This brings me so much hope for the future of Virtua Fighter as a whole. Some of us were worried about VF shifting towards games like Tekken and Street Fighter. However, this shows that Aoki is purely interested in VF being VF and not a carbon copy of other games. Thank you for this information @akai!

This is it. I hope that when we get a VF6 this man wasn't lying when he said this. Most of this article means a whole lot of nothing, but I think that this and the statement on rollback are definitely the focus of the article.

I've never even heard of this outlet, how did they get an exclusive interview with Aoki?

OMG yes ! Just do it Aoki, that man can be a legend !

VF6 just needs to be a mix between nostalgia and modern, just like all the big SEGA franchises.

All solutions/resources needed in a new VF game are already in VF2, VF3, VF4FT, VF5FS...

Just make it fresh just like VF5US (but even better of course), because the art style of the stages and menus were amazing !

Let's go VF, take back your throne and be the best 3D fighting game again !

I wonder what kind of gameplay additions they could make while keeping the system streamlined.

Maybe super basic cinematic finishers or something like that? But without too much nuance.

2 quotes I also like

"Seiji: I’m not that great at Virtua Fighter, so if I participated in a tournament, I’d probably be eliminated fairly quick (laughs). But I think there are a lot of casual players, so it’d probably be good to prepare a system or environment where they can play the game without having to worry about skill"

and

Seiji: One defining aspects of Virtua Fighter is letting players directly move their characters in deft ways via simple controls. I’ve heard that the original Virtua Fighter was developed as a simulation game, so there was an emphasis placed on simple controls and realistic movements. I would like to preserve this design philosophy in the future.

It seems like he is at least thinking about us casual players and he is acknowledging the fact that VF was originally developed as a simulation

Every one of us is blowing up over this news. Coupled with the fact that EVO begins tomorrow and that there is absolutely gonna be a VF6, the future is looking all the way bright for us VF fans!

I'm playing a lot of street fighter 6 these days and the new systems certainly are interesting, but it feels like they're starting to get into guilty gear territory and I really miss the (relative) simplicity that the older games had. Here's to a solid VF6 without EX-canceling or anything of that sort. Also, rollback let's go!!!

Edit: I also really like how he's just openly discussing future VF games at this point, the series has a bright future after-all

Rollback is fine
But the important part is this:

"I feel like fighting games are becoming too complicated these days. I have some doubts about this trend of creating an over-complicated system and then trying to patch that up later with ease-of-entry mechanics."


Also he finally acknowledge casual gamers, but they can't just be spectators like in the soccer example.
Casual gamers want single player content, A LOT of content, it means that at very minimun you must release a game with story mode, quest mode and a very in-depth training mode like VF4 Evo.

Not liking the fact he is hinting to western fighting / western characters...

Also the return of uneven stages like VF3 would be amazing, but I guess the esport requirements will continue to bother us and leave all the fun behind.

Virtua Fighter's game design as it is now is quite possibly the pinnacle of fighting games. It has an incredibly diverse roster of characters, one of the lowest skill floors of any fighting game, and one of the highest skill ceilings of any fighting game. The game is, quite literally, the game by which all fighting games should be measured.

Indeed, everything that is said (assuming the translation is correct) is very encouraging. (I am also happy, among other things, to know that the voice acting will be entirely redone next time.)

The release and recent success of SF6 is a blessing for a future high-quality and complete Virtua Fighter. I hope that whatever the single-player mode may be, it will give a significant place to the lore of the next game and make the characters more endearing and memorable, leaving a legacy in the players' memories for future installments (vf7 xD !); it's crucial !

Regarding gameplay, I also think it would be great to revisit all the refined mechanics from the previous VF games. I, too, would love to see the return of uneven stages ; I don't see any problem with the design balance (like walls and ring outs after all). In VF3, it was a rough draft, and now it's the perfect time to refine the formula. (They don't have to put uneven grounds in all stages and they can place cleverly their locations).

I remember when we were all rightfully worried about VF's future with the hit sparks from the Tekken 7 Collaboration Pack and how Aoki was discussing making future collaborations with Tekken. Thankfully though, none of this is influencing the mainline VF series, and instead it's more of a spinoff idea. Thank god we know the future is bright for VF!

Very good idea.
Finishing wal throws or some finishing move could lead to a slow motion cineamtic.

It would be super cool to add some sweat and saliva effects (like in Final showdown saliva drops ) and add little blood drops on counters.
Not as gore as Yakuza , but more realistic like in real a box fight.

Real time damage and bruises ( lot of people think it was dumb idea or impossible to do)but even Street Fighter 6 did it and did it first..!

Facial deformations during punches (finishing moves/throws cineamtics at the end of a round ) could make the game even more "flashy" (without outdated PS1 flashes)
Yakuza team is used to make this these type of finishing moves.

But they have to make them look like VF. Like a kung Fu movie! not like yakuza not like street fighter not like Tekken
No Blue heat mode aura bull shit .
VF has to be ahead of its time , not to look like all other games with outdated effects .
Japanese games all look the same with these Red/blue purple hit sparks and galaxy explosions

Vf was unique and clean!
Please me AOKI Seiji , respect VF's DNA.
There are so many ways to indicate counters than ape other game hit effects .
Be creative.
VF deserves better than that .

And put the money on the game.
This is an investment on the future.
VF has to be the best looking 3D game like it was before.
It's SEGA's Legacy. SEGA's HISTORY.

Thankfully, this interview proves that Aoki is not messing with what we always loved about VF. One of his primary goals is to remain true to the spirit of VF. So I guarantee that most of your wishes will come true if VF adds any of this stuff.

I also love the uneven stages.
But I wonder if it won't break the balance and the competitive aspect.

But they could put them in special stages.
Or funny trials like in VF5fs licence challenge mode ("win with half of the gravity etc..)
I think mini games and special stages would be cool.

Like Guilty Gear XRD mini games/tutorials.
Uneven stages could be not allowed (like Dural ) and alloowed only if both opponents agree for funny sessions.
Just an idea ^^.

Amen Bro

For the next VF, I would like to see them go all in on making the game look like relatively modern martial arts film classics like the Raid.

-I don't know how to do it but I'd like to see more short bursts of trapping/grappling/infighting somehow if it could be done without negatively impacting the preexisting fight rhythm.

-I've been saying for years that if they could replace the *appearance* of floats/juggles with a detailed stagger/stumble system and enhance the blocking and dodging animations to be much more detailed and precise. This would go a long way towards looking like an evolution of the arcadey realism for which VF is known. The combos would work the same way in practice, but they'd look different.

-Incorporate more camera zooming, movement, and angles where possible.

-Use tasteful explosions of sweat and blood mist to denote various important hit state statuses (think the gut punch from Adonis/Dame's fight in Creed 3).

-Change the character's neutral posture and facial expressions the closer they are to KO.

None of this is intended to change the gameplay loop of VF, only the visual expression on screen. As for other gameplay additions, I'll leave that topic to better players than me to make suggestions on that front.

These are all really cool ideas! I would love to see VF's presentation go all out on raw, visceral realism, especially since Tekken is currently downplaying that with its fantasy over-the-top action. This isn't to rag on Tekken, but it is an opportunity for VF to rise up and feel like no other fighting game on the market.

Regarding gameplay ideas, I would like if they removed the weight class system, as it both unfairly sways the balance of power and favors some characters over others, and adding borderline unnecessary complexity to the game. Removing weight classes would make the game have the perfect amount of complexity with no changes needed to the overall gameplay.