Does anyone have any idea why SEGA is so clueless about VF's fanbase? I want VF5 Final for consoles already.... Those dickhats Oh wait then again this is Sega we're talking about aren't they clueless about everything now?
Speaking of VF, has anyone ever played the PS2 version of Virtua Fighter 2? Supposedly it has the 3D backgrounds and all, so that'd make it better than the Saturn port (if everything else was intact). Is it any good?
The reason Virtua Fighter 2 looks so faithful to the arcade version (geometry-wise, at least) on PS2 is because it's actually an emulation job - supposedly VF2 is one of the many titles from around this period that Sega has lost the source code for. I believe that Panzer Dragoon Saga is another such example, but that's another point entirely... Getting back to your original question, since the PS2 version is built around an early Model 2 emulator there are various graphical issues that have only recently been fixed, including the rather washed out lighting. Also, for some reason many background textures especially look quite rough. Would anyone be prepared to list its problems further?
I believe Sega lost quite a lot of source code for its Saturn-era titles in the corporate reshuffle following Sammy's takeover of the company, and considering that it was also emulated (for Sega Racing Classic) we can probably add Daytona USA to the list of casualties.
I guess what I meant to ask is which is a better overall port: the Saturn version, or the PS2 version? I have 2 copies of the Saturn version actually, but they're both sort of dying. My Saturns have a hard time reading them. The Japanese version won't load at all. The PS2 version is a lot more expensive, but it seems like it might be worth it. (I also have a Japanese PS2, by the way)
Now, I'm a huge VF fan, I've won numerous tourneys in Tokyo and have the arcade PCBs for VF1-VF4FT but there are some glaring errors in the OP's post. Hate to burst your bubble, but depending upon the iteration of VF, it does fall to patterns pretty easily. An easy example is the PS3 port of VF5, you can stomp on a fallen enemy 100% of the time as they don't tech roll. The shortcomings probably aren't very obvious to casual players as you really need to understand the game system to find them. VFs are not very realistic either. From the super human jumps from VF1-3 to the awkward circular moves that have been retained since VF1, hardly any realism there. Why hasn't Sega released VF5 at home? Simply, it's been a loser in Japanese arcades since its location test. They've dumped so much money into developing the VF.TV aspect and trying to fix up the broken and derivative fighting system that they're years behind the competition now and management wants nothing more to do with it. VF5 is extremely unbalanced and basically broke the excellent system from the VF4 series. VF5R is basically a more balanced version of 5 but with atypical VF gameplay; it worked for what it was, not great but playable. VF5FS tried to go back to the old VF play style but failed again with a number of bugs and became even more simplified & unbalanced in the final revision (A). VF was great, now it's just like other Sega franchises, part of their great past.
