It’s hard to believe that Virtua Fighter 5 is still the latest entry in the ultra mega legendary fighting franchise… and it’s still going to turn 19 this year. Yes. Virtua Fighter 5 came out during the freaking Bush administration. It was groundbreaking for its time, being one of the true “next-gen” fighting games back when “next-gen” meant “it looks like an Xbox 360 game”. But oddly enough, it has never exactly disappeared. Between some revamped PC versions, Xbox backwards compatibility, and the inclusion of a simpler version in the Like a Dragon games, Virtua Fighter 5 has never been forgotten. At the same time, it had never received a proper makeover to take advantage of modern graphical and multiplayer technologies. Enter Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.

Is Sarah considered a noob character? Because I don’t care; I had a lot of fun kicking everyone to oblivion with her moveset.

In order to hype people up for the upcoming true Virtua Fighter sequel, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is the kind of “new iteration” of the borderline retro fighting game that takes advantage of some quality of life enhancements which have become commonplace in modern fighting games. As a result, this is, without a doubt, the best version available for the game, but it’s not exactly a revolutionary version of it.

It was based off on a 2021 re-release of the title called Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, which was the first remaster of Virtua Fighter developed by the folks at RGG Studio, the magicians behind the Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise. It runs on their proprietary Dragon Engine, meaning that each and every single character looks great, with modern visuals, animations and facial expressions. At the same time, the gameplay is smooth, and framerate is sublime. Virtua Fighter 5 might not be as complex or rewarding as more modern Tekkens or Dead or Alives, but it’s also a lot easier for newcomers to pick up and play.

The models look great, but once they open their damn mouths…

The big improvement in this version is the addition of rollback netcode. There will be a point in time in which this feature will be considered a mandatory tool in any fighting game, but as of now, I’m just glad developers are adding this vastly important quality of life enhancement to older titles. Even on shoddy connections with people from across the globe, I was able to play matches with ease, without ever feeling like I was trying to endure the online interface on Super Smash Bros for the 3DS. Furthermore, the matchmaking is great, the lobby system is neat, and the brand new costumes available in online play only (very bizarre and somewhat pointless restriction, though) are amazing to look at.

With that being said, this is still Virtua Fighter 5. It might look great, but it still sounds like an old Sega arcade game, with terrible voice acting and compressed music. It feels a bit off-putting when you compare the amateurish voice acting to the really impressive, Dragon Engine-powered character models. There’s also another issue. The game is a bit barren on content. It’s still the 2006 Virtua Fighter 5, more streamlined and focused on online play, so the single player modes are simplistic and sparse. The arcade ladder is brief, there are no ending cinematics, and a small amount of modes. If you want this version, you will stick mostly to online play, which, granted, is excellent.

Less complex than Tekken, but still a lot of fun.

In a way, this is easily the best version of Virtua Fighter 5 ever made. I love the crisp visuals, rock-solid performance, and I appreciate the brand new rollback netcode. I am, however, disappointed at how paultry the single player content is. You gotta remember, this game is nearly twenty years old, so it shows constant signs of age as well. If you want the best way to play Virtua Fighter 5 online, then Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is the way to go. It’s the EVO staple until RGG Studio drops the actual sequel later down the line. You’ll have a lot of fun with it, just remember you’re having fun with a game originally released before the actual release of the Playstation 3.

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. is available now on PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. was provided by the publisher.