Virtua Fighter isn’t a queer anime fagfest like BlazBlue, though. It’s not aesthetically pleasing to creepy Japanophiles, i.e., a large portion of fighting game fans. The female characters are too old, wear too much clothing and don’t orgasm every time they throw a punch, and the male characters don’t have big enough hair.
Then there’s the fact that the first 3 games in the series were held captive on failing Sega systems. Virtua Fighter never had a chance to gain momentum. Its characters aren’t iconic to 99% of fighting game fans. Nostalgia isn’t a selling point like it is with Tekken.
Modern day Sega shares in the blame as well. There is undoubtedly going to be a console port so why wasn’t it at E3? Fighting games are more popular now than they’ve been in 15 years. For Sega not to capitalize on this is unforgivable.
I’ve said it before, and I am going to keep saying it until you jokers start listening. One of the problems with the “VF scene” is the way VF players talk about the game. The constant drumbeat of “DEEPIST AND MOAST TEKNIKUL FIGHTAR EVARRRRR IT SO HARD!!!” kept me away until VF5. I’m not saying that’s the main reason more people don’t play it, but I can’t be alone. What I found when I played it was a game that was intriguing and instantly enjoyable. There was nothing other-worldly or extraterrestrial about the fighting system. Sure, there were some new things I had to learn, but that’s true with any fighter. Besides, everything you could possibly want to know about the damn game is only a few clicks away. When talking to potentials about VF, I always emphasize things like the smaller cast (which is a big plus), the great evade system, the smooth feel and movement of the characters, and the fact that all the characters are viable. While I don’t believe a shift in emphasis will cause a mass migration of new players to VF, I do believe it could lessen the number of people flat out scared off by all the big talkin’.
Yeah it’s true about the start VF got in relation to Tekken and SF. Don’t know about other countries but VF and Tekken arcade cabinets were not common where I played whereas SF2 was everywhere you looked and if it wasn’t SF2 it’d be MK or an SNK game. Arcades started to die here when the VF series got going and on top of that the first 3 console versions came out on unpopular systems (Saturn/Dreamcast) that failed. Tekken came out on the hugely successful Playstation at a time when fighters were still major titles for a console. SF2 had the best of both worlds as well as being the game that started a boom for fighting games.
Not gonna lie, when me & my sister first started playing 4 we always referred to Akira as that Ryu guy. Man I really wish my copy of EVO didn’t get fucked up, one fight game I could get my local friend into.
I can see where you’re coming from. The people in the VF scene really don’t make newcomers feel welcome, lol. I mean, I’ve been playing since VF on the Saturn, so I don’t have to worry about, “starting out”, but if you’re trying to get someone into it by introducing them to a later installment in the series (preferably VF4: EVO), it’s going to be hard.
I haven’t actually kept up with VFDC too much, but maybe they have become more welcome of newcomers to the series. When I used to visit on a pretty regular basis though, it used to just be the same group of guys talking in the same threads and if a new guy came in, he was instantly lost, lol. Also, you say anything you want to know about the game is a few clicks away, but damn…the info for VF is pretty intimidating, haha.
I remember seeing frame data for the first time for that game and going, “omgwtfisthisshit?!” because it made the frame data for GG, SF, and all the other games I had played before seem so small in comparison, lol. There’s just sooooooooo much shit to keep up with in VF. If you haven’t already been playing for a while, it’s going to be damn hard to get in the scene.
That’s really my only gripe with it, honestly.
EDIT: Oh and since DC games are going to start coming to the PSN store, what do you think the chances of the US getting VF3TB are? Personally, I’d love to see it slightly upscaled and added online play to it. I wonder how many people would actually play it now though, lol.
idk what vf scene you guys are talking about but the only players i ever knew are super friendly, and encourage new players to get into the game by showing them cool stuff about it and helping them learn the game. i cant think of a fighting game community that is more welcome to new players than vfdc.
VFDC is one of the friendliest sites on the site and everyone is more than happy to share info/direct new players. Anyone saying the community is elitist or unhelpful is just making a coup-out excuse.
I feel I should chime in with regards to VF being really complex. I understand that when you start delving into frame data and serious competition it can be overwhelming, but I think the same can be said of most fighting games. How many people who bought SFIV or even Super can consistently FADC into ultras or pull off one-frame links? I would say most people know the fundamentals and can play for fun against friends even if they don’t know that stuff, and i think it’s the same for VF.
I used to play VF2 when I was 10 years old with a bunch of friends and we used to have heaps of fun with it. Obviously we were rubbish, but still; we knew how to do various PPPK combos, we knew how to knee someone and juggle them. I knew how to do throws, how to do reversals, how to counter low blocks, moves to use in relation to ring-outs etc. It’s really not that hard to get the basics down I think. THere are only three buttons and I find the combo and juggle system much more intuitive than most 2D fighting games.
I think that one of the big hurdles is not the fans, but the mainstream media always paints Virtua Fighter as some ridiculously complex and wildly difficult game to get into. Look at the opening paragraph from VF5 360 Review on IGN:
I think that’s just rubbish. It’s turned off a lot of people potentially interested in the game by saying that ‘Casuals don’t bother’. Bullshit, I guarantee that even with the most basic skills you could have fun playing throug the quest mode and unlocking items, and even more playing against people of similar skill. It’s not like you need to be able to pull of Brad’s advanced combos just to play a match.
Anyway, I’m starting to ramble, and maybe i’m way off, but I don’t see VF as being any more restrictive than any other fighter when it comes to low level/for fun play with friends. Yes it has a very high cieling, but you don’t need to reach that to have fun.
EDIT:
Just found the PS3 review from IGN, this is a much better attitude IMO
Judging from Tetsuya’s post and from what I’ve seen from the guy in the past, he prolly just got intimidated with all the data and didn’t want to “butt in” by questioning the regulars, who frequently have pretty chill discussions. The vast majority of people on VDFC are definitely friendly and welcoming, especially compared to every other FG community out there.
A lot of people are parroting what they’ve heard other people say. The rest of them are confusing depth with inaccessibility.
VF has always been an accessible game by virtue of its simple button layout and lack of extraneous meters. All you have to keep track of is a health meter and 3 buttons. The learning curve gets steeper the farther you dig into the engine, but that can be said of any decent fighting game.
I don’t have much experience with VF5, but I grew to like the early games because they were ‘head’ games rather than ‘hands’ games. You didn’t have to be a split-second combo savant to pick them up and hold your own. They rewarded intelligent play over rhythmic tapping. Unless the series has completely changed in the last 10 years, I’m assuming this is still the case.
Skeletons? No, I’m just pointing out how you have issues with social interactions (Which is readily apparent if anybody reads that thread you made, and explains how you’d find the most friendly online FG site unwelcoming) and trying not to be a dick about it. If it truly offended you then I apologize. That’s the last I’m gonna post about this in this thread, and what I said bothered you, you can take it up with me in a PM.
I didn’t join VFDC until 2008, so I have no idea what it was like before that. But I’ve never had a problem with anyone on there. There are a couple of token cock-knockers that hang out there, but not very many. Everyone is super helpful and friendly.