Fighting games were, and arguably still are, all the craze in the 90’s. This spurred many companies into dipping their toes into this genre that arcade locations loved to death. Popular titles using “Street” and “Fighter” in the name or at least “Mortal Kombat” in some form proliferated the scene. Sega entered this genre years earlier with Eternal Champions. That series was left in 16-Bit. Virtua Fighter – the world’s first 3D polygon based fighting game was their next foray into the genre. It was great in the arcades but oh so much more special seeing it in the home.

Pure fighting experience

Virtua Fighter takes cues from sumo wrestling and other realistic fighting styles. This sets the game apart from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Rather than going for fancy, inhuman, moves, Sega’s game focused on realism. There were no fireballs, no Dragon Punches and no upside down spinning splits kicks to be found here. Instead, players were greeted with characters that were more challenging to control. Using real martial arts moves that might be seen in movies or at local competitions pushed the realism level higher.

Virtua Fighter bucks trends

Another change of pace from other fighting games is that there is a limited fighting space. This limitation is not like 2D fighting games of the time where you could corner your opponent. No, in Virtua Fighter, you could win the match by forcing your opponent out of the ring entirely. This brought a new mechanic to the fray. Players could not simply become a “turtle” and wait for the perfect time to counter attack. A smart opponent would continue the attack and force their opponent out of the ring for the win.

Another forgotten Sega franchise

This series has spawned many sequels which have had releases as recent as 2012. Sega has continually upgraded the graphics, characters and play style available. Other games that may be of interest to you for more 3D brawling include:

Virtua Fighter sequels (duh) (multiple platforms)
Fighters Megamix (Saturn)
Fighting Vipers (Saturn)
Toshinden (Playstation platforms)

For more fighting fun check these articles out.

Left out of re-releases

Sega has not re-released Virtua Fighter on newer platforms. They have kept the series alive with sequels on many platforms over the years though. For physical copies of the games check eBay or check Amazon.  If you are buying an import copy, most consoles including PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, etc are region locked. That means you will have to either have your console modded or buy an import console (not cheap).  For reference, North American Sega Saturn games came in long box style plastic cases. Japanese games came in jewel cases similar to music CD’s.

If you want to see digital re-releases contact Sega from their website.

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams