Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution Review

Josh Tam's personal review

I am a super huge of fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but I tried to play Virtua Fighter long ago and I fell in love with it. Very different from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. There are no superpowers or magic. Just pure martial arts. And when I tried to play Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution for the PS2 and I had to admit. It is a masterpiece.

The first thing that I would like to say about the game is that it is real hard to play. But there is an in-depth tutorial that allows you to learn the moves train yourself. There is no level-up system in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. Either that, or I missed it somehow. But from my experience playing, you need to train yourself to get good at the fighting, and you yourself as a player, level up and become better. It is just like joining a martial arts club and getting better as you get the darker-colored belts.

This fighting game has all the makings of a classic fighting game and more. The arcade mode in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is just like the usuals, fighting fighter after fighter until you win. However, I like the quest mode the most. To sum up, the quest mode lets you play as a Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution arcade player. You have to tour the Virtua Figher World (Sega City if I am not wrong) to fight other Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution players. There is an option to customize your chosen fighter and then with that fighter, you need to travel from arcade to arcade to fight others and win tournaments. You may get special prizes if you win certain matches. Winning a lot would also get your ranking higher. The ranking system is like that of real martial arts clubs like Karate. You start with Kyu and you move up from about 10 Kyu to 1 Kyu and after that you are considered a black-belt holder with 1st Dan. Then if you get better and better you move up to 2nd Dan, 3rd Dan and so on.

If you abandon Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution for quite some time and start again, there is a high chance you might lose your touch and start losing a lot. As I mentioned earlier, the game is a lot like real martial arts training and you do not train your fighter. You train yourself. You train your reflexes and train your fingers and how well it coordinates with your brain to play the game. You cannot just bash buttons like in Mortal Kombat or shoot fireballs like in Street Fighter. This is what makes the game unique and different from the rest.

Overall, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is a brilliant and awesome fighting game. If you are just looking for some fighting action, then this is not for you. You can just play Mortal Kombat Armageddon or Street Fighter, as those games can be mastered more easily. But if you are a fighting game enthusiast who wants something different, or a person who is constantly looking for a good challenge to improve your skills, or a fighter yourself, then Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is probably your kind of thing.