Jump to content

Virtua Fighter 2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Virtua Fighter 2
Developer(s)Sega AM2
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Yu Suzuki
Producer(s)Yu Suzuki
Designer(s)Kazuhiro Izaki
Programmer(s)Toru Ikebuchi
Composer(s)Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
Takayuki Nakamura
Akiko Hashimoto
SeriesVirtua Fighter
Platform(s)Arcade, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, R-Zone, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Virtual Console, iOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: November 1994
  • EU: December 1994
  • NA: January 1995
Sega Saturn
  • NA: November 30, 1995[1][2]
  • JP: December 1, 1995
  • EU: January 26, 1996
Mega Drive/Genesis
Windows 95
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
  • NA: November 27, 2012
  • JP: November 28, 2012
  • EU: December 5, 2012
Xbox 360
  • WW: November 28, 2012
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade systemModel2 A-CRX

Virtua Fighter 2 (Japanese: バーチャファイター2, Hepburn: Bācha Faitā Tsū) is a 1994 fighting video game by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter (1993), and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. Created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 team, it was designed on the purpose-made Sega Model 2 hardware which provided a significant upgrade in graphical capabilities. Following its release on the arcades, Virtua Fighter 2 was ported to the Sega Saturn home console in November 1995, while ports for some other platforms appeared later.

Virtua Fighter 2 was critically acclaimed for its gameplay and breakthrough graphics; it introduced the use of texture-mapped 3D characters,[8] and was one of the first video games to use motion capture animation technology.[9] It became a major arcade hit, selling more than 40,000 arcade units worldwide,[10] and becoming one of Sega's best-selling arcade games of all time.[11] The Sega Saturn version was also well-received for its graphics and gameplay, becoming a blockbuster hit in Japan and sold relatively well in other markets, selling more than 2 million units.[12] The game was succeeded by Virtua Fighter 3 (1996).

Gameplay

[edit]
Virtua Fighter 2 gameplay (arcade version), Sarah vs. Lau

Virtua Fighter 2 is a 3D 1v1 fighting game, similar in concept to other games of the series. Players select a character, and attempt to use that character to overcome a series of opponents. This can be done by simply knocking the other character out (by dealing enough damage), or by knocking them out of the square "ring" in which the fights take place. Each fight takes place over a number of rounds; typically 3 rounds in a best-of-3 approach (though this can be varied). The game is played with an eight-way stick to control character movement, and three buttons (guard, punch and kick), which are used in various motions to pull off a character's signature attacks.

The arena size could be adjusted up to a very small platform or all the way to 82 meters (269 feet). This is the only game in the series—other than Virtua Fighter Remix—that could have such size adjustments. The physical energy meter could also be adjusted to infinity, giving the player the advantage when beating opponents or practicing moves against the computer player. Adjusting the arena to a smaller size and giving the characters infinite health could lead to mock sumo matches, wherein victory is achieved by knocking the other player's character out of the ring.

Each character has their own fighting style, loosely based on various real-world fighting methods, such as wrestling or eastern styles. Characters each have many unique moves; however, like in the original Virtua Fighter, many of the characters share a number of moves with another character (for instance, Lau Chan and Pai Chan each practice similar forms of Kung Fu). In addition, the entire roster of characters shares certain moves and functions; for instance, every character has a basic throw that can be executed by pressing the guard and punch buttons simultaneously. The number and variety of attacks possessed by each character has also been expanded, including the addition of counter-attacks and the ability to prevent throws (with very quick reactions required on part of the player).

All nine characters from the original Virtua Fighter are once again playable in Virtua Fighter 2. The sequel also adds two new characters: Shun Di, an old drunken fist master from China, and Lion Rafale, the French son of a rich businessman who uses praying mantis style kung fu. Additionally, Shun and Lion possess the unique ability to perform "axis strikes" in which they would move around the attacks of other characters, accentuating the game's 3D nature.

Plot

[edit]

Virtua Fighter 2 presents no narrative in-game; there is no story-based intro sequence, no narrative character endings and very little text to supply much of a plot. However, the game was given a story in its supporting material, such as the manual for the Sega Saturn version.

Virtua Fighter 2 hinges around a fighting tournament, where the greatest fighters in the world seek to compete for fame and glory. However, the tournament is organised by the sinister "J6" syndicate, who intend to use the information gathered to perfect their fighting cyborg "Dural" (the game's boss, who uses a move-set made up of other character's moves).

Development

[edit]

Arcade version

[edit]

The game took Sega AM2 roughly 12 months to develop.[13] The game's head developer was Yu Suzuki. For Virtua Fighter 2, he wanted to introduce texture mapping to the characters, who lacked textures in the original game. However, the Sega Model 1 arcade system lacked texture mapping hardware, so the Sega Model 2 system was developed for the game. To render the game's texture-mapped characters, it cost $2 million ($4.2 million adjusted for inflation) to purchase a texture-mapping graphics processor from the military flight simulation firm Lockheed Martin. Suzuki convinced Sega to purchase the chip, which his team then adapted into a much cheaper processor for video game use in the Model 2 hardware.[14]

The game made use of advanced motion capture animation, with similar technology to what was used in the healthcare and military industries, capable of magnetic motion capture to track head movements.[9] Other improvements over its predecessor include a framerate of 60 frames per second, new fighting arenas, two new characters, 500 new moves, and 1,200 motion patterns (compared to 700 patterns in the original).[15]

In a 1995 interview, Suzuki said Virtua Fighter 2 was his favorite of all the games he had made, elaborating that he was particularly pleased with the way the polygonal graphics "added a sense of reality" to the characters' motions, and the addition of counterattacks.[16] The developers designed four new characters, only two of which, Lion and Shun, made it into the final game.[13]

Saturn version

[edit]

At the beginning of 1995, Sega AM2's Sega Saturn division was split into three sub-departments, each one charged with porting a different arcade game to the Saturn: Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA. Due to unexpectedly slow progress in the Daytona USA port, a number of members of the Virtua Fighter 2 team were reassigned to Daytona USA. In March, AM2 Research completed the Sega Graphics Library, a Saturn operating system which made it feasible to create a near-arcade perfect port of Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn.[17][18]

After completing the Daytona USA port in April, the team took a short holiday before beginning work on the Virtua Fighter 2 conversion in earnest.[18] In June, AM2 gave the first public demonstration of Saturn Virtua Fighter 2 at the Tokyo Toy Show. To increase confidence in the accuracy of the port, they displayed non-playable demos of the characters Lion, Shun, Pai and Lau running on the Saturn hardware at 60 frames per second - the same speed as the arcade version.[17]

However, AM2 continued to face problems in creating an accurate port for the Saturn. Due to the high number of moves in Virtua Fighter 2, months had to be spent on developing compression techniques in order to fit all of the game's moves onto a single CD.[17] Also, in order to maintain the 60 frames per second, the Saturn version could not use nearly as many polygons as the arcade version. To make this difference less apparent, the programming team made use of texture mapping for the characters, taking advantage of the fact that the Saturn could map 16 different colors to each polygon, whereas the Model 2 arcade hardware could map only one color per polygon. In addition, the polygon background objects of the arcade version were replaced with parallax scrolling playfields with selective scaling.[17] The AM2 team also used data from Virtua Fighter Remix as a reference for some elements.[19] In an interview during development, Keiji Okayasu discussed the team's struggles with getting the Saturn version to run at 60 frames per second:

If we didn't have to consider the speed, we could do the conversion very quickly. But with so much data, we can only move slowly. With Virtua Fighter 1 we could use the arcade data for each technique with just a few changes, but with 2 there's just too much data. But we have done well, although how is a secret... I think we couldn't have made 2 if we hadn't made the first conversion - but it's just as tough! We owe a lot to the new SGL OS [Sega Graphics Library Operating System] software.[20]

By the end of September, hit detection had been enabled, and the now fully playable conversion was displayed at the JAMMA show.[18] Taking into account audience reactions at the JAMMA show, the team spent the next two months on final adjustments, play-testing, and the addition of Saturn-specific options. Development on the port was completed in November 1995.[18]

Release

[edit]

The original arcade game released for the Japanese market in November 1994.[21] It then released overseas for Europe in December 1994,[22] and North America in January 1995.[23][24]

Virtua Fighter 2.1 is a revised version featuring re-tweaked gameplay, slightly enhanced graphics and the ability to play as a revamped Dural.[25] Though it was never released outside Japan,[26] it is possible to switch to the 2.1 gameplay mechanics in the Saturn and PC ports, as well as to play as Dural with a cheat code. This version was also released in the Sega Ages 2500 series.

The Saturn port was scheduled for a December 1995 release in Europe, in time for the crucial Christmas shopping season, but it did not appear until the end of the following January.[27] A 2D remake was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1996.[28] In addition, Virtua Fighter 2 was converted for the PlayStation 2 in 2004 as part of Sega's Ages 2500 series in Japan. The Mega Drive/Genesis port was re-released on the PS2 and PSP in 2006 as part of Sega Genesis Collection, on the Virtual Console for the Wii on March 20, 2007 (Japan) and April 16, 2007 (North America), on December 15, 2022 on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, and for iOS on January 20, 2011. A port of the arcade version was released digitally for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in November 2012.[29]

In Japan, a Virtua Fighter 2 "CG Portrait Series" of discs were released for the Saturn. Each of the eleven discs (one for each playable character) contains a slideshow of high-resolution CG stills of the character engaged in non-fighting activities such as playing pool or eating ice cream, backed by a Japanese pop song, as well as a karaoke mode.[30]

Reception

[edit]

Arcade version

[edit]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Virtua Fighter 2 on their January 1, 1995 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month.[55] It went on to become Japan's highest-grossing arcade game for two years in a row, in 1995[51][56] and 1996.[57] In the United States, the game also generated high earnings upon release,[58] and went on to become one of America's top ten best-selling arcade video games of 1995.[59] As of 1996, over 40,000 arcade units were sold worldwide.[10] Virtua Fighter and Virtua Fighter 2 became Sega's best-selling arcade games of all time, surpassing Out Run (1986).[11]

Virtua Fighter 2 was critically acclaimed upon release. It used the Sega Model 2 arcade hardware to run the game at 60 frames per second at a high resolution with no slowdown (by comparison, the original Virtua Fighter ran at 30 frames per second).[60] Computer and Video Games gave the arcade game a positive review, praising the "stunning visuals" as "quite possibly the best graphics ever seen in a fully-playable arcade title", the "quality of the animation" where "you can certainly feel each blow when they connect and the character reels back" and the "more accessible" combos which "opens up the opportunity for a number of new sequences."[22] The magazine later called it "the greatest arcade game ever made" in December 1995.[33]

Sega Saturn version

[edit]

Sega reported pre-orders of 1.5 million units for the Sega Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2 in Japan, which is nearly as many of the number of Sega Saturns that had been sold in Japan at that point.[61] Upon its Japanese release, 700,000 copies were sold within two days.[62] It was the third best-selling home video game of 1995 in Japan, below Dragon Quest VI and Chrono Trigger.[63] Virtua Fighter 2 also became the top-selling game worldwide for the Sega Saturn, and remains the highest-selling Sega Saturn game in Japan with 1.7 million copies sold.[64] In the United States, the game was bundled with various Sega Saturn consoles for a while alongside Daytona USA and Virtua Cop, which helped boost the Sega Saturn's sales.[65] Virtua Fighter 2 sold more than 500,000 bundled copies in the United States by December 1996,[66][67] bringing total sales to more than 2.2 million units sold in Japan and the United States.

The Sega Saturn port was critically acclaimed upon release. Next Generation gave the game a perfect 5/5 stars, calling it "the ultimate arcade translation" and "the best fighting game ever."[44] The magazine cited its "accurate representation of ten very distinct and realistic fighting styles", "remarkable AI", and "a general attention to detail that sets a new mark for quality game design."[68] Sega Saturn Magazine gave the Sega Saturn version a 98%, citing the smooth frame rate, the realistically varied reactions to blows, the huge variety of moves, and the addition of features such as Team Battle Mode.[48] Similarly praising the variety of moves and the accuracy of the port, Game Revolution gave the Sega Saturn version an A and concluded that "Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn looks better and smoother than any other polygonal fighting game for the next generation systems. This just might be the best home console fighting game ever."[40] GamePro called it "the game to own if you have a Saturn", citing the authentic fighting styles and moves, the new modes, the realistic animations with strong attention to detail, and the easy to master controls. They gave it a perfect score in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and FunFactor).[69]

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly felt the port was not as arcade perfect as it could have been, but highly praised the wealth of options and modes, with two of their reviewers declaring it by far the best fighting game on the Sega Saturn thus far.[35] Game Informer's Andy, Reiner and Paul praised Virtua Fighter 2 for its depth and variety, but criticized inferior background details in the Sega Saturn port, while Paul also felt that the original Virtua Fighter required more strategy.[38] Maximum described the port as "remarkably similar to its coin-op parent - a game that's running on hardware that's 20 times more expensive than the Sega Saturn." They particularly praised the high-resolution graphics, smooth frame rate, "breathtaking" variety of moves, and the numerous Sega Saturn-exclusive modes and options. With their one criticism being the very vulnerable opponent AI,[46] they gave it their "Maximum Game of the Month" award.[70]

Retrospective feedback on the Sega Saturn version has continued to gather praise. GamesRadar ranked it the third-best Sega Saturn game, stating that "with Sonic sitting much of this generation out, is there a franchise more synonymous with the Sega Saturn than Virtua Fighter?"[71] 1UP described the Sega Saturn port as featuring "crisp, fast visuals and deeply nuanced game mechanics." They also claimed the game had aged well, unlike other fighters released around the time, such as the original Tekken.[72] IGN also ranked it as the second-best Sega Saturn game, saying that the game "stands head and shoulders above all 32-bit fighters. All of them."[73]

Accolades

[edit]

Gamest Awards gave Virtua Fighter 2 the top awards for Game of the Year, Best Fighting Game, Best Graphics, and Most Popular Game.[51] Game Players magazine also awarded it Game of the Year.[52] GamePro awarded it Best Saturn Game of 1995.[53] The AMOA Awards nominated it for Most Innovative New Technology.[54]

Virtua Fighter 2 was ranked as the 19th-best arcade game of the 1990s by Complex.[74] In 1996, GamesMaster rated the Sega Saturn version second on their "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10."[75] In the same issue, they also listed the game 13th in its "Top 100 Games of All Time."[76] It has also been listed as one of the best games of all time by Next Generation in 1996[77] and 1999,[78] IGN in 2003,[79] Famitsu in 2006,[80] Stuff in 2008[81] and Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1997,[82][83] 2001[84] and 2006.[85]

Other versions

[edit]

GameSpot praised the game's realism, depth, opponent AI and the PC version's inclusion of online multiplayer. They deemed it "unquestionably the best fighting game on the PC, and certainly one of the finest fighting games of all time", adding that the PC version "rivals even the excellent Sega Saturn console port."[90] The PlayStation 2 port of the game was criticized for failing to be faithful to the original arcade version.[92][93]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 IS HERE AT LAST!". 1997-06-06. Archived from the original on 1997-06-06. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  2. ^ "News". 1997-06-05. Archived from the original on 1997-06-05. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  3. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 (Mega Drive)". Sega Retro. 3 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 (Mega Drive)". Sega Retro. 3 April 2022.
  5. ^ "SEGA IMPROVES ON AN ARCADE HIT: VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 NOW ON PC". Sega Central. Sega of America. September 17, 1997. Archived from the original on June 28, 1998. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Staff (September 17, 1997). "Releases and Masterings". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
    "New games continue to hit the shelves every day. Now available:...Virtua Fighter 2..."
  7. ^ "Sega Ages 2500: Volume 16". Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  8. ^ "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 1". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  9. ^ a b "Top-secret military technology was used to make Virtua Fighter 2? Yep, that happened according to developer". Eventhubs.com. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  10. ^ a b "Sega Promotes 64-Bit CG Board "Model 3"" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 515. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 April 1996. p. 26.
  11. ^ a b Famitsu DC (February 15, 2002). "Interview: Akira Nagai — SEGA Representative". セガ・アーケード・ヒストリー [Sega Arcade History]. Famitsu Books (in Japanese). Enterbrain. pp. 20–23. ISBN 978-4-75770790-0. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2024. (Translation by Shmuplations. Archived 7 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine).
  12. ^ "NiGHTS ON SEGA SATURN FLYING OFF RETAIL SHELVES". Archived from the original on 1996-12-20.
  13. ^ a b "AM2". Next Generation (4). Imagine Media: 68–69. April 1995.
  14. ^ Mielke, James (2010). "The Disappearance of Yu Suzuki: Part 1". 1Up.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  15. ^ "A Technical Knockout: Sega Comes Out Swinging With 'Virtua Fighter 2', A Worth Successor To Their Champion Video Fighter". RePlay. Vol. 20, no. 5. February 1995. pp. 44, 46.
  16. ^ "Nothing Compares to Yu". Next Generation. No. 11. Imagine Media. November 1995. pp. 6–7.
  17. ^ a b c d Leadbetter, Rich (November 1995). "Virtua Fighter: The Second Coming". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 1. Emap International Limited. pp. 36–41.
  18. ^ a b c d "Virtua Fighter 2 Development Diary". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 2. Emap International Limited. December 1995. p. 46.
  19. ^ Ogasawara, Nob (November 1995). "Sega's Top Guns: An Interview with AM2". GamePro. No. 86. IDG. pp. 28–31.
  20. ^ "It's Almost Here: Virtua Fighter 2". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (1). Emap International Limited: 116–7. October 1995.
  21. ^ "The Works of Yu Suzuki". YS Net. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  22. ^ a b c Lawrence, Eddy (Radion Automatic); Patterson, Mark (15 December 1994). "Arcade Review: Virtua Fighter 2" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 158 (January 1995). United Kingdom: Future plc. pp. 86–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  23. ^ Webb, Marcus (21 February 1995). "Arcadia". Next Generation. No. 3 (March 1995). Imagine Media. p. 31.
  24. ^ "News Digest: New This Month In Vids & Pins". RePlay. Vol. 20, no. 4. January 1995. p. 13.
  25. ^ "Protos: Virtua Fighter 2.1". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 76. Sendai Publishing. November 1995. p. 224.
  26. ^ Leadbetter, Richard (February 1996). "Virtua Fighter 2 Master Class: Part 1". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 4. Emap International Limited. pp. 88–91.
  27. ^ "Tonight We're Going to Party like it's 1996!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 16. Emap International Limited. February 1997. p. 10.
  28. ^ "16-Bit's Last Stand". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 89. Ziff Davis. December 1996. p. 198.
  29. ^ "Round One, Fight: AM2 Classics Available Now". Sega Blog. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  30. ^ "New CG Discs Released". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 2. Emap International Limited. November 1995. p. 131.
  31. ^ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Virtua Fighter 2 - Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
  32. ^ Van Rossen, Arjan. "Virtua Fighter 2 - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
  33. ^ a b "Virtua Fighter 2: It's the greatest arcade game ever made. And now it's the greatest console game ever made. It's as simple as that" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 170 (January 1996). Future plc. 10 December 1995. pp. 24–9.
  34. ^ Edge, issue 28, pages 66-70
  35. ^ a b "Review Crew: Virtua Fighter 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 79. Sendai Publishing. February 1996. p. 31.
  36. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 for Saturn". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  37. ^ Famitsu, issue 364, page 31
  38. ^ a b Reiner, Andrew; et al. (January 1996). "Blowout!!!". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 20, 1997. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  39. ^ GameFan, volume 4, issue 1 (January 1996), pages 20 & 58-59
  40. ^ a b "Virtua Fighter 2 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  41. ^ GamesMaster, episode 92 (series 5, episode 13)
  42. ^ "Review (Saturn) - Virtua Fighter 2". Hyper. No. 29. March 1996. pp. 38–9.
  43. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 - SAT - IGN". uk.cheats.ign.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  44. ^ a b "Platinum Pick: Virtua Fighter 2". Next Generation. Vol. 2, no. 13. Imagine Media. January 1996. p. 179.
  45. ^ Player One, issue 60, pages 48-49
  46. ^ a b "Maximum Reviews: Virtua Fighter 2". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 3. Emap International Limited. January 1996. pp. 140–1.
  47. ^ "Die Hits de Leser" [The Reader Hits] (PDF). Sega Magazin (in German). No. 28 (März 1996). 14 February 1996. p. 21.
  48. ^ a b Leadbetter, Richard (December 1995). "Review: Virtua Fighter 2". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 2. Emap International Limited. pp. 72–73.
  49. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2". Ultimate Future Games. No. 3 (February 1995). Future Publishing. 1 January 1995. pp. 38–9.
  50. ^ Ultimate Future Games, issue 14 (February 1995), pages 56-59, Future Publishing
  51. ^ a b c 第9回 ゲーメスト大賞 [9th Gamest Awards]. Gamest (in Japanese). Vol. 162 (January 1995). December 27, 1995. pp. 36–53.
  52. ^ a b "Game Players - Awards". Game Players. No. 79. Signal Research. Christmas 1995. pp. 15–41.
  53. ^ a b "Editor's Choice Awards 1995" (PDF). GamePro. No. 89. IDG. February 1996. p. 26.
  54. ^ a b "Coin Machine: AMOA JB And Games Awards Nominees Announced" (PDF). Cash Box. July 22, 1995. p. 30.
  55. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)/Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - 完成品夕イプのTVゲーム機 (Dedicated Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 487. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 January 1995. p. 35.
  56. ^ ""Virtua Fighter 2" and "Virtua Cop" Top Videos" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 511. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 February 1996. p. 22.
  57. ^ Akagi, Masumi, ed. (1 February 1997). ""Tekken 2", "Virtua Cop 2" Top Videos '96" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 534. Amusement Press, Inc. p. 26.
  58. ^ "Index". RePlay. Vol. 20, no. 5. February 1995. p. 12.
  59. ^ "Coin Machine: Six Receive ACME Awards For Product Excellence". Cash Box. Cash Box Pub. Co. 6 April 1996. p. 26.
  60. ^ "Preview: Virtua Fighter 2". GamePro. No. 68. IDG. March 1995. p. 20.
  61. ^ Hickman, Sam (15 December 1995). "Virtua Sell Out!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 3 (January 1996). Emap International Limited. p. 7.
  62. ^ "Amazing Sega PAL Conversions!" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 171 (published 12 January 1996). February 1996. p. 7. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  63. ^ "1995年のコンシューマーゲームソフトの売上" [1995 Consumer Game Software Sales]. Dengeki Oh (in Japanese). MediaWorks. Archived from the original on 22 August 2002. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  64. ^ "Japan Platinum Chart Games". The Magic Box. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  65. ^ "Sega Three Pack Extension". Archived from the original on January 7, 1997. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  66. ^ "Press release: Sega tops holiday, yearly sales projections". Sega of America. January 13, 1997. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  67. ^ "Who won the videogame wars of 1996?" (PDF). Next Generation. No. 28 (April 1997). 11 March 1997. pp. 16–9.
  68. ^ "Excellent!". Next Generation. Vol. 2, no. 14. Imagine Media. February 1996. p. 160.
  69. ^ Scary Larry (January 1996). "ProReview: Virtua Fighter 2". GamePro. No. 88. IDG. p. 84.
  70. ^ "The Essential Buyers Guide Reviews". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 3. Emap International Limited. January 1996. p. 139.
  71. ^ "Best Saturn games of all time". GamesRadar. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  72. ^ "The Collector's Guide to Sega Saturn from 1UP.com". Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  73. ^ Buchanan, Levi (2008-07-29). "Top 10 SEGA Saturn Games". IGN.com. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  74. ^ Rich Knight, Hanuman Welch, The 30 Best Arcade Video Games of the 1990s Archived 2013-08-31 at the Wayback Machine, Complex.com, August 28, 2013.
  75. ^ "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 76. July 1996.
  76. ^ "Top 100 Games of All Time" (PDF). GamesMaster (44): 77. July 1996.
  77. ^ Top 100 Games of All Time, Next Generation, September 1996, pages 68 and 70.
  78. ^ Next Generation, issue 50, February 1999
  79. ^ "IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time". IGN. 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  80. ^ Edge Staff (March 3, 2006). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Edge / Famitsu. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  81. ^ "100 Greatest Games", Stuff, pp. 116–126, October 2008
  82. ^ "EGM Top 100 Best Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. November 1997. p. 108. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  83. ^ "Best Games of All Time" (developers' picks), Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 100 (November 1997), pages 101-155
  84. ^ Top 100 Games of All Time, Electronic Gaming Monthly, 2001
  85. ^ "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. February 6, 2006. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  86. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 for Genesis". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09.
  87. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  88. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  89. ^ Lomas, Ed (January 1997). "Virtua Fighter 2". Computer and Video Games. No. 182. p. 83. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  90. ^ a b Kasavin, Greg (October 16, 1997). "Virtua Fighter 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  91. ^ "Virtua Fighter (Sega Genesis) Review". Archived from the original on 15 November 2014.
  92. ^ "Virtua Fighter 2 Preview for PS2 from". 1UP.com. 2004-09-26. Archived from the original on 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  93. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2004-10-13). "Virtua Fighter 2 Playtest". IGN.com. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
[edit]