How Virtua Fighter Looks to Bring Innovation and Realism to the 3D Fighting Genre | Evo 2025

While it wasn't acceptable for a gameplay demo astatine Evo, the caller Virtua Fighter task was inactive 1 of the astir breathtaking games of the show, acknowledgment to a marque caller trailer released during Finals time that gave america our champion look yet astatine what Sega and RGG person cooking for this revival of a bid that has been dormant for much than 2 decades astatine this point.

At the show, I got a accidental to beryllium down with Riichiro Yamada, shaper connected the New Virtua Fighter project, to excavation into immoderate of his erstwhile statements astir the game, inquire astir however helium plans to modernize the bid to vie with different more, existent 3D fighters, and more.

[Editor's Note: This interrogation has been lightly edited for grammar and clarity]

The conception gameplay that we've seen for the caller Virtua Fighter task has been precise fluid with guards going for each idiosyncratic attack, the arms moving to artifact each idiosyncratic attack. How adjacent to this bash you expect the last crippled to look?

Riichiro Yamada, Producer connected New Virtua Fighter Project: In presumption of however it looks, yes, [the conflict strategy is] 70% there, and time determination volition beryllium an announcement made astatine EVO [Editor’s Note: This interrogation was recorded the time earlier the trailer release]. So I truly consciousness that I’ll beryllium capable to showcase what the existent concern is. And from a imaginativeness perspective, I truly person a precise beardown imaginativeness and truly consciousness that we are getting precise adjacent to that vision.

So warring games are successful a precise antithetic spot than they were erstwhile Virtua Fighter V was released. What are immoderate of the ways that you're ensuring that the caller Virtua Fighter task volition modernize the series?

Yamada: Virtua Fighter primitively was a precise elemental game. It lone has 3 buttons and everyone could fundamentally interaction and play it, but arsenic the bid went on, it became precise complicated. And successful presumption of that and successful presumption of the progression, I consciousness that Virtua Fighter 5 is the implicit version. In presumption of a caller Virtua Fighter, we request to support progressing adjacent more, not conscionable successful the gameplay but relation arsenic well.

I truly consciousness that I request to look towards however bash we advancement this game, however bash we amended this game, successful presumption of functionability, gameplay and however bash we marque it much modernized? Otherwise, I truly consciousness similar it won't sell. So those are the places that I’m truly looking into. Not lone gameplay, but functionality arsenic well. We request to modernize those parts.

In a erstwhile video, you said that the 2 words that travel to caput erstwhile asked what is Virtua Fighter were innovation and reality. Can you explicate a small spot much astir what that means and however those words person guided you done accumulation connected this caller game?

Yamada: So successful presumption of innovation, I truly won't beryllium capable to specify successful details, but it utilized to beryllium graphics astatine the precise beginning, and past machine graphics similar CG has been improving. But with CG, it's truly up determination close now. It's truly hard to amended the existent CG.

CG is already innovated, it's truly up there. So successful presumption of innovation, I truly consciousness that bringing up much ideas is precise important erstwhile it comes to that term. And past arsenic for reality, I consciousness similar world is simply a precise hard word, but Virtua Fighter, it's not a precise UFC-like battle. It's much of similar a kung-fu movie battle. It's much of that type.

And erstwhile I played Virtua Fighter astatine the precise beginning, I felt similar the world of being hit, erstwhile you're being deed by an opponent, you felt that wounded successful your arms oregon your legs, your body. So that sensation, I truly felt that. So with the caller project, not conscionable the battles but reality, I truly privation that world to beryllium felt wrong the players, not lone the battles but the different places arsenic well, which I consciousness is precise important.

So with this caller Virtua Fighter project, bash you envision this arsenic a caller opening for the franchise? Not conscionable for the franchise but for the characters? Like Akira evidently looks a batch antithetic than what we're utilized to. He is not successful his accepted gi, his hairsbreadth is not styled up, he's wearing a hat. Are these the aforesaid characters from the erstwhile games oregon is this benignant of conscionable a caller reboot of Virtua Fighter?

Yamada: So successful presumption of characters, I truly consciousness that caller characters are necessary, and arsenic you said, Akira looks different. So successful this one, Akira is simply a small spot older than the erstwhile series. So successful presumption of that, I consciousness that a caller procreation of characters is needed and [I’m not] saying that the quality designs successful the erstwhile VF is not precise good. That's not true.

I don't privation to accidental that the VF characters previously, that the quality designs were a small spot weak. I’m not trying to accidental that. I consciousness that they were stylish, but we bash request to germinate these characters, we request to marque the quality designs look better, to look cool.

Not saying that they were atrocious before, but I conscionable request to marque them cooler. So that's wherefore erstwhile I deliberation astir caller characters, I said world is 1 of the statements that I’m truly focusing on. That too, erstwhile I make caller quality designs, I person to bring this world to it and to marque it a much good-looking character. So yes, utilizing the aforesaid characters, but evolving it from the past, putting much elements to it, putting much plan characters to it, making it much existent is my stance.

Speaking of characters, successful a erstwhile Virtua Fighter direct, you revealed Stella, a quality that bears a striking resemblance to Sarah Bryant. Is determination thing you tin archer america astir this character? And connected the surface the substance says that she's the span betwixt worlds. Can you elaborate a small spot astir what that means?

Yamada: Unfortunately, I won't beryllium capable to reply your question connected that, sorry. But delight beryllium excited. Please look guardant to that.

You touched upon this earlier, Virtua Fighter traditionally is simply a three-button crippled — punch, footwear and defender — but it derives a batch of extent from that precise elemental power scheme. Do you consciousness similar the three-button power benignant for Virtua Fighter is halfway to the series, oregon is that an country wherever you spot an accidental to germinate the franchise by either adding different fastener oregon conscionable changing the mode the emblematic Virtua Fighter halfway gameplay works?

Yamada: So primitively erstwhile Yu Suzuki created the Virtua fighter, helium did a batch of testing. He really tested with much than 3 buttons, similar a batch of buttons. But they came to the 3 fastener conclusion. At the clip it was much of a Game Center (Arcade) focused game, truthful that was the champion astatine the time.

And the conception was that they wanted to make a crippled that was not excessively analyzable and that anyone could enjoy. And truthful from that concept, I consciousness like, yes, I request to respect that concept. I privation to make a crippled wherever anyone tin play.

But currently, oregon moving forward, it's not conscionable a Game Center game, it's much of a household game. So erstwhile you deliberation astir however radical could bask playing this crippled successful their surviving country oregon successful their house, that's erstwhile it benignant of changes a little. So yes, the conception does enactment the same, But… I’m not truly focused on, oh, we request to support it to 3 buttons. The much important happening is I privation to make a crippled wherever anyone tin play successful their household erstwhile it comes to the caller style.

For each the years that Virtua Fighter has been around, Akira has been the look of the franchise and he's besides the quality that you revealed the caller Virtua Fighter task with, but we don't truly get to spot his look each that much. Do you consciousness similar Akira is inactive the benignant of look of this bid oregon is it a caller generation? Is determination going to beryllium a caller idiosyncratic that's going to instrumentality that mantle of being the look of the franchise?

Yamada: So erstwhile it comes to the protagonist, I truly consciousness that users volition inactive bargain a crippled due to the fact that of the protagonist. For example, for Street Fighter, it's Luke, there's astir apt a crushed wherefore it's inactive Luke. For Ryu-Ga-Gotoku (The Yakuza series), it utilized to beryllium Kiryu, but it's changing. They did bring a caller protagonist, Kasuga. Originally, RGG fans emotion Kiryu.

So I deliberation determination were challenges successful bringing a caller protagonist, a caller character, Kasuga, into the series. Ideally, I would similar to bring retired much characters, but it feels similar users truly similar Akira. History has proven oregon is proving that determination is simply a batch of emotion for Akira.

Yes, I would similar to bring retired caller characters, but I truly consciousness that the protagonist, due to the fact that Akira has been a beardown face, the users volition inactive look guardant to oregon spot oregon would similar to bargain the crippled due to the fact that it's Akira. So I consciousness that changing characters oregon bringing caller characters is not a precise casual happening to do.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial shaper astatine IGN. You tin find him connected twitter @JurassicRabbit