Collection essentials #340 & 341: Virtua Fighter (Saturn) & Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)

Another “Virtua two-for-one” post about two different games. 

Launching in arcades in 1993, the first Virtua Fighter game was one of the first fighting games ever to have fully 3D graphics, which was a big deal. It didn’t factor much into the gameplay as players were still restricted to a 2D plane, but it still played great and the game was a big hit. Virtua Fighter 2 would come out the following year, around the same time that the Sega Saturn console was to be released in Japan. And so, Sega made Virtua Fighter a big part of their plans for the Sega Saturn. A port of the first game was the big title to own at launch, and console buyers knew that a port of the second game was coming down the road. These games were the main reason why the Sega Saturn was the company’s best-selling console in its home country, because Japanese gamers went absolutely nuts for Virtua Fighter. For the North American launch, Sega decided to include Virtua Fighter 1 as a pack-in game included with every console, but unfortunately for them Virtua Fighter wasn’t quite as huge over here as it was in Japan. The games were still well received, and Virtua Fighter 2 sold comparatively very well outside Japan compared to other Saturn releases, but it wasn’t enough to get large numbers of people to buy the console.

These games have fairly simple fundamentals, with only three buttons, one for punching, one for kicking, and one for blocking. There are plenty of moves unique to each character that are done by pressing certain buttons along with moving the joystick in certain directions. There are no crazy supernatural powers like shooting beams as you’d see in most other fighting games like Street Fighter. What is supernatural is the jumping, as the characters literally jump like they’re on the moon, super high in the air, and rather slowly. Character fighting styles and somewhat based on real-life fighting techniques. Virtua Fighter 2 doesn’t really change this basic setup, but is another example of a video game sequel being “more and better”. The graphics are far better, and the game was one of the earliest to use motion capture to improve its look. There are more characters, and more moves for the returning characters. 

It should be noted that the Saturn port of Virtua Fighter 1 is not as good as it should have been, being a noticeable downgrade from the arcade version. They did fix this later with a release called “Virtua Fighter Remix” which is much better, though I don’t own that version. With Virtua Fighter 2, they got the port right the first time. There are some compromises in the translation from the arcade original, but nothing too significant, and it’s a darn impressive-looking game considering the Saturn’s limitations.

I don’t have much to say about these games, because I actually haven’t played them a whole lot. I think earlier in life I was much more interested in more over-the-top fighting games with crazy unrealistic moves, and the more plain-looking Virtua Fighter series didn’t seem as appealing to me by comparison. But a few years ago I decided to try out the original Virtua Fighter (the 32X version, actually, back when I owned one) and was surprised by how much fun it was to play! Even though I don’t have a lot of history with these games, I do enjoy them, they were groundbreaking, and they played a crucial role in the life of one of my favorite old school consoles. That’s enough to give them essential status in my book.