Pumpkin's Video Game Diary!

[Pumpkin]

Virtua Fighter 4 (PlayStation 2)
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This is the first Virtua Fighter game I've played and as such I can't comment on change or new characters or things of that sort.

Virtua Fighter 4 is a 3D fighting game. I can't comment on the story because if there is one, they didn't tell me. This is a fighting game that very much focuses on the fighting aspect, it has no story mode, no story seems to be being told (other than that of people fighting each other in a tournament environment) and the characters are not shown to have specific endings or anything of the sort.

This game has a few different modes to it. The first is Arcade mode, where you select a character and battle through 13 rounds and one bonus round. You will always fight the same characters in the same order. You can go to Options to change the difficulty level, the time limit, and how many rounds must be fought to advance to the next round. VS allows you to play versus other players. In training, you can practice your moves, or select a mode where the game will give you a rundown on your characters and their moves.

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Kumite allows you to play against characters seemingly designed to simulate online mode. The characters will be given special screennames and have a win/lose record. This mode cannot have the difficulty changed and you'll need to fight 3 rounds per battle. You can also use your A.I. in this mode, but more on that in a second. Replay allows you to replay matches if you have replay data, and Data Files allows you to create an AI.

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For the A.I., you pick a certain fighter and use a screenname of sorts for when fighting. It can be any of the available fighters. You can also change and customize their looks from here. Once created, you can select the A.I. System mode and train your fighter. How this works is that the computer will record your fighting style. Moves will be registered, as will how you react to different sorts of attacks. The more you teach it, the more it knows. From there you can enter Kumite and select your A.I. to fight, and it will gain a win/lose record and fight in the way you taught it to.

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This game is designed to simulate more realistic fighting styles, so characters might take longer to get back up than in other games, and you won't get any attacks like laser eyes or fireballs. There's also not a huge selection of fighters but there is a good variety of fighting styles for different players:

Characters:
Since I know nothing about them, I'll give a bit of general info that the game provided me with.
Ordered from favourite to use to least favourite to use:
MhJC2j8.jpgPai: She is from Hong-Kong and uses Ensei-Ken fighting style
2Q3oR0R.jpgLei-Fei: He is from China and uses Shaolin Kung Fu
AsttC6m.jpgJacky: He is from U.S.A. and uses Jeet Kune Do
HcwIGAL.jpgKage: He is from Japan and uses Hagakure-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu
8mTn302.jpgSarah: She is from U.S.A. and uses mixed martial arts/Jeet Kun Do
azRPomJ.jpgLion: He is from France and uses the Northern Praying Mantis style
EKkejJl.jpgAoi: She is from Japan and uses Aiki-Jujutsu
h991ayh.jpgLau: He is from China and uses Koen-Ken style
3OrAOvn.jpgShun: He is from China and uses Drunken Kung Fu style
rmuYFKZ.jpgJeffrey: He is from Autralia and uses Pancratium
IasH33h.jpgAkira: He is from Japan and uses Hakkyoku-ken
kDSzUsN.jpgVanessa: Her origins are unknown and she uses Muay-Thai
KITGA2G.jpgWolf: He is from Canada and uses Pro Wrestinling style

Overall it was fun to try but far from mt favourite fighting series. It felt kind of bland and wasn't the most exciting. With that being said, the A.I. system is a fun and interesting idea and I would play again to try that. I also wouldn't be opposed to trying more games in the series. But as it stands, while it wasn't bad, it wasn't exciting either.

Verdict:
MEH

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