Electronic Gaming Monthly's Top 10 Virtua Fighter Games

Virtua Quest (GameCube)

#11

We're going to start our countdown by subverting your expectations. The worst Virtua Fighter game isn't a fighting game at all, but is rather an ill-conceived action/role-playing game called Virtua Quest. When series fans first heard the name Virtua Fighter RPG floating around, they whet their appetite for an epic story that combined the best elements of the fighting game series with the grandeur of a Japanese adventure game. This was, after all, the same publisher who had given us Panzer Dragoon Saga, a legendary game that beautifully mashed two genres together. Unfortunately, Virtua Quest does not live up to those lofty heights. It's not even one of Sega's C-tier RPGs. It's just bad and another missed opportunity for Sega.

A big part of the problem is that the game was aimed young. REAL young. Jeremy started his review by noting that "you might as well rename this My First Sega Game. The influence of Virtua Fighter and Phantasy Star Online stands front and center in Virtua Quest, but its too-simple gameplay and catch-em-all action are shooting for the same young anime fan crowd as Mega Man Battle Network and .Hack." Bryan agreed, making this startling comparison: "Talk about an identity crisis. Virtua Quest tries to be so many different things, it's like a troubled teenage boy who needs a sit-down chat with an out-of-touch guidance counselor." The review crew was disappointed in the cheesy storyline, the simple level designs and the ham-fisted Virtua Fighter cameos. Averaging a pitiful 4.8 out of 10, Virtua Quest is Electronic Gaming Monthly's worst-reviewed Virtua Fighter game by a large margin.

Virtua Fighter Kids (Saturn)

#9

If you want to know just how big and indulgent the fighting game craze was in the mid-1990s, then look no further than Virtua Fighter Kids. Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. It's a version of Virtua Fighter 2 sporting shorter characters with bigger heads. They aren't really children, at least in the strictest sense, but rather super-deformed versions of the fighters we know and love. The result could be seen as either an adorable play on the genre-defining game, or a cynical cash grab where Sega gets you to fork over full price for something that should have been a bonus mode in Virtua Fighter 2. I'll give you one guess which side EGM came down on.

Resident fake ninja Sushi-X almost seemed upset at the very concept: "What an idea. Take your best fighting game, replace the graphics with big-headed, unproportioned character files and release it. Snore." He concluded that it would be "great as a $10 add-on, but retail price? No way." He would rather use that money for a 32X. Some of the other critics were a little more charitable, but none of them were willing to give the game a full-throated defense. Shawn called the game "cute," but complained that the iffy gameplay. He also has the most obvious take I've ever seen in an issue of EGM: "If you want blood and gore and hurtful-looking body slams, VF Kids is not what you want." Yeah, obviously. With an average of 6.25 out of 10, the critics thought Virtua Fighter Kids was an interesting novelty, but not worth the price.

Virtua Fighter Remix (Saturn)

#8

When Virtua Fighter first hit the Saturn on May 1995, critics and consumers had mixed feelings. While everybody agreed that it was a faithful port of one of Sega's most ground-breaking releases, there was a feeling in the air that it was a step down from the current king of the arcade -- Virtua Fighter 2. To keep up with the 32-bit battle for supremacy, Sega decided to release Virtua Fighter Remix, an upgraded port that uses the framework of the original game and mixes some of the improvements from the sequel to create the best version of the game yet.

So, if this is the definitive Virtua Fighter, why is it sitting all the way down at number 9? Unfortunately, as they say, timing is everything. This remixed version of the original Virtua Fighter was doomed the moment Sega decided to release it a mere two months before Virtua Fighter 2. It's impossible to compete with the hype of the sequel, especially when all of these critics had been playing the launch version of Virtua Fighter for a number of months. Mark was not impressed with the double dip, noting that "the only noticeable changes in the game are the graphics." He liked that the glitches that plagued the original version have been resolved, but concluded that "it's just more of the same." This seemed to be the take most of the editors had. Some liked it more, some less, but they all agreed that it's a disappointing rehash that should probably be ignored with Virtua Fighter 2 just around the corner. With an average score of 7.25 out of 10, this Remix ends up being the best version of the original Virtua Fighter, but also the most disappointing.

Virtua Fighter (32X & Saturn)

#7

When Virtua Fighter first hit arcades in 1993, it felt like a line in the sand had been drawn between the new technology and old. All it took was one look at those low-res polygons to know that the Genesis was not going to be able to do this game justice, and forget about a Game Gear port. We were going to need new technology to play these types of next-generation games, and, as luck would have it, Sega was gearing up to sell you on either their 32X add-on or the brand-new Saturn. Perfect timing!

There was just one problem: By the time Sega was ready to sell America on a home version of Virtua Fighter 1, their even better sequel was already heating up arcades. As a result, you saw the editors a bit underwhelmed by both of the Virtua Fighter ports. You initially saw this with the Saturn reviews, but that drumbeat was overpowering by the time EGM reviewed the 32X version in October 1995. Sushi-X lays it out clearly: "I'm sorry, but the old looks of Virtua Fighter don't cut it anymore. I may be a bit harsh, but look at what else is out there: VF Remix, Toshinden, Tekken." Andrew gave the highest score and argued that it plays better than the Saturn version, but concluded that "it's still just more of the same."

Speaking of that Saturn version, the editors were excited to have a true 3D fighter at home, but were a bit mixed on the execution. While many were impressed that it looked and sounded so much like the arcade version, it was clear that the review crew hadn't been won over by the game's charm. Sushi-X ended up spending most of his review explaining that he prefers 2D fighters: "I was never that big on Virtua Fighter when it was in the arcade. I don't particularly like the slow fighting style. I prefer the fast-paced MK and SF games. Yet, this game has a lot of moves and combos, if you give it a chance." Dano had a similar take, but found that this console port actually changed his mind. "I must admit that I despised the arcade version when I first tried it -- but after playing it on the Saturn, I've grown to like it. Don't leave this one on the shelf." In the battle for who had the best version of the original Virtua Fighter, the Saturn wins with an average score of 7.9 out of 10, slightly higher than the 7.6 out of 10 we saw EGM give the 32X version.

Virtua Fighter 3tb (Dreamcast)

#6

Despite getting strong reviews at the time, Virtua Fighter 3 is often considered the lost game in the long-running franchise. It's easy to see why. The game originally came out at a time when arcades were on the decline and didn't see a console port until the Dreamcast in 1999, where it was completely overshadowed by a little game you might have heard of called SoulCalibur. And while Sega made sure to re-release the other four main-series installments multiple times throughout the years, Virtua Fighter 3 has remained a Dreamcast exclusive ever since it was first introduced two decades ago.

Even at the time, you could tell that the excitement for this third Virtua Fighter game was way down. Shawn argued that "Virtua Fighter 3tb has none of the flash SoulCalibur has. Nor is its combat system as enjoyable to fight with." He argued that while this sequel still holds its own, it looks rather dated and isn't as fun as the competition. Even Shoe, who gave the highest score, agreed that "it can be extremely hard trying to play this game after being immersed in SoulCalibur-ness for so long, but if you can purge that out of your system and start afresh, you'll find an excellent game in Virtua Fighter 3tb." Sadly, this Sega sequel was not only overshadowed at the time, but continues to be to this day. With an average score of 8 out of 10, I would argue that Virtua Fighter 3 needs to be ported to something other than the Dreamcast.

Fighters Megamix (Saturn)

#5

Only two years after the Saturn's launch, Sega was already in a bind. They wanted to continue making Virtua Fighter games, but the newest arcade sequel, Virtua Fighter 3, wasn't going to easily fit on the 32-bit hardware. What's more, Sega had already released Virtua Fighter, Virtua Fighter Remix, Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter Kids all within a fifteen-month window. What was Sega to do? As it turns out, the solution to this problem was to create a new mash-up game called Fighters Megamix that saw the Virtua Fighter squad go up against the outlandish characters from Fighting Vipers. And just to sweeten the pot, Sega also threw in characters from some of their other games, including Sonic the Fighters, Virtua Cop 2, Virtua Fighter Kids, Rent-A-Hero and Hornet, the car from Daytona USA.

Electronic Gaming Monthly liked this mash-up, for the most part. Crispin argued that "no matter what your taste in fighting games, there's no excuse for passing up Fighters Megamix. It packs the reserved, thinking-man's combat of VF2, the flashy, button-slapping antics of FV and the downright silliness of dozens of other bonus warriors from Sega's vast gaming universe." Shawn was less impressed: "This game is a lot of fun to play with a bunch of characters and even more secrets. But even with that said, I had trouble really getting into this one except for the two-player mode." While the reviews were all fairly strong, it was clear that the editors were starting to tire of the Virtua Fighter formula. They complained about button-mashing and the easy difficulty. Still, even with the understandable criticisms, this all-in fighting game averaged a score of 8.1 out of 10 and should have been the start of a phenomenal new mashed-up super-franchise. Sadly, Sega once again screwed up.

Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)

#4

Sega knew that Virtua Fighter was going to be a big selling point when it came to convincing people to take a plunge on their next-generation consoles. That might explain their rush to not only bring the first game to living rooms, but also the vastly-improved sequel. Believe it or not, Sega released both Virtua Fighter 1 and 2 on the Saturn in 1995, a mere seven months apart. And let's not forget about Virtua Fighter Remix, which came out only two months before Virtua Fighter 2. The point I'm making is that Sega had packed a whole lot of Virtua Fighter into 1995.

And yet, even with all of that Virtua Fighting packed into such a short amount of time, the EGM editors were still excited for Virtua Fighter 2. The game was that good. Andrew called it the best fighting game on the system and predicted that it would be Sega's best-selling game of the year. However, he complained that the graphics differ from the arcade hit. "The background in particular suffers, by having only two levels of parallax. This game looks a lot better than Remix, but not quite as good as the coin-op version." Sushi-X liked that you could switch between the different versions of the game and was impressed by the graphics and sound, but admitted that he was "never a big fan of the series and seem a bit more comfortable with Tekken." Still, he was quick to praise the incredible A.I. and the called it "easily the best fighting game for the Saturn." Most agreed with that take, which is why Virtua Fighter 2 is ranked at number 4 with an average score of 8.25 out of 10.

Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2)

#3

Although Electronic Gaming Monthly acknowledged and appreciated the impact it had on the fighting game genre, they were never in love with Virtua Fighter. The first few titles certainly scored well and led to competitors as diverse as Tekken and Tobal, but EGM did not rank them as highly as what we saw from Street Fighter and Samurai Shodown. All that changed the moment Sega became a third-party developer, when the series suddenly became the magazine's gold standard for fighting games. To put it in perspective, all three of the Virtua Fighter games we're going to talk about next are among EGM's seven best-reviewed fighting games of all time. That's nearly half the list.

The "lowest" scoring of the bunch is Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, which averaged a score of 9.5 out of 10, more than a full point higher than Virtua Fighter 2 at fourth place. Shane liked the game so much that he gave it a perfect 10: "Here's a lesson in how to improve upon perfection: Take PS2's finest fighting game, add two creative new characters, program in scads of intensely challenging A.I. fighters, offer up mad unlockables, and spit-polish the already-amazing graphics. Then proceed to sell the tricked-out remake for only 20 bucks." Che agreed, noting that even if you've seen most of this before, "the real reason to plunk down 20 bucks is for Evo's superb Quest mode." It may have been more of an expansion pack than a new game, but Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution average's an impressive 9.5 out of 10.

Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)

#2

By the mid-2000s, the fighting game craze had largely been overshadowed by the popularity of online shooters and epic adventure games. But even though the community had shrunk, established franchises like Mortal Kombat, SoulCalibur and The King of Fighters continued to push on with new installments. While those games were all met with solid scores, it was clear that Electronic Gaming Monthly had a favorite fighting game franchise -- Virtua Fighter. In fact, they loved the series so much that when they went to review Virtua Fighter 5 back in 2007, it ended up being their fifth-best reviewed game of the year, ahead of Persona 3, Mass Effect and both Gears and God of War. And with an average score of 9.7 out of 10, it's also the second-best Virtua Fighter game of all time.

This point was not lost on Milkman, who started his review by noting that "it's interesting that no matter how many top-tier fighters show up and try to steal Virtua Fighter's lunch money, none of them do. That task is even more difficult now, because Virtua Fighter 5 kicks everyone's ass up and down the block. Sure, some fighting series like SoulCalibur and Tekken distract you with all kinds of extra modes and, uh, bowling, but VF5 rises above the pack thanks to the sheer depth of its gameplay." Bryan also loved the game, but wasn't going to let it off the hook for its shortcomings. His biggest complaint? The utter lack of online goodies: "I don't want laggy internet fights, either, but at least throw me a bone, like leaderboards or downloadable garb. I know people are bitching about the price of the PS3, but think about this, fighting fans: Considering that this $60 game essentially replaces a $40K arcade cabinet, it sure seems worth it to me." I just want to point out that this ill-conceived logic can be used against anything and falls apart the moment you think about it. It's really a bad argument against the debate over the PlayStation 3's $600 asking price. But we're not going to get into that here, because Virtua Fighter 5 averages a bone-crunching score of 9.7 out of 10.

Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2)

#1

Now this is what I call a photo finish! There is only a tenth of a point difference separating first and second place, leading to what many might consider a controversial winner. And while some may be surprised to see Virtua Fighter 4 come out on top, I would argue that it makes perfect sense when you consider the timing. When Sega released this long-awaited sequel in 2002, they were no longer a first-party console maker demonstrating their strength. Sega was a freshly-minted third-party license bringing one of their highest-profile games to the PlayStation 2. It was also a triumphant return for the Virtua Fighter franchises, which had largely been overshadowed by the newer (and flashier) 3D fighting games on the market. By creating an expertly-crafted and incredibly polished sequel, this was Sega making a statement. If this is the type of quality you can expect from a third-party Sega, then everybody else is going to need to up their game.

For Electronic Gaming Monthly, Virtua Fighter 4 wasn't just another sequel. Looking back on the reviews now, you can tell that they considered this the first next-generation fighting game. Che couldn't believe the game's depth: "The amount of interaction you have in the Training mode, and the length to which Virtua Fighter 4 actually eases you into the deep-as-hell gameplay, is something unprecedented. In fact, VF4's many features are so innovative, anything less from future console fighters will be disappointing." Milkman agreed, choosing to write a snarky letter to SoulCalibur. "I'm sorry it had to be like this, but I've met someone else. What you and I had will always be special, but I need some room to grow and find myself. The new love of my life gives me joy in so many ways." Those ways included the cool promotion system, incredible A.I., beautiful graphics and deep gameplay. Nearly a decade after the release of the original Virtua Fighter, the series was once again setting the standard for 3D fighting games. This helped Virtua Fighter 4 average a score of 9.8 out of 10, making it not only the best-reviewed game in the franchise, but also one of highest-rated fighting games in EGM history.