Virtua Fighter Kids
Encyclopedia
Virtua Fighter Kids is an installment in the Sega-AM2
Virtua Fighter fighting game
series. It was released in the arcade
and on the Sega Saturn
in 1996.
Originally in Japan; Virtua Fighter Kids was released on the Saturn as a promotional item in co-operation with drink brands "Java Tea" and "Energen" under the title "Virtua Fighter Kids: Java Tea Original Edition". It was later released commercially without any mention of "Java Tea" on the cover.
All Java Tea product placement was removed from the western versions of the game, however it is present in all Japanese version (Arcade, Regular and Java Edition).
Virtua Fighter Kids is a super deformed
version of Virtua Fighter 2
. Reportedly, the game was developed to practice on the facial and eye animations on the characters for the impending Virtua Fighter 3
.
All the characters all have big heads, and the music is a faster pace. The gameplay
itself is slightly tweaked from VF2. The Saturn version includes some new FMVs
and adds programmable button sequences to allow players to test and use pre-made combos. Despite being children, some of the fighters retain adult characteristics, such as facial hair
, muscle
s or breasts.
One of the variations of the boss character, Dural, featured her with a fishbowl for a head, complete with a fish swimming inside. One very special addition from all the other VF games is that this game had ending movies that you could access when you beat the game as a character.
, and some of their fellow playable characters appear in the game's ending movie as well. The Kid styles of Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant have been made into figures in the Sega Dreamcast
game Shenmue
.
Sega-AM2
Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department 2 is a research and development team for the video game company Sega. Originally known as "Sega Amusement Developing Section 8", AM2 was previously headed up by famed designer Yu Suzuki...
Virtua Fighter fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
series. It was released in the arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
and on the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in 1996.
Originally in Japan; Virtua Fighter Kids was released on the Saturn as a promotional item in co-operation with drink brands "Java Tea" and "Energen" under the title "Virtua Fighter Kids: Java Tea Original Edition". It was later released commercially without any mention of "Java Tea" on the cover.
All Java Tea product placement was removed from the western versions of the game, however it is present in all Japanese version (Arcade, Regular and Java Edition).
Virtua Fighter Kids is a super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
version of Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Fighter 2
is a fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was created by the Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released in the arcade in 1994. It was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997...
. Reportedly, the game was developed to practice on the facial and eye animations on the characters for the impending Virtua Fighter 3
Virtua Fighter 3
is the third game in the Virtua Fighter series. Two new Japanese characters were added to the roster of fighters: Aoi Umenokoji, a beautiful Japanese woman and a childhood friend of Akira Yuki who used a nimble form of Aiki-jujutsu as her fighting style of choice, and Taka-Arashi, a Sumo wrestler...
.
All the characters all have big heads, and the music is a faster pace. The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
itself is slightly tweaked from VF2. The Saturn version includes some new FMVs
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
and adds programmable button sequences to allow players to test and use pre-made combos. Despite being children, some of the fighters retain adult characteristics, such as facial hair
Facial hair
Facial hair is a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men often start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty or adolescence, approximately between 17–20 years of age, and most do not finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later...
, muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
s or breasts.
One of the variations of the boss character, Dural, featured her with a fishbowl for a head, complete with a fish swimming inside. One very special addition from all the other VF games is that this game had ending movies that you could access when you beat the game as a character.
Appearances in other games
Although no official sequels to Virtua Fighter Kids were ever made (other than the VF Kids versions of the CG Portrait Series in Japan called the Game Gear Portrait Series), the child version of Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant reappear as playable characters in Fighters MegamixFighters Megamix
is a 1996 fighting game developed by AM2 for the Sega Saturn and Game.com. It combines several characters from various Sega games, from the complete cast of Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers to Janet from Virtua Cop 2 and the Hornet car from Daytona USA, while allowing to play the bosses of both...
, and some of their fellow playable characters appear in the game's ending movie as well. The Kid styles of Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant have been made into figures in the Sega Dreamcast
Sega Dreamcast
The is a 128-bit video game console which was released by Sega in late 1998 in Japan and from September 1999 in other territories. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube.Dreamcast sales were...
game Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
.