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Virtua Cop
Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega AM2, Sega AM4 (cabinet) System(s): Sega Model 2, Sega Saturn, PC ROM Size:  24.5625 MB,[1]  469 MB Peripherals Supported: Virtua Gun, Shuttle Mouse Genre: Shoot-'em-Up Number of Players: 1-2 Release Date RRP Code JP 1994-12 ¥?  ? US 199x $?  ? EU 199x £?  ? JP 1995-11-24 ¥5,800 GS-9060 JP (Virtua Gun) 1995-11-24 ¥7,800 GS-9059 US 1995-12 $? 81015 US (Stunner) 1995-12 $? 81026 EU 1995-12 £59.99 MK81015-50 EU (Virtua Gun) 1995-12 £? MK81026-50 BR 199x $? 193056 KR 1995 ₩? GS-9505J MK-81015-08 JP 1996-10-25 ¥8,800  ? US 1997-01 $?  ? US (Expert Software) 199x $?  ? EU 1996-10-31 £? €? MK-85043-50 UK (Expert Software) 199x £?  ? KR 199x ₩?  ? ESRB SEGA ELSPA USK DJCTQ Tectoy

Virtua Cop (バーチャコップ) is an arcade shooter game created by Sega AM2 for Sega Model 2 hardware in 1994. It is the first in the Virtua Cop series. It was one of the first light-gun games to take place in a 3D world.

Virtua Cop's arcade success meant it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and later to PC in 1997. The Saturn version of the game was initially bundled with the Virtua Gun, a light-gun peripheral intended for use with this game. If the user lacks a CRT television, the Virtua Gun cannot be used, and the game must be played with the normal Saturn controller. The PC version uses the mouse, and was released in North America as "Virtua Squad".

Virtua Cop was followed by two sequels, Virtua Cop 2 and Virtua Cop 3. It was bundled Virtua Cop 2 in Japan and Europe on the PlayStation 2 as Virtua Cop: Elite Edition (Virtua Cop Rebirth in Japan) on August 25, 2002 and November 29, 2002 respectively. The "Elite Edition" includes gallery extras and implementation of Namco's G-Con 2 lightgun support.

In 2004, a port was developed for the handheld Nokia N-Gage, but was cancelled by the quality control team before its release. There are very few beta units in existence.

The PC version was known as Virtua City PD during development (at least, in North America, where it would eventually be known as Virtua Squad).

Gameplay

Players assume the role of a police officer - either Michael Hardy, or his partner, James Cools. Played from a first person perspective view, the players must use the light gun to take down the multitude of sharp shooters who come for them. At the start of the game, the player is armed with only a pistol, but more powerful weapons, such as machine guns and shotguns, can be obtained as they progress. These weapons are hidden in breakable objects such as crates, and can be extremely useful when trying to take on the customary end-of-level bosses. There are penalties for shooting civilians. Virtua Cop was notable for its use of polygonal graphics, which were subsequently used in both House of the Dead and Time Crisis, instead of the two dimensional sprites that were popular for previous games in the same genre. It is also notable for being one of the first games to allow the player to shoot through glass. The game's realistic graphics earned it the "Virtua" title, along with other 3D Sega games such as Virtua Fighter, Virtua Striker and Virtua Racing.

Story

A detective in the player's department uncovered an illegal gun-running operation and was able to trace it back to E.V.L Inc., a powerful crime syndicate. He compiled a large amount of evidence and was ready to take them down, but was soon discovered and assassinated by the criminals. Some of his evidence managed to make its way back to headquarters, and a special task force was put on the case. The policemen Michael Hardy and James Cools must face that organization led by Joe Fang and his followers Kong, the King, and the Boss.

Production Credits

Arcade Version

Main Programmer and Director: Katsunori Itai
Main Designer: Akihito Hiroyosi
2nd Programmer: Shunsuke Sekikawa
Programmers: Masayuki Sumi, Tadanobu Numata
Designers: Masataka Auchi, Saori Nisikawa
Sound Composer: Kentaro Koyama
Design Support: Kazuhiro Izaki, Yukinobu Arikawa, Makoto Osaki
Planning Support: Yuichiro Mikami
Cabinet Design: AM R and D Dept 4
Producer: Yu Suzuki^[2]
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Presented by: Sega

Saturn Version

Director: Takashi Isono
Main Programmer: Masayuki Sumi
Programmers: Takeshi Iwasaki, Junichi Ishito, Takashi Isowaki, Norihiro Sekine, Takashi Ono, Hiroyuki Tsuzuki
Designers: Takafumi Kagaya, Kazufumi Ohashi, Saori Nisikawa, Masakazu Takizawa
Sound Composer: Kentaro Koyama
Publicity: Fumio Kurokawa, Koji Umeda
Speical Thanks: Yukinobu Arikawa, Masataka Aochi, Kazuo Ohtani
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Presented by: Sega

PC Version

Original Game Designed by: Sega AM2
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Director: Junetsu Kakuta
Programmers: Kenichi Yoko, Kazuhisa Hasuoka, Yoshihiko Toyoshima, Noritaka Yakita
Designers: Hisato Fukumoto, Katsufumi Yoshimori, Yuichi Ide
Sound Composer: Tatsuya Kouzaki
Producer: Toshinori Asai
Presented by: Sega

Promotional Material

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  Saturn US TV advert

• 

  Saturn JP TV advert

• 

  Saturn JP flyer

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  Saturn DE print advert

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  PC US print advert

Physical Scans

Arcade Version

	77	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 4 reviews
Publication Score Source AllGame 80 AllGame Computer & Video Games 87 №163, p90 Games World 82 №7, p23 NEXT Generation 60 №1, p105

Model 2, US (P-Type)

Model 2, US (upright)

Model 2, JP (P-Type)

Model 2, JP (upright)

Saturn Version

	87	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 19 reviews
Publication Score Source AllGame 60 AllGame CD Consoles ­† 78 №12, p68/69/70/71/72 Consoles + 87 №49, p148/149 Computer & Video Games 96 №170, p30/31/32/33 Digitiser 91 EDGE 70 №29, p78/79 Electronic Gaming Monthly † 75 GameFan 90 Game Players 92 GamesMaster 91 №38, p46/47 Games World 91 №20, p46/47 Hobby Consolas 90 MAXIMUM 100 №3, p143 Mean Machines Sega 94 №40, p58-60Media:MeanMachinesSega40UK.pdf Player One 90 №59, p118/119 Sega Power 92 №75 Sega Saturn Magazine 96 №2, p70/71 Ultimate Future Games 83 №14, p64/65 Ultimate Gamer 90

Saturn, US
Cover
Manual

Saturn, US (Stunner bundle)
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, EU (Virtua Gun bundle)
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Saturn, BR
Cover

Saturn, BR (Virtua Gun bundle)
Cover

Saturn, KR

PC Version

PC, US
Cover
Jewel Case

PC, US (Expert Software)
Cover
Jewel Case

PC, US (Fundever)

PC, EU
Disc

PC, JP
Cover

PC, UK (Expert Software)
Cover

PC, KR