Editorial

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown was originally released in Japanese Arcades in 2010, then later ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, two years later, in 2012. Over this nine year period, there has been some movement in the Tier Lists according to Japanese standards, and more recently, there has been some renewed discussion on Twitter on what the list currently looks like. Notably, Homestay Akira has contributed his latest version, so this is probably a good time to review the evolution of the Tier Lists to date, and take a deep dive into what determines a character's ranking in a game like Virtua Fighter, and why, ultimately, it doesn't really matter.

Did you know there have been references to Virtua Fighter in the X-Files TV Series? How about the Anime series Ben-To? Or the pop song "Ready to Go!" by Republica?

Pin-san and his fellow writers at Yuzumo Design have done several phenomenal self-published game history books about important titles like Space Harrier, Darius, Phantasy Star, and Wizardry. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Virtua Fighter, he's assembled a truly amazing book packed with interviews with key figures in the history of the VF community (including one with our own Myke!), features on aspects of VF's history, original artwork and manga, and stories about personal experiences with VF.

Virtua Fighter made it to the stage and stream of Evo 2018, and it was a community driven effort. With an outstanding turnout, great matches on display and a great collaboration the event is something to be proud of for all involved and proof that the Virtua Fighter community can make great things happen. Read on for full results, wrap-up and more!

If you're a pro-wrestling fan, then you already know who Asuka is. If not, I'll help you get you up to speed.

If yesterday (13 Nov) was Good Knee Day, then today (14 Nov) is Good Elbow Day! Confused? Join the club!

Every now and then the topic of the Low Punch makes the rounds, and when it does it seems to polarise the community. This debate recently surfaced again on the VFDC Shoutbox, where criticisms of the 2P varied from the functional (nerf 2P or should players just get better?) to the aesthetic (does punching someone in the shin look ridiculous?) From a simplistic RPS analogy, the Low Punch is the "paper" that beats the Standing Punch "rock" which makes it universally important to the core of Virtua Fighter and has been subject to a number of refinements over the entire series. Let's revisit this age-old philosophical debate and let us know where you stand -- or sit (hah!) -- on low punching!

You may remember recently that Sega published a short, but great piece on the history of Virtua Fighter, and it's massive boom in popularity in Japan. Obviously, there's a bigger story to tell with Virtua Fighter's illustrious history, and part 2 of this piece has just been published.

As part of an ongoing series of articles on Sega's rich arcade history, the official Sega Interactive website has published an article detailing Virtua Fighter's massive impact on the arcade market in the 1990s.

BURNING HAMMER! What has become Wolf's most iconic throw, and the most damaging move in the game of Virtua Fighter, is the Burning Hammer. While many people know this is based on a real professional wrestling move, there are probably a lot more signature moves in the series than you'd think!