In-depth VF5 Review at GamersGlobal

<span style='font-size: 14pt'>Virtua Fighter 5 - the best fighting game to-date?</span>


IN-DEPTH VF5 REVIEW AT GAMERSGLOBAL

So, I got around writing an extensive review on VF5 for GamersGlobal that really goes under the surface of the game and its many facets, unlike the many superficial reviews it got when it first came out.

If you want to have a peek & good read, then head over to the article's page.

 

well done mr. mckoy! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

kick ass review man.. you broke it down well enough so that nonplayers can understand the main concept, and all the work we have to put in to be atleast decent players /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

 

couldn't put it in better words, very nice review

 

B+?? *starts throwing chairs at babies*

 

I think the 'less than decent dojo' is a bit harsh. Even though it's lacking severely compared to 4:EVO, it's still pretty much better than any other fighter's training mode out there.

Very nice review though man.

 

Well yes, the dojo has been improved in some ways from the previous one (set stance, set position, can set which throws computer uses, differentiating between exact and normal recovery etc)
but the essential tutorials for advanced defense like in VF4 are not there.

 

I just thought one had to be fair: even though VF5 is the undisputed king of fighters regarding gameplay, it's doesn't come without faults: the sheer endless depth without any player guidance breaks VF5's backbone where it really wants to shine; something that could have been avoided with the release of the console ports. It's OK for an arcade game to have no player guidance as the arcade gamers will find it all out by themselves and teach themselves about it - that's what the coin slot is there for, after all. But for a console game AM-2 has definitely made some wrong design decision with the Dojo mode and the non-existent tutorials.

Exaggerated it's like bringing a perfectly designed F-16 Falcon combat jet on the market - only without decent manual. AM-2 has to wake up here: getting their games out of the arcade-phase stage before releasing them to a wider, more console-oriented, audience is the little ABC of selling a console game nowadays.

 

Very nice review, Leonard, thanks a lot.

Among the "Bad" I would have definitely included the worst possible English announcers (listening to those two feels like a baseball game to me) and the horrible voice acting and scripting for the English-speaking characters. Why do they all have American accents, and why do they all have to be so annoying. Why doesn't Lion speak French and Brad Italian, etc. All this coupled with losing the ability to select taunts at the end of the match.

I agree with your B+.

 

Certainly true. But at the same time no other 3D fighter is as complex as VF5 that needed games instructions this badly.

Yeah, I definitely forgot about the announcer simply due to the fact that I have muted him in the options menu since I got my hands on the game. Regarding the in-game voices: it may be that I'm too attuned to the franchise, but I don't have any feelings of dislike when hearing them ... Am I the only one thinking so?

 

What can I say...
You are on top!

The review is really great!
You just Demystified 15 years of VF in a single page.

Good Stuff.

In fact I want to ask you a favor.
I would love to translate your review into spanish and show it in HonMaru (re-launching next month). Of course, the original link and full credit for the writing will be available. I just want to give the opotunity to non-english speaking Dominicans to read this very acurate view of the chess of fighting games.

So please let me know if you are OK with this and I will post next month to give you the link of the spanish script.


Either way, if you allow it or not.
Thanks for this review it is years ahead of GamePro and such (they just know that VF is deep, but please don't ask them to explain how /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif )



Regards,

 

No, you aren't. Also, your review was pretty much spot on.

 

Sure, I'd be more than honored if you translated it for a Spanish audience - though be assured that I don't understand much Spanish to actually "proofread" or preview the script but: In You I Trust. As you're moderator at HonMaru I am certain that you know the genre of fighting games deep enough to do a fabulous translation job there.

 

I most definetly agree that the training mode needs to explain stuff more, just like VF4 Evo, because it ain't that game anymore. You can't certainly expect to win with what you learned in VF4E, with OM, Side guard, etc, to learn. And I don't think the voice actors are even trying to be who they have to be. They'd better be paid poorly.

 

I didn't know you were writing a review for the game leonard. However I do recall you possibly mentioning it back when you first joined, I could be mistaken though.

 

What a weird statement. Why is it OK for arcade gamers to try to find stuff out but not for console gamers? Surely you would give up ten times quicker if you had to pay for every credit until you learn how to play the game properly.

 

They rape in VF, they're doing fine without the dojo.

 

why cant i see anything on the page?

am i missing some kind of plug-in?

 

Excellent work, Leonard_McCoy !!!
Great respect!
My favorite quote from your review: "To a certain extent, I can even understand the point that Asians like to make about VF: having mastered a character and his style in Virtua Fighter is equated to having mastered a real martial art." Fully agree!

P.S. Our Kommi-VF-site(subforum)...enjoy, comrades))
http://forum.fighting.ru/viewforum.php?f=32
http://forum.fighting.ru/viewforum.php?f=4

 

it would also not be economically feasble or smart for the arcade owner to have this lengthy training mode at an arcade where time is money. It's just accepted that in the arcade if you want to learn the game you're going to need to watch the other players playing and figure out how to work the magic.

At the console there is no such desire for short quick matches so it makes sense to have it be more like a training ground for when you go to the arcade you can whip ass. Hence why Quest mode is so friggin long. VF5 really should have had the extensive dojo that VF4evo had. I trust am2 will bring it back for VF5R though.