Virtua Cop

n/a

Model 2 Saturn Windows PC
Virtua Cop
System(s): Sega Model 2, Sega Saturn, Windows PC
Publisher: Sega, Samsung (KR)
Developer: Sega AM2 Sega AM4 Sega PC
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (18 tracks)
Peripherals supported: Virtua Gun, Shuttle Mouse
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1994-09 ¥? ? US 1994 $? ? UK 1994 £? ? JP 1995-11-24 ¥5,8005,800 GS-9060 JP (Virtua Gun) 1995-11-24 ¥7,8007,800 GS-9059 US 1995-11-14 $59.9959.99 81015 US (Stunner) 1995-11-16 $79.9979.99 81026 EU 1995-12-08 MK81015-50 EU (Virtua Gun) 1995-12-08 MK81026-50 UK 1995-12-08 £44.9944.99 MK81015-50 UK (Virtua Gun) 1995-12-08 £59.9959.99 MK81026-50 PL 1996 199zł199 PL (Virtua Gun) 1996 249zł249 AU 199x FVIR10SSC BR 199x 193056 BR (Virtua Gun) 199x 191x31 KR 1995 GS-9505J MK-81015-08 JP 1996-10-25 ¥8,8008,800 HCJ-0105 JP (Super 1500) 199x MKW-064 US 1997-01 85043 US (Expert Software) 1998 $14.9914.99 DE 1996-10-31 DM 100.00100.00 MK-85043-50 UK 1996-10-31 MK-85043-50 UK (Expert Software) 199x XP 202019 PL 1997-02 AU (Sega PC Classic) 199x KFVIR10CDW BR 199x KR 199x TW 199x

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, as the first light-gun shooter to use 3D polygons. Sega advertised it as the "world's first texture mapped, polygon action game".

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.

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.

Stages

	Arms Black Market (beginner)
	Underground Weapon Storage (medium)
	Gang Headquarters (expert)

History

Release

300,000 copies of Virtua Cop were sold in Japan during its first week.

Legacy

Virtua Cop revolutionized the light-gun shooter genre with its new 3D first-person rail shooter format, including new mechanics like positional body targeting and headshots, revitalizing the genre in the arcades. It also broke new ground by popularizing the use of 3D graphics in shooter games. It inspired 3D light gun shooters such as Time Crisis and The House of the Dead as well as 3D first-person shooters such as GoldenEye 007, which in turn laid the foundations for console FPS games.

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.

Versions

Virtua Cop's arcade success meant it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and later to PC in 1996. 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 Saturn Virtua Cop was of the first games to use the Sega Graphics Library, and a one-level demo was first demonstrated at '95 Tokyo Toy Show in June 1995.

The PC version was known as Virtua City P.D. during development (at least, in North America, where it would eventually be known as Virtua Squad). The PC version uses a mouse instead of a light gun, and a variant optimised for the NV1 graphics chipset initially shipped on the same disc.

Tiger produced a handheld version as a part of their Laser Games series of minature lightgun games. The folding gun included with this version was relient on infra-red technology.

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.

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Virtua Cop	Virtua Cop
English (US)	Virtua Cop	Virtua Cop
Japanese	バーチャコップ	Virtua Cop
Korean	버쳐캅	Virtua Cop

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
• Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
• Presented by: Sega

Source:

In-game credits

Saturn version

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

Source:

In-game credits

• Producer: Eric Rawlins
• Lead Tester: Tony Lynch
• Assistant Lead Testers: Joe Damon, Caroline Trujillo, Todd Slepian
• Testers: John Jansen, Dave Dodge, Mitch Giampaoli, Doug Leslie, Justin Acevedo, Ward Farris, Jay Vo, Ron Allen, Mike Douglas, Rey Alferez, Jeff Junio, Chris Lucich, Jeremy Caine, Jeremy Campbell, Rick Greer, Andrew Nolley, Chris Johnson, Jose Ochoa
• Product Manager: Lori Von Rueden
• Manual: Wendy Dinsmore
• Special Thanks: Yukimi Shamura, Osamu Shibamiya and AM2

Source:

US manual

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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

Magazine articles

Main article: Virtua Cop/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Virtua Cop/Promotional material.

Artwork

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• 
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  US Saturn prototype cover

• 

  EU Saturn prototype cover

Physical scans

Arcade version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 87 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 82 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 50

	73
Based on 3 reviews

Virtua Cop

Model 2, US (P-Type)

Model 2, US (upright)

Model 2, JP (P-Type)

Model 2, JP (upright)

Saturn version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 91 №38, p46-47 Sega Power (UK) 92 №75

	92
Based on 2 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score CD Consoles (FR) 100 Consoles + (FR) 87 Computer & Video Games (UK) 96 Digitiser (UK) 84 Edge (UK) 70 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 75 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 80 Fun Generation (DE) 80 Fusion (US) NTSC-U 75 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 90 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 92 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 98 GamePro (UK) 92 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 95 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 91 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 78 Hobby Consolas (ES) PAL 90 LeveL (CZ) 86 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 76 Maximum (UK) 100 Mega Force (FR) PAL 84 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 79 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 94 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 75 Player One (FR) 90 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 84 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 86 Saturn+ (UK) PAL 91 Score (CZ) 70 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 80 Sega News (CZ) 87 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 93 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 96 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 89 Strana Igr (RU) 60 Todo Sega (ES) 92 Ultimate Future Games (UK) PAL 83 Ultimate Gamer (US) NTSC-U 90 Última Generación (ES) 94

	86
Based on 40 reviews

Virtua Cop

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

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, AU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, BR
Cover

Saturn, BR (Virtua Gun bundle)
Cover

Saturn, KR
Cover
Spinecard

Saturn, KR (Virtua Gun bundle)
Cover

PC version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score 576 KByte (HU) 82 Arcade (UK) PAL 0 Digitiser (UK) 91 Intelligent Gamer (US) NTSC-U 75 LeveL (CZ) 71 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 25 PC Action (DE) 72 PC Gamer (US) 70 PC Games (DE) 82 Reset (PL) 40 Score (CZ) 50 Secret Service (PL) 70

	61
Based on 12 reviews

Virtua Cop

PC, JP
Cover

PC, JP (Super 1500)
Cover
Disc

PC, US
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

PC, US (Expert Software)
Cover
Jewel Case

PC, US (Fundever)

PC, EU
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

PC, UK (Expert Software)
Cover
Jewel Case

PC, AU (Classic)
Cover

PC, BR
Cover

PC, KR
Cover

PC, TW
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	492,334,752		CD-ROM (EU)	MK81015-50, MK81026-50 V1.004
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	492,501,744	1995-10-12	CD-ROM (JP)	GS-9059, GS-9060 V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	492,334,752		CD-ROM (US)	81026 V1.001

Track list

Saturn version

1. Data track

2. AM2 Logo (0:09)

3. Advertise (2:19)

4. Virtua Cop (0:53)

5. Stage Select (1:08)

6. Arms Black Market (4:11)

7. Underground Weapons Storage (3:38)

8. Gang Headquarters (3:31)

9. Kong (1:40)

10. King (2:39)

11. President (2:21)

12. Fang (2:18)

13. F I N (2:44)

14. Stage Clear (0:07)

15. Game Over (0:09)

16. Name Entry (1:18)

17. Rage (3:52)

18. Smarty (4:08)

19. Time (Not Used) (4:36)

► Running time: 41:41

Extra content

This game has extra content which can be viewed when accessing the disc on a PC.

Saturn (JP) Extra files

Folder / File	Type	Size	description
OMAKE.DAT	Compressed (LZH)	142,654	It contains extra image and text file.
THANKS.DOC	TXT	1,443	Messages from the developers.

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn, PC
• Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Saturn (Special Pack), Saturn