playing on easy is pretty much mandatory for your first time ngl jesus christ the difficulty spike is real. This game is a technically impressive game for the system though, as it runs at 60 FPS in the high resolution mode of the sega saturn which is very cool. As for the game itself, it do be more virtua fighter. We got textures this time around rather than flat shaded polygons of the first game and a few new characters. The gameplay is still pretty floaty but it's not nearly as crazy as the first game. I'm not the biggest VF guy so it's just kinda eh

Take any of my ratings of non-Smash fighting games with a grain of salt, as they're usually based off a single run or two through the arcade ladder and general surface impressions.

Having said that, if there was any one traditional fighting game I'd want to master, it'd be either Darkstalkers 3 or this. There's a lot to Virtua Fighter's purity of form that I respect; flashy personalities are cool and all, but I like the commitment to characters existing solely to represent those real-world fighting styles. VF2 is the purest expression of that game design, since VF1 is still figuring it out and comparatively floaty while VF3's smaller and more dynamic battlefields distract from that purity of form. This isn't to say that the game is devoid of personality, either; the characters, while light, convey a lot by their simple broad strokes. Lau Chan is politely teasing out your ability. Pai Chan is trying to prove herself. Lion Rafale is an insufferable little brat who's so obnoxious you HAVE to get good enough to beat him. Jeffry McWild is an immovable wall. Akira Yuki is your final test. Dural is your REAL final test.

Also important to what makes the game work is how quickly play turns over. Matches - not just rounds - can easily be resolved in under 30 seconds. From a singleplayer perspective, that makes it really easy to try, try again if you want to get good at the video game (hopefully you have access to free play or a TON of credits). I haven't had the opportunity to play this multiplayer, but I imagine the quick turnover did a lot to keep the arcade scene dynamic as well. Lots of opportunity to determine whether a character is right for you, then move on over to the next one when you're ready. I dunno, there's a lot of simple design philosophy at play here that makes me endlessly respect what VF2 has to offer.

But, like, SEGA, for goodness' sakes, port the Arcade or Saturn version more. You're not doing yourself any favors constantly porting the Genesis version. I guess it's impressive that a last-gen console was able to run it, but doing so required converting it into 2D, when the entire soul and essence of what Virtua Fighter is lies in that dearly departed Z-axis.

I used to have this on the Saturn and thought it was fine (I sold it during hard times knowing how much money you get on eBay for any old shite game if it's older than my kids), I had good memories of blasting through it.

It's on sale on Xbox right now for the nice price of £1.69, so I thought I'd have a blast at it.

It was crap.

Slow character movement, ridiculously powerful CPU opponents and a really iffy ring out system. And jumping sends you into fucking orbit, with only the ability to use one kick or punch whilst up there. I understand why this was Street Fighter and Tekken competition back in the day, as 3D was the next big thing, but this does not compare to either.

I did not have fun playing this at all, even when winning, because you have to fucking spam it to get anywhere and that does not make an enjoyable fighting game.

I gave it an extra star for the aesthetic and music however. It's very much of its time, and most games of that time have a good vibe.

Thus ends my critique of a 28 year old videogame, and my worst buyer's remorse for the smallest amount of money.