GAME CLEAR No. 32 -- Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown (2021, PS4)

Virtua Fighter 5 Developer: SEGA AM2
Ultimate Showdown Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio with SEGA AM2
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Date: 5/31/2021
Clear Platform: PS5 via Backwards Compatibility

I got this game early on the SEGA Forever Discord server, making this the first game I’ve ever beaten before its release date! I doubt that’s something I’ll be able to do many more times for the rest of my life frankly! Pretty fun. Even got the DLC for free too.

Of course, the only way I managed to beat it early was because the single player content is extremely threadbare. I beat arcade mode a single time on Very Easy with Jacky Bryant.But sometimes video games are very short! I’m sure I’ll do many more arcade playthroughs as I continue to learn the game. Unlike previous versions of Virtua Fighter 5, there is no other single player content besides training, so this isn’t a game to go to for a big solo experience. It in fact is called Virtua Fighter 5 eSports in Japan, and is clearly positioned as a multiplayer game at a time when SEGA is eager to grow in that space.

My very early impression of the game is that it’s definitely Virtua Fighter! I’ve only played the first and second entries in the series, and every move I knew to try still works. Not sure if that’s commendable or lazy, but it certainly gave me a head start at least. Matchmaking was obviously quite inasmuch as the game isn’t officially released, so I can’t really comment on that. I played a quick couple online games, though, and I had a good enough time. The game does not have rollback, which is upsetting to many and something I frankly am immune to by playing so many hours of rollback-free Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is both obviously not great yet also something I can’t bring myself to be mad about.

Anyway, I look forward to labbing this game and hopefully playing with friends. Please get this game and play it with me, thanks.