Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega have released a “pre-development concept video” for the new Virtua Fighter project announced last month at The Game Awards. Check it out:
Looks good, right? Well, it’s all just a proof of concept at this point, labeled as “Pre-development in-engine footage” and “not actual gameplay”, and so there’s nothing at all about the game name, platforms, or release windows, but it will be depicts some of the intentions behind the revival of RGG’s fighting series.
There are several things to note here, from the density of detail through the backgrounds, to the 3D lighting shifting through the stage, and an element of destruction as one Akira throws another Akira around. There’s also some more fighting game visual flair with motion trails and other effects when the hits land, with Virtua Fighter generally more limited than others in the genre.
All this is of course subject to change, but it is the first direction that RGG is taking.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has become a pivotal studio for Sega in recent years. You know them best as the studio behind the hugely popular Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, but as broad as that series has become, they’ve also had recent Super Monkey Ball games. Considering that Yakuza’s own fight was a hand-me-down from Shenmue, who in turn got a branch from Virtua Fighter, this makes them the perfect team to take the reins of the series.
So far we’ve only seen Akira and Sarah Bryant fight, and in this pre-production video it’s a pair of Akira fighting.
Fans of the series have been waiting patiently since the original launch of Virtua Fighter 5. While the series has made a leap in recent generations with Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown and remains highly playable on modern consoles, there is little to no online community. now. Sega wants to give that game a chance, both with a recent 2.0 update for Ultimate Showdown with a new PC port, Virtua Fighter 5 REVO will be released later this month.