| Virtua Fighter 5 | |
 Virtua Fighter 5 cover | |
| Information | |
| Developer | Sega AM2 |
| Arcade System | Sega Lindbergh |
| Platforms | Arcade, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release Date | Arcade
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
|
Virtua Fighter 5 (バーチャファイター5) is the fifth game in Sega's Virtua Fighter series and direct sequel to Virtua Fighter 4. It was released on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades, and to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007. Two new characters who are super light weight class fighters were added to the roster of fighters: Eileen, a young Chinese opera performer who idolizes Pai Chan and used a tricky form of Hou Quan as her fighting style of choice, and El Blaze, a Mexican heel Lucha Libre who holds a grudge towards Wolf Hawkfield.
It was followed in the arcades by Virtua Fighter 5 R in 2008, and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown in 2010. Final Showdown was released as a downloadable title on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in June 2012. A remake of second revision titled Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was first released as a downloadable title on PlayStation 4, and ported to Arcade in June 2021, and will be released as Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. for Microsoft Windows in January 2025. Thus making Virtua Fighter 5 being the first and only main entry with the most updated titles, surpassing the Virtua Fighter 4 sub-series.
Plot
The Fourth World Fighting Tournament had come down to one final fight between Kage-Maru and Shun Di. But as Kage-Maru was about to deliver the final blow to Shun, the glowing, silver form of Dural interrupted the match.
"Mother..." Kage-Maru whispered, facing the transformed being that had once been Tsukikage. Knowing full well that it was too late to save his mother, Kage-Maru destroyed her with own hands. But when he looked at her face, his expression froze. "This is..."
Concerned by Dural's defeat, Judgement 6 captured Vanessa for the next phase of the Dural program. But before they could could turn her into the next Dural, she disappeared -- apparently with inside help of someone. But they had already captured her combat data into the production-model Dural, and thus J6 announced the Fifth World Fighting Tournament to test the abilities of the new V-Dural and to determine the identity of the traitors with J6.
All the invitations for the Fifth World Fighting Tournament have been sent and now the 17 best fighters in the world begin their final phases of preparation. They must learn from prior mistakes and perfect every aspect of their mind, body, and soul - for there is no room for mistakes in this competition.
Characters
New Characters
Returning Characters
- Akira Yuki
- Pai Chan
- Lau Chan
- Wolf Hawkfield
- Jeffry McWild
- Kage-Maru
- Sarah Bryant
- Jacky Bryant
- Shun Di
- Lion Rafale
- Aoi Umenokoji
- Lei-Fei
- Vanessa Lewis
- Brad Burns
- Goh Hinogami
Boss
Changes from Virtua Fighter 4
New Characters
Two new characters are featured in Virtua Fighter 5. The first character, Eileen, is a young girl who uses Monkey Kung Fu and enters the tournament to face her idol, Pai, whom she saw at a martial arts demonstration prior to the fifth tournament. The second character is El Blaze, a lucha libre wrestler who wishes to defeat Wolf Hawkfield.
Gameplay
- Throw speed has been reduced, from 8 frames to 12 frames. In addition, "Instant", or 0-frame throws re-appear from Virtua Fighter 3 in guaranteed throw situations (such as during an evade).
- To encourage a more "moral" style of play, Sega introduce the Clash System: when initiated with the right timing, an attack can be canceled out with a throw, creating a clash and leaving both players at +0 frame advantage (neutral).
- Offensive Move: pressing Punch + Kick + Guard during an evade will initiate an angled forward dash. In addition, pressing Punch or Kick during OM will initiate an attack which can lead to side or back stagger or crumple, leading to a guaranteed combo opportunity.
Ranking System
The ranking system in Virtua Fighter 5 is different from Virtua Fighter 4. The following outlines the ranks obtainable:
- 10th Kyu to 1st Kyu
- 1st Dan to 10th Dan
After the Dan ranks, a character's title is dependent on winning percentage.
- If a character's winning percentage is less than 70 percent they will obtain the following ranks:
Master - Defender - Enforcer - Sentinel - Protector - Guardian - Paladin - Liberator
- If a character's winning percentage is between 70 and 80 percent they will obtain the following ranks:
Master - Hunter - Raider - Barbarian - Assassin - Slayer - Berserker - Destroyer
- If a character's winning percentage is above 80 percent they will obtain these ranks:
Master - Warrior - Veteran - Gladiator - Vindicator - Avenger - Vanquisher - Conqueror
This implementation has led to some players' confusion as to what is the highest rank. Upon obtaining "Conqueror" players have not gone through the other two ranking trees, and so, believe that other ranks exist above them. A character's winning percentage can and does change over time. This can lead to crossing from one rank tree to another (i.e. an "Enforcer" can rank up to "Barbarian" and then up or down to "Vindicator" or "Protector"). The only time a rank tree is final is when a character obtains their 28th rank, "Liberator", "Destroyer", or "Conqueror". It is impossible to change ranks once a character obtains their final rank, the experience bar stops moving, even when fighting other 28th rank opponents. It also appears to be impossible to rank down from this level, locking a character into their final title.
Updates
Version B (PlayStation 3)
The PlayStation 3 port is based around the Version B revision. On January 16, 2008 Sega confirmed online features will not be added to the PlayStation 3 version due to the Version B's technical limitations.
Version C (Xbox 360)
The Xbox 360 port of Virtua Fighter 5, released as Virtua Fighter 5 Online in North America, and Virtua Fighter 5 Live Arena in Japan, benefits from the additions and refinements that have been made to the Version C arcade revision, including online play and an online update ability.
Version D
Virtua Fighter 5 Version D
Version D added pirate-themed costumes and accessories, and weapons for characters to use during win poses.
Virtua Fighter 5 R
Released for the arcades on July 24th 2008, Virtua Fighter 5 R features brand new stages as well as a new character named Jean Kujo, who practices Karate. The sumo wrestler Taka-Arashi also returns, making his first appearance since Virtua Fighter 3 and bringing the fighter count up to 20 (counting Dural).
Version B of Virtua Fighter 5 R was officially released in the Japanese arcades on May 21, 2009. This version featured changes in the animations of moves on all the characters, as well as changes to enhance the gameplay modes, and an improved camera system. Version C was released on November 25, 2009. However this particular version mainly added new team items for the character's outfits.
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown was officially released in Japanese arcades on July 29th 2010, and features new character costumes and animations. Version A of Final Showdown was released on April 20, 2011. Final Showdown released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as a downloadable title on June 2012, with online play on both platforms.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was officially released on June 1, 2021, and features new character costumes, BGM, graphics and animations, developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (known developer of the Yakuza series) and powered by their in-house Dragon Engine. First released in both PlayStation 4 and Arcade version, with the PC will released around Winter 2024 under the title Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., which features 2.0 update of the two previous ports, such as rollback netcode.
Reception
- 1UP A+[1]
- Gamer.tm 9 out of 10[2]
- Metacritic 85[3]
- IGN 9 out of 10[4]
- Eurogamer 9 out of 10[5]
- Electronic Gaming Monthly 9.5, 10, 9.5 out of 10[6]
- Gamerankings 86.57%[7]
- GameTrailers 88 out of 100[8]
- IGN 8.8 out of 10[9]
- Gamespot 8.1 out of 10[10]
Nomination
On Nov 17, 2021, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was nominated for best fighting game at The Game Awards.[11]
Gallery
Videos
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100105121902/http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3164070
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080118053517/http://www.gamer.tm:80/review.php?id=1636
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/virtua-fighter-5
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/10/31/virtua-fighter-5-review-2
- ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_virtuafighter5_360
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203704/http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3156901
- ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/ps3/932831-virtua-fighter-5/index.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070212143052/http://www.gamebrink.com/playstation-3/2260-Virtua_Fighter_5-info.html
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/02/21/virtua-fighter-5-review
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/virtua-fighter-5-review/1900-6166151/
- ↑ VF5US nominated for best fighting game at The Game Awards
External Links
- Official website (archive.org)
| Virtua Fighter Series | |
| Main Series | Virtua Fighter (Remix) • 2 • 3 • 4 (Evolution, Final Tuned) • 5 (R, Final Showdown, Ultimate Showdown) |
| Related Games and Spin-Offs | Virtua Fighter Animation • Virtua Fighter Kids • Fighters Megamix • Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary • Virtua Quest |
| Characters | Akira Yuki • Pai Chan • Lau Chan • Wolf Hawkfield • Jeffry McWild • Kage-Maru • Sarah Bryant • Jacky Bryant • Dural • Siba • Shun Di • Lion Rafale • Aoi Umenokoji • Taka-Arashi • Lei-Fei • Vanessa Lewis • Brad Burns • Goh Hinogami • Eileen • El Blaze • Jean Kujo |
| Non-Video Game Media | Virtua Fighter (comic book) • Virtua Fighter: Akira no Ken • Virtua Fighter (anime) • Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series • GG Portrait |