Virtua Fighter is the OG. Sega’s pioneering 3D fighter wowed us in the arcades in 1993 with it’s new fangled polygon based graphics and almost “sim-like” fighting mechanics which was a stark contrast to the 2D sprite based “magic” fighters like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat that we had been playing up until that point.
Over time, the Virtua Fighter series waned in relevance as other series like Tekken rose to prominence, but despite that, developers AM2 never really wavered in Yu Suzuki’s original pursuit of almost real life fighting gameplay which resulted in incredible sequels that sadly didn’t receive the reception from the wider gaming community the original did at the time. This ultimately pigeonholed the series to the realm of the ultra hardcore niche segment of the fighting game community. The period from 93 to 2006 saw five Virtua Fighter games in arcades and across many console generations. 2006’s Virtua Fighter 5 hasn’t seen a sequel but has seen many iterations.
Virtua Fighter 5 is the Street Fighter II of the Virtua Fighter series. What do I mean by that exactly? Well, it’s the game in the series that has the most “editions” spead across multiple years and platforms. Any Street Fighter fan will remember the hilarity of the sheer volume of versions Street Fighter II ended up with. There was around six in total, not inluding Collections and much later ports and remakes. Virtua Fighter 5 also has six versions. The original arcade game which also released on Xbox 360 and PS3, the arcade only Virtua Fighter 5 R, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown for arcades and both 360 and PS3 again, Ultimate Showdown which was a PS4 exclusive, R.E.V.O which was effectively the Steam exclusive Ultimate Showdown rebadge and now R.E.V.O World Stage which has arrived on all modern platforms. Is this the definitive version of Virtua Fighter 5?
We’ve been here before
The short answer is yes. People this is Virtua Fighter. Warts and all, for better or worse till death do us Sega fanboys part. Very few people outside the most dedicated students of the series would be able to tell R.E.V.O World Stage apart from the original Virtua Fighter 5 on Xbox 360.
In fact, I think you’d be hard pressed to even tell Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution apart from Virtua Fighter 5. While the series has consistently boasted industry leading visual prowess in it’s earliest versions using Sega’s cutting edge Model Series arcade boards (and later NAOMI for Virtua Fighter 4), Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage uses Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Dragon engine, the same one used for it’s popular Yakuza and Like A Dragon series. It’s still a visually impressive game and stays faithful to characters throughout the entire series, it’s a true evolution from that perspective.
Much like the visuals, the fighting mechanics are also a finely tuned evolution the series has been known for for three decades. Even now, in 2025 I still use Jacky as my main and the bulk of my strategy and moveset traces back to the original game and they still often work! R.E.V.O World stage has brought back some combos and moves for specific characters that were in the earliest versions of Virtua Fighter 5, but strangely absent in more recent iterations and like all fighters has implemented balance changes brought about by player feedback.
You still have the very streamlined standard three button combo of Punch, Kick and Guard. That’s it. Which is actually incredible to think about when you consider that almost every other fighting game series on the planet has either changed, shifted or provided alternative “modern” control methods for their games over the years. Virtua Fighter 5’s control scheme is the exact same one the original game used and has been used in all sequels since. It’s a true testament to the original team’s vision for the game’s fighting model standing the test of time.
Fans of the series will immediately feel right at home and I would wager new players stumbling into this “unknown” series will probably find the control scheme limiting because the depth of the combat is in using multiple button combinations and directional inputs that don’t involve quarter and half circles like Street Fighter. Having said that, I’ve always felt Virtua Fighter is a very button mash friendly game so it’s often surprised me it wasn’t more popular as a result.
You want competition? Then let us compete!
As I mentioned earlier, AM2 (and now co-developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) to this day has not wavered in what it delivers in Virtua Fighter games. A simple, pure and competitive fighting experience with a package to match. Where every other major fighting game series has chased after story modes and other gimmicks to try and increase their audience, Virtua Fighter has stayed in it’s lane and decided to lean even harder.
R.E.V.O World Stage has a pretty heavy focus on competition. Every mode the game has is about competing. You have the Arcade mode ripped right out of 1993, pick your fighter and make your way through seven stages and potentially take on the iconic Dural (who allegedly wasn’t inspired by the liquid metal Terminator in Terminator 2) boss character who also happens to now be a playable character in the game for the first time in a while (via DLC).
You then have various standard online modes like Ranked Matches, Room Matches (create your own lobby) and Tournaments which now thankfully use rollback netcode. While I didn’t manage to have any matches online during the short review window, I was in the closed beta and managed some games there and even in saidd beta it performed really well. A stark improvement from playing Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown on Xbox 360 online. Luckily while you wait for online matches, the game allows you to beat the pulp out of any character you set up and get a warm up in before your match starts.
The Training mode has been beefed up from previous iterations and you have your standard local vs matches for those that still partake in more old school affair.
Something generally not spoken about as much is the Reply Mode which has seen some significant improvements and has been implemented in a way that further emphasises the competitive aspects of the game. Not only can you save replays in basically every mode, a planned future update will allow you to save other players replays. The Main Menu even has a Preview Screen that plays random replays from other players which is a strangely neat feature. Almost giving off a vibe like you’re walking into a Tournament space while the action is happening around you. Or at least as close as you can get to that feeling on a main menu screen while sitting at home.
Take the World Stage
As the title indicates, the “major” update to Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage comes in the new…World Stage mode. What is it?
For existing fans, you’ll quickly come to realise that World Stage – at it’s core, is just the return and rebranding of the Quest mode from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 port of the original Virtua Fighter 5 (although it technically began in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution). For those unfamiliar with Quest mode, I’ll try to explain using the World Stage moniker so bear with me.
World Stage attempts to I guess – simulate, you the player travelling the world taking on players and challenges in order to climb the ranks in what is essentially a global tournament. The CPU opponents are realised from real world player data (think Forza Drivatars…kinda) and beating them will both increase your rank, progress you towards potential boss battles and unlock customisation items for your character for use in the game. It’s no story mode but it’s still a meaty and worthwhile single player addition (or return really) to a package that will be seen as lacking for most players.
Still my king
Make no mistake, this is a game aimed at the Virtua Fighter fanatics (like me). I don’t see Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage attracting new players anytime soon and I don’t get the impression that’s what Sega was trying to do here.
This felt like them wanting to put out the most complete version of Virtua Fighter 5 to get the name back out there to help get the hype cycle going for the new Virtua Fighter Project. But at around $30AU it’s priced very appropriately for almost anyone who has an interest in fighting games to give it a shot and experience what is – in my humble opinion, still the purest 3D fighter on the market and the closest we will ever probably get to a “fighting sim” for mainstream audiences.
Virtua Fighter fans like myself can treat themselves to the 30th Anniversary Edition (still a very reasonable priced $69.95AU) which includes a bunch of neat DLC that’s been available for Ultimate Showdown and R.E.V.O already, like Sega hardware customisation items (think old consoles) and skins that range from Yakuza costumes to making all the characters look like they came straight out of the original flat polygon Virtua Fighter!
For those wanting a more modern fighting game with a focus on story based single player content, you’ll need to look elsewhere. For fighting game fans who want the simpler more quaint arcade and competitive experience then look no further, Virtua Fighter is back!
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O World Stage
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Definitive Virtua Fighter 5 Version
- Classic Virtua Fighter fighting mechanics
- Rollback Netcode
- Great price point
- Return of Quest mode as World Stage
CONS
- Will seem like bare bones single player content for many
- Forgettable soundtrack
