Virtua Fighter has not had any respect for quite some time. Although VF1 revolutionized 3-D polygon fighting action, you mostly had to play it at the arcade to truly get the proper experience. VF2 used some of the similar concepts as the first one, but really didn't stand out. VF3 was actually decent...until it was ported to the Dreamcast and called VF 3TB: What a virtua mistake. But now, since Sega is able to concentrate on game development, they redesigned VF to release number 4 for the PS2. I am still playing it and the game still has me screaming "Virtua Fighter More"!
One Story To Rule Them All
Ok, so the story of VF4 is standard fighting fare. Kage-Maru won the 3rd World Fighting tournament and fought a new model of Dural, defeated him, and obtained they item he needed to save his mother. Unfortunately, with this item, she turned into Dural completely and J6--a mega-industry corporation that only wants control over the world's fate (oh, is that all?)--acquired her once more. But Kage-Maru's mother had lost some of her abilities and J6 needed a new target. This new target would be Sarah Bryant and the tournament is ready to begin.
A tournament of fighting prowess? Sounds like every other fighting game on this planet. But trust me when I tell you that 10 minutes into VF4 and you'll be thinking to yourself "Story? I don't need no stinking story."
One Control Scheme To Bind Them All
A good thing Sega did was to remove the Evade button. Now, evading is done by simply double tapping the directional pad. You also have a control set that beginners can adapt to and fighting aficionados can take months to master just one character..
So between kick, punch, and guard and utilizing a combination of the two, you can perform slick combos of attacks and evasion techniques to overpower your opponent. You can throw, attack downward, escape a throw, recover (from a fall), execute rising attacks, perform evasion attacks, reverse and deflect, and attach against a wall.
Now usually when I see hand-to-hand fighting games, I think of Tekken and all the clunky and heavy controls associated with it. Moves need to be thought of in advance and movement is just plain frustrating. But not so with VF4. I was skeptical at first, but quickly melded myself with the timing and execution of each character and each move(s) specific to them. Dodging is smooth and speedy, getting that 5 or 6 hit combo doesn't require reflexes of David Carradine, and the best part is that juggling is definitely a nice, strategic part of the game and if you can rely on your patience to get you through a juggle, then you can turn the tide or dominate a match.
My only complaint about the control has more to do with a few of the moves. While evading is relatively easy, I think that reversing and deflecting an attack is an opportunity. Obviously, you have to know your opponent and second-guess his moves, but I figure that instead of attempting to use the directional pad (for high, middle and low attacks) to reverse, have a single button for this. The shoulder buttons would work well. I found that even if I knew the move that was coming, I would inadvertently have my thumb press the wrong directional and my opponent would deal me the business end of his fists. This would happen because some of the moves seem like middle attacks, but turn out to be high attacks and vice versa. I would think I had the right reversal, but I seemed to want to get my bootay kicked.
A strong point about the control is that it is hard to button-mash and win. I know a lot of you are thinking that with only 3 buttons, it will be easy to win by button-mashing and dodging. Those who partake in the button-mashing will only be defeated quicker. I have played many people who button-mashed and it's the simple 3-button combination that throws them off. If you just hit punch and kick, it's easy to anticipate which move is coming for whatever character, even if you only know a few moves for the characters. If you know even the basic ones, then you'll have to problem dodging and attacking.
5 Modes To Rule Them All
Arcade Mode recreates the battle progression from the Arcade version. Complete 14 stages against computer controlled characters. Just like any other arcade mode in any other fighting game.
Training Mode. You can train your character and improve skills. There are three further modes under training. COMMAND TRAINING preps your fingers by entering all the moves for the character you selected. You can move on until you correctly enter the command. Great to see exactly how the moves need to be entered. FREE TRAINING allows you to modify different settings to practice in an environment that you feel comfortable in. TRIAL TRAINING lets you learn fighting strategies and techniques by clearing different challenges. These could range from performing combos, to successfully completing 5 reversals in a row. This training is perfect for VF because you will need to be proficient in many strategies and techniques.
A.I. System. Here is one of the fun modes of VF4 and of any fighting game in a long time. You select a character, who is controlled by the computer. You job is to train the fighter to learn moves, strategies, and techniques. You do this by having it spar with other characters and watching replays of either you or pre-loaded games from the VF disc. While sparring and watching, it is your responsibility to "tell" your character which is a good move to use/learn and which is a good technique. By pressing a button, you can tell him/her that it's okay or not okay to do that. The weird part is you fighter may turn out to fight like you. I have a fighter that only watch replays of me fighting and after about 3 hours, she started using my moves and in the same sequences against the same characters. It was really strange...I thought I was fighting!
Kumite Mode
Kumite is the reason you will be playing this game for hours and days and months. Kumite is the mode you will be married to. In it's purest form, Kumite is a tournament mode where you fight and fight and fight and fight. But it's deeper than that. You are ranked, like in martial arts, and you increase in rank the better you are the more you win. You start at 10th Kyu and progress to 1st Kyu. After that is 1st Dan and you can go to 10th Dan. Further down the road are the actual titles: you can earn Subjugator, conqueror, Dragon Lord and such. Getting to 1st Kyu is relatively easy. Getting to 10th Dan gets harder, since you will only improve a level if you defeat other fighters who are on the same level. And yes, since you can go up a level, you can also go down. Of course, just don't lose.
One your way to the highest title, you will obtain special features like extra clothing, adornments, and more stages to practice in. You can also get the original character models from VF1...with all the blocky glory that will have you wanting a VF1 arcade machine. Maybe not that extreme, but they are fun to unlock. Don't worry, there is a goal. Once you get to the higher ranks, you will be fighting some fighters for special jewels. Once you get a certain number of jewels and reach one of the highest ranks, you will fight Dural. Let me just end it there because you will just fight him. Be prepared to fight him over and over and over again.
The best thing I liked about Kumite mode is that it's not that easy. Sure in the beginning you can fly through 10 levels and get to 1st Dan no problem. But the curve shoots way up there and soon you'll be wiping the ground with your face numerous times. There are different styles to each character even though they are used a number of time (they are named different). Sometimes the weaknesses are the same and sometimes they are not, but they all have strengths. If you looking for a challenge in a fighting game, then you need to look no further than Kumite mode. This mode by itself is worth the $45 I paid for the game.
VS This is your basic 2-player mode. I mentioned it after Kumite because you can fight your character against a friends and it will rise and fall in rank just as if it was in Kumite mode. So if you want to humiliate a friend that is bragging, humble him by lowering his rank.
The PS2 Graphics Engine That Rules Them All
I left the graphics description and opinion until last because if the above doesn't make you want to buy the game, then you have no business playing video games. The graphics are not the most superb in the world; they get the job done. The background are lush and detailed--from the leaves being kicked around to the snow being trampled through--and provide a fine addition to the overall look of the game. There are levels that are dark and mysterious while other levels are happy and colorful. Everything had substance and I really didn't see any bad collision detection from either the characters or the object flying around the screen and hitting the ground.
The major issue with the graphics were the character models. It was evident in the backgrounds, but not as much as the character models. Let me just say, "Jagged-Lines". I know it has to do with the hardware of the PS2, but it's getting a bit annoying these days. There's not too much else to say except Sega didn't really push too much of the graphics engine. Like I said, it gets the job done. Besides, you have more to worry about than picking out the details: You have a Demon Lord Rank to obtain.
Many Stats To Rule Them All
One last note I'd like to make is the stat tracking. Like a baseball season, you can find out everything on how you're fighting. From percentage of successful hits to number of 3 hit combos to how many low attacks you have blocked: if it can be measured and tracked, it will listed in this file. There are over 60 stats that it tracks, so if you hate number, then don't load this up. Sometimes, after reading my stats on my character, I thought I was a spreadsheet for a while.
Soul Calibur has moved on in my world. Virtua Fighter 4 has moved in next door and I am coveting my neighbor until I am sore. My eyes hurt, my fingers are cramped weekly, and my butt is asleep 4 hours a day. But there is motivation, young Reader-san, and it involves the High Emperor. Even if you are a casual fighting game player, you owe it to yourself for this in-depth gameplay and hours and hours of reaching different Ranks. So fight and be merry.
Now it is time that I become the High Emperor. Wish me luck.
