Virtua Fighter being "Boring" as a competivie game.

So A conversation I'm having on Twitter is turning into an argument. I've never been the biggest Virtua Fighter fan. I think the series peaked with 2, and with 3 got any innovations it was going to make out of the way. 4 and 5 are just EH to me. Not that I didn't play the hell out of 4 and 5 when they were out. But I digress. The person I'm talking to, thinks that all the popular fighting game suck as he's under the "Because it's popular it has to suck" Mentality. That The Tekkens, Street Fighters Blazblues and Guilty Gears of the world are popular but they're all flash and no depth. The Struggle I have to master Tekken Tag 2 is proof enough of that.

My understanding of Virtua Fighter is that it's a rhythmic combination of getting in fast hits and knowing when and how to block and there's some counter system involved in later games. This translates competitively to matches that look like mash fests even if they aren't and somebody knows what they're doing. Yet some how for a game that seems to be Mashy mashy there this deep layer of complexity that I never got. Plus the character aren't really that interesting. You have a few babes in Vanessa and Sarah. Everyone else doesn't really have a personality. So on that level I can't relate much to VF either.

I can watch competitive Street Fighter for hours, Dead or alive matches I can watch forever and DOA is a derivative of Virtua Fighter, Hell DOA5 even has a few VF Characters. Tekken I can watch. BUT Virtua Fighter it's just a cure for insomnia.

Is it just me? Is Virtua Fighter on a competitive level boring? Is there something about VF's complexity I'm missing?

 

I always thought VF was supposed to be the highest level of competitive fighting games, but I don't particularly care for fighting games and especially don't care about playing them competitively, so I dunno.

 

Virtua Fighter 3 is one of my favorite games ever. I have the arcade version; it's definitely a lot better than the DC version. I don't find it boring, either playing by myself or with someone else. Almost every 3D fighter that has subsequently been released since the first VF has been influenced by it in some way.

 

Would you say it's more that realistic simulation-type games come off as slow and boring to those who haven't played them in-and-out? Would you rather watch competitive Madden, or NFL Blitz? Mario Kart or Forza/GT?

VF is grounded, disciplined, and technical. It demands a lot of time invested and an attentive eye. It's likely those who have learned the game in-and-out that have their eyes glued to the screen during a competitive match (meanwhile, everyone else is clearing out to find fast, chaotic, more visually appealing Street Fighter matches).

 

Let me know how far you all get watching this. We can settle this topic relatively quickly.



I still maintain that VF's Cast being unrelatable is a big part of why the game bores me.

 

You know how sometimes a game will just resonate with a person who is a non-gamer. I've witnessed this a few times in my life. One, a friend who was a martial artist, was completely enthralled with VF2 (arcade). Another, an avid racing fan, purchased a DC just for F355. Both never gamed before, and haven't gamed since. I thought it was just simulation-type games, until I saw someone who played only Adventure Island 3 on the NES. From the time NES was around until the PS2 era, they played only Adventure Island 3. Just something about that game was special to them.

 

Happened with my mom she ONLY played Safari Hunt and later Dunk Hunt. That was it. Later one she'd join in for some Rock Band Vocals or Scene it on 360 but that was pretty much it.

 

I find Virtua Fighter a bit weird in the characters' side.
Another Sega fighting game, Virtual On, is exatcly weird like that, but the weirderness fits the robot game more, IMO.

It's boring if you don't put time in it. I think it takes time to enjoy. And can be frustrating if you're not interested.
Guilty Gear is the same "boring' to me. I don't know why, perhaps I just don't like the character design that much. But I find it very uninteresting. Blazblue should be the same, but I've never played it for lack of interest.

 

Surprises me how hit an miss Guilty Gear is with some people one person I knew called it a 2d Toshinden. I've always thought of it as a frantic Samurai Shodown especially in it's X iteration.

It's weird, I don't consider Virtual on a fighter. Many do, many don't I see it more as a mech combat sim due to the way it controls. It's also one of my favorite games despite the fact I haven't put any time into the 50 shit zillion versions I have.

 

That's basically every fighting game ever.

 

As much as I like VF, I wouldn't be interested in watching matches for it.

Then again I'm less likely to watch a match of any game, VF is probably one of the last I'd think of.

To point on the Twitter argument sake... Why waste your time doing that?

 

The whole thing sprung out of this person's snobby obsession with VF. It actually got weird today when he was talking about how much VF5 FS sucks. Odd because I actually like VF5 and FS. There are fighting games NOW that don't look as good as VF5.

 

Just play Fighters Megamix and be happy.

 

Pepsi man in Japanese Saturn Fighting Vipers Makes me happy.

 

Sometimes there are people who are not worth arguing with.

 

I say have fun and argue. It's tough to find people passionate about gaming. I can appreciate the dedication.

 

I think the problem with Virtua Fighter is not the game is not complex (It is considered one of the most complex.)

I think it's due to the game being not flashy enough. In Tekken there's those flashy lights and people being lauched ten feet. In Virtua Fighter it's very simple looking so for the uninitiated it looked like mashing.

It's like trying to convince a person that Chess is a very complex game when the person does not even understand basic chess rules.

 

Now we got Yakuza fanboying (generic ending on Shenmue 3 game isn't done it looks like shit) Not sure if this due is cynical or just trolling. Also just got accused of fanboyism for sticking up for Shenmue 3. It's all on my twitter (@reverendjohnw)

Anyways back to VF, I really enjoy 2 and Arcade 3 but after that it was all down hill. 4 and 4 Evo inspite of all the time I poured into it felt like a step back from 3 and 5 I poured alot of time into and they made it flashier, but I lost interest over time. I find it doubtful we'll ever see Virtua Fighter 6. I'd like to see if Sega can push VF forward but in the state they are now I find that doubtful.

 

I don't know what are you talking about GoH, but Yakuza is a very distinct and fun series of games, so it doesn't surprise me that the fanbase is a little bit fanatic.

By the way where is retrocade? Quit being lazy and do more episodes, even if I'm the only one who actually enjoys them

 

I stopped doing Retrocade a long time ago. I moved on to Shmup the fuck up, where I suck at Shmups (sometimes on perpose) . I'm going to do a few episodes of that in March, then I'm going on Hiatus until I get a good capture card. THEN we might see Retrocade again.