Virtua Fighter X Dead Or Alive

[Genesis]

Well, not exactly, but recent rumours of a Dead or Alive-Virtua Fighter crossover have somewhat come true. Tecmo's Dead or Alive 5 will feature Akira Yuki.

In the DOA5 GDC Movie, Akira appears in the middle of the video, fighting against Kasumi.

Tecmo's Official Dead or Alive 5 Website

Andriasang story from Famitsu

I learned about this from the VFDC forums, but I thought I'd share the news here and see if there are any Virtua Fighters among my fellow Turtles fans.

This can also act as a general discussion for DOA5 and Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown.

[Hero]

Had VF2 on the Sega Saturn and played 3 in the arcade as much as possible. Good to see Sega doing something with the characters again.

[Genesis]

Well, it's not like this is the only thing going on in the Virtua realm. Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown is coming to XBox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Having played the game myself, I can tell you that it is absolutely worth downloading, once it releases this Summer.

I'm much more highly anticipating Final Showdown than Dead Or Alive 5, myself, but what specifically excites me about this crossover is that it should generate more attention to the Virtua Fighter series, which has fallen by the wayside in gamers' minds, since the release of VF5.

Also, rumour has it that SEGA is producing DOA5 (which may have been alluded to in the trailer by infusing Virtua Fighter gold into the 5 in the logo), which means that we may see much more polish and balance brought to this franchise that is so often bashed for its masher-friendly combat system.

[TheCanadiandrome]

very cool! keep me posted of news, i'll be sure to check this thread

[Genesis]

Dead Or Alive 5 May Have More Virtua Fighters

On that note, who else would you like to see playable from SEGA's roster? My vote goes to Kage, since, y'know, he's a ninja and all. Besides, I've always wanted to kick the crap out of Hayate with Kage-Maru.
For all we know, this isn't even alluding to more characters from Virtua Fighter. Perhaps someone from Fighting Vipers?


Many thanks to MAtteoJHDY for this wicked .gif!

[TheCanadiandrome]

Originally Posted by Genesis

Dead Or Alive 5 May Have More Virtua Fighters

On that note, who else would you like to see playable from SEGA's roster? My vote goes to Kage, since, y'know, he's a ninja and all. Besides, I've always wanted to kick the crap out of Hayate with Kage-Maru.
For all we know, this isn't even alluding to more characters from Virtua Fighter. Perhaps someone from Fighting Vipers?


Many thanks to MAtteoJHDY for this wicked .gif!

Very cool!

[Genesis]

You know - and this is entirely speculative, here - but in a way, this fits into the Virtua Fighter story. Akira only won the Second World Fighting Tournament, and every time he lost (in the First, Third and Fourth), he lost to Kage (because again, he's that awesome). Akira may have sought out the Dead Or Alive tournament as training against other practitioners of ninjutsu. It makes sense and suits his character.

[Ninjinister]

Does VF really have a story? Almost nothing happens in the games. I know the stereotype is that "nobody plays fighters for the story" but you might as well enjoy the ride. However I've played all of the games but 5 and the only one with any semblance of a story was Animation for the Master System/Game Gear.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

Does VF really have a story? Almost nothing happens in the games. I know the stereotype is that "nobody plays fighters for the story" but you might as well enjoy the ride. However I've played all of the games but 5 and the only one with any semblance of a story was Animation for the Master System/Game Gear.

Believe it or not... it actually spawned an RPG game. Apparently, all those tournaments were just an elaborate front of a more devious plot.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Believe it or not... it actually spawned an RPG game. Apparently, all those tournaments were just an elaborate front of a more devious plot.

I completely forgot about Virtua Quest; I guess that's the other game I haven't played. Reading over that synopsis, though, it hardly looks canon.

[Genesis]

It's canon-ish. Pretty much all of the story (of VF, not VQ) is told in the instruction manuals, which only maniacs like me read.

J6 (stands for Judgement 6) is a group of six corporations with evil intent. They host the World Fighting Tournament and send out invitations to those worthy to compete.

It's all a front for the Dural project. Dural serves as the Arcade Mode boss and is a cyborg designed to learn the different techniques of the Virtua Fighters, store their data, and become the ultimate killing machine, or whatever.

An early bit to the story was the kidnapping of Sarah Bryant. They turned her into their own assassin, but she is no longer under their control. They have other assassins, too, only two of which are ever met, let alone playable. Goh Hinogami, who is a ruthless SOB who seems to honestly love being an assassin, and Jean Kujo, who, like Sarah, is all brainwashed and such and has a significant relation to another character (Sarah and Jacky are siblings; Jean and Lion were childhood friends).

There are many models of Dural, but the "true" Dural was once Kage-Maru's mother, Tsukikage. Why she was specifically chosen is never revealed; a lot of the story is left to the players' imagination, which I think is the best way to handle it. Its subtlety is what makes it enjoyable to me. Virtua Fighter isn't one to beat you over the head with a quickly scribed story, but what it does tell is good enough as a backstory type of thing. I think it's successful in its purpose.

There's a lot more, but it's mostly nuances about the individual characters and how their personalities relate to their fighting style, as well as their relationships and motives in relation to each other.

The idea behind Virtua Quest was I guess to show what J6 would do with their fighting data in the future. They didn't seem to think much farther ahead than that for that particular game.

[Peanut]

lawl fighting game stories.

[XERO]

Originally Posted by Peanut

lawl fighting game stories.

Aw, come on! MK's story was pretty good.

[Genesis]

Originally Posted by XERO

Aw, come on! MK's story was pretty good.

I wholly disagree, but I encourage the positive attitude.

[XERO]

Well, I meant the 2011 game, not the old ones.

[Genesis]

Well, that was basically a reboot, so that makes sense.

The Virtua Fighter story is only idly there. It exists for the sake of existing and is really only there for people with... excess enthusiasm.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Genesis

Well, that was basically a reboot, so that makes sense.

The Virtua Fighter story is only idly there. It exists for the sake of existing and is really only there for people with... excess enthusiasm.

Well yeah. Everything you wrote above (save the VQ stuff?)... I know all of that, and really, it's not a whole heck of a lot. Some characters have literally the exact same story and motivation for like 3 games straight. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hatin' on VF - I wholly intend to get Final Showdown when it releases. It's just quite shallow when it comes to plot - which in the light of convoluted s**t like BlazBlue, isn't a bad thing.

Originally Posted by Genesis

I wholly disagree, but I encourage the positive attitude.

Story has always been one of MK's strong points, and the only points in which it started to get stupid was the poorly-written retcons of Deception and the complete mess of Armageddon. Oh, and Raiden being completely retarded in 2011.

As for DoA5...

I've always liked DoA, for reasons outside of the norm (boobs). DoA2 Hardcore was one of the first PS2 games I'd played - I think it was actually the second overall, and I had a blast. DoA4 got on my nerves a lot, though, with terrible AI and a functionally broken counter system. Dimensions restored my faith, however, and is actually my favorite of the entire series.

I really hope DoA5 doesn't fail to deliver.

[Genesis]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

Well yeah. Everything you wrote above (save the VQ stuff?)... I know all of that, and really, it's not a whole heck of a lot. Some characters have literally the exact same story and motivation for like 3 games straight. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hatin' on VF - I wholly intend to get Final Showdown when it releases. It's just quite shallow when it comes to plot - which in the light of convoluted s**t like BlazBlue, isn't a bad thing.

Story has always been one of MK's strong points, and the only points in which it started to get stupid was the poorly-written retcons of Deception and the complete mess of Armageddon. Oh, and Raiden being completely retarded in 2011.

As for DoA5...
I've always liked DoA, for reasons outside of the norm (boobs). DoA2 Hardcore was one of the first PS2 games I'd played - I think it was actually the second overall, and I had a blast. DoA4 got on my nerves a lot, though, with terrible AI and a functionally broken counter system. Dimensions restored my faith, however, and is actually my favorite of the entire series.

I really hope DoA5 doesn't fail to deliver.

That's exactly what I meant about subtlety. It's not insanely original, but it gets the job done, and it leaves enough unsaid that it doesn't matter either way.

I enjoyed Dead Or Alive 2 on the Dreamcast, myself. My younger brother and I played the hell out of that game and bonded over the stories we made up for each of the characters. My favourite character has always been Ayane, but in DOA3, I was notably better with Hayate. I just liked the flow of the character. Speaking purely in gameplay and control terms, I think he had a much more ninja feel than Hayabusa, who always felt a little rigid, to me.

DOA4 I pretty much skipped; I felt it was a boring entry, and anyway, I had lost interest in fighters at that time. I never played Dimensions. What changes were made in Dimensions to improve upon the allegedly broken system in DOA4, and what similarities and differences can you tell between Dimensions and DOA5?

DOA5 will have to perform, now. Of course, there will be the hardcore VF fan who believes in no crossovers (aside from Fighters Megamix, we assume) and who will jump on any potential flaw, but even the sane Virtua players have a keen mind and enough attention to detail to spot a flawed control scheme or otherwise game-breaking problem. Putting Akira (and possibly others) in the game has potential to strengthen sales on both sides, but if they want the game to be as well-received as Final Showdown, they've gotta make it good.

[Ninjinister]

Dimensions just flows better and the counter system is fixed so that it's not completely ridiculous. It plays more or less the same as previous games, but it's just well-rounded - plus it has the entire cast from every previous game (except Nicole from 4) and a new boss character. Strange that the best DoA so far not only is on a Nintendo system, but a Nintendo HANDHELD.

DoA5 is looking to be miles different, though. From what little footage we've seen so far, it looks like they're changing up a lot. Which in my book, is good. Change needs to happen. Sadly, the FGC is unyielding in this matter, and anything outside the norm scares them. It's the whole reason MvC3's X-Factor are and SFxT's Gems are so hated; someone tries something new, something different, maybe a little something to get noobs accustomed, and it's flat-out rejected for not being the same s**t in a new wrapper. Fighting games are enjoying its second renaissance, but things are getting mighty stale, and if the genre doesn't start evolving, it'll fizzle out again. Neckbeards need to get on the bus or get the hell outta town.

[Genesis]

I can understand both perspectives. I have no desire to keep playing the same game with updated graphics and a jillion new characters that add nothing to the experience. At the same time, I know that changing too much to a series can screw up what made it great in the first place. It needs to have the same... energy, for lack of a better term.

Really, that's why I'm so excited for Final Showdown. Even though it largely sticks to the tried-and-true formula, there are a lot of changes to the flow of the game that, combined with all the crazy downloadable accessories and costume options, should do well to bring in new players and make people realise that Virtua Fighter is still king.

Well, perhaps not everyone will think that, specifically, but my point remains.