Virtua Fighter (video game)

Image:Virtua Fighter.png vs. Jacky Bryant (arcade)]]

The Virtua label indicates that the onscreen action takes place in a 3D environment; however, movement is restricted to 2D. The graphics were made using wireframe and flat-shaded quad polygons. The game retains the fighting game staple of having multiple characters, each with their own distinctive moves.

In the game's single-player mode, the player faces all eight characters (including a duplicate of the chosen character) in a pre-determined order, followed by a fight with the game's boss, Dural. Each fight is a best-of-three match, and the player has three ways of winning: knocking out the opponent, forcing them out of the ring, or having more health left when time runs out.

Unlike other fighting games of the early 1990s (such as Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat), the game relies on a control stick and only three buttons, punch, kick and guard (block), although different situations and button combinations led to a vast variety of moves for each character. {{clear left}}

{{Further|List of Virtua Fighter characters#Introduced in Virtua Fighter}}

• Akira Yuki—An assistant kung fu teacher from Japan, fights with Bajiquan.
• Pai Chan—A martial arts film star from Hong Kong, fights with Mizongquan.
• Lau Chan—Pai's father and a cook from China, fights with a fictional fighting style {{nihongo|Hǔ Yàn Quán|虎燕拳|Koen-ken|"Tiger Swallow Fist"}}.
• Wolf Hawkfield—A professional wrestler from Canada, fights with professional wrestling maneuvers.
• Jeffry McWild—A fisherman from Australia, fights with Pancratium.
• Kage-Maru ("Kage")—A ninja from Japan, fights with Jujutsu.
• Sarah Bryant—A college student from San Francisco, CA who had been abducted and brainwashed by a criminal organization, fights with Jeet Kune Do (Sega changed her fighting style to "martial arts", which also includes Tae Kwon Do, Savate and Karate as of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution).
• Jacky Bryant—Sarah's older brother and a race car driver also from San Francisco, fights with Jeet Kune Do.
• Dural—A gynoid that is the game's boss character and is Kage's missing mother, Tsukikage. She fights with a mix of all the other characters' styles.

An Arab fighter named Siba was planned, and his character model appeared on some Virtua Fighter arcade cabinets (though, in some cases, Akira's name was placed under his portrait). Siba was originally to be the protagonist of the franchise. He was ultimately dropped, but later appeared in Fighters Megamix. Two other characters were also discovered. One was an early design of Akira Yuki, who was shirtless and wore pants and shoes. The other was a military man named Jeff.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

Once in the Shōwa period, the defunct Japanese army intended to approach Puyi, the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in their effort to take advantages. However, they were defeated by the Imperial guards who used the martial art called Hakkyoku-ken. During World War II, the Japanese army research the mysteries of Hakkyoku-ken to create supersoldiers, developing the ultimate martial art.

Approximately half a century has passed since then, the ultimate World Fighting Tournament is about to start, and all kinds of fighters from around the world engage to determine the world's best. Behind the Tournament, however, there exists an intrigue designed by a sinister syndicate.

The game's development began in 1992, following the development of Virtua Racing.{{cite book |last1=Horowitz |first1=Ken |title=The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games |date=July 6, 2018 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-1-4766-3196-7 |page=293 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qZhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA293 |quote=Work on Sega's ground-breaking 3D fighter began in 1992, using the same Model 1 Pro Board that powered Virtua Racing.}} Virtua Fighter was developed to run on Sega Model 1 arcade hardware,{{cite web|url=http://www.sega-16.com/2010/02/history-of-virtua-fighter|title=Sega-16 – History of: Virtua Fighter}} developed internally at Sega.{{cite web |title=Sega Enterprises Ltd. |url=http://www.real3d.com/sega.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970102114017/http://www.real3d.com/sega.html |website=Real3D |publisher=Lockheed Martin |year=1996 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 1997 |access-date=April 19, 2021}}{{cite web |title=Second Hand Smoke – One up, two down |url=http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html |website=Tom's Hardware Guide |publisher=Tom's Hardware |access-date=April 19, 2021 |date=October 22, 1999 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222220103/http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html |url-status=dead }} According to Sega of Japan's publicity manager, Kurokawa, "We deliberately didn't publicize all the [fighting] moves at the same time but instead revealed them to gamers one at a time by means of the Japanese videogame press."{{cite journal|title=AM2 |journal=Next Generation|issue=4|publisher=Imagine Media|date=April 1995|pages=68–69}} Virtua Fighter also used 3D motion capture technology. Before Virtua Fighter, Sega AM3 simulated 3D using a creative method of sprite scaling on the 1993 arcade fighting game Dark Edge.{{Cite web |title=Dark Edge - Videogame by Sega |url=https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/dark-edge |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Museum of the Game |language=en-US}}

According to Suzuki, an issue during the game's development was performing fast division calculations for 3D operations. The only applications he was aware of performing fast enough divisions at the time were nuclear reactors and space rockets. The team "were working away with craftsmanship equivalent to inscribing 100 words on a single grain of rice" to achieve fast 3D division operations, according to Suzuki.{{cite book |chapter=Yu Suzuki Interview |title=セガハードヒストリア |trans-title=Sega Hard Historia |date=March 2021 |publisher=SB Creative |isbn=978-4-7973-9943-1 |language=ja}} ([https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2021/08/mar-2021-yu-suzuki-interview-sega-hard.html Part 1] and [https://www.phantomriverstone.com/2021/08/march-2021-yu-suzuki-interview-part-two.html Part 2])

An early prototype version of the arcade game featured an Arab fighter called Siba. This early version did not have Akira Yuki, who was added later in development as a replacement for Siba, with Akira becoming the game's protagonist.{{cite news |title=Before Shaheen There Was (Almost) Siba |url=https://hardcoregamer.com/2015/01/01/before-shaheen-there-was-almost-siba/126867/ |access-date=May 30, 2021 |work=Hardcore Gamer |date=January 1, 2015}} This early prototype version was location tested in Japan and then demonstrated at the Amusement Machine Show (AM Show) in August 1993.{{cite magazine |title=Once Again, JAMMA Says "Bigger is Better" |magazine=RePlay |date=October 1993 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=129–150 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-19-issue-no.-1-october-1993-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2019%2C%20Issue%20No.%201%20-%20October%201993/page/129}}{{cite magazine |title=New wave graphics dominate AMS '93 |magazine=Edge |date=September 30, 1993 |issue=2 (November 1993) |pages=16–8 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/b/b9/Edge_UK_002.pdf#page=16}}

Virtua Fighter was a launch game for the Sega Saturn,{{cite magazine|title=Sega's Saturn Launched in Japan|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=65|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=December 1994|page=60}} and served as the pack-in launch game in North America.{{cite magazine|title=Sega Hopes to Run Rings Around the Competition with Early Release of the Saturn|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=72|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=July 1995|page=30}} Its Sega 32X version was developed by the same team responsible for the Genesis port of Virtua Racing.{{cite journal|title=Virtua Short Stories|journal=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine|issue=1|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=October 1995|page=117}}

Virtua Fighter Remix was an update of the original Virtua Fighter with higher-polygon models, texture mapping, and some gameplay changes. It was given free to all registered Saturn owners in the United States via mail.{{cite journal|last=Kalinske |first=Tom |title=Saturn Savaged on the Net: Tom Kalinske Strikes Back|journal=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine|issue=1|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=October 1995|page=115}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402164749/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sega+%22Knocks+Out%22+Sega+Saturn+owners+with+free+Virtua+Fighter+Remix...-a017119903|title=Sega "Knocks Out" Sega Saturn owners with free Virtua Fighter Remix giveaway.|website=Business Wire|publisher=Berkshire Hathaway|archive-date=April 2, 2016|access-date=August 10, 2019|via=The Free Dictionary|url-status=live}} It had an arcade release on the ST-V (an arcade platform based on the Sega Saturn) and later ported to Microsoft Windows as Virtua Fighter PC.{{cite magazine|title=NG Alphas: Sega Entertainment |magazine=Next Generation|issue=22 |publisher=Imagine Media|date=October 1996|page=103 |quote=One of the first titles to appear is Virtua Fighter PC, which has more in common with VF Remix than the original.}} In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their August 1, 1995, issue as being the twenty-first most-successful arcade game of the month.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=500|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=August 1, 1995|page=25|lang=ja}}

With the 2003 PlayStation 2 release of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution arriving in time for the series' tenth anniversary, a remake of Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary, was released on the PlayStation 2. While the music, stages and low-polygon visual style were retained from the first game, the character roster, animations, mechanics and movesets were taken from Evolution. In the previous PS2 release of Virtua Fighter 4, a button code would make the player's character look like a Virtua Fighter model. In Japan, the game was included as part of a box set with a book called Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary: Memory of a Decade and a DVD. The box set was released in November 2003 and was published by Enterbrain.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/10/10/virtua-fighter-10th-anniversary-hits-japan|title=Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary Hits Japan|date=October 10, 2003|work=IGN|publisher=Ziff Davis|access-date=May 19, 2013}} In North America, the game was included in the home version of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, and in Europe it was only available as a promotional item; it was not sold at retail.

Sega began location testing an early prototype version in Japan prior to the game's demonstration at the Amusement Machine Show (AM Show) in August 1993. Sega reported it to be their highest-earning location test performance of all time, with each test machine earning a daily average of {{JPY|60,000}} or {{US$|600|long=no|1993}}. At the 1993 AM Show, it was rated the "hit of the show" by many visitors. In Japan, Game Machine listed Virtua Fighter on their January 1, 1994, issue as being the most-popular upright/cockpit arcade game for the previous two weeks.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=464|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=January 1, 1994|page=35|lang=ja}} It went on to become Japan's highest-grossing arcade game of 1994,{{cite magazine |title=Best Videos '94: "Puyo Puyo", "Ridge Racer" DX |magazine=Game Machine |issue=487 |publisher=Amusement Press, Inc. |date=January 1–15, 1995 |page=36 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19950101p.pdf#page=19}} and one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time in Japan.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/Ultimate_Future_Games_Issue_02_1995-01_Future_Publishing_GB#page/n27/mode/2up |title=Ultimate Future Games – Issue 02 (1995-01)(Future Publishing)(GB) |website=Archive.org |date=January 1995 |access-date=March 11, 2016}} According to Next Generation magazine in 1995, Virtua Fighter was "the biggest game in Japan since Super Mario World."{{cite magazine |title=The Art of Virtua Fighter |magazine=Next Generation |date=October 24, 1995 |issue=11 (November 1995) |page=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-011/page/n1/mode/2up}} In North America, RePlay reported Virtua Fighter to be the sixth most-popular upright arcade game in February 1994,{{cite magazine|title=Player's Choice – Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Upright Videos|magazine=RePlay|volume=19|issue=5|publisher=RePlay Publishing, Inc.|date=February 1994|page=6}} and it went on to be one of America's top five highest-grossing arcade video games of 1994. In the United Kingdom, it was the second top-grossing arcade game in London during early 1994 (below Ridge Racer),{{cite magazine |title=Arcade Action |magazine=Computer and Video Games |publisher=Future Publishing |location=United Kingdom |issue=149 (April 1994) |date=March 15, 1994 |pages=82–6 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/7/7f/CVG_UK_149.pdf#page=82}} and went on to be one of the most popular coin-ops of the year.

Virtua Fighter sold more than 40,000 arcade units worldwide by 1996,{{cite news |title=Virtua Fighter Kids: New Sega Saturn game is way "a-head" of its time |url=https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_1996-09-03:_Virtua_Fighter_Kids:_New_Sega_Saturn_game_is_way_%22a-head%22_of_its_time |access-date=October 11, 2021 |publisher=Sega of America |date=September 3, 1996}} with each unit costing between {{US$|15,000|long=no|1993|round=-3}} and £14,000 / {{US$|{{To USD|14|GBR|year=1993|round=yes}},000|long=no|1993|round=-3}}. Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 (1994) became Sega's best-selling arcade games of all time, surpassing their previous record holder Out Run (1986).{{cite book |author=Famitsu DC |author-link=Famitsu DC |url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:Sega_Arcade_History_JP_EnterBrain_Book.pdf&page=14 |title=セガ・アーケード・ヒストリー |trans-title=Sega Arcade History |chapter=Interview: Akira Nagai — SEGA Representative |series=Famitsu Books |publisher=Enterbrain |date=February 15, 2002 |pages=20–23 |language=ja |isbn=978-4-75770790-0 |access-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-date=August 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820193203/https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3ASega_Arcade_History_JP_EnterBrain_Book.pdf&page=14 |url-status=live}} ([http://shmuplations.com/akiranagai/ Translation] by Shmuplations. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807024817/http://shmuplations.com/akiranagai/ |date=August 7, 2020 }}).

Following its demonstration at the 1993 AM Show, Virtua Fighter received a positive industry reception. RePlay magazine called "the adaptation of 3-D polygon graphics to video fighting games" a "sensational development that could define and revitalize this already-hot category." California Games CEO Pat Schroeder said Virtua Fighter "was by far the dawn of a new era of games" with praise for the "computerized 3-D graphics with effects that are unreal" and how it "shows the fighting action" from different angles. Edge magazine called Virtua Fighter "a tantalising glimpse into the future of fighting games employing the same ground-breaking CG computer graphics system as Virtua Racing." While criticizing the appearance of the "excessively blocky polygonised people," Edge said "the 3D scrolling, animation and movement are all silky-smooth and very realistic" and that "the fluid animation and imaginative camera angles quickly won the audience over." Electronic Gaming Monthly hailed Virtua Fighter as a demonstration of "just how far video games have come in the last eight years." EGM made particular note of the advanced graphics, how the camera moves along different axes depending on the fighters' location, the use of multiple viewpoints in the instant replay, the high quality of the gameplay, and the smoothness and realism of the animation.{{cite magazine|title=Virtua Fighters|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=51|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=October 1993|page=66}}

In January 1994, Rik Skews of Computer and Video Games magazine, after playing for 1 hour, initially praised the "brilliant 64-bit" 3D graphics, animation and camera work but compared the gameplay unfavorably to Street Fighter II. Computer and Video Games was later more positive towards the gameplay, stating in December 1994 that the game "combined cutting edge arcade technology with motion capture techniques and some excellent gameplay design." Next Generation said in 1995 that it epitomized Yu Suzuki's "skill of finding the perfect blend of state-of-the-art technology with solid gameplay" in "the cut-throat world" of arcades.

The console port of Virtua Fighter, which was very close to the arcade game, sold at a nearly 1:1 ratio with the Saturn hardware during the Japanese launch.{{cite book |last=Kent |first=Steven L. |author-link=Steven L. Kent |title=The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World |year=2001 |publisher=Prima Publishing |location=Roseville, California |isbn=0-7615-3643-4 |page=502}} The Future Publishing magazine Ultimate Future Games called Virtua Fighter the "game that killed" the 16-bit machines. The Saturn version sold 630,000 units in Japan, while Remix sold a further 437,036 units there in 1995, for a combined total of 1,067,036 units sold for the Saturn in Japan.{{cite web |title=Game Search |url=https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/game-search |website=Game Data Library |publisher=Famitsu |access-date=September 17, 2021}}

On release of the Saturn version, Sega Saturn Tsūshin scored the game a 38 out of 40.SegaSaturn GameCross Review: バーチャファイター. Sega Saturn Tsūshin. No.1. Pg.6. December 2, 1994. Famicom Tsūshin would score the same version a 36 out of 40 five months later.おオススメ!! ソフト カタログ!!: バーチャファイター. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.335. Pg.114. May 12–19, 1995. Computer and Video Games reviewed a Japanese import in December 1994, stating "the last machine to generate so much interest in this office was the arrival of" the Super Famicom with Super Mario World. Steve James praised the "superlative" moves, "amazingly crisp" sound samples, and "totally realistic" action; Mark Patterson, while criticizing the high UK import price of {{£|70–80|long=no|link=yes}} ({{US$|{{To USD|70|GBR|year=1994|round=yes}}–{{To USD|80|GBR|year=1994|round=yes}}|long=no}}), concluded with "credit to Sega for producing an excellent machine, and even more to AM2 for its near-perfect conversion of this fantastic game." In a review of the Japanese release, GamePro praised the retention of the fighters, moves, varying camera angles, and controls of the arcade version, as well as the improved voice and sound effects and home version options, and concluded it to be "one of the best games ever bundled with a system".{{cite magazine|title=Saturn ProReview: Virtua Fighter|magazine=GamePro|issue=68|publisher=IDG|date=March 1995|page=31}} Their later review of the North American release was similarly laudatory, but remarked that Tekken and Battle Arena Toshinden for the soon-to-launch PlayStation were even better.{{cite magazine|title=ProReview: Virtua Fighter|magazine=GamePro|issue=83|publisher=IDG|date=August 1995|page=48}} Next Generation, which also reviewed the game prior to the Saturn's USA launch, disagreed, contending that "What Virtua Fighter lacks in [Battle Arena] Tohshinden{{'}}s immediate graphical punch, it makes up for in grinding longevity." They particularly praised the game's depth and realism, and summarized that "The Saturn Virtua Fighter is, to all intents and purposes, the coin-op game brought home. And away from the arcade, under the harsh light of unhurried examination, its merits grow."{{cite journal|title=Virtua Fighter |journal=Next Generation|issue=4|publisher=Imagine Media|date=April 1995|page=88}}

Maximum gave it five out of five stars, calling it "a stunningly close conversion that is quite possibly the best game available for the machine." They remarked that the innovations such as the 3D motion capture remained impressive, as well as the depth and variety of the character's gameplay application: "every fighter has almost limitless scope for coming up with all-new attacks." They also praised the "very clever mixture of superbly exaggerated sound effects coupled with a tangible, realistic impact for every blow."{{cite journal|title=Virtua Fighter|journal=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine|issue=1|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=October 1995|pages=142–3}} Electronic Gaming Monthly were more subdued in their reaction, but two of their four reviewers commented that it was nearly identical to the arcade version. They scored it 31.5 out of 40 (average 7.875 out of 10).{{cite magazine|title=Review Crew: Virtua Fighter|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=72|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=July 1995|page=38}} Edge rated the Saturn version 9/10, stating: "Saturn Virtua Fighter has all the pulling power of the arcade version, including the swooping, gliding game camera, the stylish polygon characters, the totally convincing animation and the compulsive gameplay ... [The graphics] were impressive enough in the original, but on the Saturn, under the kind of intense scrutiny you can never give a game in the arcades, they emerge as simply astounding ... It's arguably the first true 'next generation' console game, fusing the best aspects of combat gameplay with groundbreaking animation and gorgeous sound".{{cite web|title=Virtua Fighter Review|url=http://www.edge-online.com/review/virtua-fighter-review/|publisher=Edge Online|date=December 22, 1994|access-date=January 22, 2014}}

Sega Saturn Magazine gave Virtua Fighter Remix five out of five stars, saying that it fixed the glitches and graphics of the original game while maintaining the already excellent gameplay.{{cite journal|title=Review: Virtua Fighter Remix + CG Portrait Collection|journal=Sega Saturn Magazine|issue=1|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=November 1995|page=94}} Electronic Gaming Monthly scored Remix 29 out of 40 (average 7.25 out of 10). The reviewers praised all the game's improvements, but most of them concluded that it was still not worth buying for players who already owned the original game.{{cite magazine|title=Virtua Fighter Remix Review|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=76|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=November 1995|page=46}} Maximum likewise praised the quality of the game and its low price tag, but felt it was not worth buying, with the release of the even better Saturn conversion of Virtua Fighter 2 less than a month away. They scored it four out of five stars.{{cite journal|title=Maximum Reviews: Virtua Fighter Remix|journal=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine|issue=2 |publisher=Emap International Limited|date=November 1995|page=143}} The staff of Next Generation gave it five out of five stars, applauding the graphical improvements and glitch fixes. They commented: "Perhaps never in videogame history has a problem such as Virtua Fighter been so quickly and thoroughly corrected. Virtua Fighter Remix contains all the great gameplay of the original without any of the weak spots."{{cite journal|title=Reassuring|journal=Next Generation|issue=10|publisher=Imagine Media|date=October 1995|page=113}} Scary Larry of GamePro gave the game a highly positive review for its graphical enhancements and retention of all the excellent gameplay of the original Saturn version. GamePro also ran two reader-submitted reviews for the game; King Kane argued that the graphical and audio improvements make the game worth trying even for those who are not fans of Virtua Fighter, while Tricky Ricky argued that though the game is an impressive upgrade, the lack of changes to the gameplay make its appeal quickly fade.{{cite magazine|title=ProReview: Virtua Fighter Remix|magazine=GamePro|issue=87|publisher=IDG|date=December 1995|pages=72–73}} Famicom Tsūshin scored Virtua Fighter Remix a 35 out of 40,NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: バーチャファイター リミックス. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.344. Pg.31. July 21, 1995. and the Sega 32X version of the game a 30 out of 40.NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: バーチャファイター. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.358. Pg.30. October 27, 1995. Next Generation reviewed the arcade version of the game, and stated that "The drawback of all Titan games, including Remix, is that the technology isn't as advanced, fast, or powerful as Model 2B [...] and these games are really like playing fast Saturn games in the arcade."

Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the 32X version 30.5 out of 40 (average 7.625 out of 10), calling it an excellent conversion given the system it's on, but dated next to the graphically superior Saturn version and especially Virtua Fighter Remix, both of which had already been released.{{cite magazine|title=Virtua Fighter Review|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=75|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=October 1995|page=36}} GamePro also noted that the 32X version suffers from more slowdown and fewer polygons than the Saturn version, as well as "tinny sound quality", but praised the additional options not included in the Saturn version and rated it as an overall strong port.{{cite magazine|title=ProReview: Virtua Fighter|magazine=GamePro|issue=86|publisher=IDG|date=November 1995|page=66}} A critic for Next Generation similarly said that the 32X version is not as impressive looking as the Saturn version but has more options and fewer glitches, making it an overall excellent port. He argued that the game was not worth buying a 32X for, since the system was not powerful enough to handle ports of Virtua Fighter Remix or Virtua Fighter 2 (which was soon to be released for the Saturn), but that it was an essential purchase for those who already own a 32X.{{cite journal|title=Un-X-Pected!|journal=Next Generation|issue=11|publisher=Imagine Media|date=November 1995|page=177}}

In 1995, Flux rated the arcade version 16th in its Top 100 Video Games. At the time, they called Virtua Fighter: "The most satisfying fighter in existence."{{Cite journal |date=April 1995 |title=Top 100 Video Games |url=https://archive.org/details/flux-issue-4/page/n25/mode/2up |journal=Flux |publisher=Harris Publications |issue=4 |pages=27}} In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Virtua Fighter PC the 121st-best computer game ever released.{{cite magazine | author=Staff | title=150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1996 | issue=148 | pages=63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98 }} In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Virtua Fighter eighth on their "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10."{{Cite journal |date=July 1996 |title=The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cf/GamesMaster_UK_044.pdf |journal=GamesMaster |issue=44 |pages=76}}

{{See|Virtua Fighter}}{{See also|Fighting game#Emergence of 3D fighting games (mid-to-late 1990s)}}

Virtua Fighter dispensed with sprite-based graphics, replacing them with flat-shaded polygons rendered in real-time, by the Model 1's 3D-rendering hardware, allowing for effects and technologies that were impossible in sprite-based fighters, such as characters that could move in three dimensions, and a dynamic camera that could zoom, pan and swoop dramatically around the arena. It has been credited with both introducing and popularizing the use of polygon-based 3D graphics in fighting games.{{cite web|title=Virtua Racing – Arcade (1992)|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/15influential/p13_01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412225953/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/15influential/p13_01.html|archive-date=April 12, 2010|work=15 Most Influential Games of All Time|publisher=GameSpot|access-date=January 19, 2014|year=2001|url-status=dead}}{{cite magazine|title=Future Fights: A Looking Glass into Tomorrow's Fighting Games|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=68|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=March 1995|pages=91–93}}{{cite journal|title=Tekken 2|journal=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine|issue=1|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=October 1995|page=21|quote=At the end of 1993, the genre was re-defined by Sega's Virtua Fighter, which introduced stunningly animated 3D polygon fighters that greatly excited arcade gamers.}} Next Generation said in 1995 that Virtua Fighter was "arguably the most significant game" of the 1990s. 1UP listed it as one of the 50 most important games of all time. They credited Virtua Fighter for creating the 3D fighting game genre, and more generally, demonstrating the potential of 3D polygon human characters (as the first to implement them in a useful way), showing the potential of realistic gameplay (introducing a character physics system and realistic character animations), and introducing fighting game concepts such as the ring-out and the block button.{{cite web|title=Classic 1UP.com's Essential 50|url=http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-virtua-fighter|website=1UP.com|access-date=July 24, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019134155/http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-virtua-fighter|archive-date=October 19, 2013}}

At a time when fighting games were becoming increasingly focused on violence and shock value, the popularity of Virtua Fighter demonstrated that fighting games focused on gameplay were still commercially viable. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto said that for several years after Virtua Fighter was released he was disinterested in making fighting games because he felt that "I was beaten to the punch when Virtua Fighter came out", and that any fighting game he produced would have been perceived as an attempt to copy Virtua Fighter.{{cite magazine |title=Inside the Mind of Shigeru Miyamoto|magazine=GamePro|issue=114|publisher=IDG|date=March 1998|page=55}} Game designer Yasuyuki Oda remarked that he was impressed by this video game while working for SNK.{{cite web|url=http://www.famitsu.com/news/201512/10094237.html|title=『ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XIV』プロデューサーインタビュー！ 最新作は新旧スタッフが総力を挙げて開発(1/2)|date=December 10, 2015 |publisher=Famtisu|access-date=December 11, 2015}} In particular, Virtua Fighter garnered praise for its simple three-button control scheme, with the game's strategy coming from the intuitively observed differences between characters that felt and acted differently rather than the more ornate combos of two-dimensional competitors. Virtua Fighter's fluid animation and relatively realistic depiction of distinct fighting styles gave its combatants a lifelike presence considered impossible to replicate with sprites.{{cite book|last=Mott|first=Tony|title=1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die|year=2013|publisher=Universe Publishing|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-7893-2090-2|pages=226, 250|quote=Virtua Racing ... was perhaps the first to treat polygons not as a graphical gimmick but as an opportunity to expand the boundaries of traditional driving games ... It's like witnessing the discovery of fire ... [Virtua Fighter] establish[ed] the template that future 3-D fighters would follow}}{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Steven L.|author-link=Steven L. Kent|title=The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World|year=2001|publisher=Prima Publishing|location=Roseville, California|isbn=0-7615-3643-4|pages=501–502}}{{cite web|title=Virtua Fighter Review |url=http://www.edge-online.com/reviews/virtua-fighter-review/ |work=Edge |date=December 22, 1994 |access-date=March 5, 2015 |quote=Virtua Fighter's 3D characters have a presence that 2D sprites just can't match. The characters really do seem 'alive', whether they're throwing a punch, unleashing a special move or reeling from a blow ... The Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is an exceptional game in many respects. It's arguably the first true 'next generation' console game, fusing the best aspects of combat gameplay with groundbreaking animation and gorgeous sound (CD music and clear samples). In the arcades, Virtua Fighter made people stop and look. On the Saturn, it will make many people stop, look at their bank balance and then fork out for Sega's new machine. Over to you, Sony. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210173015/http://www.edge-online.com/reviews/virtua-fighter-review/ |archive-date=December 10, 2014 }}

Virtua Fighter played a crucial role in popularizing 3D polygonal graphics.{{cite web|last=Leone|first=Matt|url=http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-virtua-fighter|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719110526/http://www.1up.com/features/essential-50-virtua-fighter|archive-date=July 19, 2012|title=The Essential 50 Part 35: Virtua Fighter|work=1UP.com|year=2010|access-date=December 10, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last=Donovan|first=Tristan|title=Replay: The History of Video Games|publisher=Yellow Ant|year=2010|page=267|isbn=978-0956507204|quote=One of the key objections to 3D graphics that developers had been raising with Sony was that while polygons worked fine for inanimate objects such as racing cars, 2D images were superior when it came to animating people or other characters. Virtua Fighter, Suzuki's follow-up to Virtua Racing, was a direct riposte to such thinking ... The characters may have resembled artists' mannequins but their lifelike movement turned Suzuki's game into a huge success that exploded claims that game characters couldn't be done successfully in 3D ... Teruhisa Tokunaka, chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, even went so far as to thank Sega for creating Virtua Fighter and transforming developers' attitudes.}} Some of the Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) staff involved in the creation of the original PlayStation video game console credit Virtua Fighter as inspiration for the PlayStation's 3D graphics hardware. According to SCE's former producer Ryoji Akagawa and chairman Shigeo Maruyama, the PlayStation was originally being considered as a 2D focused hardware, and it was not until the success of Virtua Fighter in the arcades that they decided to design the PlayStation as a 3D focused hardware.{{cite magazine|last=Feit|first=Daniel|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/09/how-virtua-fighter-saved-playstations-bacon/|title=How Virtua Fighter Saved PlayStation's Bacon|magazine=Wired|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=October 9, 2014 |quote=Ryoji Akagawa: If it wasn't for Virtua Fighter, the PlayStation probably would have had a completely different hardware concept.}} Toby Gard also cited Virtua Fighter as an influence on the use of polygon characters—and the creation of Lara Croft—in Tomb Raider: "It became clear to me watching people play Virtua Fighter, which was kind of the first big 3D-character console game, that even though there were only two female characters in the lineup, in almost every game I saw being played, someone was picking one of the two females."{{cite magazine|last=Thomason|first=Steve|title=The Man Behind the Legend|magazine=Nintendo Power|volume=19|issue=205|date=July 2006|page=72}} cf. {{cite interview|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1410480.stm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021215074846/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1410480.stm|title=Q&A: The man who made Lara|first=Toby|last=Gard|subject-link1=Toby Gard|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=June 28, 2001|access-date=July 12, 2016|archive-date=December 15, 2002|url-status=live}} John Romero also cited Virtua Fighter as a major influence on the creation of 3D first-person shooter Quake.{{cite magazine|magazine=Next Generation|issue=30|date=June 1997|pages=9–12|title=Does John Romero Still Enjoy Shooting People?|url=https://archive.org/stream/NextGeneration30Jun1997/Next_Generation_30_Jun_1997#page/n9/mode/2up}}{{citation|title=Edge|issue=45|date=May 1997|quote=My original idea was to do something like Virtua Fighter in a 3D world, with full-contact fighting, but you'd also be able to run through a world, and do the same stuff you do in Quake, only when you got into these melees, the camera would pull out into a third-person perspective. It would’ve been great, but nobody else had faith in trying it. The project was taking too long, and everybody just wanted to fall back on the safe thing – the formula.}} Team Ico's Fumito Ueda also cited Virtua Fighter as an influence on his animation work.[https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2016/11/18/watch-the-last-guardians-spectacular-new-cg-trailer/ Watch The Last Guardian’s spectacular new CG trailer], PlayStation Blog, PlayStation Network

• Fighting Vipers, also by Sega

Other early 3D fighters:

• Battle Arena Toshinden
• FX Fighter
• Tekken
• Zero Divide

{{Reflist}}

{{Notelist}}

• {{KLOV game|id=10328}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19961220034609/http://www.sega.com/segapc/downloads/games/vfighter.html Demo of Virtua Fighter PC] for Windows 95 hosted by Sega of America

{{Virtua Fighter series|state=expanded}}

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