After almost 20 years of radio silence, Virtua Fighter with a brand new installment, at least in the form of a short trailer. The new project was showcased at EVO 2025, where the first gameplay footage from the training stage was shown.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio takes over
The new Virtua Fighter by none other than the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which is primarily known for the Yakuza- and Like-a-DragonThe series is known for its fighting system. They've already mastered it, even if their focus has been more on brawlers than pure fighting games. The trailer shows an early training stage with two fighters, buttery-smooth animations, and solid hit feedback.
The whole thing is stylistically reminiscent of modern design. Tekken, but it feels somewhat faster, with a clearly recognizable dodge mechanism and a slow-motion effect on hard hits, similar to Mortal Kombat, only without broken bones.
Virtua Fighter in the project phase
SEGA himself speaks of a “all-new title in the iconic Virtua Fighter series"So it's not a collection or a remake, but a new entry. Whether it becomes a full-fledged game will be decided in the current project phase." Virtua FighterThis means that the project can still failMore information is expected at the Tokyo Game Show 2025; until then, SEGA is keeping quiet. This doesn't yet suggest a major AAA release, but rather a cautious approach to a genre comeback.
Longtime fans of the series already have demands. They want more fighters, more arenas, and more information. The initial impression, however, is surprisingly good. The technology seems stable, and the combat system is fast and precise. If SEGA is serious about this project, they need to deliver at TGS: with real content, a playable demo, and a clear plan.
Virtua Fighter was never as popular as Tekken or Street FighterIt always held its place as the most demanding and uncompromising old-school 3D fighting game. Perhaps now is the perfect moment for a comeback. Perhaps.
Oh yeah, it already looks great. I also like that the visuals aren't so bland anymore (is that the right way to say it?) and are moving more towards the style of Tekken. Sure, there will be fans who think it's too action-heavy, but I think it's good for the game. But here too, it's the same as with Marvel Token: the size of the roster (there should be more fighters than 19) is crucial, as is the single-player content. VF has left a lot of potential untapped here. A decent story mode alone would give the game much more depth, allowing the universe, lore, and characters to be better presented to the audience. I'm a fighting game nerd; characters like Akira, Sarah, or Jeffry mean something to me, but when you delve deeper into the roster, my knowledge of the characters gets thinner and thinner. I can't even remember their names, and that says something.
I'm somewhat envious of your enthusiasm... I knew immediately before clicking that one of the comments was from you, and it was 100% your comment on the Mortal Kombat news post 😉
There isn't a single game series I can currently write anything positive or enthusiastic about. Pretty much every series I once liked or loved has been ruined or is on the verge of being canceled.
Thief VR... yeah, okay, I'm looking forward to that. With Metro, nobody knows when anything will be released or what they were pressured into by Embracer. Silent Hill is all questionable right now. I'm a bit skeptical about Resident Evil because of the leaks, but I'm still one of the most excited for it. I might completely abandon Nintendo because I find everything surrounding them disgusting. Stalker 2 isn't running the way I want it to, nor is Oblivion (I'd need a new graphics card for both, and I won't buy one until next year). Deus Ex is dead, Dishonored is dead, Call of Cthulhu is dead, Creedfall 2 seems to have real problems, and I don't like buying early access. With Sony, all the franchises I love are either dead (Resistance, Killzone, Fumito Ueda games, Rain, Datura, Infamous, Siren) or only playable with a lot of frustration (God of War). Uncharted), Microsoft is also just messing things up (Gears of War, Halo) or will mess it up anyway (Fable) OR is shutting down (Perfect Dark)
The indie developers who gave us some hope for years are now only making rubbish (Image and Form from SteamWorld and Zoink from Lost in Random, Stick It to the Man, etc. have been rebranded as Thunderful and have been delivering worse games ever since; they are now supposed to be bought by Atari and are firing people).
everything is rogue like, souls like or mmo, grind, crafting etc…
I almost exclusively enjoy old or older games these days (Batman series, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil), or a few exceptions and my two constant online games (Dead by Daylight, Hunt).
Gaming has become so awful and everyone is stupidly chasing after trends.
With your fighting games, you constantly get awesome new content and can really pick out the best ones ;(
Yes, I share your views. I also see that some trends lead to a dead end and everything just repeats itself. But I try to focus on the gameplay level and, as you said, pick out the best parts. For example, with Sony story games, why play New Game Plus? Just wander around the open world and take down a few enemies. That way you have a game forever; you don't have to subject yourself to those dramatic storylines again. Others with masochistic tendencies can do that. With fighting games, it's simple: you primarily have gameplay, like in the old arcades. Everything else is nice to have, but also important to keep the game fresh (yes, and that includes microtransactions).
I can once again praise Capcom here; the World Tour mode is brilliant. Not only can you create your own fighter, but you can even learn moves from DLC fighters and thus try out the new ones for free, while also learning more about the sci-fi lore. And all of this is packaged in an adventure mode. For example, Capcom included a mini-game in the new Sagat stage of the mode, and it's all free. With MK1, Whitebeard ruined it themselves through their greed and incompetence. MK1 simply needed a 1v1 mode, cameo vs. cameo, and a third-person perspective in Invasion mode via a patch. I would even pay for it, but Whitebeard is just too stupid. Instead, they made Sektor and Cyrex female to appeal to the modern audience. That worked out great... MK is dead. Yeah, Tekken and Namco are also screwing things up, and Clive is pointless as a guest character (if you're going to use a Final Fantasy character, then use one from the FF7 universe, like Tifa).
And now the new female character is so generic; couldn't they introduce a new Tekken figure? What I really appreciate about Namco, though, is the excellent customization mode. It's so powerful that Namco deliberately restricts it to prevent people from recreating characters from other franchises, but they're not succeeding.
I've already recreated Wolverine, Syclupse, Omni-Man, various ninjas from MK, many SNK figures, B2, Dante, Virgil, Snake, Leon, Klausur, Wesker, and SF figures. I made Sagat out of Fakurahm; it just seemed like a good opportunity. ^^
However, I hope that season 3 will actually feature guest characters that are relevant, preferably from other fighting games.
Capcom = Akuma/Bison
Snk = geese/Rock Howard
Mk = scorpion/zub zero
Vf= akira
And as I said, if Square can be persuaded again, then Tifa from FF7.
Ah yes, and gameplay-wise, I think Tekken 8 with SF6 is peak. Mk1 could be included if they simply offered 1v1, but that's not going to happen.
It certainly reads as if, despite many good elements and cool fighters, quite a few things go wrong with the series, or rather, a lot of potential is left untapped.
I guess there aren't any truly great games where everything just clicks anymore. At least I'm relieved to know that not everything that glitters is gold in fighting games, and that they have the same problems as "my" genres and games.
The whole industry has enormous problems… sad.
You just have to focus on the positives and find the right titles. There's always something good to be found. It's just that everything used to be much better.
More good games, more quality, less milking, and more personality in the games.
So, what's the status of your PC handheld? I can never remember exactly which one you were planning to buy. Which one was it again? I'm also thinking about selling my Switch 2 and getting a PC handheld. xD