"SD fighting at it's peak.."

Introduction : The Variable Geo series , if i recall , started on the PC engine back in 1993. Picture street fighter with an all women cast and a little less variety in each characters personality and you get VG. Since then , the Variable Geo franchise has undergone a few changes... , but there's still hope for a real return to the fighting roots, and VG Max has the ability to realize that.

Story : The story remains the same for each of the games incarnations..it involves the V.G fighting competition in which restaurants select a waitress to fight for their pride in a no-holds-barred fight to the..humiliation . The winner of this tournament gets a cash prize , but if you lose..you'll end up regretting it. Anyway , for the most part there is no story other then to fight through the tournament..though just remember some of the characters relationships and you'll be fine. 7/10

Sound : Decent , actually..it's above average for a fighting game . The standard fireball sounds and screams for attacks are here, plus some decent taunts and victory speeches help some of the characters flesh out beyond the stereotypes they represent. 8/10

Controls : One of my complaints about this game is that you cant change the button commands. Your stuck with the default controls designed into the game unless you have a joystick. However it dosent hinder gameplay too much. The game plays a lot like the Street Fighter Alpha series in respect to combinations and moves , but dont expect too much of a variety of button presses. 6/10

Graphics : Clean , fluid and crisp , the graphics set VG Max apart from most 2D PC fighters. Each character has a variety of animations and seems to link each move as if it happened normally. The stage backgrounds leave a little to be desired , but if you can get past that , you'll find the special techniques and attacks to be a real treat. 10/10

Replayability : Not much to say here , it's a fighting game . You will have some fun going through the game with each character , but if you want some more replay value , i suggest looking towards VG Adventure . 6/10

Overall : VG has always been a personal favorite of mine , mostly because of the art style and characters involved. VG Max was the answer to my desire for a new Variable Geo fighter , and it helped tide me over until i had the money to buy VG Custom and AVG 2 . The graphics alone should give you a reason to try this game , if not that , then the fact that it's one of the few decent SD fighting games out there definatly should! However , i should warn people who buy this game that there are Scenes that , despite the girls are SD , shouldn't be viewed by children. However, if your like me and just dont like the idea of Fanservice , there's a option to turn off the obscure art in favor of random discussion after defeating a opponent. I would recommend this to any anime fan , and a fan of fighting games in general. The premise is great , and as one of the few decent PC Fighters out there, you cant afford to pass it up. 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/04