The Return of Virtua Fighter, final part

In the previous blog I talked about how important Virtua Fighter, and the 3D revolution was for the gaming industry. I highlighted the precursors from the ‘80s including Karate Champ, and Yie Ar Kung-Fu that set the stage for the modern fighting game. I also talked about the mortality of the pioneers, and how it was important to pass the torch to new directors, and producers. This would help ensure their survival in the long-run. I was extremely happy with the announcement at the 2024 Game Awards about seeing a new Virtua Fighter. There were however a few problems for Sega. First off if you weren’t a 50-year-old Generation-Xer like me then it wasn’t really a major announcement. Millennials, and Gen-Zers didn’t grow up in the arcades, nor did their kids. To them fighters were always on home consoles, and in 3D. They had always had online matchmaking, frame data, and rollback code. Players today had countless choices on every platform imaginable. How could you make a fighting game rooted in realistic arts more interesting than Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, Tekken, or Mortal Kombat? The answer might lay in making a new Virtua Fighter a modern fast-tempo modern experience. I would argue the opposite.

It was crucial, and necessary that the developers at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio would slow down the game. I don't mean the fighting itself, but everything surrounding the build up to the fight. Adventure titles had slowed down the action, but not the difficulty or challenge in the past 20 years. The biggest studios were creating living, breathing worlds that you could spend 40+ hours exploring. The evolution of the From Software “Souls” games, Sony’s God of War titles, or Rockstar’s GTA, and Red Dead Redemption had all changed the pacing of AAA titles. The latest Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat games also slowed down the experience so you could savor the worlds they were set in. I had no doubt that Virtua Fighter would also get the same treatment. Yet unlike the aforementioned games it was actually part of Yu Suzuki’s long term vision. I didn’t understand it when I was younger, and could only now appreciate what he had been trying to do for the past 30 years.

Yu Suzuki had poured tremendous insight into every game he created for Sega. The thing about his fighters was how much he appreciated, and almost mythologized the Chinese martial arts. It was evident in the styles he assigned Akira, Lau, and Pai in the original VF. It was why even though Akira was younger, and stronger than most of the characters, at the end of the first tournament it was Lau Chan that was victorious. Akira still had a ways to go before he could topple the older master. Upon hearing the news that Lau Chan had bested the new crop of fighters the even older Shun Di decided to throw his hat into the ring. Seeing the bearded master do his thing in the opening animation of VF2 surprised the arcade visitors. Only in Mr. Suzuki's world did it make sense that two elderly Chinese fighters could beat people half their age. As the sequels came out he would incorporate other arts from around the world. Such as sumo, judo, and aikido from Japan. Lucha libre from Mexico, Muay Thai from Thailand, and Vale-Tudo from Brazil. He would always return to China for the most colorful techniques, including Praying Mantis, Drunken Fist, Shaolin, and Monkey Kung-Fu. 

There was no escaping the impact of the Chinese martial arts with the birth of fighting games. Everything from legendary kung-fu masters, to the more popular Hong Kong cinema influenced a great number of fighting game designers that came from Capcom, as well as SNK, but also the team at Midway that created Mortal Kombat in the USA. It was almost impossible to create any sort of martial arts title without featuring a number of classic Chinese elements. The fighting styles, fashion, and history had been sprinkled throughout Japanese history. Even in pop culture, kung-fu heroes had always been a part of manga, and anime. The early ‘80s featured a lot of the fashion, and arts from China including the Himalayas. Iron Fist Chimi debuted in 1983, Genma Wars Harmagedon was an animated movie from 1983. Which was created from an older manga which began in 1967. One of the characters in Harmagedon named Tao inspired the creation of Chun-Li. 3x3 Eyes, and Ranma 1/2 first appeared in 1987, around the time that Mr. Suzuki was crafting the greatest hits for Sega. Chinese backdrops had always been a part of Japanese pop culture.

Virtua Fighter looked, and played different from every other title out there, not just because it was in 3D. It was because Mr. Suzuki had a genuine belief in the mythology of the Chinese arts. It was evident in his series. He was doing everything he could to not only promote the classic arts, but to keep them from fading out of existence. Any other fighting game developer would stick to the generic karate, boxing, kung-fu archetypes for their title. Yet Mr. Suzuki made sure to show the world that kung-fu wasn’t one catch-all style from China. There were distinct forms, and some of the most beautiful like bajiquan, huyanquan, and mizongquan all deserved to be featured. In doing so he was exposing new generations to these beautiful forms of combat. Whether they were functional in an actual fight was a conversation for a different blog. Mr. Suzuki was helping preserve their reputation.

Mythology was very important in spreading the reputation of great martial artists. People didn’t have film, or pictures of the masters from the early 1900’s. Even the records of the champions that came up in the 1940’s, and 1950’s seemed too good to be true. Would you believe the stories of martial artists that killed a bear, a bull, or a tiger with their bare hands? It was word of mouth, not pictures or video that turned regular people into immortal legends. There was a tremendous amount of mythology used in the creation of many fighting games, especially in the weapons-based titles like Samurai Shodown, and Soul Calibur. Virtua Fighter was more than a game. It was a way of holding onto the truth behind the myths. Mr. Suzuki asked what if the last of the Chinese masters was still alive? How would they actually hold up against a modern style of fighting? The seed was planted with the apocryphal story of a young Mas Oyama (the real-life inspiration behind Ryu). When he was traveling the world he was humbled by a master named "Mr. Chen" it was then that he decided to give everything to becoming the best fighter. Mr. Suzuki believed so much in the mythology of the lost arts that he wanted to explore it in an entirely new type of game.

Shenmue was a precursor to the modern adventure game. Released in 1999 it set a template that would influence AAA releases over the next 20+ years, including the Last of Us, and Drake’s Fortune. The game revolved around a hero named Ryo Hazuki trying to avenge the death of his father Iwao Hazuki at the hands of the Chinese martial arts master Lan Di. It was unlike other games of the era, not quite role-playing, not quite fighting game, not quite sim, but instead something in between all three. Yu Suzuki wanted to tell a cinematic adventure across multiple sequels. His project was ambitious to say the least. It took years, and millions of dollars to produce. Mr. Suzuki had underestimated what it would take to bring his vision to life. The finished game was good, but seemed lacking. Fans could tell that he wanted to have an immersive experience that you could lose yourself in. Unfortunately is was lacking in some regards. Since no one had ever attempted anything remotely close to it Sega didn’t realize that it would take double the team size, and at least double the budget to make it fulfill Yu Suzuki’s vision. Little did we know that he had predicted the most popular types of AAA adventures by 20 years.

Shenmue was a commercial flop, but a hit with audiences, and critics. Sega had already invested a considerable amount in a sequel so they had to see it through to completion, the third part in the story was dead in the water. It would take a crowdfunding effort from 2020 to get the trilogy finished. The big publishers learned that titles this ambitious were a risky gamble. We wouldn’t see anything remotely close to it for many years. In the decades following Sega downsized, and a number of their internal teams were consolidated, or closed down. A lot of talent was lost in the 2000’s. There was one person however that had worked under Mr. Suzuki and learned the art of game design. His name was Toshihiro Nagoshi. He started with Sega in the late-80s and learned from Mr. Suzuki, and also the best people at the company.

Mr. Nagoshi had an ambitious idea for a brawling game. He thought the classic 2D format used in Double Dragon, Final Fight, and countless Konami hits were too limiting. He wanted to take everything he learned from the Virtua Fighter team, and set it in an open 3D world. The 1998 title SpikeOut was an important game in the evolution to the brawler genre, it was also rarely seen in arcades. Sometimes I think that my brothers, and I were the only ones that ever played it in Southern California. It was fast paced, violent, and extremely difficult. It featured networked cabinets making it easier for multiplayer action without having to share one screen. It was not without its flaws as the difficulty, and camera angles seemed to work against the action.

Mr. Nagoshi learned an important lesson about combat balance from SpikeOut. He also picked up other things while working at Amusement Vision, alongside the Jet Set Radio designers at Smilebit. It was possible to create a fun, accessible, original game that featured stylized graphics. More important it could respect street culture, while simultaneously exposing it to audiences. I considered the 2002 title Jet Set Radio Future the greatest Hip Hop game ever made. When Sega wanted a skateboarding arcade game with the JSRF feel in 2004, that was also a spiritual successor to the 1997 classic Top Skater Ollie King was created. When Sega wanted an Xbox exclusive they revisited the world of SpikeOut, and dropped the much improved SpikeOut Battle Street in 2005. To be fair DIMPS did most of the programming for it. The team at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio was galvanized by everything they experienced at AM2, and Amusement Vision. That was why they were able to slide into the development of Virtua Fighter V Ultimate Showdown so easily. 

When he began his career at Sega Toshihiro Nagoshi ran headlong into his work like Akira Yuki. The older he got the more he understood the deliberate pace of Lau Chan, or should I say Yu Suzuki. Mr. Nagoshi took the entirety of what he learned since joining Sega, and put it into the Yakuza series. He featured the detailed world building of Shenmue, added the street vibes of Ollie King, included the arcade classics from his mentor, built easy to learn mini games, and improved the 3D combat of SpikeOut. With nine main Yakuza games in the series (23 including spin-offs) his team was the best equipped to bring back Virtua Fighter. This was a world where the last descendants of ancient kung-fu masters were ready to pass on their forbidden techniques, or die protecting them. After 30 years of following in the footsteps of his master it was time for Akira Yuki, I mean Toshihiro Nagoshi to take over. I was eager to immerse myself in his world. What about you? Did you think this was the right time, and the right team for a Virtua Fighter reboot? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Return of Virtua Fighter, part 2...

The announcement of a new Virtua Fighter at the 2024 Game Awards was a pleasant surprise. The only reveal I was more excited about was a new game from Fumito Ueda, and his team at gen DESIGN. These were the people formerly on Team Ico at Sony Studios Japan. Both ICO, and Shadow of the Colossus were a revelation for me. The game reveals were also a little melancholy for me. A long time had indeed passed between titles. I’m talking about major life changes; new jobs, getting married, raising a kid before I saw another sequel. I began thinking of how much history I had with the games. I began thinking of how much the industry had changed throughout the decades. I especially began to focus on how my love of Sega games went back a few generations.

There was another reason why the game reveals made me reflect. You see in November of 2024 I celebrated my 50th birthday. It was a bittersweet time. A relative came down with a medical emergency in the fall of 2024. My wife sprung into action, and moved in to help take care of this person. The original plan was for a few days, maybe a week. That had turned into almost 4 months and counting. We were apart for our wedding anniversary, Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. The time, and distance had been heavy for us, especially with no reunion in sight. This health issue made me think of my own life, and mortality as well.

I realized that I’d been a fan of video games, and specifically fighting genre for almost as long as I’d been alive. Yet at no point did I ever think that it was time wasted. My first fighting game memory went back years before the creation of Street Fighter. It was the extremely rare Warrior by Vectorbeam. I was five-years-old when it came out. The innovative top-down view, sword combat, and painted background of the arcade cabinet sparked my imagination. It also made me realize that fighting games could be more than a boxing sim. They could be about knights, karate masters, and even dinosaurs! I would argue that 1984 was the most important year for the development of the fighting genre. This was two years before the original Street Fighter, and the template of the brawler was revealed through Renegade.

Punch-Out!!, Karate Champ, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, and Kung-Fu Master all came out in ’84. Each influenced the studios, and developers that would create the modern fighting game. I was grateful that I had a chance to play through them when they debuted. In fact I was born at the perfect time to experience the peak years of the arcade revolution. The memories I had of the dozens of arcades I frequented, and hundreds of games that I’d played were irreplaceable to me. I would not have changed one thing about the time I spent playing video games. Especially not after I discovered fighting games. I was grateful for each, and every title that I enjoyed over my time on Earth. Knowing that Virtua Fighter was getting a reboot, and celebrating 30 years made me realize that I first played the game when I was 20-years-old. This also meant that the architects of the genre were getting old too.

The masterminds behind Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, the King of Fighters, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Tekken, Samurai Shodown, Virtua Fighter, and more were now in their 50’s, and 60’s. A few of them were retired, if not considering retirement. This meant that some games, and entire genres could potentially die off. It was important for the publishers to have younger talent take over the projects. New directors, and producers to be just as passionate about the genre as their mentors. This ensured that the games would continue to grow, evolve, and remain fresh. I wasn’t a fan of Yoshinori Ono as the producer of Street Fighter IV, and V. I did appreciate his enthusiasm, and how he pushed Capcom to bring the franchise back after almost a decade after SFIII had been released. I believe that his eye would have worked better on a series like Vampire / Darkstalkers.

I was much happier with the team putting together Street Fighter 6. Mr. Nakayma, Mr. Matsumoto, and Mr. Tsuchiya had been with Capcom for years. They were ready to slide into their new roles, and take over the franchise. They managed to honor the legacy of Street Fighter, Final Fight, and bring in elements from 40 years of Capcom games without breaking the continuity of the series. They were able to update the game play, the elements that modern audiences expected from a video game, and even help bring new players up to speed. Most important they were also young. They would be able to carry their passion, and insight to SF for years to come. Not every classic series had these types of directors. Many of those games faded away from relevancy once their creators left the studio.

It may seem hard to believe but Virtua Fighter was such an important game that it changed the direction of the industry. In 1991 Capcom already created a global phenomenon with Street Fighter II. This made every studio in Japan, and the US start developing their own fighting games. A few years later Sega demonstrated that 3D would be the next step in the process. Companies that weren’t already developing their own 3D engines were at a loss. They could however license the work from Sega for their own titles. Some gamers may not know this but the original Dead or Alive arcade game was built on the Model 2 engine, the same one that powered Virtua Fighter 2. The game’s creator Tomonobu Itagaki had been described as a creep. It was no surprise that the girls in his fighting game had very bouncy breast physics applied to their models. He left Tecmo with many of his Team Ninja developers to strike out on his own. He eventually closed his studio in 2024. Dead or Alive managed to make it to DOA 6 which was released in 2019, with no word on another sequel.

That was not to say that Virtua Fighter was a superior experience to Street Fighter II, or many other sprite-based fighting games from the early ‘90s. The game play was not as quick, or as intuitive as audiences were used to from 2D fighters. Visually however Sega was offering something that was unlike anything else in the arcade. When you saw a Sega 3D engine in a racing game, air combat, or Star Wars title then you immediately took notice. The visuals were so unlike anything else in the arcade that players were instantly drawn to them. In the early 1990’s 3D human models were still in their infancy. People were so blocky that the team at Sega referred to them as robots. They looked embarrassingly like somebody wearing cardboard boxes. To my knowledge the only fictional style in the original game was given to the ninja Kage-Maru. Yet it was still inspired my elements of actual ninjitsu.

Series creator Yu Suzuki knew what he was doing. Smooth, perfect 3D characters were not his goal. The team at AM2 were using every trick at their disposal to create a solid engine that they could improve upon. Knowing that people would look more realistic in every future iteration. The team also focused on creating a library of characters that represented a broad spectrum of fighting arts. Each sequel would introduce another fighting style. The brother, and sister team of Jacky, and Sarah Bryant used Bruce Lee’s very own Jeet Kun Do aka the Way of the Intercepting Fist. They were fast, flashy, and designed to appeal to western audiences. They were not the only relatives in the game.

The Chinese father, and daughter pair of Lau, and Pai Chan were central to the story as well. They were a sort of classic martial arts cinema archetype that was universally understood. Anyone that approached the game could tell that they used some form of kung-fu. Then there were the two heavy hitters in the game, the ones that I favored. The Native character Wolf Hawkfield, and the Caribbean Jeffry McWild. Although Wolf was light skinned it was nice to see some form of Native representation in a game. The same applied to Jeffry. The duo were so popular that they would appear in future pro wrestling games as well.

With a cast, and engine in place it was only a matter of time before the rival studios would have an answer to VF. The first would be Tekken. Namco had been going back-and-forth with Sega on everything they released. Just because they went from 2D sprites to 3D polygons didn’t mean the rivalry would end. There was not one genre where the two publishers did not have direct competition. Tekken floored audiences with their textured polygons. These stood apart from Sega's flat shaded polygons. Visually Tekken looked like the superior game, even if the frame rate or other elements weren’t as well done as VF. Each sequel from the two companies felt like a call, and answer.

The differences between the two games were tiny, but their impact to the community was tremendous. The four years from the release of the first VF in 1993 to Tekken 3 in 1997 was a technological leap. The improvement on textures, engine, animation, and frame-rate was apparent in the Virtua Fighter 2 arcade intro. Virtua Fighter was focused on realism rather than the more fantastic Tekken. By the time Sega released VF 3 the characters could not only turn their heads to follow opponents, but even turn their eyes as well. Not to mention when they stepped in sand, or snow they left tracks. Doing tiny things like having head tracking, showing damage, and even breathing was an unheard detail in any other game. Suddenly Capcom’s reputation as the best fighting game developer was in doubt.

Sega, and Namco had turned the fighting game community upside down in the mid-‘90s. This made every major publisher increase funding into 3D R&D, helping push the entire entertainment industry forward. What many people didn’t realize was that Sega, and Namco relied on outside contractors to help create next generation 3D graphics. Namco built their System-22 engine on simulator tech from Evans & Sutherland. Sega developed the Model 3 board with military-level technology from General Electric Aerospace Simulation & Control Systems. The two publishers created an arms race. This applied equally to arcade, and console developers. Whichever company could bring 3D graphics home for a reasonable price would win the war.

Sega was able to bring some 3D games home. They made a decent 16-bit adaptation of VF using the 32-X add-on for the Sega Genesis. A closer arcade-quality version would appear on the 32-bit Sega Saturn as well. Not to be outdone Namco partnered with Sony to create an arcade-perfect version of Tekken for the new Playstation console. Fighting games were not the only titles to help move consoles, but they certainly helped. The shift from 2D to 3D was pushed along thanks to Sega and Namco. More than 30 years had now passed. Mr. Harada, and his team were still keeping Tekken alive. Sega had drifted away from many of their biggest hits through the 2000's and 2010’s. How would Virtua Fighter become relevant once more, and especially with Mr. Suzuki talking about retirement? We’ll talk about it in the next blog. Were you a fan of 2D fighters, 3D fighters? How long had you been playing video games? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The last great fighting game covers of Arcadia.

The past few Friday’s I’ve talked a bit about bringing my Arcadia magazine collection out of the garage, and into my home library. In the fall of 2023 I had brought over my Gamest magazines, game books, and mooks (magazine books from Japan), manga, as well as my fighting game manhua, or Chinese comics.

As I continue to sort through the collection I wanted to share a quick glance of some of the covers featuring the stars from the fighting games of the generation.

Did you have a favorite fighting game, arcade game, or console game that came out between 2003, and 2013? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Street Fighter X Tekken Event Coverage! - A 1UP classic from March 2, 2012

Happy Friday amigos! I hope you have a great weekend planned. On my side I have a long day of work and orchestra rehearsal scheduled for tonight. Our first concert of the season is this Sunday. I'll see about getting some footage for you hopefully in the week ahead. I'd like to talk about the Street Fighter X Tekken event that went down in Los Angeles last night.

As with other Capcom release parties this one had a queue almost a block long at least two hours before the doors opened! If you ever think about going to a release party then make sure to get there early. I was fortunate because work was not too far from there and I could drive down and get in line relatively early. The people at Capcom were trying things slightly different and made sure that people understood it was 21 and over only. They, and the hosts at Majestic Halls did not want any trouble with minors crashing a party that was serving alcohol so they were going through the RSVP list and checking state issued ID's very carefully.

Once inside the building guests received a complimentary tee shirt. This shirt will undoubtedly be fetching a pretty penny on eBay very soon. Sorry but even though the shirt was too small for me does not mean I will be selling it.

Capcom has gotten quite experienced at hosting release parties. Every SF IV release, Marvel VS Capcom 3, Resident Evil and various Comic Cons would testify that they are a very community-oriented company. They had multiple cabinets set up for players to check out the final version of SF X TK. Plus they had free drinks, and a live DJ spinning at the show.

Attendees and sponsors were dressed up for the event.

Capcom spared no expense posting gigantic banners and making guests feel welcome. Goodies were given away at the event and Producer Yoshinori Ono was signing posters for attendees.

The coolest thing at the event was the art show presented by the Tsunami Syndicate. It was a collection of local artists putting forward original pieces and prints for sale of the SF and TK characters.

I would like to say thanks to Capcom, as always, for showing the community much love. They demonstrate time and time again how a publisher should reach out to the fanbase and make them feel like a part each and every release. The studio supports the local and national fighting tournament scenes, even when their games have to share the spotlight with other titles.There aren't many publishers that can claim to do the same thing. Cacpom, unlike several publishers that save their showings to the GDC or E3 make sure to appear at public events including PAX and the Comic Con.

Keeping tabs on community members on forums and sites outside of Capcom-Unity and Facebook makes the company seem more invested in the community than just about any other publisher. This type of reaching out will continue to earn the respect and admiration of the fans. Although I am not a fond of Mr. Ono's direction with the fighting titles I still wish the studio the best. Be sure to check out SF X TK this weekend and let me know what you think.

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!