Virtua Fighter Turns 30

One of the most important video games and fighting games in video game history turns 30 with little to no fanfare and it is a sad shame because it’s also one of the most strategic and grounded fighting games of all time and that game is Virtua Fighter.

The game was created at Sega with Sega AM2, the team that created Sega classics such as Hang-On, Space Harrier, Out Run, After Burner, Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop. At the helm of this project was Yu Suzuki who was both director and producer, with Seiichi Ishii, Yishinao Asako, and Youji Kato as the design team and Toru Ikebuchi and Keiji Okayasu as the main programmers and lastly Takayuki Nakamura was the composer.

What makes Virtua Fighter such a different and one-of-a-kind game is the game was a polygon-based 3D game. The game looks and feels like nothing that was hitting the arcade scene back in 1993 and that is what made this game stand out. Another reason was the use of real-world fighting styles, with a total of 6 and they are as follows:

Bajiquan

Mizongquan

Pro Wrestling

Pancratium

Jujutsu

Jeet Kune Do

Since its release, the game saw a total of 5 sequels and added new characters and fighting styles that keep the hardcore fans returning to the series. Sadly the series has been forgotten by most of the video game and fighting game communities due to new releases in games and other fighting games that players want to play ( looking at you Mortal Kombat 1). Take some time and play this game and see how far 3D fighting games and 3D games in general have come since 1993.