Virtua Fighter 2 (バーチャファイター2) is a fighting game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega as is the direct sequel to Virtua Fighter. It is, as the name suggests, the second game in the Virtua Fighter series, and was originally released for Sega Model 2A CRX arcade hardware in 1994.
Virtua Fighter 2 was known for its breakthrough graphics and animation, rendering 3D characters and backgrounds with filtered texture mapping and introducing motion capture animation technology to the game industry.
Virtua Fighter 2 follows largely the same rules as its predecessor - it is a 3D versus fighting game with three buttons, ring-outs and potentially complex movesets. Virtua Fighter 2 builds on this however by featuring faster-paced gameplay and momentum-based damage (i.e. charging at an enemy deals more damage than attacking while standing still). It also features more moves, including the ability for some characters to sidestep attacks.
Characters
Main article: [[
Category:Virtua Fighter Characters]].
Virtua Fighter 2 features all the characters of the previous game, plus two (or three) more:
Akira Yuki
Pai Chan
Lau Chan
Wolf Hawkfield
Jeffry Mcwild
Kagemaru
Sarah Bryant
Jacky Bryant
Dural
Shun Di
Lion Rafale
"Alphabet character"
In the arcade version of Virtua Fighter 2, players indirectly do battle with a character made up of letters while inputting their initials in the high score screen. In the home versions of the game, it is possible to play as this fighter. The "alphabet character", who has no official name, merely borrows movesets from other fighters. The letters making up the character change as time progresses.
History
Development
Virtua Fighter 2 was developed alongside the Sega Model 2 arcade system board, which itself debuted in 1993. In order to produce the game's filtered, texture-mapped characters and backgrounds, Yu Suzuki turned to Lockheed Martin, formerly General Electric Aerial & Space, which charged $2 million to use the texture mapping chip of their flight simulation equipment that cost $32 million overall. Despite some reluctance on Sega's part, Suzuki managed to convince them to buy the chip for $2 million, and he then worked with his AM2 team to convert it for video game use.
Using the Lockheed Martin technology, his AM2 team eventually managed to create a graphics chip that could be mass-produced for $50 each. As a result, he was able to use texture mapping for the Virtua Fighter 2 characters[7]. In order to produce better animations for the characters, the team also utilized motion capture animation technology[8], which had previously been limited to the healthcare industry and never used before by the video game industry[9].
Release
Virtua Fighter 2, much like its predecessor, was very successful for Sega (particualrly in Japan), demonstrating cutting-edge graphics which made good use of Sega's Model 2 arcade platform. This hardware was able to run the game at 60 frames per second at a high resolution without slowdown, and was able to compete against the likes of Namco's Tekken and other Virtua Fighter arcade derivatives which were beginning to emerge by this point.
Upon release, the Virtua Fighter 2 video game arcade cabinet cost £6000 for arcade operators[10]. For players, the arcade game cost £1 per play[11].
Sales
The Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2 sold 1.7 million copies in Japan.[12] In addition, it sold at least more than 500,000 copies in the United States,[13] adding up to at least more than 2.2 million units sold in Japan and the United States.
Legacy
Virtua Fighter 2 was brought to the Sega Saturn in 1996 with extra modes and a CD soundtrack, at the expense of graphical fidelity and polygon counts. The Saturn version is widely considered to be one of the better looking games for the system, despite having to sacrifice the 3D backgrounds of its arcade counterpart. This version was the basis for a Microsoft Windows port in 1997.
The Saturn port allows for the arena size to be adjusted down or all the way up to 82 metres, being the only game in the series, other than Virtua Fighter Remix, that has such options. The energy meter is also adjustable (to the point where it has no meaning), leading to what some have called "sumo match" modes, where players can only win by knocking their opponent out of the ring.
Virtua Fighter 2 was re-released as Virta Fighter 2+1 (2.1) in Japan. This version features re-tweaked gameplay, slightly enhanced graphics and the ability to play as a newly-designed Dural. This version was also released as Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 16: Virtua Fighter 2 (with other tweaks) for the PlayStation 2. It is also possible to switch to the 2+1 gameplay mechanics in the Saturn and PC versions, but none of the other features are updated.
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