Game:

Virtua Fighter (1993)

Duration: 10:10

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13

The other disappointing Saturn launch title, largely because of the same reasons as Daytona USA in that the port felt somewhat rushed.

Yet in my honest opinion, I find Virtua Fighter to be somewhat under-rated. Visually it didn't age anywhere near as successfully as with Playstation launch fighter Battle Arena Toshinden or Tekken for that matter but the gameplay had far more depth and precision to it. Past Virtua Fighter's ridiculous moon jumping there is a clear level of effort placed into the game's insistence on using timed strikes and well executed commands in order to win rounds.

Virtua Fighter's gameplay wins me over against button mashers like Tekken 6 (released nearly fifteen years after) because of that. It purposely kept things simple. No fireballs, super combos or unlockable attacks, only truly technical and thought through one-on-one combat. Plus, Virtua Fighter has all the trademark Sega arcade charm of fantastic music and atmosphere that Namco could never hope to achieve in the same way either.

While I can't recommend Virtua Fighter as a Saturn starters title when its far superior sequel is easier to find, cheaper and a deeper fighter in general, I think Virtua Fighter deserves some slack cut out for it. There is alot more to the (seemingly) rudimentary designs of it besides the basic flat shaded polygons and it is one I find myself returning to more often than not, even today.

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