Virtua Fighter's concept demonstration intrigued fans. Yakuza devs prepare more realistic fighting game than Tekken
Ryu Ga Gotoku studio has shown new footage that gives us an idea of what the return of the Virtua Fighter series should look like.
The developers of Yakuza presented "pre-production" footage from the latest installment of the Virtua Fighter series.
After the announcement at The Game Awards 2024, Ryu Ga Gotoku studio released additional material from the game, which is intended to revive the iconic fighting game series. The Japanese developer highlighted that this isn't a gameplay showcase, but a video intended to present the "concept" of the new Virtua Fighter in action. It's enough to say that the game doesn't even have a title yet and is referred to by the developers as the "New Virtua Fighter Project."
This doesn't mean that it is just a slideshow and concept art. On the contrary, the Ryu Ga Gotoku team presented a clip of a fight between two versions of the series mascot, Akira Yuki, using the game engine.
You can watch the material from the CES 2025 trade fair below.
We underline once again: this is not gameplay. During The Game Awards 2024 stream, we saw a brief gameplay snippet, so it's worth comparing it to the new material to see how close this "concept" is to the current pre-alpha version of the game.
Nonetheless, even such short and pre-prepared material sparked enthusiasm among fans of the series and fighting games in general. In recent years, the genre may not be experiencing a renaissance, but it is certainly enjoying a very good period—with the successes of Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat 1 (although not without issues), not to mention the phenomenal sales of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
However, scattered complaints could be found about the "flashiness" of modern fighting games - both in their visuals and attack concepts. The new VF seems to be more grounded in reality, and apart from occasional dramatic shots, there are no exaggerated visual effects in the style - according to some players - of overly colorful and obstructive "sparks" straight from Tekken 8.
Of course, let's stress once more, this isn't gameplay per se and the idea of the new Virtua Fighter could still undergo significant changes. At the moment, we are unaware of the title, release date, or the platforms this game is targeting.
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