Video Game Vintage Title: Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5 is the latest game in Sega's Virtua Fighter series of arcade fighting games and direct sequel to Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned. The original version was released on the Sega Lindbergh arcade system board on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades and in February 2007 in European arcades. A revised version was ported on the PlayStation 3 on February 20, 2007 and was a launch title for the console's European release on March 23, 2007. The Xbox 360 port of arcades' "Version C", was released in February 2007 in North America and October 2007 in Europe.

Virtua Fighter 5 Plot

All of the sought after invitations for the Fifth World Fighting Tournament have been sent and now the 17 best fighters in the world begin their final phases of preparation. They must learn from their prior mistakes and perfect every aspect of their mind, body, and soul - for there is no room for mistakes in this competition. Little do they know that J6, the organization funding the tournament, has sinister ulterior motives for the contest and the company's top secret Dural program is already well underway. In the organization's quest for world domination, the scientists at J6 are creating the ultimate fighting machine with human features. Their first model was defeated in the Fourth World Fighting Tournament, which drove them to kidnap Vanessa. She was able to escape with the help of an insider, but not before they captured her combat data and transferred it to the new advanced Dural model named V-Dural.

J6 is determined to find out who the inside traitor is that released Vanessa and more importantly, if V-Dural is indeed ready to defeat the world's best fighters. The Fifth World Fighting Tournament will reveal both - let it begin.

Virtua Fighter 5 Gameplay

Throw speed has been reduced, from 8 frames to 12 frames. In addition, "Instant", or 0-frame throws re-appear from Virtua Fighter 3 in guaranteed throw situations (such as during an evade).

To encourage a more "moral" style of play, Sega introduced the Clash System: when initiated with the right timing, an attack can be canceled out with a throw, creating a clash and leaving both players at +0 frame advantage (neutral).

Offensive Move: pressing Punch + Kick + Guard during an evade will initiate an angled forward dash. In addition, pressing Punch or Kick during OM will initiate an attack which can lead to side or back stagger or crumple, leading to a guaranteed combo opportunity.

The Xbox 360 version introduced online support via Xbox Live, which allowed two players from around the world to battle over the internet. Developers have also suggested that the PS3 version could also be online-enabled in the form of a downloadable patch. This was later discounted by Sega's Jay Boor who told : "at this time SEGA has no plans to release a patch for the PS3 version of Virtua Fighter 5."

Version C of Virtua Fighter 5 was used for the 360 version which fixed up some gameplay issues, while the PS3 version used version B.

Different items are available in the Xbox 360 port of the game in Quest mode, as it is based upon Version C.

On January 16, 2008 the Xbox 360 version received an update, which made improvements and changes to online play and quest mode.

Reception
The PlayStation 3 version debuted at #1 on the Japanese charts on February 20. The game received significant critical acclaim from most reviewers. In the 200th issue of Edge magazine (April 2009), Virtua Fighter 5 was voted #24 in their '100 Best Games to Play Today' feature. It was the second-highest ranked fighting game, after Street Fighter IV at #14. Final Showdown received a 9/10 from Eurogamer, which called it "deeper than any of its peers."