![]() ![]() That’s the first thing that probably had die-hard fans backing away with distaste. Few, if any brawlers have ever been as deep as the Virtua Fighter series, and it takes more than a button-mashing monkey to really get anywhere in them. Hey, if it looked this good and had half the buttons of Street Fighter, it had to be simple, right? Several minutes and one mean Akira beat-down later, it became painfully apparent that looks were indeed deceiving. A fighter of this quality and depth was hard to come by on a home console, and its basic, three-button scheme lulled gamers into a false sense of security. The game was tearing up the arcades at the time, and Sega made a superhuman effort to bring as much of the original’s seamless animation and detailed graphics home to their brand-spanking new Saturn, which was thirsting for quality software. Sega biggest achievement here was that they showed us how late ports of games much too powerful for the hardware are all too quickly forgotten.īut it’s so easy to be swayed by Virtua Fighter 2! The brand is pretty popular in America, though nowhere near as much as in its native Japan, and it probably peaked more than a few people’s curiosity to see that box in the Genesis section at their local retailer. That last little detail right there, no matter how much justification was given, was the chink in an otherwise fun game’s armor, the red stain on an otherwise impeccable white shirt. Did it look like Virtua Fighter 2? Sort of. ![]() One need not give it more than a passing glance to see just how much had to be compromised in order to squeeze Yu Suzuki’s magnum opus onto the aging 16-bit hardware. After all, anyone who would settle for this version over the incredible Saturn port deserves my sympathy. I can understand that…well, I can at least sympathize with it. ![]() I can only think that the motive behind releasing Virtua Fighter 2 on the Genesis was fan service, perhaps a way for those who had yet to upgrade to the next generation of hardware to feel like they hadn’t been left behind. With seven distinct versions, it also has the largest number of licensed versions of any console.Genre: Fighting Developer: Gaibrain Publisher: Sega of America Players: 1-2 Released: 1996 The Genesis also supported a number of add-on components (32X, CD, Power Base Converter), making it one of the most flexible systems ever developed. The Genesis could do things that the NES simply couldn't. ![]() Sega also focused attention on its better graphics, speed, and sound, especially after the release of Sonic. Sega marketed the Genesis as hip, cool, and edgy. These efforts were often successful, Nintendo Exclusivity Clause not-withstanding. In addition to porting over popular coin-op games, Sega executives worked hard to lure developers away from Nintendo. The Genesis was developed with the American market and consumer in mind. They are even available for download on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. Genesis games are re-released even today as part of collector's editions for the PS2, PSP, and other systems. Games continued to be released internationally as recently as 2002. It was the first successful 16-bit system, with a 14-year lifespan second only to the Nintendo Game Boy. It also inaugurated the Console Wars of the 1990s. Released in 1989, the Sega Genesis heralded the coming of the 16-bit era. ![]()
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