AM2 did a fucking amazing job porting their classic to the Saturn. Downsizing arcade Model 2 to Saturn is no a small feat! One of the best looking games of the generation considering framerate, resolution, and texture mapping quality.
An absolutely sensational achievement in programming and game design. Sega AM2 were the greatest coders in the business, hands down, and it was astonishing to see such performance come out of the Saturn, mere months after the notoriously glitchy Virtua Fighter 1 and Daytona USA. Nobody believed this console was capable of achieving this level of performance, not even close. All of the character animation, moves and gameplay were fully intact, as was the 480i resolution and 60 fps frame rate, a groundbreaking achievement. In December 1995, this was the best-looking home videogame ever made, and it stayed that way for quite some time. Did Sega faithfully reproduce everything from the VF2 arcade? Of course not. Shun Di's and Wolf's stages are the notable exception in the translation, as are the 2D backgrounds that fake a 3D environment (a very impressive achievement, only surpassed by Dead or Alive and Last Bronx). But nobody in 1995 was expecting absolute perfection. Such a notion was a pipe dream. All throughout the 1980s and 1990s, home computers and game consoles were years behind their arcade cousins, which always sat at the cutting edge of technology. Programmers had to learn how to pour a 16-oz bottle into an 8-oz glass, and it was a miracle if any home videogame looked or played anything like the arcade. Back then, gamers wouldn't look at Saturn VF2 and complain, "This still isn't as good as the arcade." They would say, "This is amazing, look at how it's nearly identical to the arcade. The consoles have finally caught up!" For reference, go play some videogames on Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and NES for a few days, then go play this.
Totally agree, 80's and 90's player here, and i did not knew no one at the time, i repeat: no one that did say something like "oh this port of (insert game) is not as good as the arcade", we knew that was an impossible dream back in the day, and having this at home was like a wet dream. I remember the day i had my SNES with Final Fight and SF2 World Warrior, both machines that i destroyed in the arcade of my hometown, and i was like in HEAVEN, i wasn't like "oh see, the stages are butchered, or they are missing frames of animation", i was blown away that we had a near perfect experience at home, hell for me it was perfect! Nowadays you can see a lot of bashing in these ports just for not being arcade perfect, but that's pure trash talk to me, you know that's an impossible feat, and these games were mind blowing for what they achieved.
@@purplehaze2342 thing is tekken and soul blade arcade architecture was similar to the ps1 so the ports to the ps1 were far more straightforward than vf2 to the saturn
Love the Saturn version. Much respect to the AM2 team who put in all the hard work. It's a lot easier to say, "duuuuurrrrr, arcade is better" than to actually credit AM2 for making this arcade smash playable from the comfort of your home. At the time, there was no other way. Much respect to AM2.
You could have bought a cabinet if you were extremely dedicated, but there wasn’t a graphically impressive and fluid port until ‘95/96 (Europe) for the Saturn. The AM2 team who did the port would soon have their work outdated though. On the Saturn side, Fighting Vipers restored 3D walls, had superior looking models, was the first 3D (maybe ever?) fighting game with a dedicated training mode, and even had improvements over the original Arcade version with more detailed lighting and Gouraud shading (vs Flat shading), and Fighters Megamix readded elements of 3D arenas. As if that wasn’t enough, 2 years later a Windows 95 port came out with online play, a CG portrait mode, and the ability to use the arcade (or mostly similar barring minor details) models alongside flat shading and Direct3D support. Sucks the Saturn port was never updated with the improvements from the later Saturn AM2 ports
I never noticed the lack of rotation in the backgrounds on the Saturn version until now, and now I can't unsee it. It's also missing some details and the textures are slightly worse, but it's crisp and fluid. Backgrounds aside, it actually holds up really well to the arcade, with the fighter movements looking perfect.
This game really shows how VDP2 could be used to lighten the load on VDP2. Whereas the arcade version used fully polygonal arenas, if you look closely, you’ll notice that in the Saturn port EVERYTHING besides the fighters themselves is offloaded to VDP2.
Isn't this the one game where AM2 used VDP1 for the floor and character 1, and VDP2 for the character 2 and putting the picture together, adding the background?
Probably not, VDP2 is incapable of rendering polygonal models. Only VDP1 is capable of native hardware polygon pushing, with the two SH2s being able to do it through software (see Sonic R).
The main chip could be poly's although PlayStation was designed from the ground up to do poly's, Sega's chip had to sweat. The VDP2 was a powerfull 2D chip (hence all the excellent 2D games on Saturn) and was used to add backgrounds (in 2D). I think the floor was redendered by the original chip too as it is full poly. The biggest software trick Sega had to master was getting all cpu working together, most other developers had the hardest time achieving that. Sega did. Getting both fighters on seperate chips could create lag in gameplay you really don't want in a game like Virtua Fighter as it is a very good and tight game gameplay wise.
I was playing the Saturn version at the time it was out and I always remember getting stuck on the fact that the backgrounds weren't 3D (think the magazines at the time kept pointing that out). Looking now this looks like a great conversion and I can't imagine the PS1 doing it better, would be all warping textures and models (do love my PS1 just a realist!). Nice to see them side by side after all this time.
John Jameson fuck me is it the molecules of the angle of density x2 or the molecular bios saturation effect .saturn was a wank 3D machine .absolutely great for 2D games though as I've stated so many times .it failed because it wasn't up to the job .clear facts and a realistic account
This game shows off the true power of the saturn, unfortunately too many third party devs just didn't have the skill to program on the saturn but Sega got the best out of the machine most of the time! Virtua fighter 2 on saturn still looks good today and thats a rarity on 32 bit hardware!
the gaming toy boy true. Sega figured the system out towards the end and had a better understanding on how to get 3d games running well on the system. Hence they had shenmue running and they was going to even port virtua fighter 3 with a ram cart expation but they move on to the dreamcast.
Saturn works with quads (4-sided textures oriented in the 3d space with perspective correction), not classic polygons (triangles covered with 2D textures). Unfortunately, at the time there was no widely available 3d modeling program that works with quads, therefore the majority of 3rd party developers that made games for Saturn via classic 3d modelers with triangles had to use a "hack" that in essence uses triangulated geometry, in which each individual triangle was a half Saturn-specific quad (square texture). With other words, in most Saturn games the geometry is spit in such way that a rectangular wall of a home, for example, is rendered with two halves of two quads. Only a limited amount of Saturn games used properly the quads, so that the same wall is rendered by a single quad. Using quads is a great way to effectively double the geometry details in the 3d scene, except for some 3d models that needed to consist some triangles, as well (like diamonds, castle rooftops, arrows, swords etc). Considering that such objects with some triangles here and there are just a fraction of all the geometry in mid-90s games, if quads are used properly instead of classic triangle polygons, a 3d Saturn game could benefit from rendering about 90-95% more geometry. However, to do so, both the 3d modeling program used for the development and the 3d game engine must support quad primitives.
@@ayzone211 "even in its own generation"? Well obviously not the generation after, that would be silly! The Saturn is more capable than we ever saw, its always the way! Who knows what a 2001 Saturn game might have looked like? However, there is a guy currently porting Unreal Tournament to the Saturn, and it looks and runs amazingly well!
I always had issues with the flat shading in the arcade version. By not having real time shading the Saturn version actually managed to look generally smoother, less boxy...
Obviously the arcade has better graphics and slightly better sound but come on.. the Saturn is a near perfect port. I'm sure playing at home you wouldn't care or even notice much difference. It's kinda funny that I knew a guy that had this on the old sega saturn and got really good at it and then beat the game on arcade while we were waiting for a movie in a cinema with our gf's.
AussieAlex Model 2'd don't use CD's and so obviously doesn't have CD quality I'm not really listening right now but pretty sure the saturn should have the edge in sound, after all the music in Daytona USA sounded a lot more full and complete then the model 2 version even if the game itself wasn't very good
AussieAlex Saturn port looks amazing and is easily one of, if not the best looking 32-bit fighter... achieved in 1995 no less... but make no mistake, it’s nowhere near arcade perfect.
I just now realized Jacky's hair is animated in the Arcade version. Another testament to the polygonal prowess of the Model 2 board. That being said, the Saturn port was a fantastic achievement. The character models hold up very well next to the arcade, the resolution is slightly higher and the shadows are translucent. I'm a purist who tries to play arcade originals instead of ports, but the Saturn version is too damn good. That and I have a lot of sentimental value playing the game after I got it for Christmas in 1995.
Arcades had the fully modeled 3D backgrounds which were modified to scaling 2D which actually looked great. But then again Tekken 3 suffered the same fate when ported to PSX. The Saturn VF2 had higher resolution than arcade. I believe it ran @ 704x480 @ 24bpp and 60fps...awesome performance at the time. So did Dead or Alive and Last Bronx both of which were awesome.
Saturn Port is quite faithfull. it was the time when the saturn proved that it is not only a 2D machine but also a potent 3D Game System. in my humble opinion the vdp2 videoprocessor also replicates very well the 3d backgrounds of the arcade version. there is no need to place the saturn behind the playstation on visual side. the virtua vighter 2 port was quite good for its time and silenced the saturn doubters and psx fanboys at that time..
What a technical feat. I couldn't believe how good the conversation was, totally blew me away at the time. Still holds up really well for a 5th gen 3D game today. There are differences of course, most notably the backgrounds are now 2D, which makes the ring and characters look like they're floating but it was a price worth paying for the high res graphics and silky smooth 60fps.
This may sound dumb... but am I the only one that is impressed with the Saturn version? I mean yeah, the Arcade is superior, but considering the Saturn isn't a 3D powerhouse (and is more of the a 2D powerhouse) they did a good job porting this.
but only in this and in sega rally...... they made a huge effort in these 2 games , programming both in assembler.... and making a incredible use of the 2 cpus, which no softwarehouse could handle.
Cara muito legal o seu canal, excelente para fazer análises detalhadas sobre versões e evitar discussões inúteis... Você deve ter um PC deveras potente pra rodar certos games... Continue assim!!!
my buddies said the same thing when the game came out on the saturn, but it was because the saturn version had no shading. I still bought it on the spot on day one at a blockbuster games (not the rental place) where you could tell the guy to put the game for you to see before buying. This was when babbage's and EB games was out.
I know, but the texture resolution is way lower on the saturn. Not to mention the texture filtering. The Saturn version played identical, and it even had a cpu learning mode where she would learn your moves and counter them.
swollenmadman16 That's why the PC version is interesting to play. It's for the most part a Saturn port, yet if offers a shading option. It makes it feel a little closer to the arcade version.
Considering the Saturn was a 2D powerhouse, case in point: every capcom fighter released for the system especially alpha 2 and zero 3 were close to arcade perfect. This version of VF 2 is made even more exceptional.
Aside from the scale down graphics. Now i really apreciate more what sega did with the VF2 port. When i saw on magazines that sega was going to port VF2. I expected a graphic perfect port. I was wrong, still is really great port. Got the system in 1997 with VF 2, Daytona, Virtua Cop for less than $200. One of the best deals ever!
Juan C. Ortiz no offense but you’d have to be naive to expect a perfect port. Model 2 is easily a half generation beyond PS1/Saturn/N64, it’s closer to PS2/DC generation than the prior.
The Saturn port was also ported to windows, right? I'm amazed how the Arcade looks better. I thought the graphics at the pc were state of the art for its art. I was wrong.
its only seeing them side by side that you see the background on the arcade was full 3d, the Saturn with a 2D scaling image was done so well, the 3d background isnt really missed in game.
Excelente comparação é claro que o arcade por se tratar de um hardware superior ganha, mas no Saturn o nível conseguido tecnicamente falando é assombroso de tão próximo ao arcade então pela capacidade da equipe de extrair um potencial acima da capacidade gráfica do Saturno a versão dele merece ganhar com certeza.
Very good job at getting VF2 from the high-cost Model 2 arcade system to the Saturn. Cutting the backgrounds to 2D and removing a few objects (like the bridge above Shun Di's stage, the fence and the windsock in Wolf's stage) was necessary, but at least there's parallax. Most importantly, it plays like the arcade and runs at 60 FPS.
You know.. Especially when you take into account that the arcade hardware was a 20,000 machine, and cramming that onto a 400 dollar console, its all the more impressive
This is one of those 3d games that proved in the right hands the saturn was superior to ps1. No ps1 game came close as it didn't have the resolution or polygon counnt of the saturn. VF2 looks 3d and sharp unlike most ps1 3d fighters looked jaggy and flat even though they were made of polygons there was no visual depth. It all depends on the developer. In the wrong hands it came off as inferior but in the right hands a very different story.
I never understand people who say the PS1 had better 3D graphics. Show me one PS1 game that looked as good as VF2 on Saturn? Compare Tekken 3 on PS1 to VF2 on Saturn.... VF2 blows it out of the water in terms of graphics. VF2 on Saturn ran at 704x480 / 60fps. The PS1 could not produce resolutions that high and this is partly why VF2 looks better. The Saturn could also produce more polys. On the flipside the Saturn could not do transparencies and the lighting looked better on PS1 one, so it really depends what you prefer- resolution or lighting. I will say. imo VF2 was the Saturn's graphical high water mark. And this was because it was coded by AM2 and they bust their asses doing it. I never saw another 3D game on Saturn that looked quite AS good.
The big showpiece for VF2 was the river stage, going under the bridge. An amazing looking moment in 1995. The Saturn had to fully excise this because the backgrounds were not 3D. On the other hand, the PlayStation managed a full 3D river sequence in 1996 in Soul Blade.
Arcade version.. Jacky hair has life lol.. He looks like Adult Gohan powered up. And this was the first time a fighter ever used "Tracking" for shorter characters... Sega was too good
The only differences from the Arcade and Saturn that I have noticed is the rendering of Polygons and background graphics. The arcade, obviously can rendered more Polygons then the Saturn, however The Am2 team were able to use Texture mapping techniques for the 3D models to help improve the characters. They used that same method when they made Virtua Fighter Remix. The Arcade version you can see full rotation in the background, but the Saturn you don't see any rotation. The platform rotates but the background stays in the same place it just moves slightly. I think Am2 used Parallax scaling for that part. You'll noticed it a lot in Shun and Lion's Stage. Other than little differences, they were able to maintain all the moves and run the game at 60fps on the Saturn.
Theshark15z The Saturn is using 2D tricks for almost everything here. The floor is an inverted 2D plane. The backgrounds are multi layered, independently scaling, high resolution bitmaps. Nice trick for an illusion of 3D, and both those tricks free up the entire polygon engine for the characters, which are also high res and all 60FPS. In the arcade, everything is polygonal. Model 2 is closer to PS2/DC/GC IE the following generation in terms of hardware.
All the 3D-Backgrounds from the arcade are plain 2D Bitmaps on Saturn. Arcade's stages look much better. Still a good port and much, much better then most other ports at that time!
@@MH-yp6wg Same situation happened on Tekken 3 (for the backgrounds).Thats what happens when you port from superior hardware,but it was a clever ommition that doesnt affect anything on practice
What's crazy is I've heard Sega thought VF2 couldn't be done but they did a hell of a job with the Saturn port I used to play it at home for hours on in. One of my favorite Saturn games of all time!
I was a early Saturn adopter. VF 1 made me sad. I played it in the Arcade a lot and it was so broken and bad. Then VF2 came out and this was so much better. I would say it's very close. Less Polly's and some missing stuff here and there but the music and gameplay were spot on
Sure, the arcade version wins, but the Saturn version was very close to the original with the high resolution, the awesome animations and the good looking characters. Love the Saturn version.
Great game on Saturn which is very simular with the arcade version. Except some graphical cuttings on the backgrounds in some stages which is normal but it runs very smooth with 60 fps in 3D enviroment!!!
The backgrounds were 2D, versus the arcade using real-time 3D environments. It’s a functional port but to say it didn’t get stripped back a good bit is giving it too much credit.
Outside of a side by side most won't see a difference. Nothing short of magic. Model 2 3d graphics were probably the high point of polygonal graphics in terms of WOW factor. Model 3 was a nice jump again and I still feel the original Shenmue was jaw dropping for a game released pre 2000. This game running on saturn though, has to get top honors for achieving what most would have never thought possible.
estranho que no arcade o cenario "faz parte" de um conjunto junto com a arena e no saturn a arena parece estar flutuando.... alguem sabe dizer porque isso acontece? nao so nesse jogo mas varios jogos da epoca lembro de varios inclusive o sega rally esse cenario flutuante era bemn visivel
The Saturn version was just impressive. I've had my copy since 2013 and just played some more of it with Sarah. Such a bad blonde with them kicks! Still trying to finish it on one credit though. Normally I'm ass at fighting games.
The Saturn version on Shun’s stage... the fighting surface appears to float above the surface beneath whereas the arcade version seems they are connected (as they should be). Still a fantastic port over and a game I enjoyed for many, many hundreds of hours.
Hasan Qadan the arcade game has insanely detailed 3D polygon backgrounds. Everything on Model 2 is 3D geometry, everything on Saturn is hi res 2D that scales tricking you into thinking it’s 3D. Can’t do that on Shuns stage, as you’ve got these enormous 3D bridges passing overhead. It’s amazing how people still don’t realize this and just think “oh they forgot to program the bridge” 🤦🏽 but actually a testimony to AM2
Is equal to me but the Saturn texture and the lighting is slightly lacking. But I gotta say. When it comes to the game play wise, They where both amazingly fun! my main was always Pai and it always will be!
This really is an AMAZING port to the Sega Saturn! ... The characters look virtually identical. And almost every stage looks virtually identical. In some ways the Saturn version looks better, because it was designed to run on TV sets at a lower resolution and had a decrease in sharpness - which made it so the characters didn't look as blocky. Virtua Fighter 2 was probably my favorite Sega Saturn game.
As with the Fighting Vipers port that released the following year, the 3d backgrounds from the arcade got downgraded to static 2d bitmap versions and the fighters' polycount was reduced (lack of fingers for example). Otherwise, the solid gameplay is the same for both versions. One thing I never noticed until now was the name enter functionality. The lack of rendering power in the Saturn port works in its favor compared to the arcade where it has all the letters on screen, thus taking longer to enter your initials.
This reminds me of the tekken 3 conversion for psx. It looks like the models are slightly lower polygon count but not to a seriously noticeable degree and the backgrounds are a rotating image rather than 3D. It's really impressive for both
My best friend had a Saturn and this game and I must say it plays great on the Saturn, only negative on the Saturn is Textures and Shadows , that’s nit pick because the game plays great 👍🏽
Arcade was miles ahead of it's time. Saturn was fun though but I was so envious playing the arcade version then going home to play the console port... Loved Lion's stage too!
As 2 versões são ótimas!! Mas achei mais interessante a do Saturno!! Me agradou!! Apesar de sempre o Arcade ser superior!! Mas eu gostei da versão do Saturno!!
Wow, was totally blown away by the Saturn port. The Arcade has more detail and better lighting but at the same time I can't say the Saturn is missing anything.
This game makes me think how saturn was more powerful than PlayStation. Shame developers didn't support this console like ps1 did. By the time this game came out Saturn was starting to die, after this game graphics on the saturn were stunning, but it was too late. 😢
I LOVED this game when I first played it in the arcades. I started with the first VF and it was ok, but I LOVE this version and still play it every now and then. Really enjoyed the Saturn version too. The main big difference was the backgrounds on the Saturn version were kind of separated from the main level 3D wise. But it wasn't really a big deal.
AM2 did a fucking amazing job porting their classic to the Saturn. Downsizing arcade Model 2 to Saturn is no a small feat! One of the best looking games of the generation considering framerate, resolution, and texture mapping quality.
Absolutely right!
yes, that's an awesome port. I like what they did with the background. :)
The most challenging part the Am2 team had was getting the game to run 60FPS on the Saturn.
Yep great arcade port,only the backgrounds are shitty and not in 3d grafx
Theshark15z More like 57.5, but still fast.
Arcade version is better, but Saturn port is awesome. Very enjoyable on Sega Saturn.
They are the same :/
news flash, game looks better on significantly more powerful hardware, people overstating the obvious in these comments
aidiknocles they are most certainly not the same. Model 2 is way more powerful than any home console of that generation.
My opinion, Saturn port had better looking backgrounds.
Back when the arcades ruled the roost.
The Saturn looks damn good for a mid-90's home version.
Saturn is pretty close to the arcade!
but only in this and in sega rally...... they made a huge effort in these 2 games , programming both in assembler....
Mano Shaker There's also good versions of Fighting vipers last Box virtual cop 1 and 2 die hard arcade
Dead Or alive, Manx TT, most of all model 2 Games adaptations.
Not really. It has 2d backgrounds
rogerioprs has nothing to do with that. It’s all a clever illusion and smart use of Saturn hardware. That’s it.
An absolutely sensational achievement in programming and game design. Sega AM2 were the greatest coders in the business, hands down, and it was astonishing to see such performance come out of the Saturn, mere months after the notoriously glitchy Virtua Fighter 1 and Daytona USA. Nobody believed this console was capable of achieving this level of performance, not even close. All of the character animation, moves and gameplay were fully intact, as was the 480i resolution and 60 fps frame rate, a groundbreaking achievement. In December 1995, this was the best-looking home videogame ever made, and it stayed that way for quite some time.
Did Sega faithfully reproduce everything from the VF2 arcade? Of course not. Shun Di's and Wolf's stages are the notable exception in the translation, as are the 2D backgrounds that fake a 3D environment (a very impressive achievement, only surpassed by Dead or Alive and Last Bronx). But nobody in 1995 was expecting absolute perfection. Such a notion was a pipe dream. All throughout the 1980s and 1990s, home computers and game consoles were years behind their arcade cousins, which always sat at the cutting edge of technology. Programmers had to learn how to pour a 16-oz bottle into an 8-oz glass, and it was a miracle if any home videogame looked or played anything like the arcade.
Back then, gamers wouldn't look at Saturn VF2 and complain, "This still isn't as good as the arcade." They would say, "This is amazing, look at how it's nearly identical to the arcade. The consoles have finally caught up!"
For reference, go play some videogames on Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and NES for a few days, then go play this.
Idk to me what you just said was pure common sense and anyone arguing against that is a idiot who isn’t worth the time.
Totally agree, 80's and 90's player here, and i did not knew no one at the time, i repeat: no one that did say something like "oh this port of (insert game) is not as good as the arcade", we knew that was an impossible dream back in the day, and having this at home was like a wet dream.
I remember the day i had my SNES with Final Fight and SF2 World Warrior, both machines that i destroyed in the arcade of my hometown, and i was like in HEAVEN, i wasn't like "oh see, the stages are butchered, or they are missing frames of animation", i was blown away that we had a near perfect experience at home, hell for me it was perfect!
Nowadays you can see a lot of bashing in these ports just for not being arcade perfect, but that's pure trash talk to me, you know that's an impossible feat, and these games were mind blowing for what they achieved.
Virtua Fighter 2! The Saturn port one of the best looking games of the 32/64 bit era!
To this day one of the best technical achievements in bringing a arcade game home
Id say the Tekken series on ps1 destroys this, or soulblade even
@@purplehaze2342 thing is tekken and soul blade arcade architecture was similar to the ps1 so the ports to the ps1 were far more straightforward than vf2 to the saturn
@@purplehaze2342 tk and slbl,, or edge , is similar ,,, is one equip , soul calibur contains tkk various players ,
@@filevans yep
@@purplehaze2342 lol not even close but nice try
Love the Saturn version. Much respect to the AM2 team who put in all the hard work. It's a lot easier to say, "duuuuurrrrr, arcade is better" than to actually credit AM2 for making this arcade smash playable from the comfort of your home. At the time, there was no other way. Much respect to AM2.
You could have bought a cabinet if you were extremely dedicated, but there wasn’t a graphically impressive and fluid port until ‘95/96 (Europe) for the Saturn.
The AM2 team who did the port would soon have their work outdated though. On the Saturn side, Fighting Vipers restored 3D walls, had superior looking models, was the first 3D (maybe ever?) fighting game with a dedicated training mode, and even had improvements over the original Arcade version with more detailed lighting and Gouraud shading (vs Flat shading), and Fighters Megamix readded elements of 3D arenas.
As if that wasn’t enough, 2 years later a Windows 95 port came out with online play, a CG portrait mode, and the ability to use the arcade (or mostly similar barring minor details) models alongside flat shading and Direct3D support. Sucks the Saturn port was never updated with the improvements from the later Saturn AM2 ports
@@theobserver4214 PC port of Shun stage was aweful
@@legendsflashback its the same as the saturn version, for better or worse.
@@theobserver4214 exactly, I think the PS3 or PS4 version close to Arcade
Sega Saturn is an excellent port
People Should buy a SEGA SATURN just for this amazing port or game!!! ⭐️ ❤️ ⭐️
I never noticed the lack of rotation in the backgrounds on the Saturn version until now, and now I can't unsee it. It's also missing some details and the textures are slightly worse, but it's crisp and fluid. Backgrounds aside, it actually holds up really well to the arcade, with the fighter movements looking perfect.
This game really shows how VDP2 could be used to lighten the load on VDP2. Whereas the arcade version used fully polygonal arenas, if you look closely, you’ll notice that in the Saturn port EVERYTHING besides the fighters themselves is offloaded to VDP2.
Isn't this the one game where AM2 used VDP1 for the floor and character 1, and VDP2 for the character 2 and putting the picture together, adding the background?
Probably not, VDP2 is incapable of rendering polygonal models. Only VDP1 is capable of native hardware polygon pushing, with the two SH2s being able to do it through software (see Sonic R).
Professor Mike AmericanuckRadio doesn’t work that way
The main chip could be poly's although PlayStation was designed from the ground up to do poly's, Sega's chip had to sweat. The VDP2 was a powerfull 2D chip (hence all the excellent 2D games on Saturn) and was used to add backgrounds (in 2D). I think the floor was redendered by the original chip too as it is full poly. The biggest software trick Sega had to master was getting all cpu working together, most other developers had the hardest time achieving that. Sega did. Getting both fighters on seperate chips could create lag in gameplay you really don't want in a game like Virtua Fighter as it is a very good and tight game gameplay wise.
Sonic R is the best showcase of both chips used in conjuction
I was playing the Saturn version at the time it was out and I always remember getting stuck on the fact that the backgrounds weren't 3D (think the magazines at the time kept pointing that out). Looking now this looks like a great conversion and I can't imagine the PS1 doing it better, would be all warping textures and models (do love my PS1 just a realist!). Nice to see them side by side after all this time.
Arcade wins, but the Saturn port is vey meritorious.
Could you do a video comparing the arcade version and the Windows 95 port, btw?
i don't think the resolution is higher, nor the frame rate.
The arcade version has more rotation and elements in the background than the Saturn version. But the Saturn version is great!
Rafa Max saturn was a trash 3D machine .accept reality
John Jameson fuck me is it the molecules of the angle of density x2 or the molecular bios saturation effect .saturn was a wank 3D machine .absolutely great for 2D games though as I've stated so many times .it failed because it wasn't up to the job .clear facts and a realistic account
John Jameson delusion is a illness .seek medical advice
This game shows off the true power of the saturn, unfortunately too many third party devs just didn't have the skill to program on the saturn but Sega got the best out of the machine most of the time! Virtua fighter 2 on saturn still looks good today and thats a rarity on 32 bit hardware!
the gaming toy boy true. Sega figured the system out towards the end and had a better understanding on how to get 3d games running well on the system. Hence they had shenmue running and they was going to even port virtua fighter 3 with a ram cart expation but they move on to the dreamcast.
Saturn works with quads (4-sided textures oriented in the 3d space with perspective correction), not classic polygons (triangles covered with 2D textures). Unfortunately, at the time there was no widely available 3d modeling program that works with quads, therefore the majority of 3rd party developers that made games for Saturn via classic 3d modelers with triangles had to use a "hack" that in essence uses triangulated geometry, in which each individual triangle was a half Saturn-specific quad (square texture). With other words, in most Saturn games the geometry is spit in such way that a rectangular wall of a home, for example, is rendered with two halves of two quads. Only a limited amount of Saturn games used properly the quads, so that the same wall is rendered by a single quad. Using quads is a great way to effectively double the geometry details in the 3d scene, except for some 3d models that needed to consist some triangles, as well (like diamonds, castle rooftops, arrows, swords etc). Considering that such objects with some triangles here and there are just a fraction of all the geometry in mid-90s games, if quads are used properly instead of classic triangle polygons, a 3d Saturn game could benefit from rendering about 90-95% more geometry. However, to do so, both the 3d modeling program used for the development and the 3d game engine must support quad primitives.
@@AutomotiveCNC Correct!
VF2 did looks good on Saturn, but talking abt 3D polygons capabilities, Saturn is far from the best, Even on its generation
@@ayzone211 "even in its own generation"? Well obviously not the generation after, that would be silly! The Saturn is more capable than we ever saw, its always the way! Who knows what a 2001 Saturn game might have looked like? However, there is a guy currently porting Unreal Tournament to the Saturn, and it looks and runs amazingly well!
in some ways Saturn version looks better.
I read they were able to use more colors in the saturn version. Definitely agree there are some aspects that could be argued to be better on saturn.
Shadows are transparent on Saturn while they are plain on arcade. Shadows on Saturn are better.
I always had issues with the flat shading in the arcade version. By not having real time shading the Saturn version actually managed to look generally smoother, less boxy...
17:44 game over screen appears at the arcade screen before he kicks the end logo and the end logo just moving on the floor
the mindblowing part is how they managed this game ported to Saturn. And they did an awesome job. It's 60fps too!
Brilliant port, especially considering the hardware differences
Que tal uma comparação do Tekken 3, entre arcade e PS1?
3rd party developers: The Saturn is too hard to program for.
Yu Suzuki: Hold my Arcade Cabinet.
Obviously the arcade has better graphics and slightly better sound but come on.. the Saturn is a near perfect port. I'm sure playing at home you wouldn't care or even notice much difference. It's kinda funny that I knew a guy that had this on the old sega saturn and got really good at it and then beat the game on arcade while we were waiting for a movie in a cinema with our gf's.
AussieAlex
Model 2'd don't use CD's and so obviously doesn't have CD quality
I'm not really listening right now but pretty sure the saturn should have the edge in sound, after all the music in Daytona USA sounded a lot more full and complete then the model 2 version even if the game itself wasn't very good
AussieAlex Saturn port looks amazing and is easily one of, if not the best looking 32-bit fighter... achieved in 1995 no less... but make no mistake, it’s nowhere near arcade perfect.
I just now realized Jacky's hair is animated in the Arcade version. Another testament to the polygonal prowess of the Model 2 board.
That being said, the Saturn port was a fantastic achievement. The character models hold up very well next to the arcade, the resolution is slightly higher and the shadows are translucent.
I'm a purist who tries to play arcade originals instead of ports, but the Saturn version is too damn good. That and I have a lot of sentimental value playing the game after I got it for Christmas in 1995.
Jacky's hair is animated? I think it is 3D polygon-based.
yes is very good ,,,
Arcades had the fully modeled 3D backgrounds which were modified to scaling 2D which actually looked great. But then again Tekken 3 suffered the same fate when ported to PSX. The Saturn VF2 had higher resolution than arcade. I believe it ran @ 704x480 @ 24bpp and 60fps...awesome performance at the time. So did Dead or Alive and Last Bronx both of which were awesome.
VF2 was 480i. You can see this using earlier versions of Mednafen.
Saturn Port is quite faithfull. it was the time when the saturn proved that it is not only a 2D machine but also a potent 3D Game System. in my humble opinion the vdp2 videoprocessor also replicates very well the 3d backgrounds of the arcade version. there is no need to place the saturn behind the playstation on visual side. the virtua vighter 2 port was quite good for its time and silenced the saturn doubters and psx fanboys at that time..
The Saturn is not a 2D machine ....
Cara sou um Fã maldito de comparações de games de vgs diferentes , ta de parabéns cara , muito bom mesmo .
I can’t help but wonder how amazing Virtua Fighter 3 would have been on Saturn if Sega didn’t cancel it.
Last Bronx is even more impressive with its fully 3D arenas and backgrounds. Also 60fps and hi-res.
Last Bronx did not have 3D backgrounds on Saturn. VDP2 was used for some tricks but there were the backgrounds were still 2d.
I owned the game on Saturn back around 1996. I currently own the actual arcade cabinet 24 years later! They are almost identical
What a technical feat. I couldn't believe how good the conversation was, totally blew me away at the time. Still holds up really well for a 5th gen 3D game today.
There are differences of course, most notably the backgrounds are now 2D, which makes the ring and characters look like they're floating but it was a price worth paying for the high res graphics and silky smooth 60fps.
The best fighter of the 32-bit generation
This may sound dumb... but am I the only one that is impressed with the Saturn version? I mean yeah, the Arcade is superior, but considering the Saturn isn't a 3D powerhouse (and is more of the a 2D powerhouse) they did a good job porting this.
but only in this and in sega rally...... they made a huge effort in these 2 games , programming both in assembler.... and making a incredible use of the 2 cpus, which no softwarehouse could handle.
@Jean Jacque Lundi Correct.
I'm definitely impressed with the Saturn.
none of the 5 the generation's machines was a 3D powerhouse by the way ......
@@ciredecgellar8232 Correct. Hell ALL of PS1's Graphics were ALL software.
always impressive to see how the Saturn have the power to manage port from the far more powerfull model 2
Cara muito legal o seu canal, excelente para fazer análises detalhadas sobre versões e evitar discussões inúteis... Você deve ter um PC deveras potente pra rodar certos games... Continue assim!!!
I was definitely happy as a Saturn owner the day this game was released. The remix version of Virtua fighter was also impressive at the time.
3:52 Fight 1 1 Ready, Go Ready, Go!
Wow they actually look less blocky on the Saturn.
my buddies said the same thing when the game came out on the saturn, but it was because the saturn version had no shading. I still bought it on the spot on day one at a blockbuster games (not the rental place) where you could tell the guy to put the game for you to see before buying. This was when babbage's and EB games was out.
The Saturn version also runs at a higher resolution than the arcade version.
I know, but the texture resolution is way lower on the saturn. Not to mention the texture filtering. The Saturn version played identical, and it even had a cpu learning mode where she would learn your moves and counter them.
swollenmadman16 That's why the PC version is interesting to play. It's for the most part a Saturn port, yet if offers a shading option. It makes it feel a little closer to the arcade version.
Rockman, you could also use the Model 2 arcade character models along with the shading.
Considering the Saturn was a 2D powerhouse, case in point: every capcom fighter released for the system especially alpha 2 and zero 3 were close to arcade perfect. This version of VF 2 is made even more exceptional.
@5:53 what did you do? Paused the game so you could take a piss? :P
The Saturn version is amazingly similar to the arcade. Good comparison.
Aside from the scale down graphics. Now i really apreciate more what sega did with the VF2 port. When i saw on magazines that sega was going to port VF2. I expected a graphic perfect port. I was wrong, still is really great port. Got the system in 1997 with VF 2, Daytona, Virtua Cop for less than $200. One of the best deals ever!
Juan C. Ortiz no offense but you’d have to be naive to expect a perfect port. Model 2 is easily a half generation beyond PS1/Saturn/N64, it’s closer to PS2/DC generation than the prior.
This was one of the first 3D fighting games to run at a consistent 60 frames per second
For years this was the best 3D fighting game. It was tons back in the 90s, but nothing played like Virtua Fighter
The Saturn port was also ported to windows, right? I'm amazed how the Arcade looks better. I thought the graphics at the pc were state of the art for its art. I was wrong.
its only seeing them side by side that you see the background on the arcade was full 3d, the Saturn with a 2D scaling image was done so well, the 3d background isnt really missed in game.
Excelente comparação é claro que o arcade por se tratar de um hardware superior ganha, mas no Saturn o nível conseguido tecnicamente falando é assombroso de tão próximo ao arcade então pela capacidade da equipe de extrair um potencial acima da capacidade gráfica do Saturno a versão dele merece ganhar com certeza.
Very good job at getting VF2 from the high-cost Model 2 arcade system to the Saturn. Cutting the backgrounds to 2D and removing a few objects (like the bridge above Shun Di's stage, the fence and the windsock in Wolf's stage) was necessary, but at least there's parallax. Most importantly, it plays like the arcade and runs at 60 FPS.
You know.. Especially when you take into account that the arcade hardware was a 20,000 machine, and cramming that onto a 400 dollar console, its all the more impressive
This is one of those 3d games that proved in the right hands the saturn was superior to ps1. No ps1 game came close as it didn't have the resolution or polygon counnt of the saturn. VF2 looks 3d and sharp unlike most ps1 3d fighters looked jaggy and flat even though they were made of polygons there was no visual depth. It all depends on the developer. In the wrong hands it came off as inferior but in the right hands a very different story.
I never understand people who say the PS1 had better 3D graphics.
Show me one PS1 game that looked as good as VF2 on Saturn?
Compare Tekken 3 on PS1 to VF2 on Saturn....
VF2 blows it out of the water in terms of graphics.
VF2 on Saturn ran at 704x480 / 60fps.
The PS1 could not produce resolutions that high and this is partly why VF2 looks better. The Saturn could also produce more polys.
On the flipside the Saturn could not do transparencies and the lighting looked better on PS1 one, so it really depends what you prefer- resolution or lighting.
I will say. imo VF2 was the Saturn's graphical high water mark. And this was because it was coded by AM2 and they bust their asses doing it. I never saw another 3D game on Saturn that looked quite AS good.
The big showpiece for VF2 was the river stage, going under the bridge. An amazing looking moment in 1995.
The Saturn had to fully excise this because the backgrounds were not 3D.
On the other hand, the PlayStation managed a full 3D river sequence in 1996 in Soul Blade.
yes, and it's the ugliest stage of the game ....
@@Dangerous2099 Tobal No. 2
@@KillThad Tobal 2 was 60fps and quite nice looking, but still running at a lower resolution than VF2. It was also a whole year after VF2 came out.
Virtua Fighter 2 is my favorite game when my brother was played.
Arcade version.. Jacky hair has life lol.. He looks like Adult Gohan powered up. And this was the first time a fighter ever used "Tracking" for shorter characters... Sega was too good
True that
This port was almost incredible! One of the best looking game of its generation. Ther Saturn's resolution was even higher than the model 2's
Fizeram milagre com o hardware do Saturn nessa conversão, ficou muito fiel ao arcade!
yes ,,
I found there is no bridge at the shun stage on saturn version
Which console release is the most arcade perfect so far though?
Esse efeito sonoro quando corpo dos personagens bate no chão de metal é muito nostálgico!
I had the Saturn version for a while, its quite good!
The only differences from the Arcade and Saturn that I have noticed is the rendering of Polygons and background graphics. The arcade, obviously can rendered more Polygons then the Saturn, however The Am2 team were able to use Texture mapping techniques for the 3D models to help improve the characters. They used that same method when they made Virtua Fighter Remix. The Arcade version you can see full rotation in the background, but the Saturn you don't see any rotation. The platform rotates but the background stays in the same place it just moves slightly. I think Am2 used Parallax scaling for that part. You'll noticed it a lot in Shun and Lion's Stage. Other than little differences, they were able to maintain all the moves and run the game at 60fps on the Saturn.
Blocky Arcade. Saturn rounder/smoother
Theshark15z VF Remix doesn't exist. Fighters Megamix was a blend of VF & Fighting Vipers.
donutmaster lol VF remix exists. What?
Theshark15z The Saturn is using 2D tricks for almost everything here. The floor is an inverted 2D plane. The backgrounds are multi layered, independently scaling, high resolution bitmaps. Nice trick for an illusion of 3D, and both those tricks free up the entire polygon engine for the characters, which are also high res and all 60FPS.
In the arcade, everything is polygonal. Model 2 is closer to PS2/DC/GC IE the following generation in terms of hardware.
Saturn port is amazing and a top Saturn game,only complain is the missing bridge in drunken grandpa's stage.
All the 3D-Backgrounds from the arcade are plain 2D Bitmaps on Saturn.
Arcade's stages look much better.
Still a good port and much, much better then most other ports at that time!
@@MH-yp6wg Same situation happened on Tekken 3 (for the backgrounds).Thats what happens when you port from superior hardware,but it was a clever ommition that doesnt affect anything on practice
@@vasileios6301 Regarding Tekken 3, that's correct.
*Who needs a bridge?!?*
Help! Can somebody explain why in this version, Sarah's stage is not the coliseum stage?
Jack vs Sarah or Sarah vs Jack is in Chicago. Anyone else vs Sarah is in coliseum. Anyone else vs Jack is in the mountains.
@@leandrocerencio thank you for this! :)
What's crazy is I've heard Sega thought VF2 couldn't be done but they did a hell of a job with the Saturn port I used to play it at home for hours on in. One of my favorite Saturn games of all time!
Technically, it couldn’t if we were talking about porting the full fat visual experience. That remains a fact.
@@Darknight0681 it was a conversion and not ported you shit brain, they are not the same thing
The saturn version is NOT bad concidering the technical difficuilty's & limitations of that hardware,it's just amezing .
I was a early Saturn adopter. VF 1 made me sad. I played it in the Arcade a lot and it was so broken and bad. Then VF2 came out and this was so much better. I would say it's very close. Less Polly's and some missing stuff here and there but the music and gameplay were spot on
Provavelmente um dos melhores trabalhos de toda a gameteca do Saturn. Simplesmente absurda essa conversão. Sega mandou bem demais nesse port de VF2!
it's a conversion not port, you M0R0N
Sure, the arcade version wins, but the Saturn version was very close to the original with the high resolution, the awesome animations and the good looking characters. Love the Saturn version.
The trick of 2D backgrounds on SATURN was a great idea!! Awesome port!!
It's kinda crazy they manage to bring home this kind of quality to the sega saturn.
Am2 were amazing back then I wish they still made games.
Será q o n64 ou o Jaguar rodariam esse game ?
This game brings back memories. The first VF game I played on the arcades.
Great game on Saturn which is very simular with the arcade version. Except some graphical cuttings on the backgrounds in some stages which is normal but it runs very smooth with 60 fps in 3D enviroment!!!
The backgrounds were 2D, versus the arcade using real-time 3D environments. It’s a functional port but to say it didn’t get stripped back a good bit is giving it too much credit.
Hi, are you using the US version or the JP here?
Outside of a side by side most won't see a difference. Nothing short of magic. Model 2 3d graphics were probably the high point of polygonal graphics in terms of WOW factor. Model 3 was a nice jump again and I still feel the original Shenmue was jaw dropping for a game released pre 2000. This game running on saturn though, has to get top honors for achieving what most would have never thought possible.
Model 2 was capable of up 1.5 Million Polygons Per Second
They both look good…Saturn and Arcade 👍
The Saturn port of VF2 was definitely one of their A efforts. There's the expected visual downgrade from the arcade, but they did a fantastic job.
estranho que no arcade o cenario "faz parte" de um conjunto junto com a arena e no saturn a arena parece estar flutuando.... alguem sabe dizer porque isso acontece? nao so nesse jogo mas varios jogos da epoca lembro de varios inclusive o sega rally esse cenario flutuante era bemn visivel
The Saturn version was just impressive. I've had my copy since 2013 and just played some more of it with Sarah. Such a bad blonde with them kicks! Still trying to finish it on one credit though.
Normally I'm ass at fighting games.
The Saturn version on Shun’s stage... the fighting surface appears to float above the surface beneath whereas the arcade version seems they are connected (as they should be).
Still a fantastic port over and a game I enjoyed for many, many hundreds of hours.
Hasan Qadan the arcade game has insanely detailed 3D polygon backgrounds. Everything on Model 2 is 3D geometry, everything on Saturn is hi res 2D that scales tricking you into thinking it’s 3D. Can’t do that on Shuns stage, as you’ve got these enormous 3D bridges passing overhead.
It’s amazing how people still don’t realize this and just think “oh they forgot to program the bridge” 🤦🏽 but actually a testimony to AM2
Is equal to me but the Saturn texture and the lighting is slightly lacking. But I gotta say. When it comes to the game play wise, They where both amazingly fun! my main was always Pai and it always will be!
This really is an AMAZING port to the Sega Saturn! ... The characters look virtually identical. And almost every stage looks virtually identical. In some ways the Saturn version looks better, because it was designed to run on TV sets at a lower resolution and had a decrease in sharpness - which made it so the characters didn't look as blocky. Virtua Fighter 2 was probably my favorite Sega Saturn game.
PS3 has the arcade port if anyone wants to grab it before the store closes.
Is this worth an alert notification?
As with the Fighting Vipers port that released the following year, the 3d backgrounds from the arcade got downgraded to static 2d bitmap versions and the fighters' polycount was reduced (lack of fingers for example). Otherwise, the solid gameplay is the same for both versions.
One thing I never noticed until now was the name enter functionality. The lack of rendering power in the Saturn port works in its favor compared to the arcade where it has all the letters on screen, thus taking longer to enter your initials.
Greatest fighting game of it's era.
*Arcade Wins*
But Saturn port its very enjoyable and good worked ;)
This reminds me of the tekken 3 conversion for psx. It looks like the models are slightly lower polygon count but not to a seriously noticeable degree and the backgrounds are a rotating image rather than 3D. It's really impressive for both
My best friend had a Saturn and this game and I must say it plays great on the Saturn, only negative on the Saturn is Textures and Shadows , that’s nit pick because the game plays great 👍🏽
This Game runs at 60Fps so Sega could made it a bit slower but improve on the graphics but it was a wise choice
Honestly, 60fps is pure eye candy for me. If they didn't go for 60fps the port wouldn't be as appealing, even if the graphics would be better.
Imagina o trampo que isso deve dar!!! Parabéns!
Such a awesome conversation!
サターンの方背景に違和感ないですか？ステージの回転について行ってないというか。
VF2 was a great game on saturn...
it makes me nostalgic !
Arcade was miles ahead of it's time. Saturn was fun though but I was so envious playing the arcade version then going home to play the console port... Loved Lion's stage too!
As 2 versões são ótimas!! Mas achei mais interessante a do Saturno!! Me agradou!! Apesar de sempre o Arcade ser superior!! Mas eu gostei da versão do Saturno!!
The main problem on the Saturn are those 2d backgrounds. They should have added a 3d effect, even with a few quads.
Clearly they couldn't make it work and keep the same framerate, don't you think?
Wow, was totally blown away by the Saturn port. The Arcade has more detail and better lighting but at the same time I can't say the Saturn is missing anything.
Saturn version looked great for a console game at the time. But I am impressed by how much better the Arcade version looks, cutting edge for 1995.
Im very surprised that they left out the 3d bridge from Shun's stage. It just doesnt make sense to me.
This game makes me think how saturn was more powerful than PlayStation. Shame developers didn't support this console like ps1 did. By the time this game came out Saturn was starting to die, after this game graphics on the saturn were stunning, but it was too late. 😢
I LOVED this game when I first played it in the arcades. I started with the first VF and it was ok, but I LOVE this version and still play it every now and then. Really enjoyed the Saturn version too. The main big difference was the backgrounds on the Saturn version were kind of separated from the main level 3D wise. But it wasn't really a big deal.
It’s frankly amazing on Saturn given the price and power of the specialist AM2 board
What a wonderful developers was AM2
The Saturn gameplay and a.i is way better than the Arcade/PS3/ XBox 360 one.