Virtua Fighter (VF) is a series of 3D fighting games created in 1993 by Sega studio AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki.



Virtua Fighter is often considered to be the godfather of 3D fighting games, with each iteration being noted for advancing the graphical and technical aspects of games in the genre. Even to this day, many 3D fighting game series such as Tekken and Dead or Alive were influenced by Virtua Fighter. And while, sales-wise, the series has often fallen behind the other titles (partly due to being released on underperforming consoles Sega Saturn and Dreamcast), the main games have always remained critically-acclaimed titles.

In particular, its fans note its more realistic, "tournament rules"-style gameplay(for instance, a loss can occur when a character is knocked out of bounds), which differentiated the first iteration from other fighting games at that time. It is also applauded for its depth, as each character has plenty of moves and strategies to learn, and that each character plays differently from each other. Additionally, the game is also known for its balance across all characters, such that a good user of one character can have a fair match against another good user of any other character.

The success of the Virtua Fighter series resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include, "First Polygon Based Fighting Game", "First 3D Fighting Game", and "First Fighting Game for a 32-bit Console".

In 1998, the series was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for contributions in the field of Art and Entertainment, and became a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation. The Virtua Fighter 3 arcade cabinets are currently kept at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

In December 2006, IGN ranked Virtua Fighter as the 25th greatest game series of all time, opining that "no other 3D fighter has equaled VF in terms of difficulty and depth."

The following is a list of titles in the Virtua Fighter series:

* Virtua Fighter - Arcade (1993), Sega 32X (1995), Saturn (1995)
* Virtua Fighter Remix - Arcade (1995), Saturn (1995) - Game Gear (1996), Master System (1996)
* Virtua Fighter 2 - Arcade (1995), Saturn (1996), Mega Drive/Genesis (1997)
* Virtua Fighter 2.1 - Arcade (1995 Saturn (1996), PlayStation 2 (2004)
* Virtua Fighter Portrait Series - Saturn (1996)
* Virtua Fighter Animation - Game Gear, Master System (1996)
* Virtua Fighter Kids - Arcade (1996), Saturn (1996)
* Fighters Megamix - Saturn (1997)
* Virtua Fighter 3 - Arcade (1997)
* Virtua Fighter 3 : Team Battle - Arcade (1998), Dreamcast (1999)
* Virtua Fighter 4 - Arcade (2001), PlayStation 2 (2002)
* Virtua Fighter 4 : Evolution - Arcade (2003), PlayStation 2 (2003)
* Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary - PlayStation 2 (2003)
* Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned - Arcade (2004)
* Virtua Quest - GameCube (2005), PlayStation 2 (2005)
* Virtua Fighter 5 - Arcade (2006), PlayStation 3 (2007)
* Virtua Fighter 5 : Online - Xbox 360 (2007)
* Virtua Fighter 5 : R - Arcade (2008)
* Virtua Fighter 5 : Final Showdown - Arcade (2009), Xbox 360 (2012), PlayStation 3 (2012)

Akira Yuki (Debuted in VF1)
Pai Chan (VF1)
Lau Chan (VF1)
Wolf Hawkfield (VF1)
Jeffry McWild (VF1)
Kagemaru (VF1)
Sarah Bryant (VF1)
Jacky Bryant (VF1)
Shun-Di (VF2)
Lion Rafalle (VF2)
Aoi Umenokouji (VF3)
Taka-Arashi (VF3)
Lei-Fei (VF4)
Vanessa Lewis (VF4)
Goh Hinogami (VF4 Evolution)
Brad Burns (VF4 Evolution)
Eileen (VF5)
El Blaze (VF5)
Jean Kujo (VF5 R)

Sega's 8-bit consoles, the portable Game Gear and the home console Sega Master System, as well as the 16-bit Mega Drive/Genesis are not capable of internally displaying polygonal, three-dimensional graphics (Genesis polygonal racing game Virtua Racing relied on the Sega Virtua Processor hardware co-processor). To still be able to profit from the franchise's success, Sega created two-dimensional ports for those systems in 1996. A 2D-version of Virtua Fighter 2, which featured graphics that somewhat resembled the original 3D game, was produced for the Genesis. A 8-bit game, called Virtua Fighter Mini, based on the 35 episodes long anime series of Virtua Fighter was also created. Virtua Fighter Mini was later ported to the Master System by Tec Toy under the name Virtua Fighter Animation.

The release of VF2 on the Saturn was followed by the super deformed version called Virtua Fighter Kidsin 1996. Also released for the Saturn and related to Virtua Fighter were Fighters Megamix (1996). In Japan, the curious Virtua Fighter Portrait Series, wherein each character in the series had their own Saturn CD showcasing various poses of the fighter, was released around the same time as well. People who collected all the discs could send in their proof of purchases to get a special Portrait CD of Dural.

The Dreamcast game Shenmue, also developed by AM2/Yu Suzuki, was called Virtua Fighter RPG in the early stages of development and features a Virtua Fighter-like fighting system and in-game Virtua Fighter memorabilia (such as capsule machine toys of the characters). Suzuki has said numerous times that he used the series' main character, Akira Yuki, as the main influence in the main character Ryo Hazuki. Throughout the game and its sequel, there are several characters whose appearances and fighting styles closely match those of the Virtua Fighter series.

Virtua Quest, a simplified RPG (which was also known as Virtua Fighter RPG) with new characters aimed at the children's market, was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004 and the PlayStation 2 in 2005. The Virtua Fighters had their incarnations from Virtua Fighter 4.

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Shodown

Release Date: Summer 2012
Format: Digital Download for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network
Origin: Worldwide

Want to fight Virtua Fighters around the world? Here are the list of people you might challenge in an online match:

• Juragan Tampah
  

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