History VideoGame / VirtuaFighter

* ArtEvolution: The picture above could easily serve as an evolutionary chart of 3D gaming. The first game was one of the pioneers in 1993, and has admirably kept pace with the graphical advancements over the generations.

A 35 episode [[AnimeOfTheGame anime]] aired in Japan from October 2, 1995 – June 27, 1996. Only the first 24 episodes were dubbed into English, though the entire series has been dubbed in Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. An OVA titled ''Virtua Fighter Costomize Clip'' was also released in 1996, consisting solely of animated music videos set to songs from the Virtua Fighter image song album ''Dancing Shadows.'' The OVA is incredibly obscure, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flO4rsRe-mc it can be viewed here.]]

Akira, Pai and Dural have also made appearances in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', with the first two together as a playable paired unit and the last as a recurring boss. Akira and Pai also returns for ''Project X Zone 2'', although Pai is instead a solo unit and Kage-Maru replaces her as Akira's partner. Akira even appears as an Assist Trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', in his blocky {{Retraux}} appearance from the first game.

* EvilAlbino: Goh is an J6 assassin who is very pale skinned.

* RankInflation: After reaching 10th dan, players can revieve titles (see KyuAndDanRanks). TropesAreNotBad in this case.

* LeftHanging: The story (what little there is) was left incomplete due to the franchise losimg its popularity to other 3D Fighters and the resurgence of 2D Fighters.

* ''Fighters Megamix'' (1996, Saturn) - A crossover with ''VideoGame/FightingVipers''. Based on an abandoned Saturn port of ''[=VF3=]''.

Akira, Pai and Dural have also made appearances in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', with the first two together as a playable paired unit and the last as a recurring boss. Akira and Pai also returns for ''Project X Zone 2'', although Pai is instead a solo unit and Kage-Maru replaces her as Akira's partner.

* ''Virtua Fighter 2'' (1994, Model 2) (1995, Saturn) (1997, Windows PC) (2004, [=PS2=]) (2012, [=PS3=]/Xbox 360)

* ''Virtua Quest'' (2004, [=PS2=]/GC) - A 3D action RPG spinoff.

** ''Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown'' (2010, Lindbergh) (2012, [=PS3=]/Xbox 360)

''Virtua Fighter'' is a FightingGame series produced by Creator/{{Sega}}'s [=AM2=] development team. Debuting in the arcades in 1993, it is notable for being the first truly successful [=3D=] fighting game franchise, paving the wave for the likes of ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' and ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''.[[note]]Although Sega's lesser known ''Dark Edge'' predated ''Virtua Fighter'' by a year in having 3D movement, it used sprite-scaling technology instead of actual polygonal models.[[/note]]

* DittoFighter: Dural is the [[Pantheon/AbilitiesAndMovesets Goddess of them]]. She has several moves that belongs to other characters.

* ''Fighters Megamix'' (1996, Saturn) - A crossover with ''FightingVipers''. Based on an abandoned Saturn port of ''[=VF3=]''.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: ''Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown'' has two examples:
** Training mode includes an animation frame counter that displays how long it takes for a technique to execute, as well as how much of an advantage you have after a successful hit or guard. Usually, this kind of feature is available only to the developers, who would use it to tweak moves to make them faster or slower. This trope is notable because no other fighting game before ''Final Showdown'' has a frame counter.
** You can configure your buttons at the character select screen. A much-appreciated feature for tournament players.
** See JigglePhysics below to see how far the dev team thinks.

** Jacky's infamous "I done handcuffed lightning!" line is a shout out to one of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxLokrATgIw speeches ]].

* BigDamnHeroes: In the ''Virtua Fighter 5'' opening, Pai pulls one off to [[http://youtu.be/QnwuyHMhigs?t=13s save her father Lau from being killed by Lei Fei]].

A 35 episode [[AnimeOfTheGame anime]] aired in Japan from October 2, 1995 – June 27, 1996. Only the first 24 episodes were dubbed into English, though the entire series has been dubbed in Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. An OVA titled ''Virtua Fighter Costomize Clip'' was also released in 1996, consisting solely of animated music videos set to songs from the Virtua Fighter image song album ''Dancing Shadows.'' The OVA is incredibly obscure, but it can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flO4rsRe-mc here.]]

* ExcusePlot: Due to the lack of in-game references, the machinations of J6 end up becoming this when you play. None of the characters even have endings.

Compared to other fighting game franchises, ''Virtua Fighter'' doesn't have much focus in its storyline. This is partially due to trying to make the combat mechanics more realistic and the depth in the characters' fighting styles as a whole and the moves they use. ''Virtua Fighter'' is known for the balance of its characters between each other. The series is also notable for being one of the few fighting game franchises to preserve its character roster throughout every entry, adding new fighters without removing anyone. The sole exception was Taka-Arashi, who was retired in ''Virtua Fighter 4'' due to the difficulty of integrating the sumo wrestling style into the new engine, only to return in ''Virtua Fighter 5R''.

A 35 episode [[AnimeOfTheGame anime]] aired in Japan from October 2, 1995 – June 27, 1996. Only the first 24 episodes were dubbed into English, though the entire series has been dubbed in Spanish, Italian, and Arabic. An OVA titled ''Virtua Fighter Costomize Clip'' was also released in 1996, consisting solely of animated music videos set to songs from the Virtua Fighter image song album ''Dancing Shadows.'' The OVA is incredibly obscure, but the music videos can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHhErfbJ76BIDaOO4DHG4qIvBrHE74QbD here.]]

The game's story is about the dealings of the mysterious corporation, Judgment Six (J6) who holds the World Fighting Tournament as a front to create the ultimate fighter. The game's star is Akira Yuki a HotBlooded martial artist seeking to fight worthy opponents and perfect his fighting style. A major recurring storyline in the game is with J6's involvement with some of the other competitors. Kage-Maru's mother, Tsukikage, is turned into Dural, the final boss of the series. Sarah and Vanessa are both kidnapped by J6, the latter used to make the newer version of Dural after Kage saved his mother.

** Akira himself. Despite being the main character, he's, ironically, generally considered one of the hardest characters to master in this already difficult to master game. That said, he consistently tops tier lists.

* FacialMarkings: Wolf has them. He is Native American.

* ''Virtua Fighter 2'' (1994, Model 2) (1995, Saturn) (1997, Windows PC) (2004, PS2) (2012, [=PS3=]/Xbox 360)

* ''Virtua Fighter 4'' (2001, NAOMI 2) (2002, PS2)
** ''Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution'' (2003, NAOMI 2) (2004, PS2)

* ''Virtua Quest'' (2004, PS2/GC) - A 3D action RPG spinoff.
* ''Virtua Fighter: 10th Anniversary Remix'' (2004, PS2) - A {{retraux}} version of ''[=VF4=] Evolution'' done in the same graphical style as the first game.

* ''Virtua Fighter 2'' (1994, Model 2) (1995, Saturn) (1997, Windows PC) (2004, PS2) (2012, PS3/Xbox 360)

* ''Virtua Fighter 5'' (2006, Lindbergh) (2007, PS3/Xbox 360)

** ''Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown'' (2010, Lindbergh) (2012, PS3/Xbox 360)

* DownloadableContent: The costume packs in ''Final Showdown''. If you bought the PS3 version early, you got everything

* BigDamnHeroes: In the ''VF5'' opening, Pai pulls one off to [[http://youtu.be/QnwuyHMhigs?t=13s save her father Lau from being killed by Lei Fei]].

* BigDamnHeroes: Pai pulls one off to [[http://youtu.be/QnwuyHMhigs?t=13s save her father Lau from being killed by Lei Fei]].

* YourDaysAreNumbered: Lau.