Virtua Fighter 2 was a classic 3D fighting game that really cemented Viruta Fighter as a serious name in fighting games. Arcades, especially in Japan, were packed full of players looking to hone their skills in this highly technical, timing-driven fighter. But you're not getting a faithful version of that arcade classic here on the Wii's Virtual Console series. No, for 800 points ($8) you get the practically unknown version that was released on the Sega Genesis. It squashes all of the arcade version's action into a 2D game but does not contain any of the thrilling gameplay or strategy found in the original game.
However, that's not to say that VF2 for the Genesis is completely without merit. It's actually kind of interesting to see how many moves and combos from the original game made it into this version of the game. The same old punch-punch-punch-kick combo from Sarah is still in there; Jacky can do his double spinning backfist; and so on. The controls are also the same as the arcade version, with guard, punch, and kick buttons. Of course, the timing is completely butchered, so it's not actually entertaining for very long. Still, as a curiosity from days past, the Genesis version of Virtua Fighter 2 is sort of neat. It's just not neat enough to be worth $8, that's all.
The Virtual Console is certainly capable of running such games as Virtua Fighter 2 for the Genesis; the emulation seems accurate enough, right down to the awful animation. But this is one of those situations where you sit back and wonder why, exactly, this game is coming to the Virtual Console at all. Anyone old enough to remember the Genesis game probably knows to stay away, and anyone who only knows of the recent Virtua Fighter installments won’t find anything to like with this ugly chapter in the series’ history. Your Wii Virtual Console fighting dollars are better spent on something like Street Fighter II.
