Virtua Memories: Virtua Fighter 2/Fighters Megamix (Virtua Fighter Month)

Virtua Fighter 2… where do I begin with this game? Well, my first encounter with Virtua Fighter 2 was limited when I was a kid. I recall playing the game at the arcades first before I played it on the Saturn. Funny thing is that I remember playing Fighters Megamix first before Virtua Fighter 2.

Fighters Megamix is a fighter that I have rented the most from Blockbusters. I remember seeing an ad for that game on GamePro magazine while I was at a barbershop. A crossover fighting game between Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers? Virtua Fighter 3 moves for the VF characters? A total of 32 characters? SOLD!

Now as a kid, I knew about Fighting Vipers, but never played it until 2004. I kept watching the trailer for it when I received the Sega Screams Vol. 1 Demo in the mail back in 1996 (Remember how we get demos discs of video games in the mail?). Anyway, me and my dad had a lot of fun playing that game back in the day, and I would remember how much fun we had with the characters and stages. I kept picking walled stages instead of infinite stages because I enjoyed seeing the characters getting blasted off the wall.

That game led me into playing Virtua Fighter 2. After coming home from a Taekwondo belt testing, I played the hell out of Virtua Fighter 2. Like Fighters Megamix, I rented Virtua Fighter 2 at Blockbusters. The only difference is that I only rented that game once and that was it.

During my trip to Orlando, Florida for a YBOA Basketball tournament back in 2002, I played and bodied several people (teammates, my dad, and some random guy) in Virtua Fighter 2 at an arcade. I remember getting a lot of love for that. Two years later, I took the advantage to buy Fighters Megamix, Virtua Fighter 2, and Fighting Vipers. Out of the three games I played, I played Fighters Megamix the most once I unlocked the 10 characters. I was shocked that of all the characters to appear in the game, Hornet of Daytona USA had to appear as a playable character. What other game do you know that has a racing car as a playable character? Better yet, I found out about Bean and Bark from Sonic the Fighters, Kids Akira and Sarah from Virtua Fighter Kids, and Siba (a prototype Virtua Fighter character). I then found out about Janet from Virtua Cop 2 and Rent A Hero. The rest were original.

I did play the Genesis version of Virtua Fighter 2. I’ll be honest: I had no idea that it existed during the time while I was introduced to emulators and roms. It was okay, but I felt bad for anyone who didn’t own a Saturn. I honestly believe that a Genesis port of Virtua Fighter 2 was unnecessary IMO. 

In 2012, I was mad hype when SEGA announced the Model 2 Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which includes Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Fighters, Virtual On, and Virtua Strikers. It felt so damn good playing the Model 2 version of Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers on the 360, especially when I’m using an arcade stick such as the Qanba. I wish Fighters Megamix got a re-release or something…

Virtua Fighter 2 is my third favorite VF game. I enjoyed the music, the gameplay, and the amount of time I put in playing it. By the time YouTube was starting out, I managed to look at how other Japanese players played the game, especially when it came to the legendary BunBunMaru’s undefeated streak and the Beat-Tribe Cup series. I was amazed at how these players used each character to their full potential, especially with Akira.

As for Fighters Megamix, I had a lot of fun with that game. I actually brought that game to Summer Jam 9 one time where we played the hell out of it. Good times. I should do it again in the future.

But there’s more to come, ladies and gentlemen! Come back next time when I revisit Virtua Fighter 3.

Before I end this blog, I just want to give a happy belated birthday to the legendary Tetsujin VF player, Ikebukuro Sarah. In honor of his 50th Birthday, he held a 100-man kumite for VF1 at the arcade that made him well-known during the VF1-VF2 days, Mikado Arcade. Below is a two-part video.

LOOK WHO CAME:

Virtua Kazama   

nanashi   5

Jiraya   3

WryGuy   2

Batthink   1

Chris Moyse   1

SpielerDad   1