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.

And here we start to step away from the purity of form that defined the first two Virtua Fighters. The arenas here are starting to become more varied, with minor things like steps, obstacles, and size making where you're fighting all the more important. I think this makes the moment-to-moment decisions more impactful, but it takes away from the heart to what draws me to the series in the first place. I don't necessarily dislike it, though, I just think it made the arcade ladder far less memorable, since it's now easier to cheese certain fights. Doesn't help that the arcade ladder is now mostly randomized, rather than being a predesigned series of fights. Characters no longer appear to serve specific roles in the singleplayer experience, outside Akira and Dural. I believe the rest of the series will follow this standard, so... too bad. Still a rock solid core, just a diluted experience compared to 1 and 2.

I don't really have enough experience with Aoi to comment on her. Taka-Arashi is super memorable for me for reasons completely unrelated to VF3, but I have some fondness for him - sumo is always a fun fighting style to see, and it certainly makes him different than other "big guys" Jeffry and Wolf.

This is a slightly more divisive title than the rest. Me though... I dig it.

Stages are uneven as hell which is definitely new (and rare) for a traditional 3d fighter. Only other example I can think of is Tekken 4. Stages themselves look cool. Not only did the stages get an overhaul but the movement in gameplay as well did. The Evade button!

This was an interesting addition at this point. The 3d in this 3d fighter isn't just for show anymore. But the addition of an extra main button that isn't an advanced input might prove to be a bit more convoluted than complex which I understand. But I do like moving around in this game.

But man, it can be unfair with a good Kage, a character with more mobility options than any other character since the beginning. But this time he has even more movement options now!

One step down I feel is the presentation. Music isn't as cool as 2. While graphically impressive for the time, I feel this VF has aged the worst. 2 has a great style and 1's graphics are outright iconic. Everyone just seems bugged eyed and then you have Aoi who I think looks terrible lol.

Not a bad sequel. I'll even say its just good. Depends on your tolerance on the E button and the uneven stages.

Gameplay - ★★★
Roster - ★★
Graphics - ★★★★
Sound - ★★★

So, Virtua Fighter 3 was an absolute nightmare to get my hands on, considering MAME doesn't work for it, and instead I had to get a Sega Model 3 emulator, which in case you haven't heard of that, I wouldn't blame you as to be honest, I hadn't heard of it either up until I went to emulate the game.

Aside from that, when it was running, my lord was it a treat. Lets start with the gameplay. So problems aside from it being a little bit clunky with the dodge buttons, the layout was clean and generally had no problems whatsoever in terms of actually playing the game, and actually found myself wanting to learn how to play it more as I went along, something which isn't really something I tend to do. There are no command lists, as this is an arcade release, but the fact that it makes you want to put more money in to complete a full run is something else, and isn't too difficult either, which is both a blessing and a curse, as although it is relatively easy to complete, it would be nicer if the AI had half a brain, though at this point, I'm not sure whether that's just me adjusting to the jank that is old fighting games.

The stages are my favourite part of the game by far. They're unique, with different levels of height, with my personal favourite being the desert stage purely because of how aesthetically amazing it actually looks. the ring out is also super satisfying with characters essentially ragdolling off the side. General graphics look great for the time as well, with 3D models that although primitive definitely have some charm to them.

There isn't a whole lot bad to say about this game to be completely honest. I think that there is definitely room for improvement, but even the sound is great. Not overly-amazing, and not quite as iconic as say Street Fighter or Tekken, but strong nonetheless - hell even the new stage sound sticks out in my mind during transitions.

Aside from that, unfortunately the game is marked down for the hitboxes/Iframes being inconsistent at best, as well as a lack of variety in the move department. There isn't a whole lot of commands per character, each character plays somewhat the same and each arcade run can be complete relatively easy. I think that with some time it would be easier to work out what character is good at what, and there is clearly some balance issues I can see within the small roster of 16, with some characters having access to much quicker moves off the mark, and some moves just outright having terrible hitboxes. The game is fun at face value, but with enough time, you could definitely find a way to abuse the systems in place, and there aren't many to be honest.

I think that's another issue I had with the game, and that's how bland everything actually is. There isn't a whole lot of variety to be had in the game, and that's through no fault of the game itself as I truly do believe that the game pushed itself to a technical limit with the stage height mechanic and sound design. Almost as if the height itself acts as a fighting game mechanic not too dissimilar to Tekken 4.

I could go back to this game and enjoy a run of it any time, but wouldn't spend longer than half an hour doing so.