Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Review
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown offers some of the best versus fighting on the market.
The Good
- Some of the richest, most complex fighting gameplay around
- Solid online gameplay with well-done netcode
- Option-packed customization DLC offers a lot of value
- Offers some of the best tutorial and training modes in modern fighters.
The Bad
- Single-player mode is weak compared to previous iterations
- No way to earn customizations without DLC.
The modern renaissance of fighting games that began with the release of Street Fighter IV has had many positive effects on the genre. It has brought new players into the fighting game fold, and the increased audience allows for classic series that may have fallen by the wayside to be revived and put in the hands of new players eager to see the diverse breadth of experiences the genre has to offer. The original iterations of Virtua Fighter 5 released in 2007 struggled to make an impact: the original PlayStation 3 release lacked any sort of online play, while the Xbox 360 version debuted amid numerous other high-profile releases. Despite positive reviews, the original VF5 didn't make many waves.
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown takes a different approach. Rather than being a full-priced disc release, it's a 1,200 MSP downloadable game available through Xbox Live Arcade. Instead of emphasizing the single-player quest modes of the original release, the game is geared toward competitive play, with a robust online matchmaking engine and in-depth training and tutorial modes. You don't earn items to customize your characters in-game; you buy downloadable customization packs that contain hundreds upon hundreds of items, costumes, and colors for each fighter. To top it all off, the game engine has received a significant overhaul, making the game more accessible to new players while adding depth and gameplay tweaks that longtime VF fans will find refreshing. The result is a package that, while somewhat lacking in certain respects, represents a tremendous value.
At first glance, Virtua Fighter is deceptively simple: there are only three buttons (guard, punch, and kick), no super meters or other gauges, and rings of varied size and shape to fight on. Once you begin playing, however, the game's depth gradually opens up. The three buttons, used in tandem with certain joystick movements, open up hundreds of different commands for each character, with each individual skill having numerous unique properties and potential uses. Every character has a wealth of different strikes, holds, throws, and counters of varying heights, speeds, and damage properties. The skills are based (sometimes rather loosely) on true-to-life martial arts, so don't expect the flashiness of massive fireballs, energy swords, or divekicks from across the length of the screen.
The more-grounded basis of Virtua Fighter doesn't make the game any less exciting, however: matches are fast-paced, tense, and involve more up-close-and-personal beatdowns. The smoothness and detail of the individual character animations accentuate the thrill of combat; the sheer satisfaction of landing a particularly complex and damaging combo or a rarely seen, off-the-wall throw is immense. Characters also come with unique properties that affect the way they play: tiny luchador El Blaze can dash speedily around the ring, drunken master Shun Di gains improved moves when he's plastered (yes, really), and gargantuan sumo Taka-Arashi's massive size renders him harder to knock down and hit with combo strings, to give a few examples.
There's a lot to each character in Virtua Fighter, and thus the learning curve is a bit steep. Thankfully, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown offers robust training and tutorial modes to help both new players who are learning VF for the first time and longtime fans who might need to adjust to the gameplay changes from the original VF5. The tutorials start from the very basics of attacking, dodging, and guarding, and continue all the way to the new throw-escape system and advanced movement techniques.
Training mode, meanwhile, offers numerous ways to analyze and practice your newly learned skills, including numerous detailed input displays (complete with frame data for advanced players) and notations on how and where moves strike you or your opponent. The training dummy can also be set to react in a plethora of ways, including switching up command strings at random so you can practice anticipating and countering troublesome mix-ups. Replays of offline and online matches can also be saved, shared online, and carefully analyzed with similar tools to the training mode.
163 comments
we need a new fighting game with new characters and new moves. I hope the developers of the old fighting games stop regenerating the characters like street fighter and tekken or virtua fighters.
@faisaltm I feel that it is best that they polish characters that they already have. A roster of about 20 unique characters that are well balanced and diverse sounds more appealing to me than a bunch of new characters that haven't withstood the test of time. As long as there are a few new characters that aren't recycled (arcade edition evil ryu... wtf is that) I'd be happy.
1 Like @faisaltm That's So True...without mentioning these crap crossover fighting games X.X
1 Like If this game is old why does it look so much better than the latest Tekken? I thought I was imagining it, but after playing one after the other I noticed VF5 moves better, looks more realistic, has less clipping, and clothes and accessories obey the laws of gravity and look unreal. Shame about the lack of story or cut-scenes and lame voices, but this poos all over Tekken in the gameplay and graphics department. I hope the new Tekken cleans up it's act because I like their characters and story much more.
@megakick I think it has been mentioned that there are going to be VF characters in DOA5. No solid confirmation on it as far as I know.
@streetmagik yeah thanks man!! i always forget about the online multiplayer option. I Ive had every vf from day one on every system (including mega-drive/genesis and 32 x version). My favorite was the VF 2 on the Sega Saturn. Back in those days you needed a second player with you !!! :)
1 Like There is an unsettling amount of DUMB in the room right now. If you do not like it or want it, go somewhere else. If your going to open your ignorant trap, at least know what you are talking about.
The FULL game is $15. If you want to make 1, some, or all of your characters LOOK DIFFERENT, you will pay a little extra--thats it. It is better than VF5 though--we know that--the rest of you never knew, and never will. Go play something else.
@streetmagik That's NOT true and you know it. Look at the prices again. There are TWO different versions. One is the bareboned version and then there is the other version which I don't know of and no I am NOT dumb just because I don't like the damn game so shut the hell up!
@regix416_basic Ahhh, we get it, you don't like game and don't want to buy it, and you rather buy Tekken 6 on PSN for whatever the price.
The other version has the upgrade options (appearance only) for all characters, which you can buy individually as well. READ damnit!!! You get every function of the game for $15.
I'd much rather have Tekken 6 on PSN rather than pay TWICE for ALL of VF 5 Final Takedown.
Infuriating might not even describe the way they're handling this game. You get the game for $15 OR you pay $35 for the WHOLE game with all of the extras... uh, huh?
This is just about as dumb as paying $15 twice for Sonic 4. And yes, I'm not kidding around This is really really stupid Sega. If you want to charge people for the game, then make them pay ONE price up front and NOT two. This is inexcusable!
1 Like @regix416_basic You can buy bundle for $45 instead of buy game $15 then $30 for game cosmetics + Special Sparring Mode.Sega knows, if they sold just full game for $45, non VF fans always will never consider to try this game (for some, even $15 is quite expensive to spend on the game that they had never heard of).So, what is inexcusable ?
1 Like @KaSeRoR lol ...i got tekken 6 ..i like both games n i dont understand why u r here if u dont like any VF game...tekken have nice chars ,a lot of game modes n its fun ...but tekken gameplay mechanics is the same shi## since psx ...Virtua Fighter 5 FS gameplay is toooooooooooooo much more fluid and realistic than tekken ...There is no comparison lol
Why just re-release a 5 year old game? I would think they'd just make Virtua Fighter 6 at this point. The cheaper price is nice, though.
1 Like if theirs no ipohne versoin then i refuse to by this gane i boycott seruoisely iphone is the future of games and if u dont suppart it with ganes then ur compeny will probelly go under and look at steet fighter 4 on iphone its by far the most superier verosin of the game
@tehtimeisnowGood news, iPhone users will get Virtua Fighter 5:Unicorn Edition, and it will change how we play game, again.
* audience clapping *
/s
@tehtimeisnow iPhone's autocomplete is affecting your spelling :) and I tend to disagree with the iPhone being the future of gaming.
2 Like I can neither take you seriously nor respect what you say for the following reasons:
1: The iPhone is NOT the future of gaming.
2: You don't know what the F you are saying.
3: You do not have the good sense to capitalize the first letter of each sententence, spell words correctly, and use punctuation where required.
@J4m3sR4n0r72 You don't put a comma before the word 'and'. The 'and' is used at the end of a list with comma's to show it's the end of the listing.Just saying, don't mock and patronise someone else for their punctuation if yours is also wrong.
You're other two points were very spot on, that guys is off with the fairies.
(by the way I'm joking I really don't give a toss)
8 Like lolz epic fail... no video review... gamespot is not trying to help promote Virtua Fighter like they love to polish the shaft on Gears and Halo.
VF is a fantastic game,no doubt!
What troubles me is the shallow single player part.
Ones will start to focus on online matches and what will happen is...you wish your Pai would look unique...man i LOVE to make my charas look different to other ppl charas.My main complaint:
15? for the game,which is awesome
2x15? for the 2 item packs,which is the cheapest option to get them all
Overall price 45?!
Why is the game not on a disc featured with ALL stuff at once for a retail price?
@sladakrobot There's a deal on PSN where you get the game and all DLC for $30 (VF5 FS Complete Edition), that's really not too bad if you are in desperate need of extra colors and clothes.
@jer_1 Lets hope this deal will appear on XBL too since i dont have a PS3.Thx for the info.
1 Like The depth to the vf series is staggering!! tekken is so shallow by comparison. the only reason other fighting games went on was there simplicity
VF was the starting evolution to the Tekken fighting engine. I won't forget this game since it's first release and for me personally this is way better combat than any overhyped and overpowered games. If you really want a decent fighting style game VF is the real deal.
Even with series like Tekken, Street Fighter, Soul Caliber, DOA, M vs C, this is still my favorite fighting series. I never enjoyed a fighting game like VF. VF5 is awesome.
@KaSeRoR Your comments show how clueless you really are. Your Tekken was a Bland copy of VF and still is. "Never can get into VF" dude you play Tekken they copied the moves from VF then through in some moves from SF and called it tekken two lol . Tekken for Life wtf I'm Sure your the guy thats still playing MW. VF series Love It.
3 Like Never can get into VF... VF3 was evolving the game a bit, but still the same ole BLANDNESS of moves and character movement! Looks pretty though... Tekken for Life!
>=)
2 Like This game is not a "re-release" because if you play VF5 you can see that Final
Showdown could easily be named VF6.
I'm talking about a complete gameplay overhaul and certainly a much better deal than SFxT or Soul Calibur 5.Also,you don't need the dlc to enjoy the game,dlc
is only necessary for VF junkies like me.
This is the deepest of all fighting games out there.
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