Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage Review

Virtua Fighter 5 is one of those that benefited from the master/port treatment a shocking amount of time. The game first released way back in July 2006 in Japan in arcades. It also went through a handful of revisions between July 2006 and June 2021 spanning the base and Final Showdown versions. The PS3 version released in February/March 2007 whereas the Xbox 360 followed a few months later in October and December of the same year. In 2021 we saw the release of Ultimate Showdown for PS4 and the R.E.V.O. World Stage debuting on PC in January 2025. Fast forward to now and it’s time for console players to enjoy this (penultimate?) version of this classic fighter.

For those who might’ve missed the franchise, Virtua Fighter is a 3D technical fighting game which requires a bit of practice in order to grasp the game’s technical mechanics. Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage has a unique control scheme; X serves as the block button, A and Y punches, and B kicks. Bumpers and triggers are used for various commands such as P+K+G or special moves.

While you can try to button mash your way to victory, it’ll rarely go well for you. While some characters will allow you to pull an almost combo, others, such as Akira, requires a lot of memory and movement memorization in order to be successful. The game does have a decent roster of characters each with their own unique fighting style. Mastering multiple characters will also be a challenge in and of itself.

The game offers the typical game modes you’d expect. You can play an Arcade mode against A.I. opponents, participate in online tournaments, test your skills in Ranked Match, Training, Offline Versus, Room Match and the World Stage mode. Room match allows you to join a lobby of players for a series of matches or simply enjoy watching online matches.

World Stage is basically like a virtual arcade mode where players will go head to head with A.I. opponents based on real player recorded data over the years in arcades. Each area you’ll need to amass wins, rank up your status and once you’ve reached the required rank, you’ll be able to jump into a boss battle.

As you progress and earn victories, you’ll also complete side challenges and unlock new cosmetic items for all characters. Additionally, you can unlock side tournaments you can conquer and earn additional gear. And there is a ton of items to unlock so you can give your favorite fighter a unique style.

Despite showing its age, SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio managed to give the near 20 year game a wonderful fresh coat of paint of HD visuals. While it obviously doesn’t have the same level of details of recent AAA releases, it still looks great and there’s a nice decent of detail for each characters and the environments are diverse. The soundtrack is an ecclectic mix of rock, electro/poppy tunes. The voiceovers are brief and enjoyable.

There’s nothing inherently wrong here. The main thing is that if you want to be able to make through the game’s various modes, you’ll need a bit of dedication to at least feel comfortable with one character and get some enjoyment out of it. Unlike games like Street Fighter where some people will spam Hadokens, you can’t do this here. You’ll need to learn and remember the basic moves and combos if you want to stand a chance.

Virtua Fighter 5 is a game that ages like fine wine. It was a great game way back when it released almost 20 years and this new rendition, R.E.V.O. World Stage, still holds up perfectly and can stand toe to toe with SF6 and Tekken 8. The downside being is that the game requires a bit of dedication in order to get a grasp of the controls and mechanics. World Stage is a great addictive mode that does feel like you’re progressing. Whether you’ve had your fill of Street Fighter 6 or Tekken 8 or simply need a new challenge, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage is a great game that feels actually rewarding. Highly recommended.