Virtua Fighter 5 review

But of course, you’d be missing out if you did. The controls are still the deceptively simple block/punch/kick (no evade, again shunning Virtua Fighter 3’s weakest addition), but the increased depth and variety of attacks is bewildering. One character alone will take you weeks to learn and months to master. Every move is triggered depending on a complex combination of foot position, d-pad direction and timing, length of depression, whether you’re rising, landing or have just just landed, and even extends to augmenting the move you just exited from. You can counter and parry and even feint to throw your opponent. Remarkably, it’s still highly intuitive - but that’s because it’s logical.

The 360 pad’s pressure-sensitive buttons are not best-suited to the precise instructions VF5 demands. While it’ll be fine for most, an arcade stick will be necessary for really serious Virtua Fighter gamers. As a neat touch, you can reassign individual buttons from the pause menu and then continue your brutality in relative comfort.