Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

"Se-ga, the sound of success."

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is everything that Virtua Fighter 4 should have been, and then some. While it isn’t perfect, it’s awfully close. The game’s few minute errors are far outweighed by the innumerable aspects that are done wonderfully. VF 4 Evolution has removed the kumite mode from VF 4, replacing it with the quest mode that takes the best features from it, like the progressive ranking system and the ability to edit your fighters, and adds quite a bit of purpose behind it as well. The AI system mode from VF 4, which enabled you to train a fighter from the ground up is also gone. While this mode’s omission is certainly disappointing, it didn’t add much to VF 4, so I won’t miss it. The many revisions made to the game more than make up for it, and then some. Evolution continues the series’ tradition of bringing in two new characters with every major installment as Brad and Goh join the fray: Each character has a distinct fighting style and sets themselves apart from the rest of the pack.

The quest mode provides the meat and potatoes portion of the gameplay. You go from arcade to arcade, battling opponents along the way in an attempt to gain the money and items needed to customize your character, while at the same time, raising your ranking . The quest mode is an alarmingly deep mode, even by VF standards. The main aspect of the mode comes in the form of the many tournaments you compete, but that’s only half the battle, as to get into the tournament, you have to meet certain criteria. It could range from winning 10 or 15 battles in a row, or having to beat half of the players in that arcade to earn your place in the tournament. My personal favorite requires you to meet four quest orders in order to progress. What are quest orders you ask? They are provisions tacked onto a fight, or series of fights. The quest orders simulate the conditions that players in arcades will sometimes agree upon. IE- a no evading rule to be in effect for a set period of time. These stipulations can help players really improve their game, as they have to work within the set limits of the agreement in order to come out on top. In the case of my four quest orders example, you will really have to step up your game, as they are quite diverse in scope and don’t really give any type of fighter an advantage.

I also love the quest mode because, unlike the kumite mode it replaces, it gives you an actual reason to keep on fighting. In the kumite mode, you would fight and fight and fight, why? To improve your rank and unlock stuff. While this is certainly more reason than most fighters give you to keep on trucking, but it just doesn’t work out all that well when you’re expected to me seemingly obscenely high goals to progress in rank. There was no change in things, you would just go from one fight to another. I love the VF series to death, but even I have to admit that while this mode was great in theory, the execution was off. The quest mode is, for all intents and purposes, the perfect execution of the theory. The quest mode also puts the rank progression aspect on the back burner; instead of making it the foremost goal in the game, it now serves as a nice bragging right. This is certainly a welcome change, as it also allows things introduced in the quest mode, like the tournaments, to take their deserved spotlight in the game.

Playing through the quest mode is a blast thanks to the game’s diverse fighting engine that allows for everyone to have their cake and eat it too. Like fast-paced fighting games? VF’s got you covered with Jacky and Sarah Bryant taking the helm in that role. Are you a fan of methodical fights with lots of strategies and complexities? Akira and Shun Di more than fill those boots. What’s really amazing is that the game can pull off any kind of battle and make it look great. No type of battle will really look worse than any other, inherently anyway, the game’s engine is just that fine-tuned. Don’t let the diverse, and complex, game engine scare you though, the game is a blast once you get the hang of it. For the best results in the game, and to get the most out of it, I strongly recommend becoming at least somewhat proficient in more than one style of fighting due to the depth offered by the game’s engine and the broad amount of attacks and defensive moves in the game.

A trip or two through the training mode, which is the most thorough training mode I can ever recall, will have you up to speed in no time. It breaks down the mechanics of the gameplay to make them easier to digest, you won’t feel swamped by seeing a huge listing of things to learn, just little chunks of info and game techniques to learn bit-by-bit. You can learn them at your own pace, which is nice, as it lets you leave the training mode and try what you’ve learned in actual battle. Once you get into battle, be prepared to have fun. VF 4 Evolution allows you to implement all sorts of strategy in the game, such as carefully sidestepping attacks and then rebounding with an attack of your own. The addition of breakable walls to the fray also makes things interesting, as a single high-powered striking attack can send an opponent into a structure and break it, causing them even more damage. This also leads to a new ring out area in a walled level, which is something to be wary of. Keep a close watch out for your character’s placement in relation to this area, you don’t want to send yourself flying off of the stage due to a simple mistake. The breakable walled fighting areas brought back fond memories of the original Fighting Vipers game, along with Fighter’s Megamix game, which marked the first time that VF characters could fight in a walled-off environment. It also marked the only time that every VF fighting area was created to avoid ring outs, which added a new wrinkle in the traditional VF formula, what with VF being the first game to really make use of ring outs and all.

Now it might seem like this game is all work and no play, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The game has quite a bit of humor thrown in amid the serious fighting. The game is full of Sega fan service, such as one of the tournaments in the game being called the Virtua Cup, after the Virtua Cop series, with the font for the tourney title matching that of the VC games. The game’s initial choice of menu wallpapers (a feature carried over from VF 4, only now made more accessible) is another example, as it features more than just VF art. It now features some nice Sega-wide stuff, such as a picture of a Sega World arcade with Sonic on the face, that brought some nice Sonic-related memories for me. This feature being expanded upon came out of left field, and I’m glad it was done, and made more user-friendly to boot. Another nice little treat lies in the inclusion of the old “Se-ga” sound bite that used to greet you at the startup of the Genesis Sonic games. This was quite a shock, and I was quite surprised to hear it upon starting the 10th anniversary edition of the original Virtua Fighter.

Speaking of which, it is perhaps the ultimate gift to the fans in VF 4 Evolution. This revised version of the arcade classic gives players a chance to play with arcade-perfect character models, something that has never been done before for the game. It also lets you fight as characters who weren’t in the original VF with a character model that blends right in with the game that started this series off with a bang. This remake is a bit disappointing, as it doesn’t give you an option to play as an arcade perfect version of the game, which has never been done before. You can only play as the revamped version, which adds VF 4 Evo moves and attacks to the mix, and also changes the fonts used throughout the game, and alters the character select screen heavily. The lack of moving faces, complete with a sound bit to go along with them, certainly takes some of the charm out of the mode. Thankfully, something aside from the character models of the original VF are still here, as you can choose to play through the game with the original VF’s opponent path left intact. Despite these faults with the mode, it’s still a welcome addition to the game as it does bring back many memories.

The controls mesh very well with the mechanics of the game. Nearly every move in the game, no matter how complex the button combination needed to use it, can be executed with relative ease thanks to the responsive controls in the game. The default button configuration is logical, and is identical to the one featured in VF 4, so if you’ve played that game, you should have no trouble transitioning into this game. For those who aren’t used to the PS2 pad for a VF game, don’t worry. The game’s training mode is great at teaching you which buttons do what during a battle. The game’s manual also lays them out nicely as well. Once you get accustomed to the controls, they should be quite intuitive. The responsiveness of the buttons is key in a game like this, where time is of the essence and precision is needed. In this regard, the game succeeds wonderfully.

Graphically, VF 4 Evolution obliterates every 3D fighting game I can think of for that matter. The game’s look has been smoothed out since VF 4 as all of the jagginess has disappeared. In its’ place are silky-smooth graphics that bring out the best in everything that encompasses them. The game’s many battle areas show off the beautiful graphics quite nicely. Take Jacky’s rooftop stage, it is outfitted with a spotlight-bearing helicopter flying overhead, and has been overhauled from VF 4 to now make the light from the helicopter look more realistic as it bore down on the fighters and the battle area. This may seem like a small thing, but it really adds quite a bit of atmosphere to the game, and shows that true care was taken in regards to the graphics. Jacky’s sister, Sarah, has a nifty little fighting area of her own. Hers features many Roman-style buildings, much like the ones featured in her VF 2 fighting area, only now, they’re being destroyed. As they fall, you can see the dust and debris fall with them. This, combined with the frequent lightning strikes (another similarity to her VF 2 area) combine to make for a very unique, almost frenetic atmosphere.

On the opposite side of the spectrum lies the serene, mountain-laden, temple area, which, thanks to the many breakable tiles on the ground, also shows off the game’s visual wares. As fighters fall onto them, pieces of them, along with some dust, fly off into the air. Each tile in this area has many breaking points in it, and if an entire section of tiles is destroyed, it will lead to a minute change in elevation for whoever steps in the section, much like with VF 3, a change in elevation can mean the difference between hitting an attack and missing one. This level of attention to detail is much-appreciated, as it is lacking in far too many games out there. Jeffrey’s beachside fighting area is one of the most stunning in the game, as it features dramatic sky colors along with glistening water surrounding the sandy fighting area. The water glistens far off in the background, to the point where it is but a faint glimmer at times. Another nice little touch carried over from VF 4 is the ever-changing scenery in the stages.

Much like in SNK’s Fatal Fury games, time passes from round to round, as evidenced by the scenery changes in some stages. For example, in Akira’s dojo stage, the lighting will change as the fight progresses. This change does wonders for the atmosphere of the game, and truly makes every round of battle seem unique when it is used. However, there is a downside to the stages, despite all of the care taken with them, this downside comes in the form of a barely noticeable jittering effect when the camera pans around the level before the fight. Aside from that glaring flaw, the level of care taken with just the battle areas is amazing

The care taken for the game’s characters is even more amazing than the care taken for the stages, if you can believe it. The animation for them is some of the best I have ever seen for a fighting game, it is so fluid, and the transitions from move to move and from fighting stance to attacks are about as flawless as one will find. The characters themselves look fantastic now that they aren’t marred by the jagginess of their VF 4 models. They now look pristine, which matches the animation quite nicely. Sadly, the graphics do feature some flaws. The game’s collision detection is off at times, most notably for kicking attacks, as kicks will connect when they seemingly shouldn‘t have. There are also some issues with ring out detection at times, which is particularly disturbing considering that this gameplay element has been a series hallmark since its‘ inception. Be very careful when fighting near an edge, more so than usual, as the game has cost me a round or two with one of my character’s feet being over the edge and most of the character’s body still being in the fighting area, while both of my opponent’s feet, and body were out of the area. Hopefully, you will be able to avoid this fate, after suffering it more than once, I sure am. Thankfully, these are the only notable graphical downsides, everything else, from the interactive stages, to the Cowboy Bebop-ish intro sequence is fantastic. The latter gives the game a very modern look to it, which is refreshing to see in a VF game.

VF 4’s music is some of the best in the series, with Jacky’s level theme being the most dramatic music I’ve ever heard in the series. The rest of the game’s music ranges from good to great, with a few other memorable songs, like Wolf’s theme that captures the spirit of his caged fighting area and his character quite well. On the whole, the game’s music is the second-best in the series, next to the king of VF music, VF 2, which featured the most diverse music the series has ever seen. The sound effects are just as well done as the music, with a nice blend of realistic sound effects and the series’ classic “whoosh” sound effects that add emphasis to the moves that make use of it. The character voices are just as well-done as ever, they all fit the characters, and spew out lines that are so absurd, you’ll think you’re playing an English SNK fighter. The series has always had a distinct sound to it, and Evolution continues that trend quite well.

VF 4 Evo’s replay value is seemingly limitless, as there is always something you can do in the game. You can go a few rounds with arcade mode for a quick fix. Giving yourself a few sessions in the training mode never hurts, and it’s always fun to unlock things, such as new wallpapers, or, my favorite: videos of Japanese VF 4 Evolution arcade players dominating their competition. I love seeing these vids in the game, as I don’t believe anything like this has been done before. My hat’s off to Sega for including something like this, as it also increases the sense of competition in the game. Wallpapers and the vids are unlocked via the always-enthralling quest mode. The wallpapers alone are reason enough to keep playing through the mode, the videos are icing on the cake.

In the end, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution makes for a great addition to anyone’s game library. Even if you never played a VF game before, give it a shot. It’s only $20 right off the bat, so you’ve got very little to lose, and you will probably at least get your money’s worth out of the game if you come into it with an open mind. If you end up liking this game, go buy the original VF 4 as well, as this game does feature some pretty drastic changes to some of the characters, primarily in play mechanics, but also in appearance, as Vanessa player 1 costume has been taken out in Evo, despite her having it in the 10th anniversary VF 1 and in the quest mode’s intro screen, despite that trivial thing, VF 4 is still worth owning as it provided a blue print for this game to follow and improve upon, plus it had an awesome watery menu system that was style personified.

VF 4 Evolution stands as the new measuring stick for 3D fighting games. The game gives players so much more than most games out there that any game lacking a feature that is in this game will seem inferior by comparison. The game is a finely tuned machine, letting you do so much, yet asking for so little. If you’ve ever been even remotely interested in the series, pick this game up post-haste. It’s the best dollar-for-dollar deal on VF game, barring VF Remix on the Saturn, which Sega sent folks for free. Anyway you slice it, you’re getting one of the best fighting games ever made for just $20 brand-new, not too shabby.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/03, Updated 08/24/03