History VideoGame / VirtuaCop

* LighterAndSofter: ''Virtua Cop'' and ''Virtua Cop 2'' are this when you compare them to ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'' or ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' (their equivalents at the time). All three franchises are first-person rail shooters, but the first two ''Virtua Cop'' games have no blood, less violence, a lighter tone, and more colorful, cartoony graphics compared to ''Lethal Enforcers'' or ''House of the Dead''.

* '''''Virtua Cop'' (1994):''' The original. Was ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn as a launch title in 1995, but the light gun peripheral was sold separately, with a PC port the following year. The game follows Rage and Smarty as they systematically take down an illegal gun-running operation by the EVL Inc. criminal empire, led by Joe Fang.

* '''''Virtua Cop: Elite Edition'' (2002):''' Released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, Elite Edition was a compilation remake of ''Virtua Cop'' and ''Virtua Cop 2'' including bonus unlockable artwork. Known as ''Virtua Cop: Re-Birth'' in Japan, this game was released in Japan and Europe.

* UpdatedRerelease: ''Virtua Cop: Elite Edition'', or ''Virtua Cop Re-birth'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can kill civilians, but this makes you lose HP.

''Virtua Cop'' is a 3D LightGunGame series created by Yu Suzuki and Creator/{{Sega}}'s [=AM2=] department and initially released in arcades in 1994. The game series revolves around the VCPD Special Investigations Unit and their operatives, Michael Hardy/Rage, James Cools/Smarty and (from the second game onward) Janet Marshall. The core gameplay of all four games in the series is assuming the role of either Rage (first player) or Smarty (second player) and use a light gun (or controller for the console versions) to shoot criminals and advance through the game, with penalties for shooting civilians. There are three missions to choose from, Easy, Medium and Hard, that can be picked in any order. Items like better guns, health packs and even explosive oil drums can be found during the missions.

* '''''Virtua Cop'' (1994):''' The original. Was ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn as a launch title in 1995, but the light gun peripheral was sold separately, with a PC port the following year. The game followed Rage and Smarty as they systematically took down an illegal gun-running operation by the EVL Inc. criminal empire, led by Joe Fang.

* '''''Virtua Cop 3'' (2003):''' The last game in the series (so far), and released only in the Arcades. Both graphics and gameplay were greatly improved upon. The player can now switch between weapons instead of using a powerful weapon until it's out of ammo. A pedal was also added, that when pressed, put the player in "[[BulletTime Exceeding Sense]]" mode. When activated, time slows down to the point where enemy bullets become visible and [[ShootTheBullet can be shot away]]. In this game, a group of terrorists known as ECM has taken over various industries in the city. As usual, Rage, Smarty, and Janet must stop them. The leader of the ECM [[spoiler: is none other than Joe Fang, who was thought to have been killed twice]].

Has absolutely nothing to do with ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', despite having similar names and both being owned by Sega.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To [[Creator/{{Konami}} Konami's]] ''Videogame/LethalEnforcers''. This game itself has two of them:
** ''VideoGame/ConfidentialMission'', another arcade light gun game, borrows many, many, elements from the ''Virtua Cop'' series. Released after the second game, which received a proper sequel in the form of the third game.
** ''VideoGame/GHOSTSquad'' also burrows many elements from the series, and even has unlockable ''Virtua Cop'' police uniforms and body armor.

* CarChaseShootOut: The second game medium level features the cops following after the robbers in cars where players blast them as they pop out of their vehicles to shoot you.

* '''''Virtua Cop'' (1994):''' The original. Was ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn as a launch title, but the light gun peripheral was sold separately. The game followed Rage and Smarty as they systematically took down an illegal gun-running operation by the EVL Inc. criminal empire, led by Joe Fang.
* '''''Virtua Cop 2'' (1995):''' Ported to the Saturn and PC in 1996, the game had similar gameplay, but with new stages, storylines and improved graphics. Janet is added to this game as she helps with the investigation after the death of her partner, Nick Anderson. This game marked the return of EVL Inc. and Joe Fang.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Every boss has this upon confronting them.

* HardLevelsEasyBosses: At least in the first two games, the bosses are easy when compared to the stages themselves.

* ArchEnemy: Joe Fang to the VCPD.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Has two of them:

* DemotedToExtra: Janet in the third game. She plays the role of MissionControl this time around, although she joins the boys in the Hard mission [[spoiler: and the true final stage]]. In any case, she's not playable.

* EarnYourBadEnding: This is a requirement in order to get Rank 10:''[[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Gangster]]]]'' in Virtua Cop 2. Unlike with all the above ranks, in order to achieve rank 10, you need to just shoot as many civilians as possible until you reach an amount that will override the rank you would normally get from all the points you gain from shooting criminals. Taking the HostageSpiritLink into account, This technique requires you to make at least one or more continues until you reach a part in the selected scenario where many civilians appear at once. In ''Big Chase!'' this is the first car chase sequence.

* HostageSpiritLink: Stupid hostages popping out of nowhere...

* JetPack: [[WolfpackBoss The Aero-Divers]] and Joe Fang himself fly in one in ''Virtua Cop 2''. [[spoiler: The Joe Fang clones also have them in the bonus stage of the third game]].
* LastBreathBullet: A rather peculiar example in Stage 3 of the first game (Gang Headquarters). After the first scene, you make your way up a staircase into the main building. A random {{Mook}} takes a shot at you like normal. But, after you shoot him he staggers back into a wall, leans against it, and takes ''another'' shot at you. You have to shoot him a second time to put him down for good and proceed.

* EarnYourBadEnding: This is a requirement in order to get Rank 10:''[[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Gangster]]]]'' in Virtua Cop 2. Unlike with all the above ranks, in order to achieve rank 10, you need to just shoot as many civilians as possible until you reach an amount that will override the rank you would normally get from all the points you gain from shooting criminals. Taking the HostageSpiritLink into account, This technique requires you to make at least one or more continues until you reach a part in the selected scenario where many civilians appear at once. In "Big Chase" this is the first car chase sequence.

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the Normal and Hard missions of ''Virtua Cop 3''. [[spoiler:Two hostages in the Normal mission and one in the Hard mission will pull guns on you. Yes, they *will* shoot you if you don't take them down. The "fake" hostage in the Hard mission actually counts as a Civilian shot in both the Interim (Mid-stage) and Mission Reports, but you receive no penalty.]]

** There's an instance of a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in the Hard mission of ''Virtua Cop 3''. [[spoiler:Two hostages pops up from the windows of a building... and one proceeds to pull a gun on you. Yes, he DOES shoot you if you don't take him down. It actually counts towards a Civilian shot in both the Interim (Mid-stage) and Mission Reports, but doesn't actually assign you any penalty.]]

** In ''Virtua Cop 3'''s Normal Mission, there is a branching path available in the street section of the stage. During the truck quick time event, shooting one of the top targets first selects one path; shooting one of the bottom targets first selects the other path. If the quick time event is failed, the path is randomly selected.

* LastBreathBullet: A rather peculuar example in Stage 3 of the first game (Gang Headquarters). After the first scene, you make your way up a staircase into the main building. A random {{Mook}} takes a shot at you like normal. But, after you shoot him he staggers back into a wall, leans against it, and takes ''another'' shot at you. You have to shoot him a second time to put him down for good and proceed.

* SchmuckBait: A minor one in ''Vitua Cop 2''. Sometimes a random bad guy will pop up and yell '''"HEY!"''' and point a gun at you. But instead of shooting, they'll quickly go back into hiding. This is likely a deliberate attempt to distract you from the ''real'' bad guy that's actually trying to shoot you. However, the game's [[AntiFrustrationFeature lock-on sight]] can negate this trick to an extent.

* StoryBranching: In ''2'' each level contains a split path that lets you go between two different options.

''Virtua Cop'' is a successful 3D LightGunGame series created by Yu Suzuki and Creator/{{Sega}}'s [=AM2=] department and initially released in arcades in 1994. The game series revolves around the VCPD Special Investigations Unit and their operatives, Michael Hardy/Rage, James Cools/Smarty and (from the second game onward) Janet Marshall. The core gameplay of all four games in the series is assuming the role of either Rage (first player) or Smarty (second player) and use a light gun (or controller for the console versions) to shoot criminals and advance through the game, with penalties for shooting civilians. There are three missions to choose from, Easy, Medium and Hard, that can be picked in any order. Items like better guns, health packs and even explosive oil drums can be found during the missions.