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Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation Revealed

Posted by simoniker on from the quest-goes-west dept.

Thanks to IGN PS2 for their information on the unveiling of Sega's Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation for PlayStation 2/GameCube, as the semi-secret game formerly known as Virtua Fighter Quest "takes the form of an action-RPG title, rather than a versus fighter." 1UP also has a preview and in-game screenshots of the game, now due in Japan in Summer 2004, which "on the surface... seems to have only a passing connection to the original Virtua Fighter games." However, it turns out the teenage lead characters are collecting 'Virtua Souls', which "...contain fighting data from legendary fighters of old who took part in a tournament to name the world's best fighter", and when you "collect a Virtua Soul... you'll end up being able to perform a special skill, recognizable as moves from the Virtua Fighter series."

33 comments

  1. Is it just me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...or does Judgement 6 sound a bit like Majestic 12?

  2. fabulous! by liminality · · Score: 1

    this looks like the 3D sequel to River City Ransom that ive been wanting for years.

  3. Good Luck by illuminata · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People became fans of the Virtua Fighter series because of the deep gameplay mechanics. Now, they're wanting that same fanbase to play an action-RPG. I would hope that AM2 retains the mechanics that made the series popular. Otherwise, there will probably be a lot of disappointed fans.

    --


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    1. Re:Good Luck by h0mer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      People became fans of the Super Mario Bros. series because of the interesting characters and tight play control. Now they're wanting the same fanbase to play golf, race go-karts, and have a Party.

      I'll reserve judgement until I play it, but what's wrong with taking existing characters and concepts and doing something completely different? It's certainly a double-edged sword though. If the game is excellent and would've been good without the Virtua Fighter brand, the brand only helps the game. OTOH, if the game is teh suck, it hurts the Virtua Fighter name.

      Also, I think the VF series has reached a plateau just like Tekken. VF4: Evo is incredibly deep but I don't see what else they can do besides add more characters and improve the visuals. Don't even think about messing with the B/P/K button configuration, the world doesn't need another VF3.

      --


      I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
    2. Re:Good Luck by davidhan · · Score: 1

      It might be cool to have a fighting game where the story mode was a full-on RPG: beat up on weaklings to build up your stats, eventually learning special moves. But the number of special moves in a fighting game is probably a lot less than the number of, say spells or abilities that a character might be able to earn in a typical RPG game. The concept of this RPG sounds interesting too.

    3. Re:Good Luck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here, here, with regard to the B/p/K evade debacle.

      What made this game so popular was its easy three
      button config. Beginners could learn quickly while
      experts created combo's that got their own nickname.

      One of the greats.

    4. Re:Good Luck by illuminata · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The Super Mario Bros. series has a much larger fanbase than Virtua Fighter. Also, the Mario titles don't require the mastery that the Virtua Fighter titles do. This gave the Mario series a more casual fanbase as well.

      There was nothing wrong with branching out with the Mario license, Nintendo pulled it off wonderfully. Yet, the Sonic and Pac-Man licenses tried and failed. The Virtua Fighter license isn't nearly as popular as Mario, Sonic, and Pac-Man.

      Virtua Fighter isn't an extremely popular, casual gamer's title like Mario. It doesn't have that broad of a reach. Therefore, AM2 needs to please the fanbase that they have built. That fanbase was built around the fighting gameplay, thus they need to make sure that the fans are satisfied with that aspect.

      --


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    5. Re:Good Luck by AtaruMoroboshi · · Score: 1


      Each character in Virtua Figher 4 has about 100+ moves.

      .

    6. Re:Good Luck by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 1

      Virtua Tennis, Virtua Racing...

      Virtua Fighter isn't the only title to hold the Virtua name. That being said, no series has a larger fan base than Mario, it's not even a close competition (though it's closer now than it was in the past, the Mario name still means something to a lot more people).

      That being said, the real question here is whether they're going to market this game to Virtua Fighter fans or Shenmue fans (or neither).

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
    7. Re:Good Luck by illuminata · · Score: 1

      Man, Virtua Racing was one of my favorites. I about shit my pants seeing 3D on my Genesis for the first time.

      --


      Until Slashdot fixes the funny modifier, use insightful or interesting. The poster knows your intentions.
    8. Re:Good Luck by davidhan · · Score: 1

      But how many of those are 'special moves' (I've never played VF4) e.g. moves worth earning through leveling up? I just imagine a straight VF RPG going like this: your character starts out with one punch and one kick and your reward for beating up a hundred drunks is learning the 'back kick' or something like that. Wouldn't you rather just play VF4 and get those 100+ moves right away?

    9. Re:Good Luck by SScorpio · · Score: 1
      They could handle this like in Shenmue which had it's roots as Virtua Fighter Adventure before it spun off a different story and such.

      You had the basic punch, kick, block like in VF. You then had movie which you could master to let you pull them off more easily, you also could receive, or buy scrolls that taught your more moves.

      If AM2 makes this like Shenmue, but with a different story then I for one will definately be picking up a copy.

    10. Re:Good Luck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was also a bigger cartridge than normal.

      I remember buying it.. Man that was a long time ago..

      ahh One of these days Im going to clear out a used gaming store and start my life as a videogame hermit.

  4. Sega's making RPGs again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So how about a new Phantasy Star? Not an online one, but a real fullblown new one... please... please :)

    1. Re:Sega's making RPGs again by SScorpio · · Score: 1
      While they aren't full new games, remember the story from a few days ago that the Sega Ages games were officially announced in the US.

      Three of these games are remakes with updated graphics and music of Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star 2, and Phantasy Star 4.

      Hopefully these games will introduce a new generation of people to the Phantasy Star series which will compel Sega to release new non-online games in the series. But if nothing else we can relive the classics.

  5. Screw Virtua Fighter Quest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I want my Shenmue III!

    1. Re:Screw Virtua Fighter Quest by jermyjerm · · Score: 1

      All I've got to say is...

      AMEN!

      Shenmue IS the Virtua Fighter RPG. You just have to move a lot of crates and query a lot of people to get to those parts... and buy two games...

      --
      --- "Yeah, I'm a bit stressed out. I have a research paper due tomorrow and it has to be +5, Insightful."
  6. Doesn't Look like a Fighting Game by Doc+Squidly · · Score: 2, Interesting

    From the screen-shot this game looks more like Final Fantasy than any fighting game. While it might bring some RPG players to the Fighting genre, don't expect any die-hard Fight gamers convert to RPG.

    --
    I think I think, therefore I think I am.
  7. Virtua What? by Thedalek · · Score: 1

    Okay, RPGs are pretty much my favorite genre of gaming. However, this seems a bit odd. The only connection to the Virtua Fighter series is the moves? I'm no fighting series snob, but the Virtua Fighter moves weren't especially distinguishable from general martial arts moves, were they?

    If I made an RPG which featured all-new characters, I couldn't (assuming I had legal rights) very well call it a Mortal Kombat game just because one character has a grappling-spear, could I? Or call a puzzle game "Sonic Chaos Mix" just because some of the crystals were blue?

    There comes a point where brand recognition doesn't really work.

    --
    Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
  8. Seems like... by zenintrude · · Score: 1

    this has about as much to do with Virtua Fighter as Mega Man EXE (and it's spawn) has to do with the original Mega Man platforming series.

    --
    - colin
    1. Re:Seems like... by Firehawke · · Score: 1

      Except that as I understand it, Megaman Battle Network/Rockman.exe are an alternate timeline for the MM universe that hinges on a decision years before the series begins.

      This.. it's hard to say how this will tie in.

    2. Re:Seems like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the article, it looks like this game takes place in a possible future timeline that distantly follows the time of the VF tournaments in the VF universe. So that makes it more like Rockman.EXE than Shenmue Super-Lite.

      Since this is admittedly aimed at younger players, I wouldn't be surprised if its intended goal was to get kids interested in VF, by teaching them about the moves and history of the characters. VF is huge in Japan (bigger than SF2, nowadays), so I wouldn't be surprised if Sega is aiming for total world domination with the VF series, with this game being produced as a primer for new players.

    3. Re:Seems like... by Firehawke · · Score: 1

      An interesting idea. I never quite bought into the VF series, myself, but VF4's training ability where it would pick up your style of play over the hours you play was kinda neat. I'm just surprised Capcom never created anything similar. ...and for that matter, why did they remove it from the rerelease of VF4?

  9. Dreamcast Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.polygonmag.com/news/index.php?id=1298

    Sega fans rejoice...

  10. No Dreamcast Version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Polygon is wrong.

    This game will be released on the GameCube and Playstation 2. Sega no longer dedicates any of its own in-house software development efforts to the Dreamcast.

    1. Re:No Dreamcast Version by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Well, SonicTeam is making Puyo Pop Fever for DC/XB/GC/PS2. It's not much, but it is something! :-)

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
  11. 3D on Sega Genesis by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    > I about shit my pants seeing 3D on
    > my Genesis for the first time.

    Actually, there were many other 3D games on the Genesis. I recall these:

    - first-person shooters
    Zero Tolerance (Technopop/Accolade)
    Blood Shot (Domark)

    - flight sims

    F22 Interceptor (Electronic Arts)
    F15 Strike Eagle (Microprose)

    - racing games

    Hard Drivin' (Tengen)
    Race Drivin' (Tengen)

    - 2D platformers that used
    polygons for cutscenes

    Flashback (Delphine)
    Out of this World (Delphine)
    Ranger-X (Gau/Sega)

    (actually, Ranger-X used wireframes, not filled polygons)

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:3D on Sega Genesis by illuminata · · Score: 1

      If I'm not mistaken, at least most of those games were in pseudo 3D. Virtua Racing actually had a 3D processor in the cartridge that was like the Super FX chip for the SNES.

      Regardless, it was the first time that I had seen 3D on my Genesis. I played that game as a rental more than most of the games that I have purchased. All this talk about it is forcing me to go buy a copy.

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      Until Slashdot fixes the funny modifier, use insightful or interesting. The poster knows your intentions.
    2. Re:3D on Sega Genesis by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Wrong; they were real 3D, because they were made with polygons. Sega's SVP and Nintendo's SuperFX merely allowed for more polygons.

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
  12. Virtua Digimon? by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    But this is not the first time Yu Suzuki turns his own creations into a sick joke. Fighters Megamix, anyone? -_-'

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
  13. Oh boy, can't wait to be a kid again! by Icupnimpn2 · · Score: 1

    Thank goodness Sega has done away with all the mean and nasty old fighting warriors that have turned me off from the Virtua Fighter franchise since its inception. I frankly cannot wait to play as an earnest boy with a cheerful disposition, and as him form rivalries and friendships with 11-year-olds without feeling like a sicko.