Total Bliss (Virtua Fighter 3tb (DC))

Member Name: Wolfzilla

Product:	Virtua Fighter 3tb (DC)
Date:	13/01/07 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fighting engine, graphics, generally a good game

Disadvantages: Sound aspects let it down

I have to admit that I've always had a soft spot for Virtua Fighter 3tb. The arcade game from which it spawned was the last machine I can claim to have got any real challenge out of, and given the dying nature of the fighting game in the arcades, I'm sure you can imagine even then it wasn't much. As if to further condemn the game, it was released on the Dreamcast, a console that was never all that popular, and the game was already quite old by the time the console got released, so many gamers passed it up in favour of newer, made for DC games. And as if all of that wasn't enough, the game also had to live up to the unimaginable pressure of living up to Virtua Fighter 2, the greatest 3D fighting game ever. Not many gamers seem to have taken nicely to VF3tb, yet I'll still defend it until my dying day, because while it may not come close to the greatness of it's predecessor, it's still an excellent fighting game if you are actually willing to devote some time and effort to becoming good at it.

As I mentioned, the game was at a slight setback from the offset, given that it debuted in arcades when the Sega Saturn was still doing the rounds. However, the game's graphics were far too good to be achieved on Sega's underrated console, which was, by then, upon it's deathbed, so the game had to wait until 1998 and the launch of the Dreamcast before it could make it's way into people's homes. Of course, by this time, many new games had been developed specially for the console, so VF3 wasn't quite as cutting edge any more. In a last ditch attempt to see that people weren't put off by a dated game, Sega 'upgraded' it by adding a Team Battle option, hence the tb part of the title.

The Virtua Fighter series was Sega's entrant into the 3D fighting game ring, and it's most notable feature that distinguished it from the myriad of sloppy games released in the mid-1990s was it's fighting system. The games only used 3 buttons: Punch, Block and Kick, yet each of the game's fighters had a huge arsenal of moves at their disposal, and the game was like a sport or chess, in that you actually had to dedicate time and practice to become a master at it. Combos were often intricate, and the game featured no fireballs or anything, the only unrealistic moves were the exaggerated Jumps characters could take. The games championed realism and strategy in fighting games, and the second game in the series combined stellar gameplay with excellent, and unprecented at the time, graphics and music, making it quite simply one of the best games ever.
The downside to the series was that, while there was a plot, it wasn't even remotely developed in the game, meaning no endings or a story mode or anything, relegating single-player gaming to the act of practicing your skills in preparation for a human opponent.

If you've never played, or even heard of, a Virtua Fighter game, they are fighting games. This means that they revolve around best out of 3 rounds combat, where the idea is to empty your opponent's health bar using a variety of attacks, before they do the same to you. This game, as the title implies, adds a 'Team Battle' mode, which makes it play like a 3D King of Fighters, in that you pick 3 fighters, before taking on 3 others, one at a time, with damage inflicted by the first opponent carrying on, and no rounds.

The third game in the series(technically the 5th or 6th actually) took the same basic formula as the second game, and added two extra characters, as well as the rather neat gameplay addition that is uneven terrain. VF games were fought in 'Ring-Out' situations, which always limited to the arenas to being flat squares, because how else could a ring be formed? VF3tb gets around this problem by laying out a set area for which you have to fight within/on, for example a rooftop, yet it doesn't compromise realism, and actually slants the rooftop. What's better, is that this actually alters the gameplay, as being lower than your opponent may save you from some attacks, and what are usually high attacks may take the legs away from them. While it doesn't seem like a huge feature on paper, it's really quite awesome to play in, and I wonder why more games haven't done it since.

But this brings us to the main problem with the game. That's all it really changes. While the graphics are better than the second game, it isn't the dramatic step up that Virtua Fighter 2 was to the first game. Many people hold the fact that this game has a side-step button instead of forcing the player to do so by other means, on the grounds that it makes it easier, but personally I think it's better than wasting the spare button.

In terms of the fighting game engine, it would be folly to expect anything less than great from a Virtua Fighter game. Hundreds of moves per-character, perfect response from the controls, and a gaming experience with more depth than the Grand Canyon. Picking up the game is a fairly simple procedure, but actually getting to the level where you can truthfully call yourself a master isn't something you are going to do overnight. I know that the lack of real single player modes will put a lot of gamers off, but personally I love the VF games, and there really is nothing quite like taking on someone else who has played the game in a close-fought 2-Player battle. Given that the 9 times out of ten, the more experienced fighter will win, and while this may also put a lot of people off, it does give the winner a real sense of triumph, knowing that chances are they are genuinely the better player.

The game has 12 playable characters, the 10 returning fighters from the prior game, as well as two newcomers in the form of the Japanese lady Aoi and the sumo wrestler Taka Arashi. They once again add variety to the roster, where there are no 'clone' characters, and even the two fighters who use the same martial art(that's Jacky and Sarah Bryant who use Jeet-Kune-Do) there are differences in playing style. There's also no sure-fire best character, which makes me like the game even more.

As I mentioned, the game only uses 3 core-controls and a side-step button, which means the standard Dreamcast pad can do a job, although naturally a good arcade stick would be recommended. It really doesn't take long to pick the game up, and I really can't report any major complaints with the controls.

While the game didn't exactly push the Dreamcast to it's limits, have no fear that the game still looks pretty damn good, even today. Some of the effects are excellent, such as the movement of Pai's pigtails, and in general most graphics are at worst good. The game just has a few flaws that give away it's age, such as Aoi's hair, the water effects(which by the way are a lot better than in the more recent X-Men: Next Dimension) and Taka Arashi. All the other graphics are, if not awe-inspiring, impressive, blostering the solid backbone of the game.

The sound is probably the aspect I was most disappointed with. While the music themes are pleasant enough, where are the awesome tracks that comprised the soundtrack to the previous game? that was some of the best videogame music ever, and naturally this just pales in comparison. Some of the voice acting(Read: Sarah) is also diabolical, although the foreign-language voices don't tend to seem as bad, although it could be the case that Japanese players complain about Kage's voice and think Sarah sounds ok.

While Virtua Fighter 3tb may not quite live up to the heady expectations of it's predecessor, to be perfectly honest, I really don't know what could have. It's still a very good game, and even on the Dreamcast, the console that deserves the title of being the King of Fighters, VF3tb carves out it's own niche as the only really realistic fighter, and still manages to be up there with the best of them though. If you have got yourself a Dreamcast and are interested in the prospect of a fighting game that's really more simulator than Streetfighter, then I would definitely advise picking up VF3tb. While you may have to put some work into it, I personally feel it's well worth the effort.

Review also posted on Epinions.com

Summary: While it can't quite outdo it's prequel, Virtua Fighter 3tb is still an enjoyable fighter,