While Next Virtua Fighter Project under development at Ryu Ga Gotoko Studio doesn’t even have an official title yet, producer Riichiro Yamada has revealed details about how the studio plans on hanging on to series creator Yu Suzuki’s vision of fighting game that is easy for anybody to pick up and play. In an interview with IGN, Yamada was asked a question about whether we will see changes being made to the franchise’s traditional three-button gameplay setup.
For context, Virtua Fighter games have typically had three buttons that formed their core control schemes – punch, kick, and block. When it comes to Next Virtua Fighter Project, however, we don’t quite know if the series will undergo a massive change by switching the three-button system out, or whether the title will hang on to the same control scheme. Ultimately, however, the decision behind the control scheme comes down to wanting to follow Suzuki’s original intent of having a fighting game where “anyone can play”.
“So originally when Yu Suzuki created the Virtua Fighter, he did a lot of testing,” said Yamada. “He actually tested with more than three buttons, like a lot of buttons. But they came to the three button conclusion. At the time it was more of a Game Center (Arcade) focused game, so that was the best at the time.”
“And the concept was that they wanted to create a game that was not too complicated and that anyone could enjoy. And so from that concept, I feel like, yes, I need to respect that concept. I want to create a game where anyone can play.”
Yamada also brought up the fact that, when the original Virtua Fighter was under development leading up to its 1993 release, the game was meant for large arcade cabinets rather than home consoles. With the new game, however, the market has changed, and RGG Studio is focusing more on players at home rather than those that might step out to find arcade machines.
“But currently, or moving forward, it’s not just a Game Center game, it’s more of a household game,” he explained. “So when you think about how people could enjoy playing this game in their living room or in their house, that’s when it kind of changes a little. So yes, the concept does stay the same, but… I’m not really focused on, oh, we need to keep it to three buttons. The more important thing is I want to create a game where anyone can play in their household when it comes to the new style.”
While we can’t quite be sure about whether or not this means that Next Virtua Fighter Project might see a revamped control scheme, Yamada’s words do indicate that the studio is focused on making sure that the fighting game isn’t too difficult for newcomers.
At Evo this last weekend, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio had released a new video for Next Virtua Fighter Project that showed off not only the game’s training stage, but also a full bout of one-on-one combat. Check out the trailer and its details in our coverage.