Virtua Fighter’s Past, Present, And Future, According To The People Responsible

It feels like it’s never been a better time to be a Virtua Fighter fan. I’ve loved this series since its inception, and seeing it again at Evo 2025 after a lengthy absence felt incredible. Both Virtua Fighter 5 REVO and the upcoming new Virtua Fighter game were heavily showcased at the event, and the sense of excitement around the series in the fighting game community and beyond has never felt stronger.

With both the current and upcoming games featured at the show, we had the opportunity to chat with Seiji Aoki, the lead of Sega’s Legacy Virtua Fighter team, and Riichiro Yamada, who is producing the New Virtua Fighter Project.

One of Sega’s announcements at EVO was the release date for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of VF5 REVO, now titled VF5 REVO World Stage. The title isn’t just a multiplatform rebrand–it will be receiving a host of new updates like cross-platform play, with the crown jewel being a brand-new, dedicated single-player experience akin to the Quest Modes seen in past Virtua Fighter games.

I’ve been consistently surprised at the amount of effort Aoki and his team have been putting into updating and revitalizing this classic title, and seeing the new single-player mode was a clear sign that they’d been listening to player feedback for such an addition. But there’s still one thing I needed to know: What about all the extra character customization items and decorations from Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown that hadn’t made their way into REVO?

“We’ve heard from players that they want more of the items they saw in the previous releases,” Aoki said. “So, in World Stage mode, there is a tournament. As you proceed, you’ll be able to earn some of those customization items. I do feel like there needs to be more new items, but for now, there are no plans.”

An element where the Virtua Fighter teams have been stepping up their game has been community engagement. Besides opening an official Discord and running a global tournament series, the team has also been polling players on subjects like what controllers they use, what type of stages they dislike, and–most prominently–a global character popularity poll, with the results displayed on the official VF website.

I asked Aoki if the polls offered up any surprises. “We did do the poll around the time the first tournament for VF5 REVO was held in Chicago, at Frosty Faustings. Seeing the players there, I really felt that the characters that are relatively unpopular in Japan tend to be popular in the West. For example, Aoi was pretty popular, Brad was very popular, Eileen was very popular. Those Western characters usually are not on the top of the list in Japan. In Japan, it’s more like Akira, Jacky, Pai, [and] Sarah. It was interesting to see, and I think that was reflected in the poll as well.”

With the launch of VF5 REVO came the game’s first major balance update in over a decade. Does the team use things like polls, online play data, and other analytics to decide on gameplay tweaks?

“We’re not really thinking about things like who to make weaker or stronger, but to put everyone on a similar level,” Aoki replied. “How do we balance characters and keep what makes them distinct? Previously, a lot of players said that Taka-Arashi was too strong. But we tried not to make him specifically much weaker, but bring everyone to his level.”

Aoki also says that further tweaking is unlikely in the near future. “There are no plans for changes right now. But as time passes, we might get to a point where we say, ‘Oh, maybe we should make some balance changes, when the timing is right.’ But at the moment, there are no plans. Currently, I feel like the gameplay is in a complete state, but we’ll see how it goes.”

While Virtua Fighter titles have appeared as sub-games in many of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon titles, an official series compilation has never happened. I wondered if Aoki’s legacy Virtua Fighter team had ever considered doing a Capcom Fighting Collection-style release of Virtua Fighter and similar Sega fighting games, such as the Fighting Vipers series and Last Bronx. “I’ve definitely seen those compilations and thought, ‘We should do something like that.’ …By doing that, we could bring back the old fans in addition to bringing in new fans. It’s something to consider.”

While VF5 REVO had a full tournament as part of the Evo Extended Lineup, what many VF players at the event were hoping to see was the New Virtua Fighter Project. Sega did not disappoint, with a gameplay showcase trailer in the Evo Arena on finals day debuting to cheers and awestruck gasps (and my frenzied screams of delight). With my anticipation continuing at a fever pitch, I was eager to chat with producer Riichiro Yamada about the upcoming game.

Though only a select few characters have been shown so far, those that have, such as Akira and Wolf, have seen some big changes to their appearance. They also look markedly older, potentially indicating the passage of time in the VF world. I asked Yamada if he could tell us a bit more about these changes. “We can’t say much just yet, but yes, the time has passed on. The setting for VF5 was roughly around the year 2006. This game is not a parallel world or an alternate universe–it’s based on a certain timeline.”

Yamada also elaborated on how they’re approaching character design this time around: “So up until now, the characters have been designed based on their combat style, with a short backstory for each character. We’re redesigning them now based on their lifestyle, why they are fighting, what they are fighting for. That’s the new approach that we’ve been taking.”

One of the most talked-about elements of what’s been shown so far–and that’s been generating even more buzz with the Evo gameplay showcase trailer–has been the realism and fluidity of the combat animation, with details like characters having distinct guarding animations for specific attacks. “We really want people to be able to see the changes that we’ve made,” says Yamada. “Virtua Fighter up until now might have been seen as very plain, not very flashy. However, we don’t want to change it up too drastically–we want a cool, flashy sense of realism. Change it, but don’t lose the essence.”

“In the process of creating this game, I’m always thinking, ‘What can we progress? What can we evolve? What can we make improvements on?’ When I was a child, I used to watch kung-fu movies. Those movies make people and their combat look very exciting. I really wanted to bring that element into the game–the flow, like the smoothness, all the things I used to see in those classic kung-fu movies, you know, make people excited by watching those. That’s the approach I’ve been taking right now.”

“Before we released those trailers, I didn’t know how the users would respond,” he continues. “But seeing everyone enjoying it, I’m really relieved to see that players are excited.”

Compared to other fighting games, Virtua Fighter’s control scheme is more simplistic, with three main buttons and skills executed with directional movements. Only one game in the series–Virtua Fighter 3–significantly altered the control scheme by adding a fourth button. With the new Virtua Fighter making some clear visual changes, I wondered if the game would try anything new with the control scheme. “We’re trying a lot of different things as we’re fleshing out gameplay,” Yamada answered. “But VF started as an arcade game, with deliberately simple controls. Punch-kick-guard is easy for players to grasp. So while I can’t give specifics, the concept that I have in mind is ‘anyone can play anyone can play easily, without any stress.'”

This being a game by Ryu ga Gotoku Studio–a team known for its storytelling prowess and character-building–many are expecting a heavy emphasis on story this time around compared to previous titles. “Previously, VF lacked much of an in-game narrative. Again, I can’t say too much, but I would like people to look forward to how we put the narrative and gameplay elements together at the finish line.”