While it wasn't ready for a gameplay demo at Evo, the new Virtua Fighter project was still one of the most exciting games of the show, thanks to a brand new trailer released during Finals day that gave us our best look yet at what Sega and RGG have cooking for this revival of a series that has been dormant for more than two decades at this point.
At the show, I got a chance to sit down with Riichiro Yamada, producer on the New Virtua Fighter project, to dig into some of his previous statements about the game, ask about how he plans to modernize the series to compete with other more, current 3D fighters, and more.
[Editor's Note: This interview has been lightly edited for grammar and clarity]
The concept gameplay that we've seen for the new Virtua Fighter project has been very fluid with guards going for each individual attack, the arms moving to block each individual attack. How close to this do you expect the final game to look?
Riichiro Yamada, Producer on New Virtua Fighter Project: In terms of how it looks, yes, [the battle system is] 70% there, and tomorrow there will be an announcement made at EVO [Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded the day before the trailer release]. So I really feel that I’ll be able to showcase what the current situation is. And from a vision perspective, I really have a very strong vision and really feel that we are getting very close to that vision.
So fighting games are in a very different place than they were when Virtua Fighter V was released. What are some of the ways that you're ensuring that the new Virtua Fighter project will modernize the series?
Yamada: Virtua Fighter originally was a very simple game. It only has three buttons and everyone could basically touch and play it, but as the series went on, it became very complicated. And in terms of that and in terms of the progression, I feel that Virtua Fighter 5 is the complete version. In terms of a new Virtua Fighter, we need to keep progressing even more, not just in the gameplay but function as well.
I really feel that I need to look towards how do we progress this game, how do we improve this game, in terms of functionability, gameplay and how do we make it more modernized? Otherwise, I really feel like it won't sell. So those are the places that I’m really looking into. Not only gameplay, but functionality as well. We need to modernize those parts.
I really feel that modernization is very vital in order to sell.
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In a previous video, you said that the two words that come to mind when asked what is Virtua Fighter were innovation and reality. Can you explain a little bit more about what that means and how those words have guided you through production on this new game?
Yamada: So in terms of innovation, I really won't be able to specify in details, but it used to be graphics at the very beginning, and then computer graphics like CG has been improving. But with CG, it's really up there right now. It's really difficult to improve the current CG.
CG is already innovated, it's really up there. So in terms of innovation, I really feel that bringing up more ideas is very important when it comes to that term. And then as for reality, I feel like reality is a very difficult word, but Virtua Fighter, it's not a very UFC-like battle. It's more of like a kung-fu movie battle. It's more of that type.
And when I played Virtua Fighter at the very beginning, I felt like the reality of being hit, when you're being hit by an opponent, you felt that hurt in your arms or your legs, your body. So that sensation, I really felt that. So with the new project, not just the battles but reality, I really want that reality to be felt within the players, not only the battles but the other places as well, which I feel is very important.
So with this new Virtua Fighter project, do you envision this as a new beginning for the franchise? Not just for the franchise but for the characters? Like Akira obviously looks a lot different than what we're used to. He is not in his traditional gi, his hair is not styled up, he's wearing a hat. Are these the same characters from the previous games or is this kind of just a new reboot of Virtua Fighter?
Yamada: So in terms of characters, I really feel that new characters are necessary, and as you said, Akira looks different. So in this one, Akira is a little bit older than the previous series. So in terms of that, I feel that a new generation of characters is needed and [I’m not] saying that the character designs in the previous VF is not very good. That's not true.
We need to make the character designs look better, to look cool.
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I don't want to say that the VF characters previously, that the character designs were a little bit weak. I’m not trying to say that. I feel that they were stylish, but we do need to evolve these characters, we need to make the character designs look better, to look cool.
Not saying that they were bad before, but I just need to make them cooler. So that's why when I think about new characters, I said reality is one of the statements that I’m really focusing on. That too, when I create new character designs, I have to bring this reality to it and to make it a more good-looking character. So yes, using the same characters, but evolving it from the past, putting more elements to it, putting more design characters to it, making it more real is my stance.
Speaking of characters, in a previous Virtua Fighter direct, you revealed Stella, a character that bears a striking resemblance to Sarah Bryant. Is there anything you can tell us about this character? And on the screen the text says that she's the bridge between worlds. Can you elaborate a little bit about what that means?
Yamada: Unfortunately, I won't be able to answer your question on that, sorry. But please be excited. Please look forward to that.
You touched upon this earlier, Virtua Fighter traditionally is a three-button game — punch, kick and guard — but it derives a lot of depth from that very simple control scheme. Do you feel like the three-button control style for Virtua Fighter is core to the series, or is that an area where you see an opportunity to evolve the franchise by either adding another button or just changing the way the typical Virtua Fighter core gameplay works?
Yamada: So originally when Yu Suzuki created the Virtua fighter, he did a lot of testing. He actually tested with more than three buttons, like a lot of buttons. But they came to the three button conclusion. At the time it was more of a Game Center (Arcade) focused game, so that was the best at the time.
And the concept was that they wanted to create a game that was not too complicated and that anyone could enjoy. And so from that concept, I feel like, yes, I need to respect that concept. I want to create a game where anyone can play.
I want to create a game where anyone can play.
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But currently, or moving forward, it's not just a Game Center game, it's more of a household game. So when you think about how people could enjoy playing this game in their living room or in their house, that's when it kind of changes a little. So yes, the concept does stay the same, But… I’m not really focused on, oh, we need to keep it to three buttons. The more important thing is I want to create a game where anyone can play in their household when it comes to the new style.
For all the years that Virtua Fighter has been around, Akira has been the face of the franchise and he's also the character that you revealed the new Virtua Fighter project with, but we don't really get to see his face all that much. Do you feel like Akira is still the kind of face of this series or is it a new generation? Is there going to be a new person that's going to take that mantle of being the face of the franchise?
Yamada: So when it comes to the protagonist, I really feel that users will still buy a game because of the protagonist. For example, for Street Fighter, it's Luke, there's probably a reason why it's still Luke. For Ryu-Ga-Gotoku (The Yakuza series), it used to be Kiryu, but it's changing. They did bring a new protagonist, Kasuga. Originally, RGG fans love Kiryu.
So I think there were challenges in bringing a new protagonist, a new character, Kasuga, into the series. Ideally, I would like to bring out more characters, but it feels like users really like Akira. History has proven or is proving that there is a lot of love for Akira.
Yes, I would like to bring out new characters, but I really feel that the protagonist, because Akira has been a strong face, the users will still look forward to or see or would like to buy the game because it's Akira. So I feel that changing characters or bringing new characters is not a very easy thing to do.
Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit