Virtua Fighter
From Sega Retro
| Virtua Fighter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System(s): Sega Model 1, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Tiger R-Zone | |||||
| Publisher: Sega | |||||
| Developer: Sega AM2 | |||||
| Genre: Fighting | |||||
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Virtua Fighter (バーチャファイター) is a 1993 fighting game developed for the Sega Model 1 arcade platform by Sega AM2, a development group within Sega headed by Yu Suzuki. It was the first game in the Virtua Fighter series, which continues to this day.
Virtua Fighter is often cited as being the first "traditional" 3D fighting video game to be released to the general public, and is the basis for almost all 3D fighting games to follow. There were, however, previous attempts at bringing the genre into 3D - Distinctive Software's 4D Sports Boxing is a polygon-based fighter released for a number of home computers in 1991/1992, however this is strictly a boxing game. Sega themselves had released Dark Edge in 1992, however this merely simulates 3D by clever use of 2D sprites., but Virtua Fighter stands as the first attempt at bringing more complex fighting games into the third dimension.
Polygons rendered are rendered in Virtua Fighter as quadrilaterals rather than triangles, technology which would later be used with the Sega Saturn. Due to the limitations of the Model 1 hardware, images are created using wireframe models and flat-shaded quads - most future games would use textured polygons made up of easier-to-process triangles. Backgrounds are largely static, and the ground surrounding the play area is largely empty to maintain a constant framerate of sixty frames per second.
Contents
Gameplay
Virtua Fighter puts characters in a three dimensional arena and has them fight until one is "knocked out", similar to most fighting games. Unlike other games in the genre at the time (such as Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat), Virtua Fighter relies only on a control stick and three buttons, Punch, Kick, and Guard. Simple button combinations will trigger more moves, making what seemed like a relatively simple control scheme far more complex than many other fighters.
Perhaps as a side-effect of its 3D visuals, movements in Virtua Fighter are seen as more realistic than in its 2D rivals. Capcom, for example, used greatly exaggerated and unrealistic moves in its Street Fighter games, however Virtua Fighter is a much slower-paced title, in the fighting styles are modeled on those seen in the real world. Some characters, after recieving damage in certain areas, will lose part of their clothing, for example, Pai's hat.
Unlike other fighting games, Virtua Fighter has "rings" in which to fight, and if a player either walks or is knocked out of the ring, this leads to an instant disqualification.
Characters
Main article: Virtua Fighter Characters
Virtua Fighter contains eight characters each employing a different fighting style.
The "lead" character of Virtua Fighter, Akira Yuki is particularly notable as he was a last-minute addition to the game (so much so that early cabinets do not feature him in the artwork at all). He replaced a character known as "Siba", someone who was axed from the game altogether. Siba would eventually become an unlockable character in Fighters Megamix and join the regular cast of characters in Virtua Fighter 3.
Sequels and Re-releases
Virtua Fighter was a reasonable success in the arcades and thus found its way onto several home consoles. In 1993, however, popular home systems were unable to cope with the game's complexity, meaning in most cases users had to wait until 1995 to play a watered-down version. A perfect port of the arcade version of Virtua Fighter does not currently exist.
Across the world Virtua Fighter was made a launch title for the Sega Saturn console, however, being rushed to market it suffers from several gameplay issues. In response, Sega produced Virtua Fighter Remix in 1995, which addresses some of the concerns and textures the 3D models. Virtua Fighter Remix is now the de facto version of Virtua Fighter, and was the basis for a PC port. Due to the CD read-speed of the Saturn, its version of Virtua Fighter has around 5-second load times, but comes paired with a remixed arrange music based off the arcade version's.
A version was released for the Sega 32X, which in Japan debuted after the Saturn. It suffers from lower polygon counts and various other cutbacks, but is otherwise realtively faithful to the original and is often seen as one of the better games for the system.
Both home versions of the game have an added "Round-Robin" tournament mode.
Virtua Fighter was followed by Virtua Fighter 2 in 1994, which sports significantly improved visuals and two new characters.
Production Credits
Arcade Version
Main Programmer: Toru Ikebuchi
Coordinator / Main Designer: Seiichi Ishii
Programmers: Shin Kimura, Takeshi Suzuki, Eisuke Miura, Kazuhiko Yamada, Masahiko Kobayashi, Naomi Ota, F.Y. Bertrand, Tetsuya Kaku
Designers: Kunihiko Nakata, Youji Kato, Toshiya Inoue, Yoshinao Asako, Masataka Aochi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jeffery Buchanan, Mika Kojima
Program Supports: Keiji Okayasu, Hiroaki Shoji
Music Composer: Takayuki Nakamura
Planning Support: Manabu Tsukamoto
Producer & Director: Yu Suzuki
Saturn Version
Main Programer: Keiji Okayasu
Programers: Tetsuya Sugimoto, Hiroaki Shoji, Motoi Kaneko, Jun-ichi Ishito
Designers: Yoshinao Asako, Youji Kato, Ryoya Yui
Sound Designers: Takayuki Nakamura, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Kazuhiko Kouchi
Thanks: Yutaka Nishino, Hideya Shiazaki, Takayuki Yamaguchi, Kazuo Otani, SEGA Digital Studio
Producer: Yu Suzuki
32X Version
~In-game credits~
Producer: Kouichi Nagata
Programmers: Eiji Horita, Akio Setsumasa, Tatsuo Yamajiri, Yasuhiro Takahashi
Designer: Masashi Kubo
Sound Designers: Masaru Setsumaru, Tatsuya Kohzaki, Atsumu Miyazawa, Tadashi Joukagi
Planner: Hideki Anbo
Special Thanks: Yu Suzuki, Keiji Okayasu, Toshiya Inoue, Tetsuya Sugimoto, Yutaka Nishino, Hiroaki Shoji, Takeshi Suzuki, Yoshinao Asako, Youji Kato, Ryoya Yui, Manabu Tsukamoto, Saturn V.F Team, Ryoichi Hasegawa
- For SOA: Michael B. Latham, Eric Quakenbush, Erik Wahlberg, Bill Person, France Tantiado, Terry Tang
~Other credits~
Special Thanks: Joe Miller, Steve Payne, Joyce Takakura, All Magazines, Chrissie Huneke-Kremer, Diana Bertollt, John Kully, Clint Dyer, Eric Smith, Lorene Goble, Jennifer Titchener, Sandy Tallerico, Graciela Arrue
Executive Producer: Michael Latham
Associate Producer: Eric Quakenbush
Assistant Producers: Erik Wahlberg, Bill Person
Marketing Manager: France M. Tantiado
Public Relations Coordinator: Terry Tang
Test Manager: Mark Lindstrom
Lead Tester: Richie Hideshima
Assistant (Tester) Leads: Stephen Bourdet, Lloyd Kinoshita, Mike Borg, Nicole Tatum
Testers: Rob Prideaux, Joshua Johnson, Ron Allen, Ty Johnson, Mark Fabela, Sako Bezdjian, Raul Orozco, Cesar Lemus, Jay Vo, Scott Hawkins, Kemrexx George, David Paniagua, Richard Cummings, Kim Rogers, Seth Carbon, Rayman Suansing, Joel Breton, Louis Dribbin, Joseph M. Damon, Sean Davin, Stephen C. Wong, Rick Greer, Randy Smaha, Steve Thompson, Anthony Borba, Mike Benton, Eric Molina, Jeffrey L. Loney, Jeff Sanders, Joe Cecchin, Steve Smith
Manual: Wendy Dinsmore
Manuals
32X Version
Physical Scans
32X Version
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 |
85 |
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| Based on 30 reviews | |
| 32X, US |
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   Cover
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 Cart |
| 32X, EU |
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  Cover
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 Cart |
| 32X, JP |
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  Cover
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| 32X, BR |
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 Cover
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 Cart |
Saturn Version
 |
88 |
|---|---|
| Based on 51 reviews | |
| Saturn, US |
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  Cover
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| Saturn, EU |
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 Cover
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 Disc |
| Saturn, JP |
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  Cover
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| Saturn, BR |
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| Virtua Fighter series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtua Fighter (Remix | PC) (1993-1995) | Virtua Fighter 2 (Mega Drive | Sega Ages 2500 Series) (1994-1996) | Virtua Fighter 3 (3tb | 3tb Online) (1996-1997) | Virtua Fighter 4 (Evolution | Final Tuned) (2001-2004) | Virtua Fighter 5 (R | Final Showdown | Ultimate Showdown) (2006-2021) | |||
| Spin-offs | |||
| Virtua Fighter Kids (1996) | Virtua Fighter Animation (1997) | Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary (2003) | Virtua Quest (2004) | |||
| Cross-overs | |||
| Fighters Megamix (Game.com) | Dead or Alive 5 (5+ | Ultimate | Last Round) (2012-2015) | |||
| Portrait series | |||
| Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series: (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | The Final) (1995-1996) | GG Portrait: Yuuki Akira (1996) | GG Portrait: Pai Chan (1996) | |||
| Others | |||
| Virtua Fighter (LCD) (1995) | Electronic Virtua Fighter (199x) | Virtua Fighter (R-Zone) (199x) | Virtua Fighter 3 Win-PC-Collection (1996) | Virtua Fighter (2007) | CR Virtua Fighter (2008) | Virtua Fighter Mobile (2008) | Pachinko CR Virtua Fighter Revolution (2012) | Virtua Fighter Cool Champ (2012) | Virtua Fighter Fever Combo (2014) | Virtua Fighter Pachislot (2014) | Virtua Fighter Battle Genesis (2019) | |||
| Unlicensed | |||
| Virtua Fighter 2 vs. Tekken 2 (199x) | |||
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- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 257
- ↑ Consoles +, "Octobre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 136
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "November 1995" (UK; 1995-10-13), page 36
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 36
- ↑ Famitsu, "1995-10-27" (JP; 1995-10-13), page 1
- ↑ Fun Generation, "06/95" (DE; 1995-0x-xx), page 72
- ↑ Fusion, "Volume 1, Number 5: December 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 120
- ↑ GameFan, "Volume 3, Issue 10: October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 17
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 11 November 1995" (US; 1995-1x-xx), page 68
- ↑ GamePro, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 68
- ↑ GamePro, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-10-28), page 29
- ↑ Gamers, "November 1995" (DE; 1995-10-11), page 34
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 82
- ↑ MAN!AC, "12/95" (DE; 1995-11-08), page 59
- ↑ Mega Force, "Octobre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 86
- ↑ Mega Fun, "11/95" (DE; 1995-10-18), page 74
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "November 1995" (UK; 1995-09-29), page 70
- ↑ Next Generation, "November 1995" (US; 1995-10-24), page 179
- ↑ Player One, "Octobre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 122
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1995 12-22" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 86
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "October 1995" (UK; 1995-09-12), page 84
- ↑ Sega News, "Prosinec 1996" (CZ; 1996-1x-xx), page 29
- ↑ Sega Power, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-10-19), page 52
- ↑ Sega Pro, "November 1995" (UK; 1995-10-05), page 56
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-02-28), page 26
- ↑ Super Juegos, "Octubre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 72
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Octubre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 44
- ↑ Top Consoles, "Octobre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 97
- ↑ Tricks, "Vypusk 8" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 28
- ↑ VideoGames, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 84
- ↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 21
- ↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 74
- ↑ CD Consoles, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 126
- ↑ Consoles +, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 130
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 12
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-12), page 32
- ↑ Computer + Video Giochi, "Gennaio 1995" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 30
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1995-07-10)
- ↑ Edge, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-22), page 72
- ↑ Electronic Entertainment, "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 80
- ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 64
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 38
- ↑ Excalibur, "" (CZ; 1995-06-29), page 1
- ↑ Famitsu, "1994-12-02" (JP; 1994-11-18), page 1
- ↑ GameFan, "Volume 3, Issue 7: July 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 13
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 8 August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 34
- ↑ GamePro, "March 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 33
- ↑ GamePro, "August 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 50
- ↑ GamesMaster (UK) "Series 4, episode 11" (1994-11-29, 24:00) (+8:08)
- ↑ Games World: The Magazine, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-0x-xx), page 71
- ↑ Joypad, "Septembre 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 74
- ↑ LeveL, "Květen 1995" (CZ; 1995-05-01), page 18
- ↑ MAN!AC, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 9
- ↑ MAN!AC, "08/95" (DE; 1995-07-12), page 46
- ↑ Maximum, "October 1995" (UK; 1995-09-01), page 142
- ↑ Mega, "February 1995" (UK; 1995-01-xx), page 38
- ↑ Mega Fun, "08/95" (DE; 1995-07-19), page 77
- ↑ Magazina Igrushek, "3/1995" (RU; 1995-xx-xx), page 56
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-30), page 16
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-07-27), page 88
- ↑ Next Generation, "April 1995" (US; 1995-03-21), page 90
- ↑ Player One, "Juillet/Août 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 56
- ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaagang 3, Jul/Aug 1995" (NL; 1995-06-28), page 36
- ↑ Saturn Fan, "1995 February" (JP; 1995-01-07), page 32
- ↑ Saturn+, "Christmas 1995" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 56
- ↑ Score, "Červen 1995" (CZ; 1995-06-01), page 26
- ↑ Sega Magazin, "August 1995" (DE; 1995-07-12), page 62
- ↑ Sega Magazine, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 56
- ↑ Sega Power, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 14
- ↑ Sega Pro, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-29), page 36
- ↑ Sega Pro, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-10), page 50
- ↑ Sega Megazone, "August 1995" (AU; 1995-0x-xx), page 18
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 11
- ↑ Strana Igr, "" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 93
- ↑ Super Juegos, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 96
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 32
- ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "February 1995" (UK; 1995-01-01), page 78
- ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-01), page 72
- ↑ Última Generación, "Marzo 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 76
- ↑ Video Games, "8/95" (DE; 1995-07-26), page 62
- ↑ VideoGames, "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 74
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