Virtua Fighter 2

"Interesting port of a classic game"

Introduction- The Virtua Fighter series is possibly my favorite tournament fighting series ever, followed closely by Tekken, then Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Needless to say, when I learned of a Genesis port of Virtua Fighter 2, I was obviously surprised. This was before I was big into the series, and even then I knew that this shouldn't be a game the Genesis could do. Released in 1996 when the system was pretty much dead (having been discarded in favor of the Playstation, Sega Saturn, or Nintendo 64), the resulting game is interesting to say the least, and while it can't compare to the arcade or Sega Saturn versions, it does manage to be a decent (and definitely unique) fighter.

Gameplay (8/10)- Actually, not too bad. The one thing that made me like Virtua Fighter more than other fighters was that it wasn't random button mashing, there was some strategy involved, and this game presents that strategy about as good as it can. Simply pounding on the punch button won't take out some enemies, you have to figure what's going to cause damage and what won't. All in all, I enjoyed playing through this game, which is something I can only say for maybe 3 other Genesis tournament fighters (Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition).

Story (5/10)- This is a tournament fighter! You're expecting a real story?! HA! If you're looking for deeper insight into the character's lives, look elsewhere.

Graphics (7/10)- The original Virtua Fighter II was 3D, the Genesis was not a 3D system, therefore it stands to reason that this is a 2D port of the original. I really wish they would've given this game the same treatment they gave Virtua Racing. Can you imagine how cool this would have been if they had used the extra chip? Oh well.

Actually, saying this game is strictly 2D is not entirely true. It's mostly true, but there's an exception. They did attempt to give it the look of a 3D game. The faces during the character selection screen look good, but you'll only really notice the attempt during actual gameplay. For example, when you jump, the ground will kind of raise, as if to simulate you lifting off of the ground. It's hard to explain in words, you really do have to see it for yourself, it looks pretty cool, and helps set this apart from other 2D fighters.

As for the character graphics, they're strictly in the Street Fighter II vein. Bright and colorful, fairly well detailed. Not the best seen on the Genesis, but they look about as close to their arcade counterparts as they're going to get.

Sound (6/10)- Voice samples aren't all that good, sound effects weren't the strongest point of the Genesis. The music is strictly by the numbers, nothing remarkable or groundbreaking, it's just there to get you pumped up and little else.

Replayability (7/10)- It's okay to play through this game every once in awhile, but two players are definitely better than one. The replayability isn't better than Street Fighter II: SCE or Mortal Kombat II, but it is replayable, which is more than can be said about a lot of other Genesis fighters.

Final Recommendation- Believe it or not, this is my favorite Genesis tournament fighter for a few different reasons. First off, that cool 3D effect they tried, it really did help keep this game from becoming stricly a 2D cart. And second, the fact that this shouldn't have been attempted, but was, and as a result makes this cart very unique. It's not just another by-the-numbers fighter, this is Virtua Fighter! It's not the definitive version by any means, but it is good, and I like it a lot more than Virtua Fighter PC (which was so bad I sold it). If for nothing else, give this game a try, or at least pick it up for collector's sake. It shouldn't be too much nowadays. It proves that though the system was dead at the time, the Genesis could still surprise people.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/03