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, these manga also had heavy Chinese themes. This was 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 up in order 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 decades.

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 1...

On December 12, 2024 the fighting game community was given an early Christmas present. During the annual game awards Sega revealed that there would be a new Virtua Fighter (VF). Sega would once again return to their roots in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the first 3D fighter. Needless to say this announcement made me, and millions of fans around the world extremely happy. The first details of the project would be revealed during a stream immediately following the awards show.

For those keeping track the last numbered VF entry was Virtua Fighter V in 2006. There were however various remixes for different platforms as recently as 2021. For long-time fans it seemed surreal that going into 2025 we might see the next evolution in the franchise that many of us thought was dead. In fact the idea of a resurrected game was more than coincidence.

The VF stream began with two lines from the poem Morning Has Broken by Eleanor Farjeon. This almost 100-year-old poem was designed to be a celebration of the Christian faith, without it necessarily calling out a specific Bible passage, or parable. The last part of the poem was particularly important considering they were reintroducing Virtua Fighter. 

Mine is the sunlight,

Mine is the morning,

Born of the one light Eden saw play;

Praise with elation,

Praise every morning,

God’s re-creation Of the new day.

After the poem the new developers were revealed. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio aka Like A Dragon Studio would be doing the heavy lifting. The company was founded in 2011, however their core team went back to 1998 when they were known as Sega’s internal team AM11. Dragon Studio founder Toshihiro Nagoshi was the guy that created Super Monkey Ball, but he was also the mastermind behind the Yakuza series. Mr. Nagoshi had been with Sega for decades. He first joined the company in 1989, and helped bring Daytona USA to arcades. His insight to the series, his team of programmers, and artists were easily the best choice to reintroduce VF. I’ll talk more about the studio, and Mr. Nagoshi shortly.

The teaser for the game showed a mysterious figure in a back-alley fight. We only caught glimpses of the figure in a window reflection, or in a pool of water. Even without a clear look at the guy the eagle-eyed fans could identify him based solely on his attacks. The dashing elbow, and tetsuzanko (which was used to throw his opponent through a wall) were trademark moves for Akira Yuki. Yet this didn’t look like the character that we had come to expect. His jacket, hat, and uniform looked tattered. A good amount of time must had passed since we last saw him.

Akira was traditionally presented in the VF games as a young master with spiky hair, and a white headband. The martial artist was the star of the series, not unlike Ryu was for Street Fighter, or Terry was for Fatal Fury. This new presentation was shocking

The studio went out of their way to build up the dramatic tension with the mysterious fighter. We never got a clear look at him during any of the footage. Instead he was presented in shadow. We could see tears in his hat, and even what appeared to be bullet holes in his jacket. This acted as both a storytelling device, to let us know that our mystery man had been in some dangerous battles, but also to show off the next generation rendering of the characters. The realistic cut of his coat, faded colors, and wrinkles were a far cry from his earlier crispy white uniform. This was a more grounded, more experienced fighter.

After Akira threw the unknown opponent through a wall the teaser reveals the official return of the Virtua Fighter franchise.

The last few seconds of footage showed off what appeared to be Akira fighting with another star of the game. The blonde woman with a blue skin suit was assumed to be Sarah Bryant. However it was later revealed to be a character called Stella.

The stages were highly detailed, but they lacked any pedestrians or other people in the background. I don’t know if this was because it was very early in production, or if it was a design choice. In either case this was one of the most detailed environments that I had ever seen in a fighting game.

The few seconds of footage between Akira and Stella were among the most impressive of any modern fighting game. I mean more than just in terms of graphics, and animation. The way the moves, countermoves, blocks, and angles flowed between the two were dazzling. They were unlike the combat in Tekken, the nearest contemporary to the 3D franchise. The moves almost seemed choreographed the way the two traded strikes. They skirted the line between the realistic and the fantastic battle you might see in an action movie.

The weathered environment was stunning. It signaled a change in tone, and direction for the series. Yet at the same time it honored the legacy that came before. The world of Virtua Fighter had always been grounded in realism, and not necessary reality. The stages were often set around the world, and were often pristine environments. Now we were seeing a more subdued area, some place that might have been arounds for decades, possibly centuries. It was dirty, worn down, and essentially lived in.

The first high resolution shots of the featured characters were unveiled. Akira was rightfully labeled “The Legend is Back.” This was when most of us found out that the blonde in the early footage was named Stella. She was described as the “Bridge Between Worlds.” This gave fans of the franchise two possible ideas. The first that it was a mistranslation of Sarah. The other was that the youthful character was actually the daughter of Sarah Bryant. Her looks, and moves were spot-on for the iconic character. To many it didn’t make sense that she would be replaced.

The idea of a daughter being featured in a reboot of a franchise was not a new concept. The most recent example of that was with the character Cassie Cage from Mortal Kombat X in 2015. Cassie was a special forces agent that combined the moves of her parents, Sonya Blade, and the martial arts star Johnny Cage.

Sonya Blade was an icon in the fighting game community. She was the first notable western blonde in fighting game. Her military-inspired look actually predated Cammy in Super Street Fighter II by a year. I would argue that the Mount Rushmore of fighting game female characters should include her as well as Chun-Li, Mai Shiranui, and Nina Williams. The first few games of Mortal Kombat were sprite based, and not in 3D. It didn’t matter because Mortal Kombat gave the world a taste of western aesthetics, and confirmed to the Virtua Fighter, and Tekken teams that a strong blonde female character could be a star in their fighters as well.

Looking back at the history of the fighting game genre made me think about how unique Virtua Fighter was. It also made me realize that not a lot of people knew what it meant in context. The gaming industry was different 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and especially 30 years ago. High resolution 3D gaming was available today on every console, handheld, mobile, and even web browser. If you go back three decades high resolution 3D gaming wasn’t even possible. Back then the 2D sprites were the standard in the graphics department. This was not a bad thing, in many instances sprites were superior to 3D models when a studio was trying to capture a certain aesthetic.

Many arcade firsts came from Namco. At the start of the ‘80s their breakout racing hit was Pole Position. Yet the company knew that sprite graphics had a technological limit. So they started development on 3D engines while also cranking out arcade, and console hits. This investment in polygon rendering would pay off before the end of the decade. Winning Run came out in 1988. It was the first 3D racing game. Sega started development on 3D technology not too long after. Sega’s Virtua Racing would blow the genre wide open in 1992. The back-and-forth would lead to Sega and Namco having an amazing rivalry.

Sega had developed a number of racing video games in the late 1970’s that set the standard for the arcade. When Namco released Pole Position in 1982, and claimed the racing crown a friendly rivalry in the genre was launched. Both Sega, and Namco would try to beat each other every year in genre. The part that people tend to forget was who helped keep Sega one step ahead of their rivals.

The game designer / director / producer Yu Suzuki was a major reason why Sega succeeded in the arcade, and console markets. I had talked about Mr. Suzuki previously on the blog, calling him the racing fan that started a revolution. The thing that I did not realize was how much his passion, his insight helped make every game that he worked on into something truly special. Mr. Suzuki was a huge fan of motorsports, movies, pop culture, anime, and the like. The things that influenced him helped color the games he produced. The majority of Sega’s earliest arcade hits were created under his direction. To say that he was a brilliant game designer would be a severe understatement.

Mr. Suzuki seemed unrivaled with everything he created whether it was air combat, racing, shooting, and sci-fi titles. His games were all groundbreaking. It was his passion for racing, and his love of the Ferrari badge that really elevated the genre. One of his greatest hits was OutRun from 1986. It made everyone forget about Pole Position in the arcade. OutRun introduced a branching path, and rally narrative to arcade visitors. Each year the racing games he produced got better and better. His entry into 3D with Virtua Racing in 1992 made everyone forget about Namco’s Winning Run, and Driver’s Eyes.

I would argue that the tracks in Daytona and Super GT set a standard by which all racing games in the arcade would be measured. The peak of Mr. Suzuki’s influence came at the end of the ‘90s with the brilliant Scud Race aka Super GT. Visually the last 3D racing games he created were cinematic masterpieces, compared to the very simple pixel racing games that he started off with a decade earlier. The question was whether his vision could put Sega on the map for fighting games. Through the ‘80s, and of course early ‘90s Capcom had few peers. Sega needed a hit just to get noticed. Would Virtua Fighter be enough? We will talk a little bit more about it on the next blog (Saturday). Are you excited with the announcement? Will this be a game you get on Day 1, or will you wait and see? What do you think the series needs to really hit with the modern fighting game community?  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!