Virtua Fighter 3

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Virtua Fighter 3
System(s): Sega Model 3 Step 1.0
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega AM2
Distributor: Deith Leisure (UK)
Genre: Fighting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code

Virtua Fighter 3 (バーチャファイター3) is the third entry in the Virtua Fighter series, and a direct sequel to Virtua Fighter 2. It was released in 1996 for Sega Model 3 Step 1.0 arcade hardware, as the first game to hit the system, followed by Scud Race.

Virtua Fighter 3 makes predictable graphical and audio improvements over its predecessor, Virtua Fighter 2. Virtua Fighter 3 also adds new gameplay innovations such as multi-level play areas and dodge button, as well as two new playable characters, Aoi Umenokoji (a Japanese student) and Taka Arashi (a sumo wrestler). A port for the Sega Saturn (and later Sega Dreamcast as a launch title) was announced but ultimately cancelled, however an update, Virtua Fighter 3tb was released on the Dreamcast.

Video game magazines at the time described it as having the best video game graphics up until then, comparing its real-time graphics to pre-rendered CGI of that era.

It was followed by a sequel, Virtua Fighter 4, in 2001.

Gameplay

This iteration is the first in the series to have undulation in the stages, such as a staircase in the Great Wall stage, a stage set on top of a sloping roof and a raft constructed of individually moving elements on a bobbing water surface.

A fourth button, the Dodge, was added (the series had previously used only three - Kick, Punch and Guard). Pressing the button with the joystick in neutral or held up makes the character move into the screen (i.e. away from the viewer), while pressing the button with the joystick held down makes the character move out of the screen (i.e. towards the viewer). This 'evasion' technique enables players to dodge incoming attacks, creating opportunities to counter-attack almost immediately.

Characters

Returning Characters

• Akira Yuki
• Pai Chan
• Lau Chan
• Wolf Hawkfield
• Jeffry McWild
• Kage-Maru
• Sarah Bryant
• Jacky Bryant
• Shun Di
• Lion Rafale
• Dural

New Characters

• Aoi Umenokoji
• Taka Arashi

History

Virtua Fighter 3 was a launch title for Sega's Model 3 arcade board. Developed by Yu Suzuki's Sega AM2, it was a revolutionary game from a technical standpoint, with its detailed computer graphics earning widespread praise. Characters' eyes appeared to track the opponent's position, their muscles could flex and relax, and the fighting arenas featured stairs and slopes. Computer and Video Games Magazine described the game's demo, which they saw in early March 1996, as "the most astounding display of video game graphic muscle ever in the history of this industry."

The game is also notable for being the last in the series until Virtua Fighter 5 R to include Taka Arashi. The series' current producer, Hiroshi Kataoka, explained that the removal of Taka in subsequent installments was due to the technical implications of having a substantially larger character. Indeed, the character was nearly cut from Virtua Fighter 3 due to difficulties with his jumping moves.

Playable Demo

At the AOU Show 1996, in February 1996, Sega displayed tech demos of Lau Chan, Dural, and new character Aoi Umenokoji, who was unveiled for the first time at the show. However, Dural, the robotic final boss, garnered the most attention, due to being made of a metallic surface that reflected the surrounding environment. Sega also unveiled a playable demo at the same event, with two playable characters, Jacky and Dural.

The demo was later unveiled in North America at the 1996 ACME (American Coin Machine Exposition) show, held during the 7th to 9th of March 1996.

The May 1996 issue of Computer and Video Games previewed the game's demo that was shown at the ACME show in March 1996. They stated the "disjointedness" of Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken 2 and Soul Edge "is completely gone" and the "characters are so smooth" that "every frame looks almost good enough to be a singular SGI-rendered image, not a polygon construct." They noted "high-res detail" from "every angle, no matter how zoomed in" and transparency, translucency, lighting and shading effects. They praised the motion capture animation of "absolutely gorgeous" Aoi Umenokoji and considered Dural's "morphing from liquid metal" to look more impressive than the T-1000's similar effects in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The April 1996 issue of Sega Saturn Magazine also compared Dural to the T-1000, noting Dural "looked almost identical" and the "metal surface reflected light from the surrounding" backdrops, which they described as "absolutely breathtaking." The May 1996 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly stated, "Never in the history of gaming has any product ever looked as good as" Virtua Fighter 3, with "astonishing" graphic detail for each fighter, including visible facial expressions, a "lifelike" smile, eyes which follow the opponent, and clothes which move with the wind and change position and shape as the character moves. The June 1996 issue of Computer and Video Games compared the game's graphics to "the most impressive movie special effects" at the time. The June 1996 issue of GamePro described the graphics as "truly lifelike" and also compared Dural's liquid-metal body to the T-1000 from Terminator 2.

Arcade Release

The game was released for location testing at an exhibition hall in Kamata, Tokyo, Japan, on July 26, 1996, before getting a wide release in September 1996.

Computer and Video Games reviewed the arcade version in its November 1996 issue. They stated that the backgrounds "look incredible" and "affects the way the game plays," noting that for "the first time in a one-on-one fighting game, the scenery undulates on some stages, adding to the strategy element of the game." They declared that it "is the best 3D fighting game ever," noting that, with "FULL 3D movement, it finally breaks away from 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, and makes the most realistic and enjoyable fighting game around." The December 1996 issue of Computer and Video Games noted that Virtua Fighter 3 was "Still the most impressive and most played game" at the 1996 JAMMA show. The February 1999 issue of Computer and Video Games praised it as "the best fighting game ever."

In Japan's 1996 Gamest Awards, the arcade version of Virtua Fighter 3 won the award for best graphics. It also came fourth place in the list of best games of the year and fifth place in the list of best fighting games of the year.

Saturn Prototype

Virtua Fighter 3 was due to be released on the Sega Saturn, albeit with vastly reduced graphics. A trailer was released during 1996 which made it onto numerous promotional videos and was featured in many magazines, although no gameplay footage of a Saturn version has ever emerged. The decision was later made to bring the game to the Sega Dreamcast instead, however significant delays meant that it was substituted for the improved Virtua Fighter 3tb.

Reportedly, Sega AM2 were working on a 3D accelerator cartridge for the Sega Saturn to boost the performance of a Saturn Virtua Fighter 3. This would have plugged into the Saturn's cartridge port to give the game extra resources at run-time, although the idea had been scrapped by mid-1997.

Production Credits

Producer: Yu Suzuki
Program Director: Tetsuya Kaku
Design Director: Kazuhiro Izaki
Game Director: Daichi Katagiri

Programmers

Game System, Undulation: Tetsuya Kaku
Game System: Daichi Katagiri
Game System, CPU Battle: Kota Matsumoto
Cloth, Motion System: Yuichiro Mine
Polygon Management: Yoichi Nakazato, Naohiro Hirao
Camera: Takashi Ono
Stage Collision: Norio Haga
Stage & Character Effects: Shigeru Yoshida
Stage Effects: Tsuyoshi Nishida
Replay, Ending: Syuji Takahashi
Advertise, Ending: Hiroshi Masui
Scroll, Hand Motion: Takeshi Yamanouchi
Main Motion Set: Masataka Daigo
Motion Set: Kazuhiro Shigekuni, Masaya Takeshige

Designers

Motion Designers

Main Motion Design, Direction: Kazuhiro Izaki
Motion Design, Advise: Toshiya Inoue, Naotake Nishimura
Motion Design: Kasyo Oda, Akira Morimoto
Assistant Motion Design: Daichi Katagiri, Manabu Tsukamoto

Character Designers

Character Modeling Direction: Toshihiro Nagoshi
Main Character Design, Modeling: Mika Kojima
Character Design, Modeling: Ringo Manabe

Stage Designers

Stage Design Direction: Naotake Nishimura
Main Stage Design, Modeling: Hideaki Kato
Stage Design, Modeling: Gaku Nakatani, Shinichiro Shimano, Naoaki Tasaka, Masaaki Somaki

Planner

Planning Support: Manabu Tsukamoto

Sound Designers

Program: Hiroshi Kawaguchi
Compose, SE: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Fumio Ito, Hidenori Syoji

Supervisor: Toshihiro Nagoshi

Assistant Programmers

Reflection Mapping, Model3 Base: Takuji Masuda
Collision, Pin Point Light, Utility: Takashi Fujimura
Polygon Converter: Kazuhiko Takata
Sound, I/O Utility: Koki Koiwa
Test Mode, Coin Utility: Kazutoshi Tozawa

Assistant Designers

Stage Design: Yasuo Kawagoshi, Junichi Yamanaka, Kazufumi Ohashi, Hidenobu Miyakita, Mitsugu Tsuchida
Assistant Stage Design: Shinya Inoue
Effect Design: Makio Kida
Scroll Design: Yukinobu Arikawa, Kazuhiro Izaki
Character Design: Akihito Hiroyoshi, Daisuke Sato
Taka-Arashi Design: Tetsunari Iwasaki

Publicity: Yasushi Nakajima, Yoshifusa Hayama
Special Thanks: AM R&D Dept. #4, AM Hardware R&D, AM R&D Dept. #2 Technical Research Section, 81 Produce, Action Team AAC, Yasuyuki Hattori, Terushige Watanabe, Yuko Ota
Presented by: Sega

Promotional Material

• 

  EU flyer

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source 90 AllGame Computer & Video Games (UK) 100 №180, p80/81/82 GamePro (US) 83 №99, p52

	91
Based on 3 reviews

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score

	N/A
Based on 0 reviews

Virtua Fighter 3

Model 3, US (Deluxe)
Manual