part of me wonders if sega mandating all sanwa parts (JLF lever and OBS buttons) in VF2 tournaments had something to do with familial ties or something. (us seimitsu enjoyers are still feeling the ramifications of this today)

it's the first fighting game that's actually good that i personally enjoy. (i respect SFII and AOF more than i like actually playing SFII and AOF) it plays like fighting and not like what one would see in a fantastical shonen manga. VF2 picks up the pace and framerate from the first (both in arcade and at home), and as a result it just feels slick and immediate, which is necessary in a game where 1-2 frames between inputs changes just enough of the move to make a difference. performing combos is less like inputting an arcane sequence of 20+ inputs on an 8way lever and 6 buttons and more like just getting more hits of varying strength in fast enough, like you know, fighting. decry the admittedly uninspired character designs (save for jacky) all you want, but the moment-to-moment tension and 100% mental capacity required by a round is unparalleled by anything, save for tekken 3 and 5. one of service games amusement machine research and development #2's finest moments, only matched by later installments of Virtua Fighter and Outrun 2[006/ Special Tours] . AM2 said Fuck The Kick Harness, and it was beautiful.

Anyone who has ever played and really enjoyed a modern 3D fighting title like Tekken 8, Soulcalibur VI, or what have you, and then immediately went back to play some of the earlier 3D fighters like the original Virtua Fighter would probably be asking themselves “why do I feel nothing but pain”, but for what it is worth, that game still somewhat holds up as a game, as well as what it meant for the genre. If you view it as a fighting game, plain and simple, it is definitely not something I would wanna touch with a ten-foot pole, but as a gateway for many other fighters to enter the realm of 3D, it managed to do a pretty good job, while also bringing the awkward, yet fun enough gameplay that managed to impress plenty back when it came out, as well as me whenever I decided to check it out four months ago. Unlike with Virtua Racing though, this wasn’t just gonna be a one-time experiment in the Virtua series, as thanks to its immense success back in the day, the game would spawn numerous sequels, spin-offs, and merchandise as a result, and it would eventually lead to the sequel that would release just one year later, simply known as Virtua Fighter 2.

Now, I have played quite a handful of fighting games at this point now on this website, and while I am still somehow garbage at almost every single one I play, I know what to expect when it comes to any of them that I play, especially when it comes to fighting game sequels. The original Virtua Fighter was already as barebones as it gets when it comes to the content it offered, so I assumed that Virtua Fighter 2 would follow suit, most likely not focusing on changing up the main formula too often, but polishing it to where it would be more approachable and addicting than that of the previous title. Then I got around to playing the game, and while I unfortunately found my assumptions to be correct, I did find that, as a sequel, the game manages to surpass the original in just about every way, and I would say it is a good time. Once again, this certainly won’t be my go-to choice if I were to recommend you a 3D fighting game, but for what we got here, it took what the original game had and made it much better, feeling like an actual game rather than a tech demo.

The story is basically unchanged from the original, so if you were a fan of the lack of story from the original game, fear not, because this game manages to keep that trend up, but that is to be expected from a series like this, the graphics are a MASSIVE improvement from the original game, where the environments look great and have a lot of variety, and the fighters look like actual people rather than blocky masses of nightmare fuel, so that’s great to see, the music is pretty good, having plenty of rocking tunes for you to listen to while watching these 3D puppets mash each other in the face, even if none of the tracks really jump out to me in my mind at the moment, and the gameplay/control is also unchanged from the original game, with there being one or two changes here or there, but for this title, we have yet another “been there, done that, bought that t-shirt” situation here.

The game is a 3D fighting game, where you take control of 11 fighters, such as all of the original fighters from the previous game or two new ones, take on a set of opponents that you will need to take down one by one, throw plenty of punches, kicks, throws, body slams, or whatever else your character can do to deplete your opponent’s HP to zero, make sure to block and dodge at the right times to make sure that you can protect yourself in the process, and… that is still about it. This game sticks very close to its roots in that regard, where it makes sure to not change up the gameplay formula whatsoever, and instead focuses on everything around it to make the game feel more enjoyable and lively. That could be good for those who are big fans of the original, but bad for those who wanted more out of that game, and for me personally……… I mean, it still works pretty well, so I don’t have too much of a problem with it.

The main differences that can be seen in the game comes down to the visuals and the variety with the locations. They are a massive improvement from what we saw in the original game, looking very smooth and detailed for 1994, and while they still move around as gracefully as an early 3D model could (complete with moon jumping), it at least feels like I am actually controlling real people, which is a lot more than I can say for that original game. Not to mention, the stages you have fought in are given a massive upgrade, where in the original game, you pretty much just fought in one stage the entire way through, but here, there are plenty of different areas you fight in, most of them being… a bit generic, but still looking good for the time. Aside from all that though, there isn’t much more to say about the game. There are some new characters, who are fun to mess around with, and there are some versions of the game that allow you to adjust the size and the arena and how much health you have, but other then that, this is pretty much just the same ol’ shit you have come to expect from Virtua Fighter at this point.

So, to mix things up, I figured I would also go ahead and try out the Sega Genesis version of the game as well, not just because it is available to me through the NSO, but also cause I wanna see just how they would take a game like Virtua Fighter, the game SOLELY known for being “the 3D fighter”, and put it on a 2D system. Well, to the surprise of nobody, the game was turned into 2D, with all of the models being fully recreated with 2D sprites fighting in 2D environments, which is impressive enough for a port, and a lot of the music, character animations, and moves do look, feel, and sound a lot like the original version. It is a good enough port of the original game for the Genesis, but if I were given a choice between the two, I would definitely choose the original version over this version any day. Sure, the port does a good enough job at bringing the game to a home console, but one of the defining aspects of this series was that, again, it is 3D, so by removing that aspect of the game, it becomes yet another generic 2D fighter that I wouldn’t play over any other game in the genre like Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat.

But anyway, overall, despite a lack of change in the gameplay and still not being on the same level as some more famous 2D fighters, Virtua Fighter 2 is a definite improvement over the original game in plenty of ways, looking much better, having more variety in both the stages and the characters you can play as, and making the gameplay much more polished and fun despite how limited it is. I would recommend it for those who loved the original game, as well as those who want to check out some of the earlier 3D fighting games out there, because while it may not be able to win you over fully, it could surely provide a fun enough time messing around with it, especially with a friend to join you. Let’s just hope that, for the next game, they actually manage to change things up for a change and-... wait… this series also got game updates like Street Fighter did? annoyed sigh.............. of course, because if Street Fighter did it, then that means EVERYONE has to do it, because it’s such a great idea, right?!

Game #564