Virtua Fighter 2

Developer: Sega-AM2
Publisher:  Sega

Wow, talk about an improvement, the series may have had a rough start on the Saturn, but Virtua Fighter 2 is the best apology one could ask for, the game is almost 20 years old but it's still amazing!

The graphics look much better then Remix, remember what I said about Remix' characters looking like they were from Virtua Fighter 2? Forget I said that, they look even better here and their movements are so fluid, I'm not sure if this version runs at 60 frames per second like it's arcade counterpart does, but if I had to guess, I'd say yes, at very least, it certainly feels like it.

The gameplay is much faster and tighter this time around, I felt the battles were more exciting and frenetic while still maintaining the fighters' delicate balance, moreover, I actually found myself using everyone's' special moves, not just their throws, I also liked how this time you have a plethora of game modes, something which was sorely lacking in VF 1 and Remix.

The roster is pretty much the same as the first game, with only two new characters, Shun, a drunken bearded old man who's pushing 100 and who is usually every passing fan's favorite character, his drunken style moves are both weird and hilarious to look at, and then there's Lion, a pretty generic blond guy.

The only real problem I have with this game are the backgrounds, sure, they look better than they did in VF 1 or Remix, but not by much, this time, instead of one slowly panning static image, we have a second image superimposed on it meaning both images pan at different lengths and speeds during the fight, they actually look pretty good, but when you suffer a ring out, you notice that there is no actual floor, instead you're just standing on a 2D image that looks incredibly fake, it's a shame, especially when compared the Tekken's or Soulblades' backgrounds.

Pros:

- Smooth gameplay and framerate
- Amazing 3D graphics for the Saturn
- Combat is fast, furious, balanced, exciting and very fun
- All of the characters feel very balanced
 
Cons:

- Backgrounds graphics are kind of weak on a technical level

- There's no floor outside the arena?!?
 

Final Score: A-

The Cover art for this one isn't quite as bad as previous games, the new characters are prominently displayed and to be fair, they are somewhat detailed... by '96's standards, and this time instead of looking like they're made of rectangles, they look like they're made out of cylinders, PROGRESS!

I don't quite get what's with the other characters being all lined up at the bottom, especially the female robot on the bottom right, proudly displaying her metal breasts.

Unfortunately I lost my original manual so I have to use an old photocopied manual I fashioned, it's pretty much the same deal as the original Virtua Fighter instruction booklet, you get a little backstory, character description and moves list, so it's pretty decent.

Unfortunately it still uses the same early Saturn game box, durable, these are not.

Packaging Score: D+