Alright, so I know this game has been out for a while but it's so fucking excellent it stills deserves its own topic.

So Virtua Fighter 5 came out on the 360 a month or so ago. Though the PS3 version had been out for almost a year already, VF5 on 360 added new things to the game, new items, a more balanced cast of characters, new win poses and such. The most important thing it added though was flawless online play. I'm not talking about the online play with 3+ frames delay we get on emulators or GGPO, which in their own right are still very good for games like the Alpha games and MvC1 and games like such that require some execution but allows for a very long buffer time. VF5 is a game of technical ability and precision, and that's reflected by how hard it is to do some moves. So it had to have an online mode that was perfected to a point where those moves could be possible. Honestly, no one really thought it would work out for more than casual gaming at first but Sega pulled a miracle out of their proverbial magical hat and managed to put up the greatest online play ever seen for a commercial fighting game.

So what is Virtua Fighter?
Virtua Fighter is Sega's longest living fighting game franchise. It spans over 5 different titles, each with their numerous revisions (usually referenced to as Versions, except in the case of Virtua Fighter 4 which got all these random names like Evolution and Final Tuned). Virtua Fighter 5 on PS3 and Xbox 360 are part of the latest title's legacy, with the PS3 version being Version.B and the 360 being Version.C. Version.D has also been announced recently but there's no words on if we'll see that one on any console.

Sega's aim with Virtua Fighter is to create a 3D fighting game that is both accessible to the newcomers while retaining a very high amount of depth. Whether or not it's actually accessible to new players is debatable, but the depth is MOST definitely there. VF5 has got to be one of the most rewarding fighting game in history when it comes to actually learning stuff and pulling it off. It doesn't feature crazy juggle combos like Tekken 5 or Soul Calibur, or air combos and flashy supers like Capcom's Marvel vs Capcom titles. Instead, it's more like a plausible, but very unlikely, fight between people of unequaled skill using actual fighting styles.

What's new in Virtua Fighter 5?
Aside from obvious balance checks, VF5 added two new characters: El Blaze, a lightweight Mexican wrestler who's all about being totally awesome, and Eileen, a monkey kung-fu girl. Both are pretty good characters too!

Besides that, VF5 also added new stages, more items for customizing your characters, and a bigger Quest mode (from VF4: Evolution). The 360 version also adds online play onto the mix.

So what does this game LOOK like anyway?

Have a look for yourself, here are some screens:


And some videos of high level players:

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And who plays this on GW?

XBox Live Gamertags go here!

Raziel: BoringRyu (Jeffry player)
NinjaPirate: NinjaPyrate (Eileen?)
Grindie: Grindie

Useful links

Virtuafighter.com - This is the biggest, most comprehensive website about everything VF5. Also known as VFDC.
Sega's Virtua Fighter 5 website.
Shoryuken's Virtua Fighter 5 strategy thread - Good for reading up on things a bit, but it's nothing compared to VFDC.
Ogikage's Youtube channel - High level VF5 play.
VF5Akira's Youtube channel - High level VF5 play, again.
Playing to Win (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3) - READ THIS. Seriously, do it. This is the most comprehensive and well-written piece of work about playing on a high level. Also one of the greatest gaming-related article I've ever had the chance to read.

I remember playing the 4th one in the Arcades.  Didn't like it very much.  And it wasn't just the controls.  I just don't like the character designs.  Most fighting games succeed just by having flash,style and a simple control scheme.  This one lacks all of the above.

I've heard of the series but never really played it except the first one on pc and I didn't like it...btw what makes this different from Dead or Alive?

Uh... its a completely different series?


Anyway I got this game last week, I haven't played it too much but I think its pretty sweet. I'm pretty new to the Virtua Fighter series so I'm going to have to learn up on the combos etc, but I'm really liking Eileen so far.

My Xobox gamertag is NinjaPyrate, and for now I'm maining Eileen.

I've heard of the series but never really played it except the first one on pc and I didn't like it...btw what makes this different from Dead or Alive?
EDIT: Just saw videos of it on youtube it looks great too bad I ain't getting the PS3...

DoA is about a 50/50 guessing game  mostly. You either parried right and got a free 50% combo, or you didn't and the same got done to you because of CH state and juggles.

Virtua Fighter is a more subtle kind of game. Think of it as rock-paper-scissors: attacking beats throwing - throwing beats blocking - blocking beats attacking. In every case, guessing right gives you a small window of advantage that you can take to deal some damage to your opponent. Very few characters actually have high damage combos aside from very hard to pull off and technical ones, so you rarely see those combos actually used (the bounce combo used by Pai is one of the easiest to pull off but still relies on a counter hit 3P and it only works on light and middle weight class characters if I recall correctly).

Also this game is both on the PS3 and 360, so you don't need a PS3 to get it.

You obviously don't know much about DOA. It's the same RPS as VF. And it's definatly not a 50/50 guess. There are 4 different countering zones, so if you just counter randomly you have a 25% chance. There is the upper counter, the mid punch, the mid kick, and the low counter.

DOA is alot deeper in it's stage design too. BF stages are flat and walled or flat and non-walled (which results in ring outs.... how dumb is that....) DOA has multi-tiered stages that have slopes and interactive elements to it (like one stage in DOA4 where cars run through while you're fighting and can smack right into you).

Don't let the eye candy fool you, it's a deep game. There's nothing wrong with VF either though, it's deep as well.

Just like every 3D beat 'em up ever!

Not really! I won't go indepth about it but Tekken or Soul Calibur or even DoA are not about outthinking and outguessing your opponent, they're more about scoring juggles or counterhits for crazy damage combos. Pretty much everything on counter leads to a juggle in those kind of games.

VF is different because it's more of a slow paced (well not really, but there's no huge combo like in those games). By beating, I don't mean just "this doesn't work". It outright counters and leads to an advantage window. EVERY attack (or pretty much) are disadvantaged if they get blocked. There's no reversal timing to get it right or anything, it's really just how the game works.

Of course, you need killer reflexes to actually use it to its full potential but the opportunity window is there.

I disagree. DoA was always just 2 people hammering Back+Block (or whatever button it was to reverse). Fucking hate it.

Back + Block counters Mid Punch only. If I use a High Punch, High Kick, Mid Kick, Low Punch, or Low Kick I will hit you. You don't know DOA.

Okay, enough arguing about DoA, this topic is about VF5 anyway. Let's put it simply: there's a reason DoA isn't featured in high-profile tournaments anymore and that reason is the exact opposite of why VF5 is featured in those same tournaments instead.

Also I've been working on my Jeffry a lot lately. I got his combos down to muscle memory now pretty much, so I'm moving on to learning how to move properly. Jeff's kinda jerky and bulky and he's hard to maneuver around sometimes, I have to block usually more often than I'm on the offense. It's kinda funny how with him, you're either completely dominating the match or you're getting the same treatment handed to you. It's like there's no coming back if you screw up.

Oh and I hate ranked matches so much online. 99% of the people are huge scrubs that just mash attacks repeatedly with Jacky, LeiFei or Sarah (and get destroyed by 2K+G x infinity or whatever funny mixup you want to pull off) and you either get paired up to those or to guys with 2293479127 wins and 5 losses count that utterly destroy you. It's like there's no middle ground for the guy who's interested in actually learning the game. Otherwise, the online play is freaking flawless, I don't know what Sega did (probably found some fairy dust and sprayed it into the internet) but there's no lag at all sometimes. I can frame check some of Jeff's hardest moves (3PP comes to mind).

Oh also for notation for those who might be confused, Japanese notation goes like this:

789
456   P K
123   G

The numpad area is sort of like an arcade stick view from above, 5 is the stick in its neutral position, whereas the surrounding numbers are the directional inputs around it. So say you would do a quarter circle motion with that notation, it'd be seen as going to 2, then 3, then 6. It's a simple notation to use really!

I don't mind fighting cheap bastards. You have to be able to take on any opponent if you want to be the best and conquer the Dark Hadou! Different people play in different ways. What annoys me is the people who complain because someone isn't playing to their exact specifications. I was playing some CoD4 today and some twat kept arguing with some other guy 'cause he was camping. THAT'S HOW SNIPERS WORK, YOU FUCKING GIT!

Also, I hope to hand you your ass online soon, Raziel. I haven't been playing since I got CoD4 though, so I'm a bit rusty (just getting my excuse ready).

I don't mean 'cheap' or anything of the sort (I've been playing fighters at a high level for a long enough time to know that shit doesn't even exist), it's just that when half the guy I face online have visibly not a single idea of what they're doing (I actually played against a Sarah player who did PPKK the ENTIRE MATCH) it gets really annoying because you can't even think about how the match is going to turn out: the other guy is just mashing the living shit out of his controller and the only actual smart choice you have to do to determine the outcome of the match is to guard, whether it be fuzzy, standing or crouching, the entire string and then do PK or PP and let the guy have another go at his repeated blocked string. There's no learning to be done in there at all and there's no fun in the match, you're just destroying a retard who doesn't understand shit about the game and the engine. He's never going to go for mixups after a blocked P or 2P, or fuzzy guard after a blocked PP or try to hit you out of an Offensive Move with a full circular attack, he's just gonna go and mash the shit out of that controller.

Also I'm still really new to VF so playing you will be great I guess. The most I got out of VF4 was beating people who did the exact thing above so I never learned anything outside of regular strings and juggles, but now I'm learning how to actually do shit (thanks to playing some very good players who want to teach me the game, I'm actually going to a meet in PA in January for that too!). But I'll bet I can beast you on a technical level anyway! Jeff's juggles are too much!

The arcade stick for the 360 version is soo worth it.

Okay, enough arguing about DoA, this topic is about VF5 anyway. Let's put it simply: there's a reason DoA isn't featured in high-profile tournaments anymore and that reason is the exact opposite of why VF5 is featured in those same tournaments instead.

http://www.thecgs.com/DOA_in_Dallas_3_Recap

Yeah, there are obviously NO high profile tournaments for DOA anymore. *rolls eyes*

Sorry but ignorance isn't the same as truth.