Virtua Fighter (video game)
Virtua Fighter | ||
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Composer(s) |
| |
Series | ST-V (Remix) |
Virtua Fighter
The game was critically acclaimed and a major hit, becoming one of Sega's best-selling
An update titled Virtua Fighter Remix, developed by
Gameplay
The Virtua label indicates that the onscreen action takes place in a 3D environment, however movement was restricted to 2D. The images were created using wireframe and flat-shaded quad polygons. Beyond 3D, it retained the staple of multiple characters, each with their own distinctive moves.
In the game's single-player mode, the player faces all eight characters (including a duplicate of the chosen character) in a pre-determined order, followed by a fight with the game's
Unlike other fighting games of the early 1990s (such as Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat), the game relies on a control stick and only three buttons, punch, kick and guard (block), although different situations and button combinations led to a vast variety of moves for each character.
Plot
Characters
- kung fu teacher from Japan, fights with Bajiquan.
- Mizongquan.
- Lau Chan—Pai's father and a cook from China, fights with a fictional fighting style Hǔ Yàn Quán (虎燕拳, Koen-ken, "Tiger Swallow Fist").
- Wolf Hawkfield—A professional wrestler from Canada, fights with professional wrestlingmaneuvers.
- Jeffry McWild—A fisherman from Australia, fights with Pancratium.
- Kage-Maru ("Kage")—A ninja from Japan, fights with Jujutsu.
- Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution).
- Jacky Bryant—Sarah's older brother and a race car driver also from San Francisco, fights with Jeet Kune Do.
- Dural—A gynoidthat is the game's boss character and is Kage's missing mother, Tsukikage. She fights with a mix of all the other characters' styles.
An
Story
Once in the
Approximately half a century has passed since then, the ultimate World Fighting Tournament is about to start, and all kinds of fighters from around the world engage to determine the world's best. Behind the Tournament, however, there exists an intrigue designed by a sinister syndicate.
Development and release
Virtua Fighter
The game's development began in 1992, following the development of
According to Suzuki, an issue during the game's development was performing fast
An early prototype version of the arcade game featured an
Virtua Fighter was a
Virtua Fighter Remix
Virtua Fighter Remix was an update of the original Virtua Fighter with higher-polygon models,
Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary
With the 2003 PlayStation 2 release of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution arriving in time for the series' tenth anniversary, a remake of Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary, was released on the PlayStation 2. While the music, stages and low-polygon visual style were retained from the first game, the character roster, animations, mechanics and movesets were taken from Evolution. In the previous PS2 release of Virtua Fighter 4, a button code would make the player's character look like a Virtua Fighter model. In Japan, the game was included as part of a box set with a book called Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary: Memory of a Decade and a DVD. The box set was released in November 2003 and was published by Enterbrain.[24] In North America, the game was included in the home version of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, and in Europe it was only available as a promotional item; it was not sold at retail.
Reception
Reception | |||
---|---|---|---|
Review scores | |||
Publication | Scores | ||
Arcade | Sega Saturn | 32X | |
Computer and Video Games | 83%[25] | 94%[11] | 95%[26] |
Edge | Positive[16] | 9/10[27] | |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | Positive[28] | 31.5/40[29] | 29/40[30] |
Famitsu | 36/40[31] | 30/40[32] | |
Game Informer | 8/10[33] | ||
GamesMaster | 96%[34] | ||
Hyper | 90%[35] | ||
Maximum
|
[12] | ||
Mean Machines Sega
|
96%[36] | ||
Mega | 97%[37] | ||
Next Generation | (Remix)[5] |
(original)[38] (Remix)[39] |
[40] |
Sega Magazin | 87% (original) 91% (Remix)[41] |
||
Sega Power | 97%[42] | ||
Sega Saturn Magazine | (Remix)[43] | ||
Sega Saturn Tsūshin
|
38/40[44] | ||
Ultimate Future Games
|
96%[45] | ||
Awards | |||
Publication(s) | Awards | ||
Gamest Awards (1994)[46] | 3rd Best Game of the Year, 3rd Best Fighting Game, 6th Best Graphics | ||
AMOA Awards (1994)[47] | Most Played Videogame (nominee), Most Innovative New Technology (nominee) | ||
Best Games of All Time | |||
1UP[52]
|
Most Influential Games of All Time |
Arcade
Sega began location testing an early prototype version in Japan prior to the game's demonstration at the
Virtua Fighter sold more than 40,000 arcade units worldwide by 1996,[59] with each unit costing between $15,000 (equivalent to $32,000 in 2023)[11] and £14,000 / $21,000 (equivalent to $44,000 in 2023).[25] Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 (1994) became Sega's best-selling arcade games of all time, surpassing their previous record holder Out Run (1986).[60]
Following its demonstration at the 1993 AM Show, Virtua Fighter received a positive industry reception. RePlay magazine called "the adaptation of 3-D polygon graphics to video fighting games" a "sensational development that could define and revitalize this already-hot category." California Games CEO Pat Schroeder said Virtua Fighter "was by far the dawn of a new era of games" with praise for the "computerized 3-D graphics with effects that are unreal" and how it "shows the fighting action" from different angles.[15] Edge magazine called Virtua Fighter "a tantalising glimpse into the future of fighting games employing the same ground-breaking CG computer graphics system as Virtua Racing." While criticizing the appearance of the "excessively blocky polygonised people," Edge said "the 3D scrolling, animation and movement are all silky-smooth and very realistic" and that "the fluid animation and imaginative camera angles quickly won the audience over."[16] Electronic Gaming Monthly hailed Virtua Fighter as a demonstration of "just how far video games have come in the last eight years." EGM made particular note of the advanced graphics, how the camera moves along different axes depending on the fighters' location, the use of multiple viewpoints in the instant replay, the high quality of the gameplay, and the smoothness and realism of the animation.[28]
In January 1994, Rik Skews of Computer and Video Games magazine, after playing for 1 hour, initially praised the "brilliant 64-bit" 3D graphics, animation and camera work but compared the gameplay unfavorably to Street Fighter II.[25] Computer and Video Games was later more positive towards the gameplay, stating in December 1994 that the game "combined cutting edge arcade technology with motion capture techniques and some excellent gameplay design."[11] Next Generation said in 1995 that it epitomized Yu Suzuki's "skill of finding the perfect blend of state-of-the-art technology with solid gameplay" in "the cut-throat world" of arcades.[56]
Ports
The console port of Virtua Fighter, which was very close to the arcade game, sold at a nearly 1:1 ratio with the Saturn hardware during the Japanese launch.
On release of the Saturn version,
Maximum gave it five out of five stars, calling it "a stunningly close conversion that is quite possibly the best game available for the machine." They remarked that the innovations such as the 3D motion capture remained impressive, as well as the depth and variety of the character's gameplay application: "every fighter has almost limitless scope for coming up with all-new attacks." They also praised the "very clever mixture of superbly exaggerated sound effects coupled with a tangible, realistic impact for every blow."[12] Electronic Gaming Monthly were more subdued in their reaction, but two of their four reviewers commented that it was nearly identical to the arcade version. They scored it 31.5 out of 40 (average 7.875 out of 10).[29] Edge rated the Saturn version 9/10, stating: "Saturn Virtua Fighter has all the pulling power of the arcade version, including the swooping, gliding game camera, the stylish polygon characters, the totally convincing animation and the compulsive gameplay ... [The graphics] were impressive enough in the original, but on the Saturn, under the kind of intense scrutiny you can never give a game in the arcades, they emerge as simply astounding ... It's arguably the first true 'next generation' console game, fusing the best aspects of combat gameplay with groundbreaking animation and gorgeous sound".[27]
Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the 32X version 30.5 out of 40 (average 7.625 out of 10), calling it an excellent conversion given the system it's on, but dated next to the graphically superior Saturn version and especially Virtua Fighter Remix, both of which had already been released.[68] GamePro also noted that the 32X version suffers from more slowdown and fewer polygons than the Saturn version, as well as "tinny sound quality", but praised the additional options not included in the Saturn version and rated it as an overall strong port.[69] A critic for Next Generation similarly said that the 32X version is not as impressive looking as the Saturn version but has more options and fewer glitches, making it an overall excellent port. He argued that the game was not worth buying a 32X for, since the system was not powerful enough to handle ports of Virtua Fighter Remix or Virtua Fighter 2 (which was soon to be released for the Saturn), but that it was an essential purchase for those who already own a 32X.[40]
In 1995, Flux rated the arcade version 16th in its Top 100 Video Games. At the time, they called Virtua Fighter: "The most satisfying fighter in existence."[70] In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Virtua Fighter PC the 121st-best computer game ever released.[50] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Virtua Fighter eighth on their "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10."[71]
Legacy and impact
Virtua Fighter dispensed with
At a time when fighting games were becoming increasingly focused on violence and shock value, the popularity of Virtua Fighter demonstrated that fighting games focused on gameplay were still commercially viable.
Virtua Fighter played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics.
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One of the first titles to appear is Virtua Fighter PC, which has more in common with VF Remix than the original.
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Virtua Racing ... was perhaps the first to treat polygons not as a graphical gimmick but as an opportunity to expand the boundaries of traditional driving games ... It's like witnessing the discovery of fire ... [Virtua Fighter] establish[ed] the template that future 3-D fighters would follow
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Virtua Fighter's 3D characters have a presence that 2D sprites just can't match. The characters really do seem 'alive', whether they're throwing a punch, unleashing a special move or reeling from a blow ... The Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is an exceptional game in many respects. It's arguably the first true 'next generation' console game, fusing the best aspects of combat gameplay with groundbreaking animation and gorgeous sound (CD music and clear samples). In the arcades, Virtua Fighter made people stop and look. On the Saturn, it will make many people stop, look at their bank balance and then fork out for Sega's new machine. Over to you, Sony.
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One of the key objections to 3D graphics that developers had been raising with Sony was that while polygons worked fine for inanimate objects such as racing cars, 2D images were superior when it came to animating people or other characters. Virtua Fighter, Suzuki's follow-up to Virtua Racing, was a direct riposte to such thinking ... The characters may have resembled artists' mannequins but their lifelike movement turned Suzuki's game into a huge success that exploded claims that game characters couldn't be done successfully in 3D ... Teruhisa Tokunaka, chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, even went so far as to thank Sega for creating Virtua Fighter and transforming developers' attitudes.
- ^ Feit, Daniel (September 5, 2012). "How Virtua Fighter Saved PlayStation's Bacon". Wired. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Ryoji Akagawa: If it wasn't for Virtua Fighter, the PlayStation probably would have had a completely different hardware concept.
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- ^ Edge, May 1997,
My original idea was to do something like Virtua Fighter in a 3D world, with full-contact fighting, but you'd also be able to run through a world, and do the same stuff you do in Quake, only when you got into these melees, the camera would pull out into a third-person perspective. It would've been great, but nobody else had faith in trying it. The project was taking too long, and everybody just wanted to fall back on the safe thing – the formula.
- PlayStation Blog, PlayStation Network
External links
- Virtua Fighter at the Killer List of Videogames
- Demo of Virtua Fighter PC for Sega of America