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 | |||||
| |||||
Virtua Fighter (バーチャファイター) is a fighting game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for Sega Model 1 arcade hardware in 1993. It is the first game in the Virtua Fighter series. It is often cited as being the first fully 3D fighting game released to the general public, and is a basis for almost all subsequent games in the genre.
Contents
Gameplay
Virtua Fighter is a versus fighting game, pitting two of nine characters against each other in a three-dimensional arena to fight until one is "knocked out". 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, "Defense" (guard), "Punch" and "Kick" . Simple button combinations will trigger special attacks, and the large number of moves leads to a relatively complex fighting game.
Movements in Virtua Fighter are seen as more realistic than many of its popular 2D rivals from the likes of Capcom or SNK. Virtua Fighter is opts for a slower-pace with fighting styles modeled on those seen in the real world. Virtua Fighter also involves "ring outs", where if a player either walks or is knocked out of the ring, he or she is instantly disqualified.
Also unique to Virtua Fighter upon release, some characters receive "damage" if hit in certain areas and will lose part of their clothing (for example, hats).
Characters
- Main article: Virtua Fighter Characters
Virtua Fighter contains eight characters each employing a different fighting style. A ninth character, Dural, is not readily available to players. Template:Sections
History
Development
Virtua Fighter follows in the footsteps of previous Sega arcade games from the early 1990s. Much like 1992's Virtua Racing is credited for revolutionising the racing genre, Virtua Fighter is an important milestone in fighting games, being among the first to render the action with 3D polygons. It can be seen as an evolution over Sega's 1992 pseudo-3D fighter, Dark Edge which attempts to simulate three dimensions with 2D sprites (and was significantly less popular).
Prior to its release, Distinctive Software's 4D Sports Boxing, released for a number of home computers in 1991/1992 stood as the closest attempt at bringing the genre into the third dimension, however this is strictly a boxing game and lacks much of the freedoms enjoyed by Virtua Fighter's gameplay.
Polygons rendered are rendered in Virtua Fighter as quadrilaterals rather than triangles (which became the standard), 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 open and empty to maintain a constant framerate of sixty frames per second.
Akira Yuki is particularly notable character in Virtua Fighter 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", who was axed from the game altogether for unknown reasosn. Siba would eventually become an unlockable character in Fighters Megamix and join the regular cast of characters in Virtua Fighter 3.
During development the game was known as Virtua Fighters, the "s" being dropped before release.
Legacy
Virtua Fighter was a phenominal success for Sega, particularly in Japan which was already consumed by arcade game fighting culture. Its success has guaranteed future entries in the franchise ever since, and is amongst Sega AM2's most recognisable products. However, the timing of its arcade release caused problems - it could not be brought to the then-less powerful home consoles of 1993, and to this day, no accurate home conversions of Virtua Fighter (in its original form) exist.
Across the world (starting in late 1994), Virtua Fighter was made a launch title for the Sega Saturn console. This version is considered to have been rushed to market, shipping with several gameplay issues such as five-second load times between fights and lower polygon graphics (although the disc comes paired with a remixed arrange music based off the arcade soundtrack). The problems were laregly forgiven in Japan (and in fact, much of the Saturn's success in that region originated from this game), but the late 1995 release in western territories, saw Virtua Fighter be compared unfavourably to other early Saturn/PlayStation fighting games, such as Battle Arena Toshinden Remix.
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.
A version was released for the Sega 32X, which in Japan debuted after the Saturn version (but before the Saturn version in other territories). It suffers from even lower polygon counts than the Saturn version and various other cutbacks, but is otherwise realtively faithful to the original, subsequently being cited as one of the better games for the system. Both home versions of the game added a "Round-Robin" tournament mode. Ports for mobile phones also exist.
Virtua Fighter was followed by Virtua Fighter 2 in 1994, which sports significantly improved visuals and two new characters. AM2's Seiichi Ishii would also leave following his work on this game to create Tekken for Namco, seen as an important competitor to Virtua Fighter during the 1990s.
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
Physical Scans
Model 1 Version
32X Version
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
85 |
|---|---|
| Based on 31 reviews | |
| 32X, US |
|---|
   Cover
|
 Cart  Manual |
| 32X, EU |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Cart |
| 32X, JP |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Manual |
| 32X, BR |
|---|
 Cover
|
 Cart  Manual |
Saturn Version
 |
88 |
|---|---|
| Based on 52 reviews | |
| Saturn, US |
|---|
  Cover
|
 Manual |
| Saturn, EU |
|---|
 Cover
|
 Disc |
| Saturn, JP |
|---|
  Cover
|
| Saturn, BR |
|---|
|
| 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) | |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
|
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Game Informer, "October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 37
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Game Informer, "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 55
- ↑ 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
- No players field
- Old content rating field
- Use romtable template
- All games
- Old-style rating (consolesplus)
- Rating without PDF source
- Old-style rating (cvg)
- Old-style rating (egm)
- Rating without source
- Old-style rating (gameplayers)
- Old-style rating (hobbyconsolas)
- Old-style rating (maniac)
- Old-style rating (mms)
- Old-style rating (playerone)
- Old-style rating (segamaguk)
- Old-style rating (segapower)
- Old-style rating (segapro)
- Old-style rating (superjuegos)
- Update ratings template
- 10 old ratings
- Old-style rating (cdconsoles)
- Old-style rating (edge)
- Old-style rating (gamefan)
- Old-style rating (joypad)
- Old-style rating (maximum)
- Old-style rating (ufg)
- Old-style rating (vgce)
- 18 old ratings
- Virtua Fighter (franchise)
- Model 1 games