Virtua Fighter 5 Site up

Seeing this running on a PS3 direct;y excites me. I wonder how well it compares to the arcade version

 

I like the lights in the PS3.

 

Unless a fighting game is built from the ground up for online play -or we have some breakthru in netowrk technology then makers of top tier fightign games are going to be shy about enabling online play. If you put VF as we know t on the internet as we know it the games mechancis would be compromised pretty severly.

 

Unless packet latencies drop substantially, don't expect to see this game online anytime soon. I'll be surprised if we see even Tekken online next generation.

 

Actually, even if the next Tekken is not online enable, I'll take it over Virtua Fighter. And I understand that with the certain timing on these fighters, it would be hard with the current connection. This is not what I'm getting at and I won't go on about which fighter is better. But simply because I get bored playing against CPU (no matter how good they are). And since the Tekken series is more mainstream, it's easier to find human competition (my friends are Tekken for the 3D and Street Fighters/Capcom for 2D guys). And also with the price of PS3 and price of software, it's hard to blame me for choosing between the two.

.Z

 

I don't know the arcade version, so I might be wrong here. But Famitsu talks about two new characters - Airiin (Eileen) who practices the monkey technique - fast but not very powerful - and Eru (El) Blaze who was trained in Lucha Libre - spectacular air moves, dashing, throws.

Eileen


El Blaze

 

Exactly, one shouldn't be expecting Virtua Fighter to be online in the near future.
If it was online now, it wouldn't be VF, it would a different, slower, type of game, a sort of discrete online mode if you will.
Why not, but I can't say that VF fans would care much about it.

By the way, what's up with this early 2007 release for the PS3 version?

 

To be exact, it says spring 2007 on the official website.

 

You know, when I see it in motion, right now I think Tekken, even the PSP version, looks like the better game ... it's probably partly the framerate, but I also prefer the art-direction, and the moves, plus of course the PSP version has about 34 characters (more or less depending on how you count charcters with very similar movelists, but even if you're very strict, PSP Tekken comes out well). Also, it seems that almost for the first time, Virtua Fighter is catching up to Tekken (King clone, and even Eileen reminds me of Xiaoyu, though they at least have different styles) rather than the other way around, but I could be wrong in this of course. Heck, even graphically the PSP version doesn't look that bad besides it thanks to the PSPs tiny pixel size (480x272 is a lot for such a small piece of screen).

I guess the benefit of VF must really come from the competitive element rather than anything else (VF4 is the last one I played). But to me, Tekken just really has a better sense of weight to the characters, more natural movements, and a lot better sense of impact. Not to mention that I love the control scheme of course, but I've mentioned that a lot of times before.

Dunno, after the screenshot, the movie just left me somewhat disillusioned.

 

Well, Virtua Fighter is completely different from Tekken. While Tekken is an arcade fighter, Virtua Fighter is more of an simulation. It like comparing Ridge Race to GT, well, not quite. But you get my drift.
It's probably more of a question of taste. I personally prefer Virtua Fighter. For one thing, I've been following the series since its beginning. But I also prefer the complex, or as some other might call complicated, controls, as I believe they add some depth to the game. I've never got the more characters makes automatically a better beat'em up. As long as there're a few of them which are sufficiently balanced, I am fine with it.

 

My biggest problem with both both Tekken and Virtua Fighter is there's too much goddam air floating. VF used to piss me the HELL off with it, and I'm just hoping it's been toned down notably. (I have VF4, but haven't played it enough to know if the classic "knock you up and keep hitting you until you get shoved across the ring and take half your damage"-type chains. )

As there was nothing remotely "simulation-like" from that, it always made me prefer Tekken, as VF had a much more disjointed feel.

 

Well, could you elaborate a little on that? You see, under normal circumstances, I would take GT over Ridge Racer any day and should therefore prefer Virtua Fighter.

Could you explain the controls to me? And what logic they have? I couldn't see it in Virtua Fighter 4 myself ... are the blocks or counters maybe more realistic or complicated, in that you need to match the attack move better?

Of course, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that, liking the individual characters better in Tekken (except the nice Storm-like Thai boxing lady first seen in VF4), there's also double the amount of them in the game. Good chance though that they'll trim that roster down again for the PS3 version.

Please, I am genuinely interested to hear more from you about Virtua Fighter, as I really want to know - maybe I'm missing something! I thought people chose VF4 more because it introduced new features before Tekken did, and that Tekken was catching up in that respect. But I always cared more for the core fighting experience, and that's where I felt Tekken had the advantage.

@cthellis: yes, 'juggling' is definitely something I'd gladly exchange for other features, like more detail in the combos, more complicated defense patterns and contact detection, and maybe stamina and injuries. Only now in Tekken PSP I'm deriving some fun from trying to pull some set-pieces off in the Command Attack mode, which is like a timed 'simon says', but that's really more as a separate game than anything else.

 

In Tekken right now, I'm mainly pounding through the dojos and marvelling at the power of my purple-bunny-eared Lili.

 

Tekken is 'pick up and play' fun, just like ridge racer.
Virtua fighter on the other hand is hard to master but once you get the hang of it, the gameplay mechanism is very rewarding.

 

Maybe, but if it's about .0001% more realistic it doesn't really matter. I mean neither of these doesn't portray even close to realistic compat, not even close, so it's bit on the ridiculous side to make other appear more realistic, no offense offcourse that's just my opinion.

I personally like Tekken much more than VF-series, the gameplay is deep enough to reward expert play, and the overall atmosphrere of Tekken is kick ass imo. I have high respect for VF-series though, I just don't like to play them.

 

Personally I prefer both VF and Tekken but for different reasons.

VF has more realistic depth, and its harder to get into. You have to learn every single move because you will never win by using the same moves, or same technique.In Tekken unlike VF some specific moves are more often used to win than others. And there's a bigger variety in damage between each move. In VF on the other hand there is less difference in each move's damage. So its like using the same damage only under a different execution. And thats where VF relys on. Execution of the right move, on the right time. You have to push the opponent. If you manage to keep your opponent blocking there is a chance he will do a mistake trying to get away from your moves or, he will find the right timing to get you. So there's a 50/50 weight in a fight almost constantly.

Tekken relys a lot on juggling combos, and on puting pressure on the opponent. You have to learn which moves can be chained or be performed in a chain like manner so the opponent wont find the opportunity to get you after a moves execution (because there is some pause). Because of its animation scheme, a simple mistake may easily prove fatal. So its a more brutal fighting game. There's more variability there in the fight. It may get 70/30 it may get 30/70, the next it may be 50/50. It's got more style than VF imo and you dont have to spent a lifetime to learn it. VF5 needs lots of dedication. So much that some cant enjoy it.

Both have depth but in a different kind of way. Watching proffesional Tekken players is like watching at two proffessionals battling each other on Scud Race or Daytona USA 2, drifting. You marvel their fast reactions, style and ability. Watching proffesional VF5 players is like watching two proffessionals battling each other in Gran Turismo, calculating every angle, every turn, every suspension, acceleration and brake force. You marvel their complicate way of thinking, technique and accuracy.

 

If you really want to know... I WILL HOOK YOU UP.

Dr Evil hit in on the head saying that VF might be .001% more realistic. If you've never actually fought in a ring, it goes like this. Between fights you practise your technique and your strategy and you prepare
to get better. In the ring you have to stay cool enough to apply your technique and your strategy and you actually get better. Rinse repeat. IMO, Virtua Fighter has the closest balance of this to real life. Someone can jump in and legitamitly beat you with only a handful of basic moves. They can win on just timing and judgement. I personally think VF conveys the rythm of this closet to real life, but truthfully it happens in any good fighting game.

If you understand Tekken's hi/mid/low hit/minor counter/majorcounter then you are there. VF is EXACTLY the same. It feels stiff compared to Tekken for a number of reasons. First the attack strings are shorter and less numerous. So you are less likely to miss a button and still get an effective attack, or even get a combo totally be accident. Second, the input buffer in the game system is a good bit shorter, and a has can be manually cleared. Third, the game is much faster than it looks. In therms of frame advantages and descicion making it a solid step away from Tekken. VF has a well deserved reputatation for it's steep learning curve.

The Characters in VF are an aquired taste. They are lame and goofy, but they are wrongly accused of being generic. They really grow on you. The character roster in VF is famous for it's enormous Variety. You are familiar with Tekken recylced characters and amalgam characters like Jin/Devil Jin, Kazuya+Jun=Jin, Law ~ Lee. Pretty much all Fighting games have that. Except for Virtua Fighter. The difference not just in the movelist (they all share 6-7 basic moves) but the strategy is immense. VF typically has the least amount of character switching amoung players in extended matches. In tournaments players typically only play one character. And the VFNet system only allows one character per account becuase alot of players ony play one character. The Skill ceiling is such that iit's hard to get bored because of your movelist. VF ads two characters per revision alternating two males or a male and female. Only one charater was ever removed and that was the Sumo wrester introduced in 3. He was one of the most popular characters but Suzuki felt guilty that he had not taken into account the properties of having alot of body fat. Taka-Arashi was removed for perfection's sake.

I will talk your goddamn ear off about it. =)
VF4 came up in popularity for two main reasons. Tekken 4 created a massive backlash and VF4 Came to PS2. VF introduced every feature that appears in Tekken and to this day has many more. When Tekken attempted to leapfrog VF was Tekken 4. It was valient but it did not work. They backpedalled and now Tekken 5 is basicly just Tekken 3 again.
Tekken is a fine game and it's all the same shit as VF. There's alot to learn in Tekken but you will find yourself hitting a plateua sooner than you would with VF. Play VF when and if you ever desire "more of everthing".

I think juggling is a good metaphore for an ctual combination in the real life ring. Sometimes you catch a clean hit and 2 or three more just fall down on you. The effect is "what the hell was that... I couldn't defnd myself" Truth is you could have defended yourself by avoiding that first clean hit that opened you up. Jugling is a fantastic mechanic andtrust me nodoy ececutes a 75% damage juggle on me without EARNING it. In any game.

As far as more complicated defense patterns that's one thing that really sets VF appart form Tekken and it's my favortie thing about the game. Defense is intense and very complicated! It's so fun!!! After a guardered attack you can buffer up to three throwbreaks a sidestep and a fuzzy guard!!!! I could go into all that if you want but suffice to say I play alot and I only use double breaks and sidestep/guard. The system is called "option select defense" and it's really really intense once you learn to use it. A player who can option select against a player who cant is just abolute slaughter.

Command attack mode. Never seen it but there's an extremely robust trainging mode in VF4/Evo that suprisingly goes into pretty high-level techniques, including option select defense. Try it. Evo is available tor ten dollars. The Single player game in both 4 ad Evo are bar none the best I have ever seen in a fighting game. If you like fighting games just get it. Don't worry about getting stumped, I can answer most questions. Seems like Vysez may be able to as well.

 

Awesome VF breakdown Crayon, you truely are a genre psycho.

That juggling metaphor is spot on. Maybe one day they'll come up with some physics based animation system that can still replicate the sort of precise vulnerability a quality fighter needs, but for now juggling is absolutely a required mechanic for high level play.

Liked the comments on defense as well, thats a huge part of what makes VF what it is IMO. I haven't gotten past an intermediate level of play precisely because my defensive skills aren't up to snuff. The reversal/counter system is also top notch depending on the player. A high level VF match is like watching two expert fencers attempting to break each other down.

Arwin, you should try out VF4's training mode. Its a really nice tool for getting a grasp for some of the finer nuances of the game. I think Tekken and VF require habits that really don't translate well to one another, so if you're used to one over the other it can cause some bad practices. VF is less about how to put moves together and more about when you judge to use them. If you want to check out some ridiculously deep character breakdowns Virtuafighter.com is an awesome fansite.