There are currently no plans to add guest SEGA characters to RGG Studio’s upcoming Virtua Fighter reboot – but that could change, according to producer Riichiro Yamada.
Speaking with Giant Bomb at Evo recently, the veteran said development is currently focused on expanding Virtua Fighter’s world and lore, so the team’s not really thinking about guest characters at this stage.
However, he stressed that while it’s not a consideration at this moment in time, it could be something the developer explores in the future.
Watch on YouTubeSubscribe to Push Square on YouTube166k
Personally, we reckon adding the likes of Kazuma Kiryu here is a no brainer, as it’ll elevate interest in the main game and it’s a perfect fit – unlike, say, Cristiano Ronaldo in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
We’d most like to see Ryo Hazuki added to the game, as Shenmue started life as a Virtua Fighter RPG, and the legendary Dreamcast game’s combat system is built on the same engine as SEGA’s fighting franchise.
The developer clearly wants to do a lot more with the narrative of Virtua Fighter, though, as past entries have been incredibly light in that department.
Yamada explained:
“The Virtua Fighter series has always been lacking in narrative and backstory. None of that was included in the games, so I felt like we really need to emphasise that part in the new project.”
Here’s hoping for some good single player content in the new Virtua Fighter game, then, as storytelling is one area RGG Studio has always excelled at.
Obviously we want a brilliantly balanced, competitive fighting game at the core – but we’ve really enjoyed the likes of World Tour in Street Fighter 6 recently, so we think it’s important to deliver on both single player and multiplayer in this genre moving forward.