Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown Reviews
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.
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 delivers a deep, satisfying fighting game experience--provided you're okay with barebones single-player and inconsistent online play.
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown's one goal was to update this old-school and finely aged fighter for a modern platform. In that, it excels. This is a classic fighting game that holds up to this day. Despite that, though, it's a shame that so many single player offerings had to be cut in order to achieve this vision. Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a perfect competitive fighter for the modern world, but for someone looking to mess around with it offline, your options are disappointingly limited compared to previous versions of the game.
Virtua Fighter is still a great game, no doubt about it. And Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown fully re-proposes the old-but-gold original combat system, enhanced by a Training mode that explains in depth everything there is to know about it. What's inexplicable in this operation is the poor care paid to the multiplayer, penalized by an old and poorly performing netcode, which heavily limits a game designed to be SEGA's first step towards esports.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown seems lacking for a game having the word "ultimate" in its title. On one hand the fighting system is every bit as great as fans of the series remember and with regular online matches and the Room Matches players who love taking the fight online can have countless hours of fun.
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.
A remastered edition of the 2006 sequel, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is still a quintessential example of true 3D fighting.
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.
In reality, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a good title, an excellent even since the recipe has absolutely not changed since 2006 (go, 2012 if we take into account Final Showdown). With a focus on online and competitive, Sega sees in the long term and the potential is huge. Except that here, technically, although it has received a polish stroke, the app does not hold the road in front of the competition.
Review in French | Read full review
A lazy and biting remastered, designed for online but with a netcode absolutely not up to scratch. A carefully created online component would surely have made a combat system shine that remains solid and fun decades later, finally bringing the saga back to the giants of beat 'em up. Let's hope Sega has learned his lesson and wants to "get serious" next time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Ultimate Showdown reinforces all that, and even if it's not quite the ultimate release of Virtua Fighter 5 it's a delight to get lost in the rhythms of what remains an all-time great, and a timeless one at that. For old diehards like myself Virtua Fighter 5 sits alongside OutRun 2 as the very best of Sega, and for all the missed opportunities here - the less than perfect netcode, the lack of periphery frills or much by way of new content - the chance to play it alongside a new audience is more than worthwhile. Maybe it's not quite the grand return the series deserves, but it's a game that still deserves to be played.
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.
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.