Virtua Fighter 5

"The best fighting game on the market but casual players be weary"

Even mentioning the name Virtua Fighter is going to spark debate amongst many serious and casual fighting gamers alike. One thing you can't deny is the amount of depth and the huge learning curve associated with it. Virtua Fighter 5 has finally arrived on the PS3 and the core game is nothing short of spectacular some of the bells and whistles(even some seen in previous versions of the series) are noticeably absent making this game more for the already established crowd of VF die-hards then casual fighting game fans.

Gameplay: 9

The mechanics in this game are second to none. The movelists for each character are impressive, but thats nothing new for most 3D fighters nowadays. You'll want to spend a lot of time going from the quick arcade mode and Dojo before you get into the real meat of single player known as quest mode. Not all is perfect in the game mode department though as a few things from Virtua Fighter 4:EVO have been taken out. First is the Dojo Mode which is essentially your practice mode. What set Virtua Fighter 4 apart from other fighting games at the time was how the training mode actually did more then just provide a list of moves and have you go back and forth between the command list and the game. It offered an option called command training which has you going through each move in a characters vast repertoire automatically queuing the next move once you performed the last. This mode still exists buts its toned down a bit. It no longer keeps track of what moves you have performed, and only certain moves are demoed for you. Its puzzling to say the least. Many of the moves the game gives you a demo for don't require that much skill while some that may require weird timing for which a demo could be useful can't be demoed. Also unlike the previous game it does nothing to teach you the basic gameplay techniques and strategies. You have to open up the manual for that and who does that anymore. Aside from the basic arcade and versus modes, there is VF.TV where you can watch replays and exhibition matches.

As mentioned above Quest mode is back and pretty much the same. You compete in tournaments against simulated top players from Japan and get new items and costumes for your characters. However this time around getting these items takes much longer with money to buy all these cool goodies being very hard to come by. If your a completion-ist you'll definitely spend many hours trying to get all the cool stuff for your characters.

Graphics 10: Truly amazing. Even in Standard Definition this game looks awesome. The animation on the fighters moves is just so much more fluid now. The detail on the different characters is the best in any fighter yet. Clothes, hair and objects act very realistically in this game from swaying hair in the breeze to Lei Fei's garb waving as he executes relentless combos on his opponent, to the super detailed textures on the characters, it's all so beautifully done. The backgrounds look breathtaking. Snow is pushed around as you fight in it(it stays that way through the rounds to);The sunrise peaking over great wall;(which also shows damage from the opponents getting knocked into the ground); even the norther lights are shown in exquisite detail in one stage. These are all just a small example of the the amazing detail put into this game.

Sounds 8: The sounds in the game have stayed consistent from VF4 and while they are not bad they aren't always as loud or explosive as the move they are associated with would seem. Some moves look pretty punishing but the sound is a loud slap rather then the vast majority of Akiras moves which sound awesome and damaging. The Music is a pretty standard affair as well with a few outstanding tracks like Kage's stage or Aoi's stage which are reminiscent of there VF4 counterparts which were better still. Sound design hasn't seemed to change throughout the series and that is neither a bad thing nor an improvement.

Replay 7: Virtua Fighter 5 is a demanding game and those who get into there fighting games will find many hours of enjoyment and probably be playing this till Virtua Fighter 6, but as far a home port of an arcade game goes its pretty bare-bones. While Quest mode is quite extensive in the number of matches and items to get, its a single player experience and most casual fans will just not want to put much work into it to get items and costumes for there customizable character. Especially since you don't really have anyway to show anybody else but those friends that enjoy Virtua Fighter and frequent your home. Since the game is much more demanding of time and effort then others in the genre the list of friends that fit into the Virtua Fighter category are probably dismal. You can't use the PS3 network to share replays or anything of the sort with your fellow Virtua Fighters around the world either. Its all on the hard drive and thats where it will stay. While no online versus wasn't surprising the lack of any kind of data sharing through replays, stats, or even ghost data is disappointing. For instance Virtua Fighter 4 had an AI training mode where you do exactly that. You teach a computer controlled character moves and show them replays of you fighting and they will develop into a force to be reckoned with. You then could save this character and pit it against your friends and see if they could beat it. This mode was also absent from evo but since that was more of an expansion to 4 then a sequel its understandable. This feature could have really been fleshed out more and with the PS3s network capability could of been a great substitution for actual online play.

As was the case with Virtua Fighter 4, Virtua Fighter 5 is for the hardcore gamers first and casual fighting game fans second(a distant second). The lack of options just doesn't help this either. It sports some of the most spectacular visuals yet on the PS3 coupled with one of the most fine tuned and indepth fighting systems. Too bad what makes Virtua Fighter so great is part of what keeps others away. If your a fan of Virtua Fighter you most likely have this game already and if your on the fence perhaps looking for a fighter to really get deep and sink your teeth into Virtua Fighter 5 may just be the game you have been waiting for. Casual fans will continue to ignore and fans will adore Virtua Fighter 5 for what it offers. A perfect arcade port of a fantastic fighting game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/07