Virtua Fighter discussion and resources

So yeah, I decided: in a small hope that we'll hear Sega announce something to do with Virtua Fighter 6 this year(or even like, 5 Final Showdown Supreme Evolution featuring Shenmue's Ryo as the new character, fuck, I'll take it), that maybe in an attempt to coerce some new players into trying it out, I'd assemble a blog of good online resources to get you started, and then drop a few of my own, personal tips(which won't be as good as the online resources, but I figure I should at least attempt to.)

First to clear up a myth of Virtua Fighter.

Myth: Virtua Fighter is SUPER HARD to get into.

Reality: Virtua Fighter, at a high level of play, has a lot of demanding knowledge, but is NOT hard to get into. Its raw execution level is surprisingly low compared to many other fighters like Tekken, Guilty Gear, Blazblue, or sometimes even Street Fighter, depending on the version.

Most of VF's difficulty comes after you've passed over the early and into the intermediate threshold and need to learn the matchups, since it is fairly important you learn matchups.

There are some tougher characters. Akira is one of the more demanding characters of the game, and Eileen is also more advanced there due to hit-checks. Vanessa is a stance based character whose stances work differently than most(rather than a typical one who often has a core stance and set of moves, and then stances that flow into one another, her movelist is literally split between two stances), and there are other characters with their nuances, but there are a slew of characters who are fairly simple to get into(Jeffry, Jean, Goh, Lau, and some others.)

I really don't know where the myth came from that the game is hard; It may have stuck from the old days, when, if I think it over, it may have been one of the more demanding games compared to what else was out at the time, and it never lost that stigma. Ring outs may add to it, but Soul Edge/Blade/Calibur had ring-outs and was fairly popular in its heyday(before they broke it. :P)

Another cool thing is that stuff just works in VF like it says it does. Circulars are always tracking. Half circulars always track to one side. Evading a move means it's evaded properly, failing an evade means it fails. There are a few combos that have some character nuances, of course(Taka-Arashi comes to mind), but the game's rules are pretty strict, so you really don't run into things like 'random crushing' or 'random low profiling'. You can never be thrown out of attacks(intended.)

Basic movement is easy to grasp. While in Tekken, as much as it's one of my top 3 franchises, even learning basic movement can be a bear for a new player(it's easier now), in VF, there are some advanced movement tricks, but you'll be fairly cozy right off the bat.

Finally, the VF4 Evolution has what is seen as one of the top 3 training modes/tutorial modes of all time in a fighting game(unfortunately, VF5 FS has more of a standard tutorial/dojo, but it's still pretty good and takes you through enough motions). While I'd suggest FS as the one to play(it's my personal favorite, though some name 4 Evo as the pinnacle which is understandable), I'd highly suggest getting ahold of Evo as well.

But yeah, it got the stigma, it stuck, and it's a reason I think it gets passed over.

I think another thing that got people to pass it over was that it's a fighting game light on flash and story. While it has some great character designs(I to this day think Goh, Brad and Jean are fantastic visual designs and Jacky 'Billy Idol' Bryant is a classic), great looking stages, and some really good looking moves that come from a wide variety of styles, some of which don't even get represented often(Mantis Kung-Fu rarely appears in fighting games, Jacky and Sarah's Jeet Kune Do is NOT a Bruce-Lee ripoff variant, and Brad Burns is, for my money, the best example of a Muay Thai character you will ever find in a fighting game) it lacks any sort of super/specials/meter, flash, and again, story. Also, the fact that weight classes exist sometimes throws people off; while these aren't new in games(Guilty Gear has them in a sense, Tekken has not weights but combo variants on characters of different sizes), weight plays into things a bit heavier; heavy characters have less damage done to them in combos than lighter(this does not mean lighter is worse; indeed, Lion is frightening in VF5FS.)

Story? Mattering in a fighting game?

Yeah, nowadays especially, but even back then a bit, story and flash DOES entice people to play, particularly more casual players(who can 'level up' to beginners who then level up to rookies, to intermediate players, etc), or just players who like a whole thing; I mean, there are a lot of players I know who play, say, Guilty Gear or Tekken competitively and also enjoy the story.

There was a long time where I felt it didn't matter, and even liked VF's light story touch. And hell, in ways, I still do. The gist is:

Tournament is held, turns out by an organization called Judgement 6, or J6, which is actually six heads of six different global megacorporations, all who have their hands in stuff like weapons manufacturing, terrorism, chemical weapons, human weapons, overall global domination, and so on. Despite it taking place in 'modern' times it's a kinda cyberpunkish story.

So everyone basically gets involved for varied reasons which can be boiled down to a couple to a few paragraphs each. It's really not much. You don't get fancy endings or cutscenes, you don't get story modes. And yeah, again, I feel that nowadays maybe this did trim off some of the potential playerbase. Here's hoping that maybe for the hypothetical VF6-if they go with this method-that people will be able to look past it, but if SFV is any indication, yeah, more 'light' players like this stuff.

“So, okay, I kinda want to try this Virtua Fighter game, where do I start?”

Well, for starters, you can grab VF5FS over on the PS3. It's not terribly expensive, currently around 25e for the complete edition, including custom packs. If you want the Supreme Training/Tutorial Mode(with the caveat that there are some mechanical differences between games) that VF4 EVO has to offer, you can get that for around 10e(or whatever equivalent currency you use, of course.) VF5 is where you'll find the most players.

A fantastic tutorial video right here: https://youtu.be/boM7T3BWewY While it's a good 2h 40m+ long, it has a crapload of info that will get you into the game. It is timestamped for easy watching, so you can come and go from it. Highly suggested.

Virtuafighter.com 's forums have a plethora of information as well, like:

-A 5 steps deal here: https://virtuafighter.com/threads/5-steps-to-learning-virtua-fighter.15813/

-A character list with some description, strengths and weaknesses: https://virtuafighter.com/threads/character-playstyles-how-to-pick-right-char-for-u.15847/

-And just for simplicity's sake, a link to the whole forum: https://virtuafighter.com/forums/

There are some recent posts, too, that one can utilize to find games and such.

For community matters, while it's slow moving, the VF Reddit is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtuafighter/ (and it's a good reddit too, for those a bit wary of the site.) As said, also see above with virtuafighter.com.

The Wiki is here for those who want some info on the more world-oriented stuff: http://virtuafighter.wikia.com/wiki/Virtua_Fighter_Wiki

Finally: I have my OWN little personal tips to folks who are looking to get into it! Note I'm like not an expert at the game, like most fighters I'm more an intermediate type, but...

-Pick who you like at the end of the day, BUT perhaps consider starting out with a slightly heavier character. Heavier characters are less vulnerable to certain combos, and it could well give you a little leeway at the start. This is, again, by no means a requirement-if El Blaze is a favorite of yours(one of the two Ultra Light characters), than by all means give him a whirl! But for the heavier types, Taka-Arashi is a super-heavyweight, and then you have heavies Wolf and Jeffry, followed by Jean, Jacky, and Akira, as 'heavy middleweights.' Out of all of these, Jean, Jeffry, and Jacky are all fairly forgiving to learn at first(Akira being probably the hardest in the game, but again, don't let this dissuade you if that's what you want. I should note Jacky is generally simple however has a couple of bits that can be difficult for newer players.

Middleweight characters are fairly numerous, including Goh, Brad, Lei Fei, Kage, and Lau.

-There are a small series of moves that you can learn with almost anyone to get you started. P, PP, P 6P, 2P, a couple of throws to mix up(forward, back, neutral), a low or two from your chosen character, a common string(character dependent) and a circular/couple of half circulars(one in each direction.) You can start learning the super-basics with this as you go through tutorials, experiment with the move lists, and so on. This list is only partially character specific(everyone has a jab, f, b, and n throws and so on), making it even simpler.

-At first, don't worry too super-hard about character specific combos or even weight specific(with an exception). Some of those nifty guides over on virtuafighter.com have them listed fairly simply in a 'Vs. Taka' and 'Vs. Anyone Except Taka' method. Again that's a great place to go, and you'll worry more about optimizing combos vs. lighter characters(who can take more damage) later on. Take it step by step, you won't be doing mad juggles at first anyway.

-TRY THE GAME AND HAVE FUN

Anyway let's hope we hear some more on Sega at some point. This game still has a community and a following; let's keep it going and maybe even get some new blood involved!