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My very first 3D fighter on a console was Virtua Fighter 2 on the SEGA Saturn. That’s the game that made me a Virtua Fighter fanatic. I’m mained Lion ever since, and haven’t looked back. Hell, Lion’s still my go to fighter in Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.!
I’ve longed wished to throwdown on Virtua Fighter 5 on the PC, and Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. finally gives me a chance to do it! As the first entry on Steam, it’s arguably the first time the series has been truly exposed to a massive PC userbase.
So what sort of impression does it make? Is Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. worth it?
Read on to find out!
What is Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.?
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is the latest version of SEGA’s premier fighting series. It is a 3D fighting game port/ remaster of the Playstation 4’s Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown. This version of the game was developed by the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by SEGA.
Our review copy was awesomely provided by the fine folks over at SEGA!
Many gamers might not know this, but it used to be that SEGA had multiple fighting game I.P.s. All of them were awesome. Last Bronx, Fighting Vipers and Fighters Megamix to name a few. Even SEGA’s beat ’em up Golden Axe had a fighting game!
All were awesome and I had a blast playing them on the Saturn and Dreamcast (Fighting Vipers 2). Fighters Megamix was also the one of the few fighters in the 90s that drew its roster from various I.P.s, just like SNK’s The King of Fighters and CAPCOM’s Vs series.
Something happened over the years. I have no idea what but none of the games (except for Virtua Fighter) survived the Dreamcast.
It seems only the Virtua Fighter series has had any longevity. Perhaps it’s due to it being the first 3D fighting game ever. Perhaps it’s due to the realistic (compared to its contemporaries anyways) fighting styles. Whatever the case, Virtua Fighter seems to be here to stay.
Or rather, it’s the only fighting game series SEGA is intent on keeping alive.
I’m fine with that.
I’m just not down with the many iterations of what is basically the same damn game over the years.
Simply put, the game suffers from ‘Street Fighter II’ syndrome. A very bad case of it.
Back in the day, it was a way to deride a company for not being able to move on from a game. It’s from CAPCOM releasing multiple versions of Street Fighter II and then later, SUPER Street Fighter II versions.
While CAPCOM has largely moved on from this practice, SEGA it seems is more than willing to assume the mantle. This is actually the 6th version of Virtua Fighter 5 that’s been released and that’s not counting the ones in the Yakuza and Judgement games.
That is 4 versions too many, in my view!
Honestly, I’m sick of Virtua Fighter 5 by now. I suspect many are too.
This is pretty much the same game from 2007 (2006 if you’re going by the arcade version), with minimal improvements. Sure, there’s rollback netcode for better online play, 4K visuals and a couple of new online modes (Tournament and League) in this version (Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.) but that’s nowhere near enough to make up for the lack of content offered.
In fact, SEGA seems intent to nickel and dime repeat customers by having paid DLC on Day One, instead of them being included for free. The DLCs are substantial too, giving a ton of customization options (such as skins from the Yakuza games) and extras that should have been packed with the game as incentive to rebuy the game again.
Sure, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.’s on sale at a lower price point but considering this is a title from nearly two decades ago, SEGA surely could’ve sweetened the pot more, especially for those who own multiple versions of the game.
Ranting about value aside, Virtua Fighter 5 is still one of the best fighters in existence. Compared to fighters like Tekken or Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter 5 is a more deliberate, plodding fighting game. A thinking man’s fighter if you will.
If Street Fighter 6 or Tekken 8 is checkers, then Virtua Fighter 5 (and by extension, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.) is surely chess. Each of the fighters (barring perhaps the Bryant siblings) have different fighting styles which are mostly based on real martial arts. They play differently and mastering one fighter doesn’t mean you’ve mastered them all.
That’s not what makes the game great though.
No, the thing that makes the game fun is that it’s the antithesis to the likes of other modern fighters that prefer spectacle over substance. There are no long combo strings to perform. There are no projectiles or special attacks. There’s no tagging in and out of fighters.
What Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. does have is solid, deliberate gameplay.
Like Samurai Spirits (or Shodown if you prefer its English name), the hits in Virtua Fighter hurt. You can easily lose half your life bar by getting hammered a couple of times with basic moves. High level fighting in Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. doesn’t revolve around combos or tiers, it’s down to timing and intelligent play.
The solid gameplay aside, there’s very little to draw back gamers who’ve played any iteration of Virtua Fighter 5. It’s lacking any sort of Story mode or any sort of single player focused mode like Tekken 8’s insanely fun Arcade Battle mode or Street Fighter 6’s phenomenal World Tour Mode.
In fact, I’d bet that the game would put off even returning players when they hear the abysmal music from the intro.
I have no idea what went on in the meeting to get the music approved, but I think everybody must’ve been high. Or deaf. Probably both. It’s weird…as hell. Not ‘Live and Learn’ or ‘Believe in Myself’ weird (the type which grows on you over the years), but crap weird.
Sure, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is a remaster but it’s an archaic, out of touch one. It’s telling when nearly every other fighter out there allows you to queue for online fights when you’re playing VS AI but this doesn’t. You need to specifically enter the Ranked Match or Room Match to look for online fighters.
And keep looking…and looking…and looking.
Sad to say, but it seems like the online population is pretty low. That’s a really bad sign considering I’m looking for players at peak times, during on launch day and the day after! I shudder to think how the online landscape will look like in the future!
Speaking of looks, even the newly upgraded 4K visuals are nothing to write home about. Virtua Fighter 5 wasn’t a looker to begin with and this version of the game is the same. The game has some of the worst looking character faces of any modern fighting game.
Don’t get me wrong; the game’s visuals are serviceable but that’s pretty much it.
In fact, that’s pretty much the key word here. Serviceable. The barest of efforts taken.
While other fighting games have made massive strides in longevity by catering to the single player, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and its tone deaf approach is mystifying.
I mean how can a game only have ONE VS AI mode? What about Survival or Team Battle? Modes that have been in past Virtua Fighter games? Hell, most that have been past Virtua Fighter 5 versions!
It’s like nobody who greenlighted this remaster even heard of Tekken 8 or Street Fighter 6 and their single player modes. How can subsequent Virtua Fighter 5 versions keep losing modes instead of adding more?
The only thing Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. has in common with those games are its customization options for its characters. However, the Quest Mode (where you fight to earn unlocks for your characters) from the original releases are gone and pretty much all of the customization aspects are locked to the DLC.
So what does that leave gamers who don’t want to get the DLC?
A watered down of Virtua Fighter 5, that’s what.
Watered down or not though, the game performs swimmingly well on the ROG Ally X. On 1080p, on the highest setting, with AMD FSR 3.1.2 set to Balanced, I was able to get a solid 60FPS in battles. There’s slowdown in the intros, but that goes away as soon as the fights begin.
Needless to say, you can get completely stable performance if you lower the settings or resolution so there’s really no reason to claim that that game doesn’t play well at all on the handheld PC.
The Bottom Line.
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. could’ve been a great last hurrah for the game as SEGA readies up the next instalment for the series. Instead, it’s nothing more than a barebones last ditch cash grab. Content that should’ve been included free for this release are locked by paywalls, dividing the community into those who paid more and the poor folk.
Sure, it’s mostly just cosmetic stuff.
Unfortunately, without the cosmetic stuff, there’s pretty much ZERO customization options. You either pay, or a whole facet of the game is locked out to you. What also stings is that the game lacks modes found in previous releases that surely would’ve helped its longevity.
Why are they missing here? Who knows.
All I know is that while rollback netcode makes the online fighting fun, the lack of incentive to play or any sort of meaningful single player mode means that most players will quickly tire of the game and move on within a few weeks.
Perhaps SEGA will do better with Virtua Fighter 6? I certainly hope so.
TLDR:
A disappointing remaster with barely anything worthwhile other than the rollback netcode.
The Good:
- Rollback netcode makes playing even those with 3 or 4 bars bearable.
- Solid gameplay.
- Performs well on the ROG Ally X.
The Bad:
- Barely any customization options unless you pay for the DLC.
- Missing modes from past versions of the game.
- Arcade mode has no individual character endings.
- 4K visuals nothing to write home about.
- Hard to find online matches.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
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