Best version of Virtua Fighter

[TheyCallMeTheSwede]

I have got myself a real good debate with myself. I've been thinking of the Virtua Fighters and got me the thinking which one is the best version of the game. To me its a toss up between 2 and 4. I pick 2 because I think that one was a much better game than the first game, its a bit more balanced and it has a bit more polish to it. I personally think 4 is the best one because I think thats when the series was at its peak, especially after the 3rd one which is a big pile of meh to me. I find that one to be the most polished and most well balanced and it does not have that moon physic jump anymore (I can't remember if the third one does too) I am glad they went back with the flat stages then the un-level hill types I always find those unnecessary in those 3D fighting games. I do enjoy 5 but I felt like that game has some things aren't necessarily good like for example Jackie can counter your every punch which I find annoying

So yeah, its a toss up between 2 & 4 with 4 having the slight edge.

[pierrot]

For me it would be a toss-up between 2 and 4 Evo. I think 3 isn't as fondly remembered by people who didn't play it in the arcades because it was released to home console much later than it was intended to be, on the Dreamcast. (That port, itself being delayed beyond the initial release window for the US.) It's still a great VF, and would probably be my VF of choice after 2 or 4 Evo.

[Sload Soap]

Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown is my favourite fighting game this gen. So slick to play, beautiful to look at and just damn fun. Shame bugger all people play it online.

for example Jackie can counter your every punch which I find annoying

Are you referring to his Pak Sao move where he counters a high punch in a neutral stance? Because I think that move is amazing and takes considerable balls to pull off. It looks cool as anything.

I haven't dug into VF4:Evo enough to say whether or not I would prefer it over VF5 though, and VF2 is a stone cold classic. The thing for me though is, if you have a saturn, Fighter's Megamix is probably the premier 3D fighter and that gets more play time than VF2, whereas VF5 knocks all of this gens 3D fighters into a cocked hat. All opinion of course.

It's a pretty great series all round, VF3 serving as a bit of a bete noir, but VF2 and VF5 are the best for me.

Quick question, does anyone know if the recent xbox live port of VF2 is arcade perfect or just a HD master of the saturn game?

[marurun]

I've always thought VF was neglected in the US due to it not being flashy enough. Whereas Tekken is a fine fighter, sure, VF is much more technical, IMO. It is both simpler and more complex (in different ways, of course).

And I do love VF3. The DC port was a little weak (and it shouldn't have been, frankly), but the arcade was helluva popular in Japan when I was there ('98-'99). It was certainly more popular in arcades than Street Fighter III or Street Fighter Alpha 3. I also suck at it and got my ass handed to me quite often.

[CD AGES]

I do enjoy 5 but I felt like that game has some things aren't necessarily good like for example Jackie can counter your every punch which I find annoying.

You better have a MUCH better reason against VF5 especially when you consider that you say to prefer 4 over it and yet Jacky (and even Vanessa for that matter) had a punch counter during neutral stance since VF4. And like someone here already stated, having a human player take advantage of such a counter is a very ballsy move to commit to.

Quick question, does anyone know if the recent xbox live port of VF2 is arcade perfect or just a HD master of the saturn game?

The XBLA port is indeed based on Sega Model 2 code. Not only that but this release gives you access to just about every single revision that the arcade release received during its successful run in that respective market. Not to mention that the port was handled by a quality developer (it was handled by SEGA's Shanghai division if i recall correctly). So yeah, it's arcade perfect or as close you can get to outside of actual arcade hardware.

but the arcade was helluva popular in Japan when I was there ('98-'99). It was certainly more popular in arcades than Street Fighter III or Street Fighter Alpha 3. I also suck at it and got my ass handed to me quite often.

I've always heard this which is pretty awesome to know that it was rather successful in that market at the very least. But VF3 was perhaps the most complex and technical from the whole series mostly as a result of so many for the mechanics and feature that were introduced in that installment... plus it didn't help any that by the time the game got a home release, it was already a pretty dated game and far behind its competitors in various respects.

With all that said though, I personally find it a little hard to chose considering I've had little to no time with VF4 Final Tuned and absolutely no exposure to VF5R. But if I had to choose, I'd say VF4 and VF5.
Sure VF4 Evo is a MUCH better update in just about every respect (with the exception of Vanessa being almost completely retooled to compensate for the new additional Muay Thai practitioner in that game), but the sole reason I invested SO much time into 4 Evo was due to how impressed I was with its predecessor VF4 and how it's that particular game that got me back to playing VF seriously more than ever before. The game's system user interface was so slick. Kumite, while primitive now in its form, truly set the groundwork for completely revolutionizing the single player experience in fighting games. VF looked simply stunning running on NAOMI with amazingly detailed character models and equally impressive stages. Not to mention VF4 had simply the most incredibly awesome Intro sequence I've ever seen from the series.
My 2nd choice would be VF5. I still remember vividly playing it for the first time at the SEGA booth at E3 where the game was unveiled with the SEGA Lindenburg out here in the states to promote its eventual PS3 release. It looked SO visually ahead compared to anything out there at the time. I put so much hours during those 2 days at the event, taking everyone out including the press. Eventually the SEGA booth reps kindly asked if I would stop my win streak and let others play. Of course I accepted and got a bag of Sega swag in return
And yes, VF5 FS is quite and impressive update to say the least. Can't to see what the future holds for the franchise

[ZeroAX]

Virtua Fighter 2 on the Mega Drive. 2D sprite fighters FTW

[Ack]

What? No love in this thread for VF Kids: Java Tea Edition?

On a serious note, I would have to argue in favor of VF2 and VF4(and its Evolution counterpart) for most important, though VF5 for the best overall. While VF got us going, VF2 is really where the series cemented its system and got going. It's bare bones by today's standards, but there are still a lot of intricacies to learn which follow through the rest of the series. It was also my first experience with the series, which I suppose makes me biased.

But while VF2 started me off, and VF3 I played a bit in arcades, it was the home release of VF4 that made me such a fan of the series. VF4 offered so much: a solid cast of characters with varying styles and great gameplay, an excellent training mode that rivals the best in any series, character items to collect and modify your fighter's appearance, the classic arcade and the great Kumite(which I once played for 100 battles straight. Ah, the good old days), and even gameplay videos from respected players showing combos for each character. VF4: Evolution better refined Kumite and added new characters to the mix.

I think VF4 is where the series hit its stride in the US, even though it had done extremely well in the US. VF5 further refined all the additions of VF4, building on the system brought to us from VF2. There's a lot of gameplay in VF5, far more than I could have ever hoped for in a fighting game. There are characters heavily focused on counters, throws, mix-up games, aggressive tactics, defense, punches, kicks, just about everything I could ask for. And nearly all of them are great characters that are fun to learn and play as. And with the arcade mode, and the further expansion of training modes, and the traveling arcade subgame...there is a lot of choice.

And just so it's stated, I play as Lau.

[EvilRyu2099]

I felt that FS was a simplified version of 5 and 4 to gain a bigger install base..

[pierrot]

What? No love in this thread for VF Kids: Java Tea Edition?

You jest, but I honestly went to VF Kids more often than VF2 back in the day. I ultimately like 2 better, though.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I felt that FS was a simplified version of 5 and 4 to gain a bigger install base..

I think with some of the characters, they were simplified, whlie others, like Vanessa were made more complex.

To answer the question, I prefer VF5: Final Shodown as the best version. I enjoy the rhythm, the characters are distinctively different from each other and the game is easy to play, but hard to master. Also, the key purpose of a fighting game is to play against other people and the most recent iteration is your best bet to play against other people. I could go on a tirade on how Virtua Fighter is the best 3D fighter series of all time, but... let's not get into that