Virtua Fighter 2
In 1994, Virtua Fighter 2 was unleashed to the world, combining jaw-dropping graphics with amazingly deep gameplay. As the first game on Sega's Model 2 board, VF2 was part tech demo and an amazing game to boot.
Story
One year has passed since eight of the world's toughest, fastest fighters challenged each other in the World Fighting Tournament. Lau Chan may have won the championship, but all of the other fighters gained something. Each fighter's limits and shortcomings became crystal clear. Some made new friendships; others developed intense rivalries. All gained valuable fighting experience before they left the arena and went their separate ways.
Now, one year later, the call has come again: ten cordial invitations to the second World Fighting Tournament. Ominously, no RSVPs are requested - as if anyone would be foolish enough to back out. Could the sinister Judgment 6 cartel be behind all of this? Whatever new and formidable moves and techniques these accomplished fighters may possess, they all share one thing: the suspicion that this time, the stakes will be higher than ever.
After a year of hard training, Akira Yuki is back to try out his new moves and to fight the decisive battle against new-found rival Wolf Hawkfield. Hon Kong film star Pai Chan returns for another chance to defeat her father, Lau Chan, who has returned to defend his title. Pancratium master Jeffry McWild fights to preserve his livelihood. The ninja Kage-maru returns on both official and family business as he seeks to break the cover and discover the secrets of the mysterious syndicate that pulls the strings of the World Fighting Tournament. Jacky Bryant has come to rescue his sister, Sarah, who - ironically - has been brainwashed and carefully trained to eliminate him. Master of Drunken-style kung fu Shun-di arrives to try his skills against the hottest young fighters in the world, while Tourou-ken expert Lion Rafale fights for his freedom.
Who will emerge victorious this time?
Gameplay
The game continues with the original's usage of the three-button layout. Buttons allow players to punch, kick, and guard and an eight-way directional pad is used to move the characters onscreen. Back and forwards will move the characters towards and away from their opponents, downward movments crouch, and upwards movements will cause the characters to jump. Floaty jumps are back as well, with leaps that seem to defy gravity in their elevation and airtime.
Even though the game is set in a 3D arena, the action plays across 2D planes, with the exception of a few of Shun and Lion's moves. Virtua Fighter has always been based on a paper-rock-scissors style of play, where one move will beat another, but opens itself up for another technique. VF2 is no different. If your opponent throws a high kick, you can counter with a low blow. If your opponent goes low, you can jump over it. If your opponent blocks, you can throw, etc. The end result is a game that is very deep fighting-wise. At beginner/intermediate levels of play, button-mashers can still give some trouble, however.
Players fight through every character in the game in order. Afterwards, a final "bonus" battle with Dural is fought underwater and in slow-motion.
If a player has completed the game in a fast enough time, they may enter their name by beating up on their initials.
Characters
Akira Yuki
Nationality: Japanese
Date of Birth: September 23, 1968
Age: 26
Occupation: Kung fu Instructor
Hobby: Kung fu
Technique: Hakkyoku-ken
Already a legendary master of the art of Hakkyoku-ken, Akira has spent the past year traveling and honing his skills to a razor edge. Though he didn't win the first tournament, he considered it a learning experience, and eagerly anticipates trying out his new moves on all comers.
Pai Chan
Nationality: Chinese (Hong Kong)
Date of Birth: May 17, 1975
Age: 19
Occupation: Action Film Star
Hobby: Dancing
Technique: Ensei-ken
Even though Pai is Lau's daughter, there is little love between the two - while Lau pursued his obsessive search for perfection, Pai's mother toiled so hard to support the family that she died of overwork. Pai never forgave Lau for her mother's death, and swore she would someday beat Lau at his own game. Though she didn't have what it took to defeat him in the last tournament, this time she's armed with a few new techniques that just might knock Lau of of the champion's position. And with Lau out of the way, the others should fall like dominoes.
Lau Chan
Nationality: Chinese
Date of Birth: October 2, 1940
Age: 54
Occupation: Cook
Hobby: Chinese Poetry
Technique: Koen-ken
Lau strives for perfection in anything he does, whether it's working as a famous chef in China or acquiring the title of the most powerful fighter in the world. Though declared champion, Lau was far from satisfied with his performance, so after the first tournament, he headed for the mountains for an excruciating year-long regimen of training. He hopes that in the next tournament he'll be able to perform up to his own exacting standards.
Wolf Hawkfield
Nationality: Canadian
Date of Birth: February 8, 1966
Age: 28
Occupation: Pro Wrestler
Hobby: Karaoke
Technique: Pro Wrestling
Wolf worked as a lumberjack until he was discovered by a scout and encouraged to take up professional wrestling. It wasn't long before he became invincible in the sport. He entered the World Fighting Tournament in order to find an opponent skilled enough to call a rival. It wasn't long before Akira gave him exactly what he was looking for, and the two set up a friendly but intense competition. At the end of the first tournament, both swore they would battle again. Now that chance has arrived, and Wolf has his eye on the championship.
Jeffrey McWild
Nationality: Australian
Date of Birth: February 20, 1957
Age: 37
Occupation: Fisherman
Hobby: Reggae Music
Technique: Pancratium
Jeffry uses the prize money from his fighting tournaments to maintain a fishing boat, his chief source of livelihood. All his life, he has sought one trophy above others: the legendary, man-eating "Devil Shark." Their last battle was the most ferocious yet, but the shark escaped, leaving nothing of Jeffry's boat but splinters. So Jeffry polished up his fighting techniques and is stepping into the ring again. If he wins this time, he can buy a new boat and get rid of his nemesis once and for all.
Kage-maru
Nationality: Japanese
Date of Birth: June 6, 1971
Age: 24
Occupation: Ninja
Hobby: Mah-jongg
Technique: Hagakure-ryu Jujutsu
Not much can be said about Kage's background, only that he is searching for the mysterious organization that murdered his father and kidnapped his other. His search led him to the first tournament, which he entered in order to pick up clues. Though he mad an impressive show as a fighter, he was unable to bring the syndicate to light... hover, he did receive word that his mother might still be alive. He has stepped into the arena again in the hope that once declared champion, he will be able to find out more.
Sarah Bryant
Nationality: American
Date of Birth: July 4, 1973
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Hobby: Skydiving
Technique: Jeet Kune Do
Kidnapped, brainwashed, and groomed for combat by an underground organization, Sarah Bryant was pitted against her brother in the first tournament. The organization had hoped to eliminate Jacky this way, but because they couldn't control Sarah completely, she failed to carry out her orders. She has spent the past year being reconditioned under a new set of teachers. By the time she steps into the arena again, she will be the ultimate fighting machine.
Jacky Bryant
Nationality: American
Date of Birth: August 28, 1970
Age: 24
Occupation: Indy Car Racer
Hobby: Training
Technique: Jeet Kune Do
One fateful day, hotshot race driver and Jeet Kune Do master Jacky Bryant was separated from his sister, Sarah, when she was kidnapped by an underground syndicate. After years of searching, he learned that Sarah was being trained for combat and was considered tops in the art of Jeet Kune Do. When the first World Fighting Tournament was announced, Jacky took the challenge in the hopes of finding and rescuing Sarah from the syndicate. But once a winner was declared, Sarah vanished. Jacky spent the next year training for the ensuing bout he knew would come. This time, he plans to win the championship and take Sarah back for sure.
Shun-di
Nationality: Chinese
Date of Birth: January 2, 1912
Age: 82
Occupation: Herbal Doctor
Hobby: Collecting Medicinal Herbs
Technique: Drunken Kung Fu
Under the guise of a hermit taking shelter deep in the mountains of northern China, Shun spent his days instructing young students in several esoteric and deadly martial arts. One day, while drinking with two old friends (who happened to be grandmasters in the arts of Hakkyoku-ken and Hissou-ken), Shun learned that his contemporaries had students who had achieved high ranks in the previous World Fighting Tournament, and were planning to return for the next. This sounded intriguing, and Shun decided to enter the tournament as well. His old friends tried their best to discourage him - what could one old man do against such powerful young predators? But Shun would not be turned away. It's time to show those youngsters a trick or two...
Lion Rafale
Nationality: French
Date of Birth: December 24, 1979
Age: 15
Occupation: High School Student
Hobby: Skateboarding
Technique: Tourou-ken
A wealthy, prominent French family, the Rafales were known first and foremost for their success in aircraft research and development, but this business was only a front for an underground weapons trade. Lion Rafale grew up with the best education available, and had been groomed all his life to follow in his father's footsteps, but once he discovered his father was a "death merchant," Lion wanted nothing at all to do with the family business. His father has given him and ultimatum: if he wants out of the family legacy, he has to prove he can be successful enough in whatever he does to be worthy of the Rafale name. In other words, if Lion wins the World Fighting Tournament, his father will free him of all family obligations.
Stages
Versions
There were two arcade versions - Virtua Fighter 2.0 and 2.1. 2.1 brought additional tweaks and balances to the original arcade game.
The home Saturn version features a graphically scaled-down version of the game, but retains all of the gameplay and moves. Backgrounds have been changed to 2D sprites and polygon counts have been lowered to allow the game to run on Saturn hardware.
The Genesis version is a joke - a 2D fighter with the 8 characters of the original Virtua Fighter.
On the PC, the game received an enhanced port of the Saturn version, featuring the ability to toggle between the lower-poly Saturn models or higher-poly PC models.
A PS2 version was released for the Sega Ages line in Japan. The game actually emulated the Model 2 board, but still wasn't arcade perfect. Texture appearance was very poor.
Codes
The following codes are for the Sega Saturn version of Virtua Fighter2:
See Dural Ending Movie - Complete the game with losing a match on the hardest difficulty level. To make this easier, change the lifebar to no damage, ring size to the largest, and the match length to one.
Alternate Colors During Intro - Change game to version 2.1
Alternate Colors - Hold up and C or up and A for alternate uniforms/colors
More options - Complete the game on any setting
Slow motion replays - Hold A, B and C while "KO" is being displayed
Select Winning Pose - Hold A, B, C after winning
View Credits - Hold A, B, C, X, Y and Z during the intro movie
Play as Dural - Highlight Akira and select Down, Up, Right, A+Left.
Play as Gold Dural - Highlight Akira and selct Down, Up, Left, A+Right.
Original Virtua Fighter Music - Plug a Stunner in control port 2 and load the game.
Play Sarah's VF1 Music - Hold R on controller 1 before the match starts
Play Jacky's VF1 Music - Hold L on controller 2 before the match starts
Choose Watch Mode Characters - Press A, C, or Start when the character is highlighted.
Swith Watch Mode Angle - Press X
Change Control Pad Configuration - At the Character hold R and use the D-pad to cycle between configurations
Clean Pause - Hold X, Y, and Z
Fight Alphabet Character - Hold A, Z and Up before name entry screen begins.
6/10/07