Virtua Fighter 5 – PS3 – Review

In 1995,
Sega released a game that would go on to become the standard for all future
fighting games: Virtua Fighter. It was the first 3D fighting game, and the
first to introduce a sequential combo system.

In the
coming years, all existing franchises – including Street Fighter and Mortal
Kombat, which had singular (non-combo) and minor juggle attack methods – added
a sequential combo system. They left their cartoon and digitized roots in the
past, opting for polygon-based characters. Countless 3D fighters were born,
giving way to a new generation of gaming. Virtua Fighter, with its brilliant
ideas and revolutionary gameplay, had forever changed the fighting genre.

Twelve years
later and the series is ready to return for its fifth installment, this time
on the most powerful console available: PlayStation 3.

Remaking
a Classic

The most
striking difference between Virtua Fighter 5 and its predecessors is
undoubtedly the graphics, but I’ll save the poly praise for later. Hardcore
fighting fans are most curious about the gameplay. Has it changed? Is it more
advanced?

Those of you
who first played the Virtua Fighter series in the arcade or on Sega Saturn
shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of change. Change does not mean better,
mind you – only different. Therefore it is unlikely that if you weren’t a fan
in ’95 that you’ll be a fan in ’07. Those who were fans, however, should board
up their windows and turn off their phones in preparation for the series’ best
sequel.

The
Perfect Combination

Virtua
Fighter 5 does not leave behind its primitive attack layout for modern times.
Two attack buttons are all you’ll have access to: one punch and one kick.
There’s only so far a game can go without adding more buttons, but the
developers have given a strong argument to the contrary. You will perform more
moves with those two buttons than you could have ever imagined. Nearly every
combination (PPK, PKP, KPK, etc.) is used along with the D-pad and guard
button.

Need to
learn some moves? Read the manual, access the in-game move list (via pause
menu), or play the tutorial. The tutorial is a great resource that can be
finished in a couple of minutes. Unappealing moves may be skipped (you may
pause the game and select a different move to learn at any time). But you’re
better off learning as much as possible. Virtua Fighter 5 isn’t as massive an
undertaking as Tekken or Mortal Kombat, but you will want to learn every
attack. The bonus stage with Dural guarantees that.

The controls
and basic gameplay mechanics have not changed. Fighters still work on the
principle that a fallen enemy should receive a jump kick to the chest. A few
of the characters are faster than before. But the game itself moves at the
same pace as its predecessors.

Where Virtua
Fighter 5 differs from the rest (except for, in part, Virtua Fighter 4) is how
juggles are applied. Players can attack and nearly slaughter – albeit without
any blood, bruises, or other visual damage – their opponents just by striking
them before they land after an airborne assault. The results are spectacular.
There hasn’t been a game that emphasized juggle combos this much since Mortal
Kombat 3. Tekken and the more recent Mortal Kombat titles include juggle
capabilities, but they have not been the focus of those games. Their execution
is entirely based on the patience of the player.

These juggle
combos take patience, but not to the point where you’ll be pulling your hair
out – just to the point where you’ll be banging your head against the wall,
wondering why that last punch or kick didn’t connect.

Virtua
Fighter 5’s juggles greatly expand the depth of a game that can be mastered
(mostly) in about a week. You won’t feel like you’re facing a colossal
challenge, but will have something intricate to work hard on perfecting in the
coming months.

Arcade
Memories

The arcade
mode is no different from any other fighting game: it’s a port of the
single-player experience found in arcades. The new quest mode, however, is not
a typical addition. Pick one fighter and take him or her through hundreds (or
thousands, if you wish to play that long) of battles across several virtual
arcades. Some of the arcades are based on real Sega-owned amusement centers in
Japan. They’re accessed via the game’s world map screen, which allows you to
jump between arcades very quickly.

Three
opponents are listed at each location. It’s a fantasy situation. Three arcade
machines are available at station. If you challenge a virtual player and win,
other AI challengers will follow.

The game
records every win and loss, generating a win ratio for bragging rights. Most
wins give you an item to customize the appearance of your fighters. Change
their hair (color and style), add new accessories (jewelry for the ladies),
and alter their costumes.

Tournaments
are occasionally offered, and they too will increase your bragging rights, as
well as your inventory.

PS3 Power

Whether
you’re a fan of the series or just a PS3 owner searching for the next big
game, the expectations for Virtua Fighter 5’s graphics are insurmountably
high. It can’t just be another pretty face – no, it must be the
best-looking fighting game ever made. Though it may be hard to hold onto
as fall approaches, for the time being, Virtua Fighter 5 has claimed that
title.

These
screenshots, while beautiful and detailed, only show a fraction of the game’s
beauty. It’s clear that the fighters are entirely rendered – smooth and
realistic like a CG movie’s cast. The backgrounds also show detail, though you
won’t know how much until you see the game in action. Water ripples, splashes,
and reflects. Snow clumps and produces hundreds (thousands!?) of particles.
Shadows, lighting, and skin texture – three things that are very difficult to
improve – are made more realistic in this game than in Madden 07.

There’s
almost a slight contradiction with the characters, who aren’t necessarily
realistic but have several features that make them appear to be alive. Facial
and body hair have been added so intricately that you’ll swear there are
thousands of individual follicles involved. Hair sways and bounces accurately
with every motion. Deep textures have been applied to every garment, with
impeccable animations to ensure a realistic reaction to every attack.

Most stages
are enclosed, preventing ring-outs while introducing an interesting escape
option. Walls can be a nightmare: get cornered by the wrong player and you’re
toast. But if your opponent likes to perform a lot of lengthy grab moves, lure
him toward the wall before he gets close. Then if he attempts to grab and toss
you around, the wall will get in the way and break his move. If he throws you
into a wall, there’s a chance the wall will break your fall, preventing any
further damage from being incurred when you finally hit the ground.

Review Scoring Details for Virtua Fighter 5

Gameplay: 8.9
The closest Sega
has come to creating the perfect Virtua Fighter sequel. Virtua Fighter 5’s
fast-paced, in-your-face combat harkens back to the original. Under next-gen
status (and 12 years of developer experience), the series has evolved its
combos to include massive, unblockable juggle moves. Airborne fighters are
lucky if they retain half their life meter by the time they reach the ground.
It’s a great, tension-rising system that separates the strong from the weak at
the start of each battle.

Graphics: 9.0
Rich and
stunning. Fighters are bigger, more defined, and have an abundance of
realistic touches. Environment interactions are minimal (ring out, walk
through snow, damage certain fences, etc.), but their detail is impossible to
overlook. Whereas the standard for fighting games has been to produce a pretty
backdrop, these worlds could’ve been created for an RPG. You can’t jump in and
explore them, but it looks like you can.

Sound: 8.0
Smooth beats and
jingles that favor the series’ past.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Three buttons:
punch, kick, and guard. That doesn’t leave much room for long-term depth –
you’ll feel like a master within the first week of playing. Juggle moves are
fairly involved but will not pose a big challenge to Virtua Fighter’s core
audience, who grew up playing juggle-heavy games like Tekken and Mortal Kombat.

Concept: 7.7
More of a remake
than a sequel, Virtua Fighter 5 does not veer far from the path first taken in
1995.

Multiplayer: 9.0
The absence of an
online component is a little disappointing. I wasn’t expecting (but hoping
for) such a feature – most great fighting games skip it in favor of speed and
continuity, which isn’t guaranteed in an online environment. That said, what
Virtua Fighter 5 does offline is astonishing. The fast-paced,
can’t-stop-playing-it combat will turn the thought of spring and summer into a
distant memory. Warm weather? Sunny skies? Who needs that when you’ve got a
great fighting game?

Overall: 8.9
Virtua Fighter 5
is an amazingly fun, must-own sequel for every fan of the series. The
single-player options are limited, but the two-player battles – the area where
every great fighter shines – make owning a second SIXAXIS controller a must.