Like the Street Fighter franchise, the Virtua Fighter series was as revolutionary as a fighting game could be at the time of its release. The first true 3D polygonal fighting game, Virtua Fighter brought to the table life-like animations and a fighting system that favored realism over fireballs and dragon punches. But as ingenious as the game was, the original had its share of problems and shortcomings, namely slow gameplay, flat-shaded graphics, and a limited moves list. With Virtua Fighter 2, the series hit full stride with improved animations, a significant increase in the moves arsenal, fully texture-mapped graphics and a much speedier pace. While other 3D fighters may have implemented differing fighting systems, the influence and impact that Virtua Fighter 2 made is undeniable. The rest, as they say, is history.
