Fighting games have made a resurgence in the past few years, not that it was really gone. It’s just that for the longest time, pillar titles such as Street Fighter and Tekken have kept the scene kicking as other FG classics like Soul Calibur and the VS series returned to or remained in their respective developers’ basements.
But lately, like bands from your childhood coming out of retirement, oldhead favorites have been staging their comebacks one after the other – in the forms of either a long deserved-port to modern systems or a new entry altogether. SEGA’s Virtua Fighter is the latest hopeful ambitiously aiming for both. Can the once goated grandfather of 3D fighting games make it back to the top?
Two weeks past the release and honeymoon phase, let’s see how Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. really stacks in the current scene.
WHAT DOES R.E.V.O. BRING TO THE TABLE?
VF5 R.E.V.O. is a reworked version of Ultimate Showdown, which in turn is a remaster of the 11-year old “VF5 Final Showdown”. Rebalancing was given to support new moves and combos which looks good in its new 4K resolution at a smooth 60 FPS.
R.E.V.O. also carries over the Yakuza and Tekken collab skins from Ultimate Showdown. While there really isn’t hope for more DLC, fans are expecting that someone from Kamurochō would eventually make its way as a guest character as the RGG studio is developing the next VF entry on the Yakuza engine.
But the biggest change (and the most requested feature) is the rollback netcode. A lot of fighting game fans are still playing decades-old titles in events and local tourneys, so the idea of a game being made available to consoles and PC – as well as it having a convenient online mode – allows those titles to thrive. Despite VF5 R.E.V.O. being barebones without its original Quest mode and customizations, it feels liberating to finally be able to comfortably play the game with fellow fans online. There is no crossplay between PC and PS users though, so hope that isn’t a dealbreaker.
IS IT SPICY OR JUST SEASONED?
While the fresh coat of 4K paint does make it a beautiful remaster, there are still some tells that it’s a dated game. Though it is fully responsive at 60 frames, the buttery smoothness usually snowballs into blurry Vaseline territory. The gameplay itself is a love letter to “honest” grounded neutral gaming, something enthusiasts pride in as most of their contemporaries have moved on to fantastical, metered movesets and comeback mechanics. This is also a trait that fans hope to see continued in the upcoming untitled but technically Virtua Fighter 6.
Despite being from the PS3/XBOX360 era, fans can still experience rich combo expressions and intense matchups on par with modern-day fighting games. While it still won’t be as big as Tekken or Street Fighter, it gives us hope that Virtua Fighter can realistically re-establish itself among the current generation.
IS IT WORTH GETTING?
VF5 R.E.V.O.’s going to cost you PHP 1,006.00 on STEAM. PHP 1,990 if you pick up the 30th Anniversary Edition that has all the costume DLC packs. Despite having a high skill ceiling, it is a decent entry point for those wanting some SEGA action in their veins. I’d consider R.E.V.O. as the definitive version for those wanting to play it competitively, but it is an acquired taste which caters mostly to old heads who prefer grounded gaming, as well as VF fans hyping themselves for VF6.
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is now out on Steam. Get it here.
RATING – 3 out of 5
- Rollback Netcode is an auto-win for the modern-day FGC.
- The latest reworks to the gameplay make the cast feel more balanced.
- Virtua Fighter’s back, baby!
- Tons of customization lost to the OG console versions.
- It’s a 15-year-old game, Kinda plays like it too.
- Offline players will find little love in this unless playing with friends or in a tourney.
We would like to thank SEGA for providing our site the review code for VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 R.E.V.O.
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