Virtua Fighter 2 for Genesis (1996)

Original ad published in the Holiday 1996 edition of Ultra Game Players. 

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A questionable release by Sega

Clinging on the famed near-perfect Saturn version of the arcade game, Virtua Fighter 2 for Genesis represents the greedier side of gaming. By late 1996, most consumers of the original Genesis had moved on to Sega's 32-bit monster. That was the best place for arcade experiences with a home console, considering Sega's best games were still quarter-playable only. So by releasing the uber popular Virtua Fighter 2 on Genesis, the company tried to grab part of the cash still present with hard-core users of the 16-bit market. The ad you see above is both a perplexing and a faithful drawing of this questionable game.

Graphics are great for a Genesis cartridge, but lousy by any other standard. More importantly, they are not 3D, like the original Virtua Fighter. The digitised voices are atrocious. The music, typical for a Genesis game (this can be either good or bad, depending on your musical taste). That's really all there is to say about this game. If you want a faithful version of the fighter, better stick with the Saturn port.

Now the printed ad itself is very strange. There is no "Z", "F" or "Y" pattern established in the graphical layout. There is no hierarchy amongst the images above the pathetic copy included in the ad. There's a nice 3-D effect with the yellow tape before them, but that's it. All in all it seems done haphazardly, with little intention more than to show the consumer actual game-screens of a subpar product, hiding the absence of 3D gameplay.

Virtua Fighter for Genesis print ad copy

Assault and battery included

Virtua Fighter 2

Now you can experience true arcade fighting in the confort of your won home. Virtual Fighter 2 has come to Genesis. Play as any of the eight original Virtua Fighter characters and be sure to play dirty. Try Sarah’s killer Scissor Kick. Akira’s stunning Palm of Doom. Or Wolf’s surprising Tiger Dirive. It isn’t always pretty. But it’s always pretty ugly.