ExploRing Saturn 1:Virtua fighter 2
tags: exploring saturn, videogamesThe best seller in the ring
In the first installment of this series we will stop to witness a relic of ancient times,back when 3D just started,SEGA was sweating because its competition was crushing them,the N64 was close to releasing,the PS1 was a stellar success thanks in part to the amazing arcade ports like Ridge racers that early on showed everyone what the console was capable of.
On the other hand the first batch of Saturn games were slowly drip feed and hardly impressive,this included games that should have been easy smash hits if the Saturn was easier to develop on like Daytona,that suffered because of how hard it was to make a game with that graphical quality on it,even if the Saturn was capable of making a way better port as later releases by AM2(like this one) proved.
One of these early releases was the original Virtua fighter,a very impressive game that has aged like a milk bottle in a road during a heat wave,but its an amazing port unlike the other early 3D attempts on the Saturn(even with its problems it still is the best way to play the original without the arcade board).
The game was a pack in for the console and a smash hit in reviews and sales,so the sequel obviously needed to be ported too as Virtua fighter 2 was a smash hit in the arcade,so after the troubled development of the Daytona port they raced to make a revolutionary port.
The port quality
The port released in 1995,just one year after the original release of the Saturn and the original arcade game,and the improvement from the first game is massive,both in comparation to Virtua fighter and in terms of how the port compares way better than Virtua fighter versus the arcade version.
Unlike with the port of the first game,the gameplay is unchanged from the arcade as far as I can tell,the game is smooth in terms of performance,hitting 60 FPS.The graphics are very well executed,solving the problems and limitations that the console had with creative choices like changing the background to a 2D image that moves to imitate the 3D backgrounds of the original.
The port was made by AM2,the original devs,who also worked on previous ports,and you can definitively see that after working on previous ports they managed to make the Saturn sing,the audio is great besides the voices,they are so low quality its a real challenge to figure out what they are saying.
The gameplay
The gameplay is simple yet effective,the controls are just block,punch and kick,easy to learn but hard to master.The only problem I have with the controls and how the game feels is how floaty and slow jumping feels,basically forcing you to shorthop,the oversimplified controls are also a headache sometimes,a lot of times i whished i had more buttons,luckily you can configure your controls in the options menu to type 2,which is what in my opinion should be the default.
Besides that playing against another person in versus mode is SUPER FUN,way better than any other 3D fighter of this generation besides maybe Tekken 3,Fighters megamix and Sonic the fighters.(I might be very biased on that last one)I will admit that Tekken 3 is way more 3D thanks to sidestepping,but its easy to get into Virtua fighter,the characters have the personality of a paper(besides Jacky,yeahhh!) but they all feel great to play,with different playstyles.The gameplay is very grounded thanks to the lack of supers and how terrible jumping is,playing defensive is also a bad idea because blocking is a huge risk because of the way low mid and high block works,and you can also lose your ground and lose instantly if you leave the ring,so offense is the name of the game.
One of the biggest problems in old fighting games(and even newer ones too)is single player content. Sadly,just like almost everyone else,I don’t live in a super populated metropolis like Tokyo or New York,where no matter how niche,you can find a group big enough to play locals,or at least you can find a fellow friend that will want to play with you.But for everyone else you are out of luck,you get arcade mode,a harder arcade mode and options,that’s it,nothing else,no practice,no extra modes for single player like survival,not even more multiplayer modes like tournament,nothing but multiplayer here.
The arcade mode is just an arcade mode,nothing you want to play more than once or twice.
there is also a team battle mode but its also mostly multiplayer,you can play against a CPU but without other players is a one and done deal.
No practice mode either…
A lot of my complains are fixed in Fighters megamix,but that’s a different game so the complains stay.
The conclusion
Virtua fighter 2 is a great game if you have friends willing to play with you after you screamed “yeahh!” for hours while playing Jackie like you just sniffed glue for several hours,its an extremely fun game that is incredibly good and you will only play for like 5-10 hours before moving on,luckily most of the problems the game suffers are fixed in Meagamix,and by Virtua fighter 4 evolution the single player was perfected with the mode that makes you fight custom CPU’s until you enter a tournament and beat an entire arcade in easily one of the most fun single players in a fighting game.
Virtua fighter 2 is a must play on the Saturn,but its overshadowed by other games,including other AM2 3D fighters like Fighting vipers and Fighters megamix,it sadly suffers the same fate that the first game had,as the game hasn’t aged the best in any way,even though its way better than the original in every way,and better than any other game in its genre back in the day.
Join me the next time as we struggle in Radiant silvergun!
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