

VF5, I don't know, it's hard to say why but it never clicked with me either. So, the series has ended up being even number led for me.

[Colin]

I've never liked the series, but I'm not sure I've ever fully understood how to play it. I thought the first was boring, and simply preferred other 3D offerings.

[Neon Ignition]

Whilst we're at it, here's the tease for the next thread: Justin Bailey

[_SD_]

Metroid?

[S3M]

I think it's VF2 for me, wasn't a big fan of the series when I was younger, it's only really clicked with me as I got older.

That Iron Man gamesmaster episode was a joke they just grabbed 100 kids off the street, some great interviews about the shows.

[dataDave]

I'm hoping people still play VF5 over XBL seeing as I'm lugging my console back home with me. Is this the case?

[Asura]

Some very surprising responses in this thread; I would've expected VF to be pretty universally loved at a place like this.

So as you may have already figured out, I'm a big VF fan and always was. It was actually the first fighting game I really got into, from the perspective of really understanding how it worked on a more-than-superficial level.

I grew up doing martial arts. I was never particularly good at it; it's not like I was ever going to be a professional kickboxer or something, but I grew up around karate dojos, judo classes and grappling tournaments. Started when I was 6, watching TMNT, and my parents asked me if I wanted to try doing real martial arts. As a result, although I always loved Street Fighter and such, as a kid, I always felt it was a shame that fighting games were jazzed up with super powers and energy-manipulating moves, when to me, free-fighting was exciting enough just with what real people could do.

Consequently I loved Virtua Fighter. It'd be wrong to say the game was "realistic", but by the standards of the era, it certainly was. Some of the characters have more out-there styles (like Kage-Maru) but some, like Jacky, have fighting styles that are grounded in reality. I remember being blown away when I saw it in the arcade, even with the characters' basic moves and idle stances, flexing their fingers and shifting their weight in the punches and kicks.

It was one of the games I got for Christmas with my Saturn, and I played it for months afterwards, right up until the launch of VF2, which felt even better, and was the origin of my preference for 50/60FPS in 3D games. As a result VF2 has had an enormous effect on my gaming life, perhaps more than any other single game.

It's also interesting how it worked, as a fighting system. VF's big changes to the fighting game formula were its mid-attacks and the counter system.

All the characters in VF have standing high, middle and low attacks. This is different to Street Fighter II where most characters only have high and low (SF would, later, incorporate this idea into Alpha and subsequent games). Characters can block high-and-middle when standing but only block low when crouching. Also when crouching, characters will evade high attacks but are very vulnerable to middles, and middle attacks tend to be quite fast. I believe some attacks (like Akira's body-check) make contact on multiple heights, too. Characters have jumping attacks too, but this was not much a big focus of the game (and would be significantly reduced in focus post-VF1). This all meant that a good defensive strategy in VF needs to involve a great deal of movement and timing of when to stand and when to crouch. Blocking an entire combo in VF was incredibly satisfying.

Additionally the counters; characters could be knocked into the air for "floating" combos (later called "juggle" combos in other games), but they would go higher if struck during their recovery frames for an unsuccessful attack. This meant that for characters like Lau, Kage and Sarah, there was a great deal of importance in mastering the counters.

One other matter is that VF always strives for zero move redundancy. For instance, in Tekken, all characters have two basic throws. Why? They do pretty much the same damage, connect in the same way... They have different animations but in gameplay terms it's wasteful. One of those moves (the weaker one) is redundant. In VF, every move has a unique purpose; a concept stretched to its limit by characters like Shun Di in VF2 who possess really large movesets.

I've never liked the series, but I'm not sure I've ever fully understood how to play it. I thought the first was boring, and simply preferred other 3D offerings.

Virtua Fighter's problem is that the core gameplay, once mastered is wonderful, but the game is very bad at conveying the user to this point. The first game in the arcades had the wow-factor of being the first proper 3D fighter of note, which carried it a bit, but not so much with the subsequent games. As a VF fan, it's very hard to sell VF to someone who is new to it - especially now.

For starters, in Tekken, right from day 1, if the user hammered the buttons, the characters would do interesting things. The game still had the depth for an expert to beat a button-basher but at least the button-basher would have a good time. In VF, if you button-bash, the character will probably just do basic punches and kicks in a jerky, bad-looking fashion. You have to at least be reasonable to exact any real enjoyment out of the game.

Fighting games have among the highest levels of community elitism of any game genre, and part of VF's problem is that I believe the fanbase liked this a little too much. They liked that their game was this weird, closed-off sector that was punishing for newbies. Well, now they can see how that worked out, with VF being something of a dead franchise.

And it's a shame! Because I firmly believe that VF is a superior game to Tekken in almost every way (in gameplay terms).

I also don't agree with the slack VF 3 on the DC gets (it's 98% Arcade perfect and a brilliant game) ... Can only hope, what with SEGA Japan Arcade teams being on fire at the moment, AM#2 are working on VF 6 and hopefully bring back VF3 multi layered environments

Personally though I loved VF3, I think in the west, VF3tb's problem was that it went up against Soul Calibur, which I suspect most people would consider the superior game. Like what I said above, VF's amazing when mastered but Soul Calibur worked on many different levels, from beginner to expert, and had a great deal of content. It lacked character balance and other things but these only matter to people like us who really care about that. Calibur looked fantastic too, whereas VF3 looked incredible at launch but it was already a bit older when it saw console release.

I can't personally defend the multi-layered environments though. I thought they were cool in theory but I didn't like them in practice. Mainly because the stages weren't symmetrical, which for me is a real no-no in fighting games of that nature (admittedly the Soul Calibur games repeatedly make the same mistake; several stages in SC1 were hugely advantageous for one player over another).

It's a shame, because due to it's weird between-consoles limbo, Virtua Fighter 3 has a similar feel to SCUD Race for me - like it had the potential to be a classic, but that was marred by timing.

I had VF2 and 3 but I have to admit to never really liking either of them. They seemed all tappy-tappy and memory-testy when I far preferred the Capcom systems.

Well certainly it was tappy, because that was the control system. Personally I think it was more reactive than most other fighters; it was great just how responsive it was, especially VF2.

I've always found this series very forgettable compared to other fighting games. The characters are not at all memorable.

Admittedly this is something that Tekken and Soul Calibur always had over VF. VF's characters are more like archetypes; their characterisation is all in what they do as opposed to who they are. Tekken had a big enough story aspect to warrant several movies (all crap, but they exist), which was borne out of its characters having significantly more background detail. This was partially because VF pre-dated those games.

Fighting Vipers was Sega's attempt to get in on that action, but I actually think that game did worse, despite obviously trying to do better. Ditto for Last Bronx, though I think that didn't go far because Sega didn't have faith in it (it's a pretty good game with well-designed characters).

Anyway, I really hope we'll see a VF6, but I just can't see it happening. Maybe it is better that the series remains how it is, and gradually fades off, rather than becoming something it was never supposed to be. I would love, for example, for a VF capable of mass-market success but maybe that would just compromise the game too much.