Sega's Virtua Masterpiece, Number 4

Finally... Virtua Fighter has come to the Playstation 2!

The Virtua Fighter series has always emphasized technique and skill versus obscene 10+ hit combos while pushing the envelope on graphical and audio presentation. And for fighting affictionados, Sega has delivered the goods again with Virtua Fighter 4, giving us all that the arcade had to offer plus more!

VF4 takes one step back, and leaps a couple of feet forward in gameplay. The much maligned Evade button from VF3 has been removed, leaving us with the standard three buttons of the VF series (Block, Punch, and Kick). The uneven, asymetrical arenas of the past have also been done away with. While the competition looks to raise the bar by adding interactive items (i.e. Dead or Alive 3) and walls (i.e. DoA3, Tekken 4), Sega has opted to go back to simpler times while increasing the complexity of the characters and the fighting techniques.

First off, controls have been tweaked to allow characters to take better advantage of the third dimension. By moving in any direction except down (which causes your character to duck unless double tapped), you can move freely around the arena. It takes a bit of getting use to, especially since jumping requires you to press up and punch/kick, but it works incredibly well in practice and is a lot more intuitive than having to double tap to move laterally in a fight. However, the basic rock-paper-scissors gameplay is intact (attacks beat throws which beat parries/reversals which beat attacks). With VF4's silky smooth 60 fps pace, battles are incredible fierce and are equally marvelous to watch.

We return to the simple square arenas last seen in Virtua Fighter 2. VF4's arenas are fairly small and can easily make anyone claustophobic. But they also keep the action close-up and in your face at all times. Some arenas have barriers to prevent the dreaded ring out (instant defeat if your character steps out of the ring). Just as in Fighting Vipers, some barriers can be broken if you knock your opponent silly against them enough times, opening the door for a ring out victory.

VF4 sees the return of every character from before, except for the Sumo wrestler Taka-arashi. Two new fighters are added to the mix: Vanessa Lewis, who uses a mix of the defensive orientated Vale Tudo and the offensively minded Muay Thai kickboxing; and Lei Fei, a Shaolin monk who uses a mix of styles (just like your favorite monk from a Chinese martial arts film). While there are only two new characters, practically every character received heavy modifications such that even veterans will have much to enjoy in their favorites. VF4 features a lot of stances, which open up a plethora of new attacks and techniques. Sarah, for example, has learned the Flamingo stance and can utilize a variety of new kicks from this position. In between sequels, Aoi has picked up the Tenchi-In'you no Kamae stance that allows for auto-parries of high and mid attacks.

"Auto-parry?" Characters such as Aoi, Jacky, and Vanessa can automatically deflect or catch attacks without you having to do anything. Sounds cheap, doesn't it? In practice, it is a lot harder to use. With the blazing 60 fps battles, it is difficult to tell when you should take advantage of a parry versus eating a low attack or, even worse, a bone crushing throw. In fact, VF4 features a new bag of tricks ranging from simple evasions to blocking throws to landing on your feet after being thrown (as opposed to going in face first). Seemingly cheap techniques have simple counters; you just need to figure them out for your character. For example, if Vanessa is catching your high punches with her Vale Tudo stance, switch to low punches or just simply introduce her face to your foot.

VF4 features the best training mode ever in a fighting game, even better than DoA3. In addition to allowing you to freely practice your attacks and combos, it has a command trial which lets you practice every move in a character's arsenal, including reversals. This mode lets you observe a move in action and even gives you advice on how to perform it correctly. Other training options review the basics of VF4 such as evading and floating so that the newbie can take his first steps to becoming a master.

Other than the standard arcade mode, VF4 also features interesting single player modes. First is Kumite. Essentially, it is a never ending arcade mode. What's unique is you can create a ring persona and battle against special AI characters based on tournament level competition. If you are successful, you can move up in rank from 10th kyu to Grand Emperor. Along the way, you can earn special items from you foes and personalize your character. Give Pai a new bracelet to carry to the next fight or customize Kage with a row of shuriken.

VF4 also allows you to develop your own AI, something that was attempted on the PC version of VF2 but never quite panned out. Here, you can record your battles and review them with your AI character much like a sports coach goes over the tape of last night's game with the players. You can tell your AI character which sequences were good or bad and teach it skills for battle. Then you can take your hardened AI into Kumite mode and see how it fares. It's almost like Pokemon, but with a more hands-on approach to training. And it can be quite addictive, especially when your AI starts moving up the rank lists.

Graphically, VF4 is a marvel. It is by far and away the best looking fighter for the PS2. The graphics are somewhat inferior to the arcade version and to the X-Box's DoA3, but that's really nit picking. The characters are large and lushiously detailed from their faces to minute details on their clothing. While some of the characters' faces look like they have been beaten with the ugly stick (Akira in particular), they all look very realistic and the overall attention to detail is incredible. Even little things such as the gentle movement of Aoi's silk robes versus the tough resilency of Jacky's leather jacket are given careful attention.

As incredible as the characters look, the stages are even better. VF4 may have returned to the simple square rings of old, but Sega has gone beyond the call of duty in their designs. You can look at the snow on Lion's stage or the sand on Jeffry's stage, both of which deform based on the action. Lei Fei's stage is a masterpiece with a tiled floor that shatters as bodies come crashing down and a fence that collapses as a body comes flying through. Water and leaves spray in the air from the force of a crescent kick. The sun sets in Akira's stage, changing the entire hue of the battle. I could go on and on about the stages, but there are so many details that I probably missed because I do have to concentrate on the fight.

VF4 also scores in the audio department. Each stage features its own rocking soundtrack amidst the sounds of bones breaking, not the cheesy elevator music that has permeated Capcom fighters as of late. It really is a matter of personal preference as to which is better, but your ears will not be disappointed!

One of the downfalls of VF4 (and the Virtua Fighter series in general) is the difficulty. This is not a game that a beginner picks up, rams a couple of buttons, and becomes successful at. While every character has a cookie-cutter punch, punch, punch, kick combo, the computer counters it even on the very easy levels. You really have to practice to get good at this game. And if you do not have the time to learn your character's particular strengths and weaknesses, you may get frustrated rather quickly. However, for those willing to spend the time, you will find a fighter with an enormous amount of depth.

The PS2 version is also lacking the features department. With only an Arcade, Kumite, Versus, and Training modes, the game is quite limited. A bonus minigame like the Tekken Force mode would have been a great addition. A story mode would have been nice too for expanding on the backgrounds given in the manual. Alas, the game doesn't even have personalized endings for the characters.

Overall, VF4 is the best fighter for your PS2 right now. While heavyweights such as Tekken 4 and Soul Calibur 2 are fast approaching, PS2 fighting fans must get their hands on this one. The depth of gameplay put it beyond the scope of a rental game; this is a must have for your PS2!