Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown Reviews
A remastered edition of the 2006 sequel, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is still a quintessential example of true 3D fighting.
The three button setup of Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown has stood the test of time, providing an incredible amount of depth with a strong emphasis on the fundamentals. It's just a shame that the spotty netcode drags down the overall experience; those looking to seek out new challengers best come with a bit of patience.
So, it turns out that Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown isn’t quite as ultimate as the title suggests. It is, however, a solid fighting game that should keep players entertained for tens of hours – providing the online community remains buoyant and matches play out without any hitches. It’s just a shame that more offline, single-player offerings haven’t been provided to round out the package.
The bare-bones mode structure and the lack of any new fighters is a letdown, for sure. But everything else this update has to offer makes it worth returning to or diving into for the very first time. VIRTUA FIGHTER IS OFFICIALLY BACK, BABY!
While there’s fun to be had with the deep combat and competitive multiplayer, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is let down by underwhelming graphics, poor sound design and the critical lack of any story.
Leveraging the series’ street cred and dropping a competition-ready fighter that’s small scale enough to appeal to fans and pros feels very smart.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown may not bring many content additions, but its payback alone is significant. The title presented itself in an adequate way for the current generation and manages to combine a good performance with a great visual and sound quality. Its characteristic gameplay is very inviting and nostalgic, perfect for those who wanted to experience nostalgia.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown keeps the legacy of the past by maintaining its core values and keeping the game as intact as possible. The game is easy enough to get into for newcomers, but the updates and polish make it also something that long-time fans will enjoy. However, I feel that if you’re not a competitive online player, it’s best to grab it on your PS Plus or PS Now (if applicable) subscription.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a fighting game in the Virtua Fighter franchise. It features mainly two-dimensional combat with the occasional movement into the Z-axis. With a wide variety of characters and customizable options, does Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown stand out from the crowd? Find out in this Rapid Review.
A fun, well-rounded 3D fighter that's given an extra coat of polish and shine as it finally makes its way to the eighth generation.
Virtua Fighter 5 is still a great fighting game in 2021 and this remaster, almost remake, makes that profoundly obvious. The switch to the Dragon Engine has given VF5 a wonderful visual update and great care has been taken to preserve everything that is great about the original version’s stellar animations and tight balance. The biggest drawbacks here are the lack of rollback net code, which is a must-have for any fighting game with online functionality in this era, and stripped-back character customization which has already been surpassed by VF5’s contemporaries. Overall, veteran Virtua Fighter fans should be pleased and find themselves at home with this rerelease while new fans will find a very mechanically challenging but expansive fighting game to sink their teeth into.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a welcome return of the grand-daddy of 3D fighters. The much needed graphical touch ups help rejuvenate an aging game thanks to better facial animations and cleaner visuals. The gameplay is as solid as ever, handling especially well with the online integration. Unfortunately those who aren’t into the competitive aspect of fighting games might not find a lot to enjoy here. If you are big into the genre and want a more technical fighter, it is highly recommended.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown appears to be a test to see if a revival would be feasible for this series to modern consoles. There seems to be a push to get this game in as many hands as possible to gauge interest and show that Virtua Fighter can still put up a fight. Thankfully, the updated systems, balances, and visuals make this a worthy fighter, but a lot rides on the competitive modes.
If you have PlayStation Plus, there’s no reason not to check out Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown. Even if it fails to hook you, free is a good price. If you don’t have Plus, there’s very little reason to get it, however. This is especially true since Plus is required to play online, and there’s almost nothing to do if you aren’t playing online. While it is a shame that so much content from past games isn’t here, this is still one of the best playing fighting games ever made. That’s no small accomplishment. For those who don’t love facing live opponents over and over, though, this may be more of a curiosity than a new passion. Still, I’m just glad to see Virtua Fighter back in the fight. Hopefully, the next time the series makes a return, it will be with a new title.
The gameplay has not been altered since the original release 10 years back but since the fighting game mechanics were top notch at the time, all of the great action and battle systems are still intact. All of the graphical enhancements such as stages and user interface were upgraded so there’s our eye candy. General online playability have also improved and unlike the original old-gen console versions, there are no region restrictions in match making, but the delayed netcode would greatly decrease some of the combat experience if the players are geographically too far apart. The single player and tutorial modes also seem a little lack luster and we hope for a patch to be deployed soon as they’re available.
Review in Korean | Read full review