Sega Addresses Demand for New Virtua Fighter Game

Most likely sadly, knowing how mid the reskinning of final showdown was I have tepid excitement.

 

Same here.
I will admit, I am a bit concerned though.

 

I'll drop my two cents here:

I think the guys behind Ultimate Showdown did a decent job. I get the new visuals aren't everyone's cup of tea, but you have to admit the online experience is quite solid even amongst the newer titles. That being said, the inability to save replays is puzzling and I expect this feature to be in a new game if it ever comes. So, with this recent leak, I assume that the people who worked on Ultimate Showdown are working on a new Virtua Fighter if this person is to be trusted.

The big question for these developers is, "how do we uncouple Virtua Fighter from what has been done with Final Showdown?" I am of the belief that Final Showdown is the best version of the 5 series and you can't really improve it to justify a new title, but at the same time anything new will inevitably be compared to it. The series has to take a new direction, and there's no immediately obvious new mechanic to emphasize. We've gotten more granular weight classes, side attacks and throws, a brand new throw escape system, entirely reworked combo system, etc.

I have zero expectations. Nothing bad, nothing good. I'm really curious as to how these developers will solve the problem of the VF scene having played Final Showdown actively for nearly 15 years.

 

With this recent leak, the people who worked on Ultimate Shodown (i.e. RGG team) are NOT working on a new VF.
"Devs who made previous VF games are working on new VF Reboot" is AM2 team, not RGG team.
So, this is a really GOOD news.

VF5US by RGG is a REMASTER, not a "developed game". And not very good remaster.
- anime graphics design, instead of VF5FS realistic
- hit sparks, instead of VF5FS realism
- no special effects (like hot breath in cold stage, for example)? instead of VF5FS realism
- no Save replays, instead of VF5FS (T8 brought this feature and ALL T8 pllayers are happy, RGG _removed_ this feature).
- buggy Netcode display rooms.
- lack of customize items (which are really easy to bring directly from prev VF5 games)
- terrible 2D art, instead of really cool in VF5FS.
- etc... Globally, all is bad in this port besides:

+ VF.TV on main screen,
+ Tournament feature,
+ Netcode with delay compensation servers.

RESUME: RGG _removed_ so many VF features instead of just making graphics better and adding new stuff, so it is diffiicult to praise their work. So, this is an AWESOME news that RGG is out of VF developing process (if the insider is correct of course).

 

I really hope you aren't mistaken, I really want to believe you but .... SEGA

 

Oh, boy!

• It is online and esports focused and has online and offline modes including customization modes
• There are new characters with a modern art style and character artist
• It is a game concept that changed many times since 2021 up to now
• Streaming and spectating implementation is an important part of this title and Super Game concept
• It is a reboot of the Virtua Fighter series in development by current Virtua Fighter staff
• It is a title releasing on all major platforms with cross play and rollback

 

Oh boy...

 

Hopefully they keep the VF5US servers online for a long time because I want everyone who isn't on board with modernizing a franchise that hasn't seen a brand new entry in nearly 20 years to still have something to play. I'm looking forward to the VF reboot with an open mind and wishing the developers success.

 

I really hope something is being lost in translation.

 

this is the only one thing which i dont like in this list, b/c it means that
RGG team is a developer for new VF reboot, if the insider is right.

 

The below comment is what I meant by the Ultimate Showdown team working on whatever this new project could be. In fact, let's take a gander at the list of VF5US Production Credits https://segaretro.org/Virtua_Fighter_5_Ultimate_Showdown/Production_credits

• The first name is Seiji Aoki, the chief producer. Likely put in this role due to his experience on Border Break. He's one of the most experienced people still at Sega in terms of shipping arcade titles and ports of those titles.
• The second name is Juro Watari. He directed the old Virtual-On titles (VOOM and VOOT) and produced Marz. His list of credits are scant after that in terms of volume, but he's generally involved in porting the VO games and produced A Certain Magical Virtual On. In short, he's the shepherd of VO. Another solid pick for the VF series to continue.
• The next few names have basically zero information attached to them until we get to Hidehito Sakuma, who was a "Game System Regulator" for the 5 series. He also directed VF3tb Online. It would be a reasonable guess to assume that he has a good hand in the balance of whatever the next entry is if it releases.
• The art people are a combination of RGG vets and those who worked on Soul Reverse in arcades and iOS. There's a couple Border Break people in there as well. It's not very important to go through all the names but some were involved in RGG series from its very inception. Those older people were also assigned to Monkey Ball in the past before Yakuza 1.
• Most programmers had worked on at least one Virtua Fighter or arcade title before this one. Whether it was the original or a port (pretty much all of the VF ports barring the Saturn one were good anyways so in my book these are solid guys)
• Hideki Tanaka and Daichi Katagiri were both involved in Ultimate Showdown as advisors. I don't know what role they really played in development, but they are clearly still around at SEGA. (Tanaka was a long time AM2 programmer at the studio since the CG Portraits and did F355 Challenge and VF4 and 5. Katagiri needs little introduction).
• Fumio Ito did sound design for pretty much every VF since 3 but the sound in Ultimate Showdown basically didn't change from Final Showdown so this could just be crediting him for old work. He's still at Sega, recently collaborating as a Composer on Sonic Superstars, so he's clearly around.
• The Ultimate Showdown soundtrack was composed by a number of people who have been with Sega since the 90's. One of them, Hiro, even worked on Space Harrier and has composed consistently since the mid 80's. Another, Yasuyuki Nagata, is among the younger end and has composed since VF5 R.

I could keep going, but my overall point is that the VF5US team are basically a bunch of oldhead Sega programmers who have worked on arcade titles before mixed with some new guys who don't have many credits, art guys who were on Yakuza (which is lauded for its art direction, specifically its character models) or another newer Sega arcade title, and some older AM2 folks who helped shape what Virtua Fighter is today. I think the series is in pretty good hands generally, but these people together still face a tough question: "how do we follow up Final Showdown, which has not only been the dominant VF game for nearly 15 years, but also is widely regarded as one of the best fighting games of all time?"

Make no mistake, they will fuck this up somehow. However, I doubt they will lose the thread on what VF is. The way they will fuck up is probably a balancing mistake here, a questionable art decision there, some missing feature, etc. As a community, we're gonna have to decouple ourselves from what VF has been in the 2000's and 1990's. Whatever we get is going to be very different and very new. So long as we have the triangle system in the game and hard hitting moves and sound effects with a style that just says "SEGA", things will be alright. We're not going to get a Bionic Commando reboot or Bomberman Act Zero.

Right?

Edit: Not related to VF, but I should remind everyone that Killer Instinct 2013 was initially developed by Double Helix Games, a studio totally unrelated to the OG Rareware team that did KI 1 and 2. Even if VF6 was developed by people new to the series, that doesn't mean the new game will be bad.

 

Also, Head of the Block from ResetEra, says that:

• VF has been in dev for only a couple years by a VERY respected team
• Graphics are not priority (this might be subjective)
• It's got the same "initiative" as new Crazy Taxi (heavy online testing)
• It's set to be announced this year
• No guest characters yet

 

There's a reply to this too that I think is funny.

Even if we take the names just from Ultimate Showdown, we have a very respectable line up of people. I also found out Daishi Odashima of SoulCalibur fame (or infamy depending on who you ask) is a planner on Ultimate Showdown, after having left Namco and joining Sega in 2013 to work on Soul Reverse which would release in 2018...

It seems like a stacked team of old Sega people who knew how the company operated back then and people who joined later who have significant experience in developing quality titles.

 

Yeah they mentioned this last year as well, saying the "game will look good but the graphics won't be high budget". Some people will try to be down on that, but an art style can go a long way. "Not high-budget" isn't anywhere close to being a negative.

 

https://x.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1764875123465539626?s=20




What did I tell ya...

Seems to me there ain't much more to report.

 

I think the game is gonna be awesome

Evo Japan reveal maybe?

 

It seems to be related to the Super Game initiative, which whatever it is, Sega seems to be banking a lot on.
Which makes me think it should be revealed at one of the big gaming events or adedicated event, rather than EVO.

 

See, this last sentence to me is exactly what I don't want to see. I'm not nearly as much of a purist as some other people here and I don't mind the hitsparks nor would I mind some visuals on circulars, for example. What I DO NOT want to see are cinematic supers or gauges of any kind and as it just so happens, that's exactly the way Street Fighter and Tekken have been going for several iterations.

Give me dynamic gameplay only interrupted by as long as a non-cinematic super including combo would do and I'll be quite happy. I'm just afraid that appealing to crowds as a competitor to Tekken and SF will have exactly those things appear in the game which is pretty much the reason I don't play either of those games.

Especially the cinematic supers, jesus fuck, they might be good for someone who tunes in to watch once a year but when you're the guy playing it and having to watch that shit twice a match it gets boring REALLY fast.

I hope I'm wrong but also I do want to point out that a lot of locals here have pointed out that VF's charm is in not having any of that shit in the game. There's a lot of people who are not getting into the game just because it's so old that the scene is dead and also because the remakes netcode sucks turds. I hope you are right and they don't drop the ball or the leaker is just over-embellishing these things for rapport.

I don't see myself playing a VF game that doesn't feel like VF at its core and that emphasis on SF/Tekken mechs is not hanging my hopes high.

Still, better whatever they do than nothing. I gotta put it out there that having a new VF is better than not having a new VF. I'm just worried it won't feel like VF.

 

1) In your list almost all devs are not fighting games devs. So, i dont see how they could evolve the fighting game series like VF.

2) This team _ported a remastered_ version of another team's game (VF5FS by AM2) and did this _bad_ (why? check my prev posts). I other words, they failed even on remastering the game, not developing something new. I dont trust RGG team from VF developing point of view.

Resume: i am not sure in RGG team potential in developing next VF game.
Especially after this inside: "This is a Virtua Fighter title that is developed to be a modern competitor to Street Fighter and Tekken with esports concepts and mechanics that are similar to current Street Fighter and other fighting games. It is a concept that evolved a lot." .......after Hit sparks and anime style of VF5US by RGG, we must to be ready to get "Heat meter" and "Whistle gauges" for special moves... (No way!)

 

The part where they have AM2 and programmers who have worked on various projects puts a lid on the doompost. Not sorry.


Juro Watari worked on Virtual-On which was another esports game Sega had back in the past as well. I'll go ahead and trust that he is taking feedback from the newer generation and doing research himself.

I'm staying optimistic that meter won't be a thing in the game, but that's me huffing crazy amount of..."hopium"?