Virtua Fighter 5

This is just a quick post to enthuse about my most recent gaming accquisition. Getting Virtua Fighter 5, (I got it for £4 by trading in a lot of Dreamcast duplicates from my collection) means I now have every incarnation of the franchise, which in itself is something I'm rather excited about. VF1, VF2, VF Remix, VF Kids, VF3Tb, VF4, VF4 Evolution and now VF5 - eight games spanning four consoles and every one with it's roots planted firmly in rich, Saturn soil.

I suppose that would be my first point. From the ridiculously blocky and angular characters of VF1, to the photo realistic graphically gorgeous polished characters of VF5, the game is essentially the same... Moves, fighting styles, outfits etc. are quintessentially untouched from console to console.

Obviously the range of characters, the environments and other features have changed over the years, but on turning the game on, and selecting the game mode one is afforded the familiar 'ping' from VF1. It's a reverberation of the Saturn in the 21st century and a comforting one at that...

But then when the game kicks in, and you see the stunning next gen graphics, you know that the 360/PS3 incarnation is a different beast. It's literally breath taking! For me, even the PS2's VF4 was so next gen, that I was blown away... But seeing VF5 made me jump.

Playing VF4 in arcade mode I was able to beat the opposition on first play, up to Dural. Playing VF5 I was stomped unceremoniously. It would seem that the stakes in gameplay have been raised. This was confirmed by my first experience of playing VF online...

I've had two matches, and got fucked up royally (3-0) twice! I play all out attack (as Kage, always as Kage!) and apparently the way forward in VF5 is defense. Defense and then a stunning array of attack... Well that was how I got my arse kicked anyway! I'm going to enjoy playing and getting to know this title. It's as stunning a Saturn rebirth as Sega Rally Revo... (don't even whisper Nebacha! LOL!)

I'll update you more on this one as I become more familiar with it. Initial impressions? 10/10!

Happy days! :)

Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary

After all this talk about VF4 I decided to play one more time with my NTSC copy of VF4: Evolution, not just to get me arse beaten by the unforgiving CPU opponents but to try once again the little extra called VF 10th Anniversary.

Basically this is a port of the arcade version of Virtua Fighter. All the blocky characters, arenas, music and gameplay of the original game are intact, something the fans surely appreciated, but with the benefits of the PS2's hardware, that being the high resolution, the smoother textures and the overall speed of the game.

There's also a bit of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution as well when it comes to characters, so you can expect newcomers like Lei Fei or Goh, fully rendered in the beautiful, blocky, retro way of the 32 bits era.

Sounds good? You bet it is! But how can you own this beauty? Well, the easiest way is probably purchasing the US version of VF4: Evolution, since us Europeans where left out and the Japanese version should be harder to get.

Virtua Fighter 4

The Saturn would have always been my choice over the Playstation, and there was one in my home for two years before I eventually buckled under pressure from my boys and bought one for them. One of the reasons for my Saturn love was the most excellent Virtua Fighter series, which played out four releases on the Saturn. Virtua Fighter, VF2, Virtua Fighter Remix and VF Kids. (Plus the VF characters also played a major role in the wonderful Fighter's Megamix...)

The game was quality all the way with great characters like Shun and Kage, who had great background stories and a fabulously oriental feel. I love Kung Fu movies (even the really old badly dubed/speeded up fight scene ones!) and having the chance to control a fighter was a dream come true!

Everything about Virtua Fighter works: Moves, music, speech samples, backgorund settings, victory cries and so on. However great the gameplay is though, even the most die-hard Saturn fan would have to admit that the graphics haven't stood the test of time. The characters look square and blocky, angular and pixellated.

When I eventually graduated to the Dreamcast, I was really anticipating VF3tb (originally slated for the Saturn- look here), but having played Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive, VF3tb didn't really do it for me. I can't really explain why, but the graphics and gameplay just didn't cut it after playing SC and DOA, and VF3tb became the least played fighter of my Dreamcast collection. However, the ever wonderful Shenmue series employed the fighting engine from Virtua Fighter and the central character Ryo Hazuki was based on VF's Akira. (You could also collect capsule toys -very pleasurable in itself... of VF and VF Kids as you embarked on Ryo's quest.)

Fast forward to 2007 and I happened upon a rather battered copy of VF4 for the PS2. At first I was gutted because the disc wouldn't load and there was no mannual in the box. But thanks to the wonder of the Internet, I'd soon downloaded the mannual and thanks to a blob of toothpaste, I'd soon managed to get the disc working.

Don't know about the toothpaste trick? If you've got a disc that won't load, simply smear your disc in toothpaste and rub outwards from the centre of the disc in straightlines with your finger. Wash it off in lukewarm water and dry with a paper towel. I'm not guaranteeing it'll work but it did for me...

Onto the game. The beauty of VF4 is that it is basically the same great game as the Saturn original, but with sumptuous graphics and a couple of new characters to compliment the originals. First off there is the mysterious Shaolin Monk, Lei Fei and then the amply chested Vanessa Lewis. (Why do women in fighting games have big breasts? Not that I'm complaining... *Ahem!*)

The backgrounds and arenas are simply stunning, the characters look great and the fighting is fantastic. I always play as Kage, as I love his ninja look and trademark upside down pile driving headbutt! But the game is fiendishly dificult to progress in however... As the saying goes, "Easy to play, dificult to master!"

Dedication and repeated gameplay is needed to make headway into the game but for the £7 your likely to pay for it you couldn't get a better fighter. But now I'm a little stuck, as VF5 is out for the XBox 360 & PS3, and I don't own one of those suckers. And to make matters worse, the prospect of online battles on the 360 is making me drool for one. That AND Sega Rally Revo.

You see I'm a Sega fan through and through and it hurts me to know franchises I've loved will be progressing on systems I don't own. So here's the plan... I'm going to try and persuade the boys to get a 360 as their collective Christmas present! Cunning plan huh? I'll update you in December as to whether it comes off!

Wanna know more about Virtua Fighter? Then have a look at these links...

Virtua Fighter in Wikipedia

Virtua Fighter 3tb IGN

Virtua Fighter 4 Official Website

Virtua Fighter 5 Official Website