#617 Virtua Fighter 1 Prototype Characters (1/4): Siba gameplay.

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AdmiralMcFish - Bosses and Hidden Characters

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Published on March 16, 2017 3:09:37 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPLRG-DObus

Game:

Virtua Fighter (1993)

Duration: 7:38

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Gameplay of the prototype/unused character Siba/Majid/Majido in Sega's Virtua Fighter 1.

These characters were discovered by the user Jed Hudson. You can find his channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkzcAMTCrFh_pEPJn3e4CbQ

If you had told me this time last year that I would have to BACK to VF1, of all games, then I would have called you a liar. But, well, here we are. The amazing Jed Hudson was able to datamine this game, and in doing so discovered a number of prototype/unused characters in the games files.

These are significant for a number of reasons. One, VF as a series is really scant in terms of content. It's the most barebones fighting game out there, and it's always prided itself on being so as well. No hidden characters or hidden matches, no endings, only two new characters per game and always the exact same hidden boss, Dural. So, it's absolutely amazing to see that that wasn't always set in stone.

Indeed, these unplayable characters show that the series could have gone in a different direction entirely, which I'll speak more about in a few videos time. Now, however, one of the most significant things about this is that we can finally play as the elusive Siba.

I should mention upfront that nearly all the prototype characters have the exact same moveset, barring the prototype version of Dural. As a result, they're not too easy to play as, given that it's a very basic test moveset, but they're playable enough nonetheless.

So, Siba, after 23/24 years, is finally playable in the original VF1. Fans of the series will know that Siba was originally intended to be in the game instead of Akira, but was taken out at some unknown point in development. Some cabinets for VF1 even had a picture of Siba on their display case. Well, it turns out he wasn't removed from the game; his models were simply removed from being accessible by a character value. His data still existed, and so Jed was able to force the game to load the prototype characters information in place of another character's, and thereby make them playable. It's pure wizardry, and the guy is nothing less than incredible.

Siba was eventually made playable as a hidden character in Fighters Megamix, of course, but it's still amazing to see him actually be in this game. VF1, a game which is as basic as they come, or was always perceived to be so. Yet it contained these secrets for some 20 odd years. Makes you wonder what else is out there, waiting to be discovered.

So, playing as Siba himself is actually pretty much a novelty. He has a basic, broken moveset, as I said before, and isn't particularly easy to playthrough as. Still, it's amazing that we are at the least able to do this. Siba was a very unique character, and I always thought it was a shame to lose him in the series, so it's quite something to play as him now, if only for the novelty of it. Really quite incredible. What's also interesting is that his name was changed to Majido at some point in development, for a reason no one really knows. I still call him Siba though because, hey, that's why I've been calling him for years now.

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