Virtual On Marz Pre-Release Probed

Cacophanus writes "There's a rather comprehensive review over at Tokyopia for Sega's upcoming release 'Dennou Senki Virtual On Marz' for Playstation 2. It is worth mentioning that the game isn't released in Japan until this Thursday (29th), so have a gander on how the latest (non-Sega hardware) incarnation fares, especially considering that the game lacks any TwinSticks (the regular interface for the series)." There's a good fansite for this cult mech one-one-one fighting/action game series at Virtualon.net, too.

Comments

PS2 controller will fare just fine.

[lowmagnet]

The PS2 Controller should work, since it has dual sticks, and dual shoulder buttons. That may be the reason Sega picked PS2 over GC or XBox for the game.

Re:PS2 controller will fare just fine.

[Cacophanus]

The PS2 Controller should work, since it has dual sticks, and dual shoulder buttons. That may be the reason Sega picked PS2 over GC or XBox for the game.

From someone who has played Marz (as well as every other incarnation in the series) I can support Mr. Sakaguchi's claim that the Dual Analogue sticks simply do not fit the bill for the more advanced aspects of the game (most notably close combat).

Admittedly Force's close combat is frankly disgusting (you can block almost everything very easily), but trying to initiate any of the more advanced moves requires the physical freedom that two joysticks can only offer. Miniaturising that can, and has, caused problems with how the player controls their Virtuaroid (extended play can be really uncomfortable if you are not careful).

Without wishing to sound like an elitist prick, but most probably failing, Marz is very much dumbed down for newer players. It is still a solid game (better than a lot of the PlayStation2's library of mecha titles), but compared to the other Virtual On games that came before it, Marz really does fall short.

Re:PS2 controller will fare just fine.

[Anonymous Coward]

The GC (and I think the Xbox) have dual analog sticks, too.

NOW they tell me

[djNocturne]

From the article:

The crux of Virtual On's game design is that of vector based dash attacks and close combat moves within a fixed arena. More specifically the dash attacks are pivoted around your opponent, in that you are locked onto your target, and the ensuing high-speed tactical ballet is very much a hallmark of the series.

This would have been useful information back when I was starring as a "projectile recepticle" with the Oratorio Tangram release. I eventually came to think of myself as a training dummy for the CPU. I don't read Japanese, but I always imagined that my computer-controlled opponents ended most battles not with taunts, but rather with something along the lines of, "I am owing you debt of gratitude for standing polite while I practice happy combos."

In retrospect, I guess I should have done a little light reading on the subject. I never quite managed to grasp the subtlties of its rather novel gameplay physics, which the above description now puts into much better perspective.

"High-speed tactical ballet" ... to the fumbling idiot, the Virtual On series was really more of a "high-speed prison shower scene."

Re:NOW they tell me

[Cacophanus]

"High-speed tactical ballet" ... to the fumbling idiot, the Virtual On series was really more of a "high-speed prison shower scene."

Priceless.

In all seriousness though, since Force the series has become more inclusive to newer players simply becuase it is more "point and shoot" rather than a brutal high speed 3D spatial reasoning test. Naturally Marz is very much like this too (I also have a beta of the game, so I can also attest to the game's similarity to Force).

Re:NOW they tell me

[islisis]

very interesting observation, my assumption then is that the game hit it's strategic peak on oratario tangram! originally, i thought this series was classic japanese formulation. you have the distance weapons to attract new players and to keep you comfortable if that kind of thing is your genre, and then as you get quicker you can inflict strategy on your opponent by closing in for a possible hand-to-hand kill, taking advantage of campers and putting time on your side i love the number of levels you could play this game on. imho the series fills a big gap in today's arcade genres

Re:NOW they tell me

[Cacophanus]

Actually, the original Virtual On is probably the most strategic. It had the fastest game speed, but had a delay on the controls. In short, you had to plan ahead your consequent thrust vectoring orgy.

In Oratan, the game speed was (marginally) slower but the control responsivity was super high, hence negating the aforementioned strategic element of the previous game.

What Virtual On gameplay looks like.

[neoKEN]

If someone can offer me some space, I can upload some Virtual On Oratorio Tangram videos showing how the game is meant to be played. I don't think there is any game that would resemble it except a twisting roller coaster ride.

virtual on without twinsticks...

[Allison Geode]

...is like a burger without a slice of beef. I love the virtual on series, I actually got to play the arcade version (there are very few arcade units in the states), but I was tragically disapointed with the Dreamcast Port's AWFUL control scheme. activision released it, if I recall, because sega didn't want to make the effort to bring the US the twin stick.... they should have just not released the game. it is pointless without some kind of twin stick controller... still, this may be what clinches the purchase of a ps2 for me... I foresee the ps2 controller doing qite well as a makeshift twin-stick setup.

Re:virtual on without twinsticks...

[Cacophanus]

SEGA produced very limited quantities of the DC TwinSticks (mainly because they made a huge loss on the Saturn ones). Admittedly the DC pad button config imbued high levels of cognitive friction, especially compared to the intuitive Saturn layout, but the DC controls were deceptively thorough. They just required practice.

I can also assure you that the PlayStaion2 Dual Analogue sticks do not work as a "makeshift TwinStick setup".