Virtua Fighter
Sega 32X
I remember the day the 32X went on sale for 25 dollars at my local Toys 'R Us. This was before the internet. I only became aware of it because I happened to be thumbing through the newspaper ads that morning. My jaw nearly hit the floor. 25 dollars??? The 32X had cost well over 100 dollars before, which is a big reason why I had never bought one. But for 25 dollars? I just had to go get one. As an added bonus, it came bundled with Virtua Fighter.
I took the 32X home and quickly got it set up. It didn't work for shit. I was barely able to get Virtua Fighter to play. When I was finally able to get it working, I remember being thoroughly unimpressed. I had never been a big Virtua Fighter fan to begin with. I had already played it for the Saturn and for the arcade, and both times I had come away from the game feeling: meh.
It's funny, because all of the gaming magazines at the time had heaped praise on Virtua Fighter and its 3D polygonal graphics. I didn't understand the hype. I thought it was bland and blocky looking. I remember feeling the same way about Star Fox when I had first seen it. To me, this style of graphics was shit. Not the shit. Just shit.
I don't know how much time I spent playing the 32X version of this game, but I can't imagine it was a lot. I'm talking, like one or two times - and that's not an exaggeration.
So as you can probably tell, I am not optimistic I am going to like this game here in the year 2025. To be honest with you, I'm only playing this because it's in my backlog and I want to run through it so I can (in turn) never play it again. Let's see how this goes.
Story:
I'm pretty sure that none of the Virtua Fighter games have stories, especially the first one. It's just a bunch of random fighters participating in a tournament. You want to make it to the end and beat the mysterious Dural in the final round. I think other versions of this game have short animated cutscenes when you beat the game (or maybe I am thinking of the sequels?), but this one doesn't. Beat the game and the credits just start rolling.
Gameplay:
Sigh.
I can see why people like this game, but it has just never been for me. You only have one standard punch and kick attack. You use button presses on the directional pad to initiate a special attack. Think something like "down, forward, punch" in Street Fighter. Or "forward, forward, kick." You get the idea. Instead of launching a fireball or a spear, your character begins a kick or punch attack, which is dependent on the character you choose. For example, if you pick Akira, you can throw a powerful elbow attack or a double kick attack with these button combinations. If you choose another fighter, these combinations may result in a different attack. Regardless, this attack can do major damage to your enemy if it lands. This game is based on real life martial arts: countering, attacking, and performing combos. There's no fireballs or fatalities here. The only exception is when your character jumps. For some reason, it is like you are fighting on the moon and there is little or no gravity. Your character leaps 15 feet into the air and falls back to the ground in slow motion. It's weird.
I'm not a big fan of fighting games in general, much less tactical ones like this that are based on real life martial arts. I find it boring, and I don't have the patience to master the strategies I need to win these fights. Most of the time I play this game, it winds up in me button mashing or just spamming the same attacks over and over again. Would you define that as fun? I wouldn't.
Now, I would not say I hate every Virtua Fighter game out there. I will admit that they for the most part get progressively better as the series goes on. But this first game is rough. I played this for barely even a half hour before I decided I'd seen enough. Looking back on my memories of playing this when I was a kid, it seems my reaction was similar back then. I didn't like it when it first came out and I certainly don't like it now.
Graphics:
It's been ages since I have played either the Saturn or the arcade versions of this game, so I may be off on this comparison. But this game looks exactly as I remember the other versions looking. I don't know if that's a condemnation of the Saturn or praise for the 32X. Same blocky characters, same empty looking backgrounds and arenas. The character animations are fairly smooth, which is probably why this game was so lauded back in the 90s. But like I said, I've never been a big fan of this kind of graphical style. To me, it looked primitive then and it for sure looks primitive now.
If I had to point out a positive, it would be that some of the backgrounds look okay, such as the sunset stage and the city lights stage. And I always remember being fascinated by Dural when I was a kid.
Sound:
The music is fine. A few of the stage songs came back to me when I was playing through the game. Not really standout tracks, but good enough for this crappy game. The sound effects are solid whops and thwops. Makes a good smacking sound when you land an attack. I also like the chiming sound it makes when you make a menu selection. I can hear that anywhere and immediately recognize it as Virtua Fighter.
Overall:
The only good thing I can say about this game is that I am glad I never have to play it again. Seriously. Not a fan. I could never figure out why people liked the OG Virtua Fighter. All the magazines and game critics were so nuts about it at the time. Yet every time I tried playing this game, whether it was for the arcade, the Saturn, or the 32X, I hated it. Like I said, I did not like it when I was a kid and I do not like it now.
I guess it is time for me to take my revenge. All those video game magazines and game reviewers trying to gaslight me into thinking Virtua Fighter was a good game: fuck you. It sucks, and I am glad I can finally get this off my chest. As a result, I am giving the game the score it deserves.
THE GRADE:
F
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