When Sega and Yu Suzuki’s AM2 studios released the original Virtua Fighter, gaming as we know it was changed forever. 3D gaming wasn’t only possible, but the future was brought to the present thanks to the hard hitting brawler that is regarded as the grandfather of 3D fighting games. Over the years, Virtua Fighter became a franchise lauded for its complex mechanics, ability to adapt to new platforms and building on top of a historically strong foundation. Though the series has quietly faded into the annals of gaming history, the Virtua Fighter series remains an impactful and incredible series.
From the landmark 1993 release to the final entry in the series released in 2010, these are the best games in the Virtua Fighter series, ranked.
8 Virtua Quest
A spin-off with the loosest of connections to the primary series, Virtua Quest was an RPG with fighting game mechanics that borrowed heavily from the Virtua Fighter series. Taking place in a virtual world players assume the role of Sei as he tries to take down the dreaded Judgment 6 by recovering “Virtua Souls,” digital records that give him the techniques of various Virtua Fighter characters. Featuring only the movesets and sound effects from previous games, there was plenty left to be desired in this strange title. Fans of the series were not convinced that this sounded like a winning formula and Quest fell by the wayside dismissed by RPG and fighting game fans alike.
7 Virtua Fighter Kids
The whole premise of Virtua Fighter Kids is if a cheat mode was enabled, but was an entirely new game. Much like Virtua Quest this bizarre addition to the series wasn’t something anyone was asking for, and at least this game was recognizable enough for fans of the series to know that this was a Virtua Fighter game. As the title suggests, the martial arts masters are all 2nd graders battling it out with their stubby limbs in a game that was more weird than fun. This oddity sadly didn’t end here as the kids would return in Fighter’s Megamix a few years later.
6 Virtua Fighter
History was made when Virtua Fighter hit arcades back in 1993 and gaming as we knew it changed forever. As the first 3D fighter and a pioneering entry in 3D gaming, the first entry in the series was an arcade sensation and a huge proponent of the success of the Sega Saturn in Japan. Virtua Fighter paved the way for all 3D games to come and was as entertaining as it was innovative. A drawback of the game is that it has aged horrifically since release, but Sega has kept its legacy alive by retouching the game in Virtua Fighter Remix and a 10th anniversary edition re-release.
5 Virtua Fighter III
Virtua Fighter III upped the stakes by greatly improving on the graphics and being the debuting game for Sega’s new powerful arcade hardware. At this time, the Tekken series was in its infancy and Virtua Fighter III outperformed the future king with a game that cemented the franchise as the premier 3D fighter of the era. While series veterans were slow to embrace the new dodge feature, it didn’t take too long for the competitive scene to embrace the new mechanics and helped the game become a critical darling and a commercial juggernaut.
4 Fighters Megamix
Building off of the success of Virtua Fighter II and hopes that Sega could make lightning strike twice with Fighting Vipers, the two franchises collided in Fighters Megamix. The entire cast of both Virtua Fighter II and Vipers were present as well as cameos from other obscure arcade titles such as Bark and Bean from Sonic: The Fighters, Janet from Virtua Cop 2 and even the car from Daytona USA. As bizarre as it sounds, Fighters Megamix was a hit, but failed to generate any further interest in its intended purpose to legitimize Fighting Vipers.
3 Virtua Fighter II
Series creator Yu Suzuki did not rest on his laurels after the massive success of the original Virtua Fighter and got the hotly anticipated follow up in arcades in a little over a year. While the original was groundbreaking in its own right, Virtua Fighter II established the franchises staying power as a massive hit in both arcades and for the flailing Sega Saturn. With polished graphics, expanded movesets for the entire cast and deepening the fighting mechanics beyond its predecessor, Virtua Fighter II was already leaps and bounds ahead of the original. The game was the best selling title on the Saturn in Japan and helped to temporarily resuscitate the Saturn as a pack-in title in the United States.
2 Virtua Fighter IV
While the first three games in the series came out relatively close to each other, Virtua Fighter IV was released almost five years after the previous entry and it came roaring back to remind gamers that it was still the king of 3D fighters. Continuing the trend of being the most innovative franchise in all of gaming, Virtua Fighter IV implemented internet connectivity to arcade cabinets to actively update its AI for an increasingly complex challenge each time out. Home console ports to the Playstation 2 were also a hit thanks to an intuitive training mode and balanced gameplay. Time away between titles did not slow the series down one bit.
1 Virtua Fighter V
The fifth entry to the Virtua Fighter series sadly also seems to be the last. Released again to overwhelming acclaim in 2008 with future revisions being equally praised, Virtua Fighter V was the series at its peak, but times had changed for the worse. Sega’s clout in the industry had long faded, as well as the arcade industry as a whole. Beyond that, the rise of Street Fighter and Tekken on the global stage was too much for the infrequently released Virtua Fighter. While it was the last gasp of a series that ushered in 3D gaming, Virtua Fighter V stood out as the best game of the legendary series.