| Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation review |
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The beat-em-up genre of gaming, like many, is ripe for development. Taking the whole concept forward or merging it with other genres with their own equally unique tenets of game design is something that has been begging to happen for quite some time now.
SEGA’s Virtua Fighter series is unarguably the most robust and intricate beat-em-up franchise and it seems only logical that this bastion of the genre travels forth unto the great games design unknown.
Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation is SEGA’s attempt at taking the Virtua Fighter franchise into uncharted territory. The premise behind the game was, essentially, a Virtua Fighter action-based RPG, allowing players to explore a huge world while still giving them access to the world-class combat game system that made this series of beat-em-ups so famously renowned.
Admittedly, SEGA did try and hedge their bets somewhat by making the whole game specifically aimed at kids (this is made apparent from the whole cutesy presentation as well as the main child protagonists). However, what has transpired has unfortunately been somewhat of a disappointment.
The combat's intricacy, precision and wondrous responsiveness are thankfully intact. If anything the overall gaming interface has been made more inclusive to newer players. The main problem is the environments.
In order for an action RPG such as Cyber Generation to function properly, you need big, open and involving level design. You need to offer the player the option to utilise as much of their environment as they see fit and make it suitably interesting so that they will want to explore.
Cyber Generation’s level design is depressingly barren and incredibly constrictive. Admittedly, on a functional level the game works and the level design doesn’t impede the player but the locations are pretty uninspiring and the level layout is forcibly linear.
The game has you control a small boy called Sei and he regularly visits a virtual world (an online playground, essentially). The majority of the game has Sei traverse ‘server’ environments whilst disposing of enemies along the way and then finishing off a powerful boss at the end of it.
Sei is also accompanied by a floating ‘Bit’ which offers advice and its irritatingly cute company throughout sorties. The ‘Bit’ also has a habit of making the environments become more linear than they actually are, by barking orders in its squeaky voice on where Sei should go to next.
After each ‘server’ level Sei will level up; not only does this increase the damage he can inflict with each hit but also how resilient he is to enemy attacks. Moreover, sections of the game can’t be accessed until a certain level has been attained.
The latter can be infuriating, especially when it requires the player to repeat levels over and over again in order to reach a sufficiently high level. Thankfully, the ‘hub’ where all the missions can be accessed is fairly easy to manoeuvre in and is often populated with other similarly plucky kids clothed in suitably funky cyber gear.
Traversing levels is done in all manner of ways, though there is normally only one solution to getting from A to B. For example, Sei has a grappling beam that can attach itself to different coloured stars. Each colour signifies a different type of movement once attached. So, once an impassable area is reached grappling onto a star is often the only way forward. This is shame, because Sei has many different abilities (of which one is wall running) and it would make the levels more diverse if Sei were allowed to use his abilities to the full. That being said, the combat still manages to remain wonderfully diverse and engaging.
Despite the normal attack, defend and jump actions Sei also has access to a context-sensitive and more powerful attack move. These moves are learned from Virtua Fighter characters once Sei picks up a ‘Virtua Soul’ crystal. Upon collecting the crystal Sei enters into one-on-one combat with the Virtua Fighter character and if you beat them you are then awarded one of these more powerful moves.
On top of this Sei can utilise his grapple beam to latch onto enemies in the air and consequently smack them about with great delight. Aerial combat is also good at helping the flow of a fight, with ‘flow’ being particularly important in Cyber Generation.
Once aerial you can avoid other attacks from enemies on the ground and control the pace of the combat with the enemy you have latched onto. The reason why all this is important is because keeping the hit combos constant is imperative for not only increasing your power level upon finishing the mission but also to refill your power gauge that allows you to use the special Virtua Fighter attacks.
Whilst the combat is fun, the camera is disappointingly not so. In some of the trickier boss encounters, the camera is infuriatingly cumbersome and the majority of the battle has to be fought on assumption of the enemy’s position (hardly ideal for a game that rewards and actively demands precision in combat). Admittedly, for most of the game the camera behaves itself (as it should) but when the problems do occur it’s only made all the more noticeable due to the increased technical demands on the player.
For those familiar with Virtua Fighter, the combat may also seem somewhat strange, especially when dealing with the famous Virtua Fighter characters and various bosses. Cyber Generation is a fully three dimensional game in its movement, allowing the player to literally run circles around their opponent. Not to mention that the actual move list has been massively simplified (as in a single button press initiates a move). In short, the depth of combat has been curtailed a tad and many players who are more experienced with the Virtua Fighter series may take issue with that.
Graphically it’s also incredibly disappointing. It’s clear to see that the game was meant to be hosted on the PlayStation 2 rather than the GameCube, but even so the environments are aesthetically bland and the game just doesn’t uphold the GameCube’s graphical pedigree.
Overall, Virtua Fighter Cyber Generation is a game that could have been so much more than it is. The combat system is a joy to use (intermittent camera woes aside) and the rich heritage of the series would have made a great transition into something more open-ended and exploratory in nature. It’s as though the developers shied away from the potential and as such the game is noticeably lacklustre because of it. In summation, Cyber Generation is a lost opportunity on the part of SEGA and consequently a below average title.
Concerning importing, the Japanese release is almost impenetrable to most non-Japanese literate players and as such, if you are determined to play Cyber Generation, wait for an English language release. |
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System: Nintendo GameCube
Genre: Action
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
Version: Japan
Reviewed: Jan 2004
Writer: Ollie Barder
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Pros:
- Intuitive and thorough combat system
- Relatively endearing characters
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Cons:
- Levels are far too constrictive and linear
- Graphically lacking for a GameCube title
- Irritating camera angles during boss encounters
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