Elton's 'Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown' Wish List

The one...no, the MAIN thing we need to hear about Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown during its livestream is what type of netcode it's going to rely on. If it’s going to be delay-based, then Sega might as well keep their game in the tuck. In order for this fighter to stick the landing for its massive comeback, it has to rely on rollback netcode. The FGC has made it abundantly clear that rollback is the way to go from this point forward. Thankfully, Arc System Works, SNK, NetherRealm Studios, and a collection of indie developers have adhered to that new golden rule and online play for fighting games is improving because of it. Here's hoping that the creatives behind the upcoming Virtua Fighter 5 update have been paying close attention and have already implemented rollback netcode into it.

While Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown is certainly a great game, it’s missing a few modes that I poured an ungodly amount of hours into when I had the first version of the game back on PS3. The modes I’m alluding to are Kumite and Quest. Kumite threw a whole bunch of tough fights your way as it implemented the type of A.I. that reflected the playstyle of real-world competitors. As for Quest mode, I had a fun time perusing through all of its random battles and unlocking some sweet custom gear for my girl Sarah. I hope and pray that both of those modes come back since they’ll provide offline players with something to stay busy with. Plus it gives this update even more value and makes all of the previous costume DLC available at no extra cost. That’s a win-win if you ask me.

Major updates to fighting games tend to implement a fresh face or two to keep things interesting. All the major fighters have done it and so did Virtua Fighter 5. Once Final Showdown came around, American players got introduced to the Karate-using assassin known as Jean Kujo. Plus they got reintroduced to Virtua Fighter 3’s sumo expert Taka-Arashi. Ultimate Showdown needs to go that same route by adding in an extra character or even two of them to really elicit excitement for its release. I’d be all the way down for a Wing Chun specialist making their debut (you can probably tell I love Leroy from Tekken 7). Plus the addition of a Taekwondo master would be pretty dope, too. Two new characters that utilize two fighting styles that we’ve never seen in a Virtua Fighter before would be amazing. 

Wanna know why me and a whole bunch of other players prefer Dead or Alive 5 over its successor? For one simple reason - because it featured some guest characters from the Virtua Fighter franchise. Akira Yuki, Jacky Bryant, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant made their presence felt and ended up being part of the reason why I enjoyed Dead or Alive 5 so much. I think it’d be pretty beneficial for both Sega and Tecmo Koei if Ultimate Showdown implemented a few Dead or Alive characters for its guest spots. If it was up to me, I’d make sure Kasumi and Leifang got the nod to join the Ultimate Showdown roster. Virtua Fighter characters didn’t look out of place in Dead or Alive 5, so I know those two Dead or Alive ladies I mentioned beforehand would look right at home in Ultimate Showdown. Guest characters in fighting games are all the rage these days, so here’s hoping Sega hops onto that hot trend.