In the early 1990s, video games were switching to three-dimensional polygonal graphics, and the most impressive examples were in arcades. Sega was at the forefront of that with games from genres ranging from racing to fighting games. The latter of which was exemplified by Sega's 1993 arcade hit Virtua Fighter.
Virtua Fighter, like most fighting games of its era, was light on story. Basically, a bunch of fighters from around the world competed in a tournament to determine the best fighter.
The game did have a rather diverse cast, from Akira Yuki and a jujitsu fighter named Kage-Maru, to the blond-haired Sarah Bryant and her race car-driving brother Jacky Bryant from the United States, a woman named Pai Chan and her father Lau Chan from Hong Kong, a drunken fighter-style warrior named Shun, a First Nations fighter from Canada named Wolf Hawkfield, and an Aboriginal Australian named Jeffry McWild.
Each of the fighters had a unique style. For example, Shun fought in low, semi-crouched positions and Sarah was proficient with kicks. In the single-player mode, the chosen fighter fights through the ranks until he or she reaches and defeats the last fighter. After that, a special stage featured a metallic female fighter named Dural. If defeated by Dural, the game goes straight to the credits, with no chance of a rematch.
Speaking of rematches, the game could be continued right where you left off by putting a quarter in the machine to add a credit and choosing to continue, or by pressing a button to add a credit in the ported and emulated versions for home consoles and computers. In this game, you are not required to continue with the character you just used. Continuing brings you to the character select screen where you can choose any of the fighters to play for the rematch.
Virtua Fighter is an absolute classic. It is primitive by today's standards, but the core game still remains fun if you can overlook the blocky graphics and slow camera pans. The remake on the PlayStation 2, Virtua Fighter: 10th Anniversary Edition, is extremely well done, and it increases the number of characters, has smoother camera movements, and updates the moves to those of Virtua Fighter 4. If the original old-school Virtua Fighter isn't your thing, that version might be your cup of tea instead.
Final Verdict:
4 out of 5
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