Virtua Fighter 6

I read the entire thread but THIS particular comment really got to me and I'll explain why.

Jacky uses Jeet kune Do (with many Wing Chun Gung Fu elements) please show me one single fighting game where Wing Chun techniques are displayed so realistically it's beautiful to watch? Please just one will do because I've never seen any game that captured the art so well as Jackys animations.

The animations in VF5 still stand up against other fighters on the market. Hell DOA still can't animate Jann Lee's "Bruce Lee stuff" properly.

 

Just a few. Jacky, Sarah, El Blaze, Jean Kujo, Taka, Kage and the kung fu practicioners, besides Lion and Eileen are actually good. Like I've said on another thread, it's easy to make kung fu fighters animate well because we are use to seeing it in movies. But the rest are just bland, stiff or just clunky. Brad's movements too stiff for a Kickboxer, Goh and Jeffry are okay I guess it fits their grappler/brawler style. Vanessa stances were better in VF4. Lion's stance should be lower. Wolf stance is lifeless. And as far as movement goes, I admit its not so bad as I depicted it. But nonetheless movement is just an offensive side step to the left or right then attack or defend. It's just not very showy.

I honestly feel that DoA has the perfect balance of realistic strikes that look impactful while maintaining the extremeness of this still being about fictional characters. Jacky looks and moves good in VF5FS but the gameplay of him in DoA just looks a tad bit better. Just my opinion..

 

Bumping this topic up again but do you guys honestly think Lau would be returning in VF6? It seems to me that the 5th tournament would be his last..

And also Shun Di..he should be well over 100 years old now eh? Whats left for him in tournaments anyhow? I really want VF to come back. I enjoyed it when I was younger and feel as thats the only 3D fighter I've gained a favorite connection to. Perhaps because VF2 was one of my first fighting games.

But realistically, Sega put themselves in a very tough spot as seeing that the state they are in with this IP. As time progresses, they are potentially losing 2 characters based on the small details we'd got from the characters' history and age.

Sad to say but I dont see Lau Chan coming back and Shun Di would have to be unrealistically old to be such an active kung fu drunk master. Would Lau Chan finally find a successor, maybe Pai adopting her late father's techniques? Will we get another drunked style martial artist, maybe a completely different character like Shun Di's mysterious student? So much work need to be done for everything to tie into a bow for any future projects for VF.

I'd just say a reboot is the best way to go. You start back with the VF2 cast that made 3D fighters the way they are today. The characters from VF3-5 would be unlockables or dlc. This would be their 2nd chance on giving a proper story/character ending thus giving the characters more personalities and depth other than reading what their motives are from a wiki. They can also reintroduce the dodge button and enviromental stages from VF3 (but erase those weird costume designs in that game), add some Sega guest characters like Ryo Hakuzi, Kazuma Kiryu or Blaze Fielding, more homages to other characters like a Joe Musashi skin for Kage. Just show that you care for the VF and Sega fanbase. This is the same problem that the capcom fighting game team are having. They are ignoring what the fanbase wants. It's frustrating to not have another VF in todays times. Especially when this is the best time for it to make a comeback.

 

Dude... You're talking like if the story actually mattered and affected the games themselves either way isn't VF's Story stuck in the 90s just like Street Fighter's story? and aren't the World Martial Arts Tournaments a yearly thing? if so then VF5 took place in 1997 and VF6 would take place in 1998 Shun Di would be like 86 years old meanwhile Lau would be 58, yeah Lau has that mysterious illnes but that's just some random plot to justify the redesigns he had in 4 and 5 to not make him look too much like Tao Pai Pai from Dragon Ball.
Either way if they plan to have story inside the game the quest for a cure would make for a pretty good story and goal for Lau.

also... come on, guest characters really? Why should VF copy games like DOA and Tekken with that guest characters stuff? can't a game stand up on its own anymore or what?
Characters like Kiryu would completely feel out of place in a Virtua Fighter since they basically are.. ANIME with crazy powers, aren't Virtua Fighter characters supposed to be more of a representation for different martial arts than actual characters?!
Although some of Kage's moves are quite out of place..
Either way Guests would totally feel out of place even guys like Ryo Hazuki who basically is a mishmash of movesets from the VF cast making his inclusion quite redundant even more considering Dural already is just that but overpowered.
If what people want are guests then everyone should be asking for a FIGHTERS MEGAMIX 2 and not for a Virtua Fighter sequel.
The only thing that would make sense for VF is having items that would allow you to dress your characters like other SEGA characters in a accurate way, let's say having stuff like a 1 to 1 version of Ryo's jacket for characters like Jacky and Akira.

 

Yes the story does matter or else they wouldn't have made up one. And what? He always looked like General Tao Pai since well...ever. Why would they justify it after all these years. If he does find a cure great, but also would be pointless, even weak for his development for him to be cured again since he is already trying to find a successor to his martial art.

I guess you're right about the redundancy of Ryo Hazuki having certain moves from the VF cast. Although if you want to take a look at what works and what doesnt in terms of marketing success, guest characters are never a bad thing. So what if they are copying Soul Cal, DoA or Tekken. As you see those games are doing quite well with them. VF5? Not so much. If VF6 is a thing, I think it's time for them to do something they've never done before.

 

VF5... dude that was a long time ago! the console releases were like in 2007 on PS3.
VF5 didn't do so well because it was just a worse version of VF4FT not to mention it wasn't nearly as full packed of content as the PS2 release of VF4Evo, to make matter worse SEGA made a exclusivity deal with Sony to release VF5 as a timed exclusive so the PS3 port had to be rushed to be a release title due to that AM2 wasn't able to even implement online!
With all these problems VF5 simply looked worse than its competition, yeah later the game was released on Xbox360 with online but that still didn't make the overall game better than 4 to most people.
Then VF5R happened and it stayed at JP arcades, then in 2010 5FS released in arcades then got a pretty low budget digital console release in 2012 for PS360 with online on both platforms this time but.. it lacked a ton of content from vanilla VF5 and from the arcade version itself not to mention this port confused many since many thought VF5FS on consoles was an update to VF5, thanks to that many owners of vanilla 5 accidentally bought the DLC for 5FS which wasn't compatible with VF5 it was all just a huge mess.
VF5FS shouldn't even exists to begin with! It's gameplay it's so different from VF5 and VF5R it made no sense to make it into another revision of 5! VF5FS should've been used as the base for VF6 instead!

For the most part SEGA's stupid corporate decisions by their sales department and terrible timing is what stopped the VF series, after realizing they didn't know how to sell VF on consoles they just took the easy route and gave up.

 

If the story had any actual bearing on the games it would be *in* the games

 

I don't think it's the fault of anybody and I don't think Sega decided to back down in more VFs cause VF5 sucked or didn't sell. It played good and was good enough and sold well enough.

I think the main reason we haven't gotten the 6th game yet is how bad the arcade scene is in Japan and how SEGA can't figure out how to release a straight to console VF game.

VF is iconic and would still sell well enough if properly timed and marketed. Next gen is coming, AM2 are masters in graphics and design, if they can bring it on next gen without rushing, they will hit the spot especially now a stage market is saturated with SFs Tekken and MKs.

 

TBH and all joking aside, VF does not need guest characters, and the guest character concept doesn't fit the VF concept. VF is ultimately about the competition between world class martial art styles, not about particular individuals with a gripe. But that said each character does have a profile and a backstory. And story's do matter, not because it changes game play, but because it enhances certain types of immersion in the game and character loyalty. Game immersion, and character loyalty helps to increase sales.

There are hundreds of thousands of players that are totally bought into the Mortal Kombat mythos and story, the same is true for Mishima Iron Fist Tekken saga, and that buy-in by the MK and Tekken customers does positively impact sales.

How could VF really take advantage of back story IMO I think AM2 should run with the WMAC story. And really promote the idea that only best martial art styles in the world compete in the WMAC. And that the winning style of the WMAC is the best marital arts style in the world. Yes make the story about crowning the best martial art style in the world and allowing J6 to take advantage of that knowledge in some way.

This martial art style emphasis would allow Sega/AM2 to add new styles e.g. Wing Chun, Tai Chi to the game. It would also give Sega/AM2 a reason to make the animations as realistic as possible. By focusing even more on realism of martial arts styles that would help Sega/AM2's Virtua Fighter to distinguish itself even more. By making the WMAC all about the clash of Styles, that would identify VF as the game thats all about the fun question: "Which Martial Art is the best?"

Now of course the characters need to have a back story, but their chosen Martial Art Style should be a big part of their back story. e.g. Why does Lion use Mantis Kung fu. How did he come to use that Style? How did Lei Fei come to be a Shaolin Monk? Why did Goh choose or swear by Judo? What the hell is Drunken Kung Fu and why does Shun Di use it etc. As a part of the back story focus on the story of styles what makes them and why the characters choose or end up with the style they have.

In the The VF Story, AM2 could make it clear that the WMAC is the world's greatest martial championship. and is superior to Iron Fist tournaments, or DOA World Tournaments , again focusing the story on the Tournament and the clash of styles. This works in VF's favor.

By focusing on the martial art styles and the WMAC, VF could elevate the Dojo mode in importance. VF could add a true Tournament Mode in single player, two player and multiplayer, with brackets, martial art style profiles, and the in game announcer. This would solidify VF as the ultimate martial arts game.

Yep, my suggestion is VF's story should be all about the WMAC and the primary mode in VF should be a new complete Tournament Mode that would support the WMAC. Where the game keeps track of rankings, style rankings, character rankings,
We should be allowed to watch, simulate, or participate in all fights in the tournament. UFC's tournament mode would be a good starting point. VF should focus on the WMAC and the major mode should be a fully functional Tournament mode.

To support the tournament mode focus., VF6, could bring back all of the underground tournaments from VF4 Evolution. It should replace Arcade Mode, with the Kumite mode from VF4, and have a tournament team battle mode. So VF6 main menu should look something like

Dojo Mode
Kumite Mode
offline Tournament Modes
online Tournament Modes
WMAC Tournament


This would be a killer VF6 that would be consistent with the VF concept and blow Tekken and DOA completely off the map. I also hate to say it, but it would also work in an E-Sports landscape.

 

You dont think VF would take advantage of having dlc guest characters?

 

TBH, I do not really think guest characters fit in VF. Guest characters are a gimmick used to try to attract and audience that does not play your game, by introducing elements of that audience's game into your game.

With the exception of DOA, there are no other arcade fighting games that are even close to VF. Tekken is really a 2D game masquerading as a 3D game. VF needs to go after a completely different audience (a bigger audience). The 2D fighting game audience is just not big enough. Even if VF added the entire SF, MK, and Tekken rosters and got all of the 2D FG audience, VF would still not sell as many copies as the UFC games or WWE games. VF needs to grow beyond the 2D audience and market.

VF should continue focusing on introducing new Martial Arts Styles, Perhaps take Wing Chun and do it better than Tekken, and take Tai Chi and do it better than DOA. Then VF needs to focus on adding more authentic realistic (Animations) to the Martial Arts Styles that are in the game. Then as I've said in my previous post, VF should focus on creating the ultimate offline and online tournament modes found in any fighting game, with the WMAC being the signature tournament featured in the game. VF should be about Tournament Modes (including Team Battle Tournaments), Kumite Modes, and Dojo Modes all of which should have a strong focus on the Martial Arts Styles presented in the game. The game should cater to offline Single Player, Multiplayer tournament modes, and online tournament modes

The realism improvements should include:

• More Realistic Animations
• More Brutal Sound Effects (Bone Crushing, Stomach Crunching, Neck Snapping etc)
• Bring Back an updated Announcer that calls the matches in real time.
• More and Better Ranks, Belts, Championships, Trophies, and Titles
• Allow the customization of any character to include gender ( including female Taka and Shundi)

Sega/AM2 should make a big deal out of the concept of the World Martial Arts Championship in the Marketing. It should be billed as the Championship that will select the best Martial Arts Style in the World among the most elite Martial Arts Styles in the world. It should be marketed as the most realistic "Full Martial Arts" in contrast to "Mixed Martial Arts" game in the world. Sega/AM2 should just own it, feature it. Instead of making excuses for their realism, or trying to fit in with the 2D Fireball-whirlwind-spark-explosion crowd . Sega/AM2 should go after the UFC/WWE market. Yes, I believe they could get that customer. Many of the players in UFC like VF already. The more realism that got introduced into VF would only guarantee that we tapped into a much bigger audience than the 2D fighting crowd.

Make VF the modern day extension of KungFu Movies, Karate, Judo, Taekwon Do, Muay Thai, Ninjitsu, Kickboxing, Wrestling, etc matches and tournaments. Make it as realistic as possible, make it violent/brutal and require a Mature Rating from the ESRB (Sry Kids, play SF or Tekken until you're old enough) AM2 should bring new innovations in 3D modeling and animation to VF. Leave behind the floating, and launchers from 20 years ago.

Here's what the Title and Marketing line for the next Virtua Fighter should be.


Virtua Fighter - World Martial Arts Championship
"... and when its over... "

One Martial Arts Style
One Fighter
One Champion

Takes All!

 

http://chng.it/ZzqyHJL4cy Saw this on twitter, not sure if already aware. Please share! It's a petition for a new VF if I'm not mistaken.

 

We already had a +2000 or 3000 signs petition for VF6 some years ago, SEGA ignored it.

 

@MadeManG74
And showing that you like and support VF, by doing some cool fan art stuff too.

 

Yea, in addition to holding and sponsoring tournaments, streaming those tournaments, it would be a good idea to create lots of youtube content for VF. e.g. comparison videos.,

Virtua Fighter vs Tekken
Virtua Fighter vs DOA
Virtua Fighter vs Previous Virtua Fighters

A Youtube Series could Compare:

Combo systems
Defensive techniques
Offensive techniques
The Pressure Game
Momentum Shifts
Customization
Roster Balance

Virtua Fighter FS is that solid you could legitimately compare VF5FS to these other fighters in these areas against their most current version of the game. And these would be interesting comparisons. If my time was not so limited, I'd do it Just to make the point of how superior VF is. But Sega would definitely take note if this kind of youtube content was being created and got decent views. And make no mistake about it, it would get decent view, because at minimum the Tekken and DOA players would be trying to find anything they could debate

Streaming matches helps
But streaming other kinds of content would help also

 

I wonder how much would VF6 cost SEGA to make?
I don't know why but many people consider VF5 a commercial failure where in fact it sold well enough to reach greatest hits and VF5FS digital release was said to be performing well by SEGA shortly after release.

Now I don't remember any numbers floating around concerning the budgets used for VF games in the past but I don't think it could be higher than a Yakuza release ( I know the game uses the same assets with every release) but so does VF.

I can't think VF would cost SEGA as much as MK11 or even T7 especially if it's to follow the scope of previous games ( Arcade structured, no story or resources heavy cutscenes ).

So the question remains ,
Is SEGA holding back on VF6 a pure commercial stand point or are they waiting for a better release window ?

Also, the most successful fighters in the today have active PR faces promoting them. Harada, Boon and Ono are very active on Twitter and they are promoting their games.

I wonder who can do that for VF.

 

https://twitter.com/noobde/status/1225853244959870979


PS:I actually wonder if there is something going on VF wise in some Sega HQ