The Lone Gamer

ELBOW. ELBOW. SHOULDER. ELBOW. Winner, Akira.

WHOA, what’s this? Another Character Countdown? And for a series whose name doesn’t rhyme with Smekken? ZOUNDS!
Well, why not? I’ve found that doing this kind of article series not only proves entertaining for both me and readers- it’s also a great way to pass the time. And passing the time is something I really want to do since the release of the awesome Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is so close but also so far away. So here, a countdown series featuring the blokes and babes of Sega’s flagship fighter, the Virtua Fighter series. I imagine that even veteran beat ‘em up fans may not be totally acquainted with the VF crew, unless they made it a point to read up on them. Well, let’s fix our collective VF ignorance and get to know the combatants in the Next Big Fighting Game to hit our consoles next month.

So, to start the ball rolling, why not kick things off with VF’s Poster Boy- the franchise’s ‘Ryu’ and the Main Guy; a frighteningly powerful fighter… so frightening he scares off gamers from even trying to use him! He’s the Hakkyokuken Master, Akira!

AKIRA YUKI
Distinguishing Features: Japanese male of exceptionally fit physique, usually dressed in a plain, unspectacular martial arts gi and matching headband. Basically he’d be Ryu who actually gets to bathe and change clothes more often (or is it less rarely?).

Strengths: Shoulders and elbows that can crack concrete. Akira is the epitome of efficient, explosive movement. Very intimidating… fighters have been known to pass out from fear even before his elbow hits their jaw. In the right hands, Akira can destroy his opponent faster than you can say ‘WTF?!’

Weaknesses: So many think he’s so hard to learn, few dare try to use him. Does indeed require at least a fair level of skill on the part of the player to use effectively. Not the most exciting fighter to watch since he’s so darn methodical and to the point in his attacks. Hotheaded and impulsive; a bit naive and uncomfortable in social events outside of martial arts.

Background: A fighter who’s been competing in the World Fighting Tournament in VF since the very beginning, Akira was raised from childhood training in his family’s dojo, mastering the art of Bajiquan/Hakkyoku Ken. He continually trains and yearns to fight strong opponents in order to test his skills and uncover his own flaws and shortcomings.

Ryu Who? Akira’s resemblance to Streetfighter’s main man may or may not be a coincidence, or it may just be indicative of the stoic, ‘The Fight is All’ archetype that he represents. He’s that kind of character, totally dedicated to his calling, the fight, the school and the secret of True Strength. In other words, this guy may be a monster in the fighting tournaments, but he’s probably clueless in pretty much every other arena or social gathering. He is, after all, the model after which the Champion of Blandness, Ryo Hazuki of Shenmue, was inspired from. Heck, he’s got a gorgeous lady (Aoi Umenokoji) basically throwing herself at him (probably hand and feet first though), and they’re strictly platonic. Nope, just like Ryu, Akira’s sight is squarely on the horizon. I honestly don’t believe he actually expects his journey to ever end. When that actually happens, he’s probably gonna die.

On that note, it also doesn’t appear that Akira has any inkling or awareness of the unsavoury, sinister goings-on with the organization holding the World Fighting Tournament- Judgement Six. However, he’s such a significant player that he’s sure to be a thorn in the bad guys’ side if he finds himself in the way between J6 and their intended targets. For as pure and one-dimensional as Akira may seem to be, one thing that is also sure is that this guy is a hero- an unwary hero, still looking for his potential, but a hero nonetheless.

Akira has always been known as the character in VF that requires an ‘Almost Zen-like Dedication’ to master. I think that may not be entirely false, but it’s also not totally true. In fact, it seems that like many aspects of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, Akira’s skills have been made more accessible and usable by players who are at least open to putting a wee bit more effort into learning. The Tutorial mode in VF5FS, which comes complete with timings and frame data, should be perfect tools for anyone to master even the infamous ‘Stun Palm of Doom’. In short, don’t be scared away from Akira, and give him a try when VF5 Final Showdown hits this June. Then you may find everyone in fear of your skills.

‘Um, Pai… would you go out on a da… er… uh… IF I DEFEAT YOU, YOU PAY FOR MY DINNER, AGREED??!’

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown comes to PSN and XboxLive this coming June 5-6, 2012.

Fast Tube by Casper
The VF Fighters sure know how to celebrate a win, don’t they?

Even if Virtua Fighter has never been known for giving much emphasis to narrative (but there IS a serious storyline behind all the fighting), the series isn’t lacking in terms of personality and character for it’s roster of brawlers. Character intros and outros/victory screens are always full of fun and cool/funny antics, and up above is an awesome video by Japanese Youtuber and VF Player LadyVF that has compiled a good number of them. Since these are from the Japanese arcade version, most gamers probably haven’t seen most of these crazy victory screens, and some of them are quite hilarious.
These win animations are enabled when you equip certain items on your character via customization, so they’re kinda similar to Item Moves from Tekken- although here they’re used after the fight is won. Also, quite a few of the fighters have been customized to cosplay as characters from other franchises- anime, other games, movies. See if you can recognize them all!

Sadly not all of these cool cutscenes might make it into the console version (the ones with banners full of Kanji probably are Japan-only), but most should find their ways to gamers once VF5FS and it’s accompanying DLC arrive this coming June 5. Darn, I can’t wait!!!

Fast Tube by Casper
Gamespot sends you to VF Boot Camp.

With the release of Sega’s uber brawler, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, just a little over three weeks away, I think it would be to a beat ‘em up fan’s best interest to get acquainted with this game’s system. Unlike Tekken, VF5FS runs with a three-button setup: Punch, Kick and Guard. You sidestep with the joystick (tap up or down), so similarities with NB’s fighter are there. However, every single fighter in the 19-strong lineup is unique, with their own individual fighting style, combos, flavor and tempo.

It may seem daunting, but don’t fear- VF5FS has been streamlined and refined to be a lot easier to get into, and the action very easy to discern and figure out. You really don’t have to play the original VF5 (still available on disc for PS3 and Xbox360) to get into FS- there have been so many changes, they’re pretty much very different games. I’d go as far as saying that FS is a ‘Tekken-ized’ version of VF5, complete with it’s own version of Bound (Bounce) stuns and combo-extending moves.

A good place to start off is by watching the vid above- which shows off more than nine minutes of gameplay from VF5FS’s Training mode, which is sure to be a a boon to newbie players getting into the VF style. Trust me- this game rewards you more the more you put in. It’s only a few weeks to fighting awesomeness, so prep yourselves… this is gonna be something else.

Fast Tube by Casper
This latest trailer for VF5FS shows what you’ll be getting come June.

Damn this is great news! I’ve been waiting for VF5 Final Showdown to come home for about a year now, and now it’s about three weeks away. Sega has just announced a release date for their Download-Only Five-Star Beat ‘em Up; Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will be ready for download this coming June 5, 2012 on PSN and XboxLive. WOOHOO! Prior to today, speculation on a release has been ranging to as late as end of June- but with the game’s Release Party set for this coming May 19, this only makes sense.

Aside from the original VF5 Crew, Final Showdown gives us two new fighters. Taka-arashi is a returning sumo wrestler from VF3. Jean Kujo is a sinister-looking French fighter who uses a brutal form of karate.

The main game will be priced at $14.99 on PSN or 1,200 MS Points on XBL. This means all the available characters and their default outfits, all the stages and modes of play. As for customization, all alternate costumes and items are paid DLC. You can either get individual character customization packs priced at $4.99 (PSN) or 400 MSP (XBL) each or in two big bunches (each having 9-10 characters’ customs) worth $14.99/1,200 MSP each.
Take note though if you feel like penny-pinching… Character customization packages for VF5FS aren’t like in Streetfighter X Tekken or SSFIV where you get, oh- one or two costumes for a few dollars. It’s not even like Soul Calibur V, where you get several items for your money. NOOOOO… in VF5FS when you buy the character package, that’s ALL the customizations a character has (supposedly), accumulated over the course of several years in arcades- which amounts to about 600-900+ items for EACH fighter. That’s tops, bottoms, face items, eye items, hand items, foot items, hairstyles, headgear, back items, waist stuff and more… literally, the WORKS. Now, THAT is how customization and worthwhile DLC is done!
All in all, both the game and all Customizations still totals to less than a disc-release game. I think that’s a pretty good deal.

Man, even though VF5FS is really an upgrade to a game that has been out since 2006 or so, it’s a steal at the price given. If you’re into fighting games, this is a no-brainer purchase… there ain’t a fighter deeper, more polished or more value-filled than this one, people. THIS is the real deal. DAMN it’s a great time to be a fighting game fan!

For the full Sega press release, go on over to VFDC’s forum thread over here.

MAN, this is great. Just three weeks to Fighting Nirvana. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been waiting for this game more than any other beat ‘em up for a long, long time. Once this is on my PS3, I will be pretty happy for the foreseeable future. And what a damn awesome birthday present for myself as well. HAHA!

Fast Tube by Casper
VF5 Star Player Fuudo invites everyone to get their asses kicked by him on console!

Man, I still can’t get over that we’re getting Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. It IS literally my dream fighter… more so than any other beat ‘em up in recent memory, THIS is the one I want to have. That desire was fueled even more by the simple fact that it has always been a Japan-only Arcade Release… making it something we can never have. Well, until now, that is. While the exact release date is still at a vague ‘Summer 2012′, things are pointing to a mid to late June release, given that Sega is holding their Pre-release party for the game on May 19. I simply MUST have this game.

Well, thankfully it seems that Sega is giving the release their support, complete with promo vids and interviews for the game. The latest vid above shows off arcade star player Fuudo as he talks about his background, play style and message to gamers for VF5FS. Fascinating as this may be to hardcore VF players, I’d much rather see game footage and features… well, that’ll probably come eventually. I assume that aside from taking on Fuudo online perhaps his ‘ghost’ or A.I. will be available in VF5FS’s single player campaign or battle mode.
As technical or complex VF5 or the series in general may seem to be, it’s gotten a lot more playable and accessible to more players with every new installment, particularly with FS I think. I really hope this pays off well- for us players, to get an arcade-perfect, complete FS in a couple of months, andfor Sega, to get their money’s worth from it so they can get AM2 to start work on the much-awaited Virtua Fighter 6. Man, the future of fighting games seems bright and sweeeeet.

Fast Tube by Casper
Sega’s US Producer gets put on the spot.

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is perhaps my most awaited fighting game release this year. I NEED this game. I WANT this game. It’s still quite a ways off (perhaps in June?), but thankfully Sega isn’t shy about showing the game off in various events. BeyondGamingNet has a slew of videos showing off the game at Pax East, along with info from the Sega reps. Yeah, this is a DLC release which is probably meant to earn a lot via paid downloads (all extra items are DLC), but heck… I don’t care. I must have this. All of it. Anyway, check out the vids and get ready for fighting bliss this Summer.

Fast Tube by Casper

Fast Tube by Casper

Fast Tube by Casper

Fast Tube by Casper
The VF.TV Live vid runs us through the home version of VF5 Final Showdown.

Perhaps my most awaited fighting game release of this year is the home conversion of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. Though there hasn’t been an official release date yet posted, this download-only title for PSN and XboxLive looks to arrive in time for its Summer 2012 release. I think it’s pretty locked in that the game will look amazing- it IS after all, still basically VF5. There’s a bit of a wrinkle that most, if not all of the customization items will now only be available as DLC. Well, all we can hope for is that Sega isn’t greedy and prices everything at a reasonable rate and convenient packages for players to get.

Anyways, the video above should sate gamers looking forward to this game- it shows the VF.TV crew showing off the game (PS3 Version AFAIK) and its various modes, including the excellent-looking Training Mode and the pretty extensive Character Customization System. The whole vid runs for more than an hour, though they only get into actual game footage about 20 minutes in, and only for about 30 minutes.

Man, I can’t wait for this game. Here’s to us getting this awesome brawler sooner, rather than later. More as we get it then!

Fast Tube by Casper
OKAY, What the HELL-?!!

JUST before the release of Streetfighter X Tekken and JUST right after the Character Poll debut of Tekken X Streetfighter… THIS arrives. What I thought at first was just a nice character debut for Kasumi (who looks amazing by the way) in Dead or Alive 5 turns out to be something more- as freakin’ AKIRA from Virtua Fighter 5 is shown fighting with the DOA cutie in full DOA5 fashion, complete with wall slams, ledge drops and dramatic camera sweeps (which I think really isn’t that practical). WHAT IS THIS… MAGIC? The title logos at the end cite both games- DOA5 and VF5- separately, so we still are at a loss at what this is. Certainly not Dead or Alive X Virtua Fighter. DOA VS VF? Dead or Virtua? DOA Fighter? Virtual DOA? What-what-WHAT?

The fighting action is still DOA. albeit with Mr. Yuki doing his trademark VF moves (and to whit I am irritated that there is still no apparent actual KO at the end of matches… hoping this changes), so this is still a Team Ninja product, ultimately. Judging from the separate logos at the end and no reveal of any DOA X VF title, this little surprise may be simply that Akira is just a Guest Fighter for DOA5. I’d be really surprised if this was anything more than that. But then, who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see what else develops. Certainly the excitement for beat ‘em up fans in the next several months has been ratcheted up significantly. More as we get it then!

Fast Tube by Casper
Sega continues building the anticipation for this long-awaited fighter.

Even with all the cool fighters that have come and are coming this year and so forth, if I were to pick one single title to arrive RIGHT NOW it would certainly be Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. You’d be forgive for being not too in the know about this though- but hardcore fighting gamers (even a Hardcore Casual Fighting Gamer like me) will surely know and respect (or revere) Sega’s VF series and it’s place in the genre. VF5 first came out last several years ago, in the beautiful but markedly unspectacular, non-online PS3 version. This was followed quite some time later by an online-capable Xbox360 version.

After that though, silence for several years, and we all had to stare and gawk like sad, hungry street urchins as Japanese arcade gamers played VF5 Revision after Revision. VF5 Final Showdown is (I assume) the FINAL Revision, or at least, series of Revisions, of this particular chapter of VF, and from all indications it’s pretty kick-ass with lots of significant changes to the fighting action, up and over the addition of new, sinister Karateka character Jean Kujo and returning Sumo Taka-arashi. VF5FS saw the addition of VF’s answer to ‘Bound’ moves from Tekken 6- slamming moves which place the opponent in an odd half-standing, half-staggered stunned state, allowing for extended combos. Defense and blocking is allowed from side attacks, and there are tons of new techniques for everyone as well as new animations and reactions which make the action even more visceral and cool as the AM2 Team intends.

THANKFULLY we gaijin gamers are all getting VF5FS (and hopefully the newest version) via DLC on PSN and Xboxlive this coming Summer. Sega has recently begun the hype-train for their digital download fighter, continuing with the vid above- a segment at On the Spot over at Gamespot. Nicely enough, we finally get to see the actual game, including a look at the new Training mode, and the somewhat ridiculous knowledge that this game has over 10,000 customization items, many of which will be distributed via DLC (I’m sure the game will have a bunch already bundled in out of the non-existent box).

Obviously, Sega will want to milk as much money from this as possible, but I want this game so much that I have to say that they just price them reasonably, put them out ASAP and they’re freakin’ SOLD. I just want my arcade-perfect, complete VF5FS yesterday. For now, check out the vid above. Man, I can’t wait for summer.

Fast Tube by Casper
The Sega devs talk history with their storied beat ‘em up.

It’s been a while since we heard last from the boys at Sega- but really, they’re set to bring us fighting gamers one gem of a download this coming Summer. Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is still set for release on both PSN and Xbox360 several months from now, and I for one am hyped for this upgrade. Anyways, here’s what I hope to be just the first of many video features and trailers Sega will be releasing to build up the excitement for VF5FS, up until release. It’s a pretty interesting featurette, and should please gamers who appreciate the history of their fave titles. Man, I really want my VF5FS fix already. Please let there be no delays…