RETRO REBOOT | Virtua Fighter Remix (Sega Saturn)
The grandfather of 3D fighting games got a facelift
RETRO REBOOT
"ColonelFancy" Mike Lind
11/10/20265 min read
Developer: Sega AM2
Published by: Sega
Release date: July 14th, 1995 (JP) October 2nd 1995 (US)
While fighting games like Street Fighter and Fatal Fury shaped my imagination regarding the ethos of the genre, especially characterization and abstract world building, the Virtua Fighter series provided the depth and complexity from a gameplay perspective that I couldn't fathom at the time. 3D tournament battlers felt like something my 11 year old mind didn't think would be possible until the far off future; the physics the various martial arts that could be exemplified. As a kid that grew up enjoying kung-fu movies, seeing anything during this era that emulated the real deal was something that left our generation slack-jawed.
Now while the first Virtua Fighter shows it age, it was still a technical marvel for its time, establishing the purity of its combat meta, roster composition, and reliance on WHY you utilize your attacks rather than the ability to do them. The original Sega Saturn version of VF launched, and was considered a buggy, glitchy mess. It was a rushed product, as the accelerated release of the console created major issues. Screen tearing, polygonal hiccups, constant flickering, and loading times long enough to map the Pitcairn Islands by hand and return before the fight begins. So an enhanced version, Virtua Fighter Remix, was developed as a make-good for Saturn owners.
While the core mechanics remain largely the same, Virtua Fighter Remix is a visual and performance facelift. Instead of the blocky faces on the character select screen, new illustrations are provided by Katsuya Terada, who provided artwork for Nintendo Power, The Legend of Zelda, and the 2000's movie, Blood: The Last Vampire. Stages look a little more dynamic, and the loading times are considerably faster. At a time where it was fairly uncommon to see home console video games get upgrades, this was pretty cool to witness.
Remix was released free as a pack-in bundle game with Sega Saturns in 95, when we picked up the system. It was a pretty sweet deal to get a game I had spent dozens of dollars in tokens to play at Aladdin's Castle. Like the aforementioned Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter was a game I studied. I even had a Tips & Tricks magazine that featured a strategy guide for it, and on weekends when we would go to the mall, I made a beeline for the arcade.
As mentioned, it's beat for beat the same VF game. some of the collision detection is more refined and consistent. Before the Tekken series blew by it in popularity in the later part of the 90's, Virtua Fighter set forth a foundation for what a 3D fighting game aspired to be. Even with its three button control scheme, and relatively small roster of 8 combatants (9, including the boss character Dural) there's a solid deal of depth and creativity among the fighters, while still being pretty straightforward. The sequels would explore considerably more with complex layers, the first game centered around the properties of your moves and fairly simple hitboxes. and I always appreciated its tier system, based on the skill level required to master the characters. Pai chan, Sarah, and Jacky being beginner friendly, while bruisers like Jeffry McWild and Akira Yuki require patience and timing to maximize damage.
To be fair, I could see this methodical style not appeasing to everyone, but Virtua Fighter caught on. A part of the novelty being the first 3D fighting game (though the action still took place on a two-dimensional playing field), players were captivated by the solid gameplay and music. It was quite the killer app for the Saturn, with remix pushing total sales of Virtua over 1 million copies.
In a field where the games were getting faster, like Street Fighter Alpha and Killer Instinct, this facelift helped solidify its tenure. The sequel wasn't too far behind. It can play little plodding, and is easily the toughest entry to revisit from a gameplay perspective. I recall my nephew wanting to try it out while I was just fooling around and recording footage. The fairly slow movement and unorthodox moon jumping soured him on the first game quickly, asking me, "did you think this was good?". A little scathing, but I see his point.
One of the main attractions of Virtua Fighter Remix is also probably its most divisive ones; the graphics. The new, smoother texture mapping does breathe new life into the optics of virtua Fighter, as the blocky animations are a dated aspect. Though it is charming to see figmas released in the polygonal style, and even being featured as alternative costumes in Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown (coincidentally another facelift Virtua fighter would receive). Faces and expressions are more detailed, and this texture detailing would be utilized in the Saturn versions of Virtua Cop and Virtua Cop 2.
It does look nice, but what gets lost is the new visuals don't really play nice with the environment. The polished and upgraded details contrast sharply with the game's stages and backgrounds. This ends up making the sleek new state-of-the-art character models glow brighter than nuclear radiation, and it gets quite hard to unsee. So, sure Virtua Fighter Remix technically looks nicer, but without the dynamic lighting, it comes off looking a little unfinished. Very much like how Sonic the hedgehog sticks out like a sore thumb in some scenes in the 2020 Sonic movie, after the model was redesigned. Not a deal breaker, per say, but it does look awkward.
Virtua Fighter was an important game for fighters, as it helped forge that path for the 3D fighting game field. Virtua Fighter Remix was a technical step in the right direction, showing what the Saturn architecture was capable of providing. is it worth playing in this time and day? I suppose if you wanted a trip down memory lane or wished to experience some trivia for the upcoming (as of this writing) Virtua Fighter Crossroads, which aims to bridge the gap of what this iconic fighting game series once stood for and ingratiating a potential new generation of fans.
VF 1 can come off stiff and rickety. And I'll keep it pure and honest, the series sticking to its guns is something I'll eternally respect. they didn't chase the bag the way Tekken did, when it comes to standing for what a 3D fighter should strive to be. Dare I say, the Dead or Alive series remained more faithful to itself over the years.
For Virtua Fighter, the series definitely had a vision It stuck to its design and craft, honoring its purity and design of a fighting game wanted to constantly improve on what it was aiming to build. But it was quite insular and it may have cost them globally and commercially throughout the late 90's and early 2000's, as giant flashy super moves, extended combos, and overly bloated rosters became the name of the game. This makes the first Virtua Fighter such a fascinating time capsule, compared to the other first entries in tournament fighters.