Sega was really starting to hit high points with Saturn development at this time. It's amazing how they went from figuring it out to getting stunning results in just a short time frame.
@@orderofmagnitude-TPATP as the name implies, that's only the graphics portion of the pipeline. There's still a lot of other work that needs to be done in order to get the best results.
@@orderofmagnitude-TPATP SEGA-AM2 was one of the main in house devs who developed the Sega Graphics Library but Fighting Vipers on Sega Saturn was also developed by SEGA-AM2 as they were researching advanced or mature use of the Saturn hardware... I would not be fooled into just believing the SGL hype because SEGA-AM2's reputation was only the line after Sega of America's staff made them rush Daytona USA in early 95.
Fun fact about Pepsiman in Fighting Vipers is that his moveset comprises of a Dural style mishmash of the game's roster's moves with some extra Virtua Fighter thrown in. His moveset and model was repurposed into Kuhn in Fighting Vipers 2
Fighting Vipers is soooo cool on Saturn. I finally got the Japanese version a few weeks ago, made me so happy to add it to my collection. Pepsi Man is a hoot.
It's well worth the pick up. Over the US release you not only get Pepsi Man but also all the removed Honey images. The Euro version is also missing Pepsi Man but kept the Honey Images.
Useless Fact: Honey has a counterpart named Honey The Cat, in Sonic The Fighters. It is code hidden because she was just a test character while they were developing the FV engine and left her there. Later re releases of the game would crash trying to hack it to make her playable, but I think they re-added her again at some point? But she was casted as a character in the Sonic comics though!
@@RetroCore you forgot to mention the special and far more so superior PS4 and PS5 disc version of fighting viper's via lost judgement that is in hd and 4k HDR.
I think the only surprise was no PC port back in the day as Virtua Fighter had one. Still a great game and all the home ports are very good. Such a shame the series has been dead for a long time now...
I just loved the music in this game, still play it even in the car. Never owned the Saturn version but did finally get it on the 360 and it is awesome.
I remember Fighting Vipers, at the Saturn port is still the best port and a landmark for Saturn development with it being the first Saturn game that was rendered almost completely in 3D, oh and the Japanese version gets Pepsi Man as a hidden character which is so cool and the Saturn port even has lighting that was wasn’t even in the model 2 arcade original, as for the PS2 port, it should have been arcade perfect while the Xbox 360 version is arcade emulation, anyway great battle of the ports as always and I’m also surprised you hadn’t covered this until now.
I remember seeing screenshots of Fighting Vipers in magazines as a teenager but some how I just kept missing out on the game in Arcades, couldn't afford a Saturn in the mid 90's and didn't know they had Fighting Vipers 2 for Dreamcast a few years later. Funny story is I did my first PC build ever in 2008 getting a Phenom X3 720 with a Radeon HD4850 video card. At the same time about a week after my build I discovered emuparadise had the Sega Model 2 emulator for windows with a handful of dumps including Fighting Vipers. When I played it for the first time I was blown away loving the game but frustrated that I was only getting 25 to 30fps despite the upgrade. Out of desperation I went back to CompUSA exchanging the AMD mobo for an Intel mobo, exchanging the Phenom X3 for a Core 2 Duo E8600 and the HD4850 for the NVidia GTS450. Despite losing some value cause of their stupid "restocking fees," and blowing all my money past my budget, I went through all that just to fully enjoy playing Fighting Vipers with an improved 75 to 80fps lol. 🤣😇
The sequel Fighting Vipers 2 will have an Arcade perfect port in Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man who Erased his Name!! FV2 on the Dreamcast was an almost perfect conversion of the Arcade original. Even a bit better than Virtua Fighter 3TB on Dreamcast.
i don't usually like the saturn but i must say this game really showcases what it was capable of. it's a shame there wasn't the support for the saturn like there was for the playstation.
AM2 really understood the Saturn. Kinda wonder what they're version of VF3 would have looked like. I’m guessing better than the Dreamcast one at least from a gameplay perspective
I wonder too. My Brother worked in the games industry back then and swears he saw a character demo of Aoi on a plain blue background at some event. Probably ETCS in London.
From PS1/Saturn till PS2/Dreamcast eras have been a great time for the fans of fighting games, especially for those wanting to try non-mainline titles that are not made by SNK & Capcom. Fighting Vipers is one of them and I would love to see the new installment of this game, perhaps they could combine with Virtua Fighter & make an all star Sega fighting game. Sega only focuses more on Sonic, Yakuza, Megami Tensei & Persona series these days and Sega needs to bring back old franchises.
Don't forget that they already combined Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter for Fighters Megamix for Saturn. A second edition of that or even a re-release of it, enhanced or not, would be nice.
Xbox360, Arcade, Saturn, and PS2. Yes, putting the Saturn ahead of the PS2 due to poor interlaced PQ, too dark, and bland colors. XB360 is the sharpest, and appears to have the best color out of the other ports. The backgrounds look so much more detailed and vibrant as well. The Saturn image is clean, but has mesh transparencies, something I can't stand. The VDP does a great job on the ground textures, and the backgrounds look good to me. I use to own it on Saturn back in the day as well.
You barely notice the mesh on a CRT or even LCD with analog connections. But if you're playing on emulators, it looks very noticeable and bad. I recently purchased the Xbox 360 version and was very impressed with how good it looked!
@Bristecom I recall seeing the mesh on CRTs. I hear people say that, and I'm like it must have been the RF connector or a cheap ass TV. I can recall buying either MK3 or MK Trilogy and seeing the mesh transparency on my Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp sets we had. Wrestle Mania Arcade had the mesh if I'm not mistaken. It was certainly visible on a CRT. We used S-Video connectors, which made the colors pop a bit on the Panasonic and Sharp.
@@hababacon Yeah, I didn't say it was invisible with a good enough TV and cable. I played with S-Video on a nice Sony Trinitron back in the day, and then moved to a Sony LCD TV and I recall seeing it but I didn't think it was too bad (depending on the size of the mesh). But perfectly replicated emulators on modern TV's and monitors make this stand out significantly more.
Actually, you do. Well unless you're using horrid composite or even worse, RF. I played my Saturn in RGB, even in the days of CRTs. The mesh is very noticeable. Playing with composite though does blend the mesh.
Used to have a giant poster of Candy/Honey in rather revealing attire; lol my step dad always felt uneasy about it - even though its that typical silicon graphics pre rendered type deal. I think i got it from sega Saturn magazine.... Funny thing is.... I have never actually played fighting vipers, only the sequal (I bought last bronx instead) and never played megamix either!! One of my regrets for not having those in my collection (irrelevant obviously as its all gone now...) Oh well. And this is why I love battle of the ports because I still feel part of it even though I haven't had my collection for a decade now.
Haha, I had similar old Sega female character posters that my dad made me take down. Fighters Megamix was one of my favorite games on Saturn. So many characters and stages and lots of fun! I was lucky to have bought it for cheap back in the day. I recommend trying it on emulator at least. Every time you beat a series, you get a new character and some characters are hilarious! It also has a nice art gallery you can unlock.
They really did seem insistent on making Honey the sexy girl, huh? Can't say they were wrong, but it's a bit weird to me since my first introduction to her was the furry version in Sonic the Fighters.
@@zanegandini5350 yea I saw that as I was showing my wife or trying to find this poster I had on Google... You must be a little younger than us old old folk if that was your first introduction too the character
Never played it before, looks fun, i remember reading about it's sequel Fighters Megamix, and how VF characters included there also had moves from VF3 :) Wonder why Pepsiman game wasn't converted for PSX?
A weird thing I noticed with the 360 version is at the start of each round the announcers voice skips a bit so it sounds like "let-e action begin" instead of "let the action begin"
I have the (American) Saturn version of Fighting Vipers, and it does play great. Also great fun in Fighters Megamix, a game I keep hoping Sega will revisit, though highly unlikely at this point. I do have the Japanese version of FMM (got my Saturn switched to play Japanese games back in 1998, since clearly the best Saturn games never made it to the US). Also, I have the 360 version on my Xbox One X, which does 4k. Haven't played it in awhile so I should look and see how it looks in 4k :)
Fighters Megamix never got a US release? Man, the US Saturn line-up sucked. It got a UK and European release. I wonder how many good games didn't get a US release. Did Parodius make it? That was also released in the UK and Dragon Ball saw a release in Spain and France.
@@RetroCore Oh yeah, FMM did come out in the US (that's where I first played it), but I got the Japanese version from my niece years ago. I got my Saturn switched because that way I was able to play KOF 95-97, Samurai Spirits 3 and 4, X-Men vs Street Fighter (the PlayStation version did come out in the US, but the superior Saturn version didn't), the non-MPEG Lunar Silver Star Story, the original Sakura Taisen and Grandia, among others. And my Saturn still plays, just as well as when I first bought it in January 1997 (the CD drive did crap out a year ago, but I replaced the drive and it plays right as rain).
It's funny that you did this comparison now because I just looked into it myself and purchased the Xbox 360 Live Arcade version a few days ago. All the Model 2 ports on 360 are nice. A shame that they pulled Daytona USA off the store and never offered the Virtual On port for the US (despite having the newer OT Dreamcast sequel). By the way, you forgot the port in Yakuza/Lost Judgment which can be played in the Club Sega arcade with crappy scanline filters over it! LOL
>Daytona USA I think it's easy to guess why that game was pulled. Simulation racers are almost always the first victim of trademark/copyright problems.
@@RetroCore It does have the fully playable Honey the Cat character in Sonic the Fighters so I think they are ports of the Xbox Live Arcade/PSN versions but with less features and crappy filters.
Owning a Sega Saturn back then and trying to find information of Fighting Vipers in the U.S.A. left you looking for the American gamer magazines of the time that had already or most of them apparently decided not to give the arcade game much coverage. (they were covering Tekken, Tekken 2, Soul Edge/Blade, Street Fighter variants and Mortal Kombat variants with Virtua Fighter barely getting much coverage) It took a few if not just one of the American gamer magazines to immediately point out that there was some censorship with the American or North America release (since Sega of America basically held the gates) so on one had it is understandable that Pepsiman is not possible to be included but a lot of the extra content like Honey's variant outfits and bonus art.. all of which is covered, is early CGi and fairly tame for back then and looks G rated now and yet that stuff was removed by Sega of America's 90s staff who kept doing these things not just with Sega Saturn games but MegaDrive/Genesis games coming from Japan and all because they kept insisting that their target age was twelve year old boys... so any new retro fans should not be surprised why apart from the Sega of America staff created 32X and intentional mishandling of the Sega Saturn overall that most late teens and twenty year old plus gamers ended up going to Sony PlayStation so as not to be treated like twelve year olds after they used their hard earned job money to buy a game system and games... see this is a key detail that most fanboys forget about... the tyrants that managed Sega of America during the entire 1990s decade would intentionally and deliberately alienate the older gamers while SoA tried to chase Nintendo fanbase money and then turned tail around 97 and all of a sudded wanted to support JRPGs... meanwhile Sony's PS1 was weaker hardware in some areas but any staff trying to pull those SoA antics ended up let go even when some of those ended up somehow at SoA because they had the same line of thinking. Also note that on Dreamcast, neither Virtual On nor Fighting Vipers 2 were officially localized by Sega of America... not even Shemue II for that matter which is why some of us will always say that the entire 1990s Sega of America staff were tyrants who sucked and brought the company to ruin, something not even Sony or Nintendo could do... Microsoft technically did because Sega would end up stuck in fourth place but that's by 2001.
Sorry, can't do that one because the Android version isnt available anymore in Japan. I also can't download the Xbox 360 version either because it's delisted.
XBox 360 ports of these classic Sega Arcade tittles are not only upgrades on the Saturn ports but often they end up looking better than the Original Arcade Games themselves, thanks to the HD resolution 16:9 widescreen support.
6:34 Isn't it that standard NTSC TVs only could do 480i or 240p? Unless you mean it would've been better that it be 240p instead of any form of interlaced.
No, by the time the PS2 was released TVs could easily handle 480p. Practically all Dreamcast games can run at 480p via the VGA adapter and when not using that they still run in Progressive scan. It's a mystery why the PS2 mostly runs in interlaced mode. It looks like crap.
'90s gaming magazines like Gamefan called Pepsiman "Dural's mutant Brother." We'll have a legit playable version of Fighting Vipers 2 in the upcoming Yakuza/Like A Dragon game. The series is well known for featuring playable old-school SEGA Arcade games.
There's a Dragon Engine version of the game that is available in Judgment and Lost Judgment, two Yakuza / Like A Dragon series spin-offs. I am not sure if it is just emulation or a modified port of the PS3/X360 versions, but at least is in 1080p, since it is possible to play it on PS4/5, PC and XOne/Series.
@@RetroCore I never even go to the arcades in those games. Tried playing Space Harrier in some Yakuza title, and it played generic background ambience over the game audio which was enough for me to give up. I'd prefer a proper arcade collection with everything they've put into those games.
Oh shoot, this game brings me back! I remember loving it on the Saturn while playing as Grace. I also remember reading some gaming mag & was annoyed that the Japanese version have all of these exclusive extras since I only had the USA one. Especially Pepsi-Man! I never heard of that mascot back in the days but I just love drinking Pepsi. Hell, I start drinking 7-up more cuz of the 1st Cool Spot game.
Ranking and Random Mode also appears in the original Arcade release as well. You mention the XBL/PSN release as being emulated, and while that's true, the PS2 version was also an emulation of the arcade program ROMs with graphical data optimized for load times on the PS2 rather than the graphic ROMs. In the side-by-side comparisons, the arcade version (I'm assuming m2emulator emulated), clock/timing emulation is not completely accurate, which is why the arcade version looks to lag behind in the attract mode. 30 elapsed ingame seconds takes 33 realtime seconds for the m2emulator.
As someone who didn't grow up playing either game, I actually prefer Fighting Vipers over Virtua Fighter 2, if I'm to be honest. That said, I can understand why people don't, because of the goofy characters. I've only ever played the Saturn versions, and they're great.
Like Virtua fighter 2, I always find it amazing that not only did the game run at 60 frames a second, but they also put it in the Saturn's high res mode. The only thing that I don't much care for, in the entire game, is that stupid helicopter on the last stage. I remember Dan Jevins, gamefan magazine's "knightmare", actually apologizing for asking Sega to put the helicopter in there. LOL
I do want to pick up the Japanese Saturn version at some point, but priority for next Saturn purchase right now, when I decide to make that purchase, will be Last Bronx, Japanese version as well.
Last Bronx on the Saturn comes with so many extras. There's a moves poster sheet, stickers and other flyers. Of course, there's the bonus moves guide disc as well.
@@RetroCore Not sure why I am after 3D fighters of the 32 bit and PS2 eras, but after buying Soul Edge PS1, and Soul Calibur 2 PS2, I want SC 3, and Last Bronx (I have a boatload of other fighting games too) I kind of have an urge to possess and play them. The Soul games I played and enjoyed at a friends house, Last Bronx has that same feel, with the weapons and all. My guess is if I find a copy with that guide, it'll be much higher than the 30 bucks normal copies with just disc and manual currently go for on Ebay (or not, holy smokes, prices have come down for copies right now, hopefully around Christmas I can still find one with the special disc and extras for the $25 I see a couple for now). Fighting Vipers Japan version has that extra something I want it for, Pepsiman. Last pickups, Namco Anthology 2 took a nice chunk of change to get, mind you not as bad as it usually sells for, mine ran $44 with free shipping, it usually goes for around $70 to $80. I bought it for the Valkyrie no Bouken remake on it.
@@RetroCore I used to master every single character on this game. When the PS2 and PS3 version came out...holy 💩! I couldn't play it anymore 😬🤭 Too much FIGHTERS MEGAMIX 🤣
I was wondering : "Wait, he didn't make a BotP on this game ?!" Also, since you made a episode on this game, you have to talk about his little brother, aka Sonic the Fighters.
I wonder if anyone ever mistook Jane for a man.... She does have some resemblance to Vasquez from Aliens. As does Bahn to JoJo, of those bizarre adventures.
BAHN. Character in Japanese games (mandatory) that is "Totally Not a Nod to Kūjō Jōtarō!®️" In the last seven years (or so) in popular culture: "Is that a..." Reply: "No, it's not a JoJo reference😉"
Wow! They just straight up stole Jotaro Kujo and slapped the name "Bahn" on him. What's the deal with these kinds of fighting games and somehow managing to skirt copyright infringement?
Hi Mark, Mark, I was wondering if you be interested on taking another requests for you to review on the Battle of the Ports bro. The game is called. "The Last Ninja". I checked onto your channel to do a quick search, but I came up with nothing. The game is available on the Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, and Archimedes I think it would make a fine edition for the channel bro. 8^) Anthony..
Ah, the Hornet is great fan service but it's not really a great character to control. Pepsi Man plays like some thought went into his move set as a main character.
Yet another 3D fighter from Sega? And what sets this one apart form Last Bronx and Virtua Fighter? Yeah, it looks like a fine game and all, but Namco does 3D fighters better IMO. I see you're taking it easy this week with yet another game that only has 3 home ports. Honestly, that's completely valid after all you're suffering last week. You have anything planned yet for the 500th episode? I can't believe you've already reached that milestone, seems like it was yesterday. Honestly, you need to compare Jungle Hunt soon, a true classic from Taito. I don't think that would be a good 500th candidate per say, but definitely one to consider for some time.
You should be thankful to Virtua FIghter because it is the first ever true 3D fighter. Without Virtua Fighter. Tekken. Soul, Dead or Alive would not have existed.
@@gouravchakraborty9801 I never specified I wasn't thankful torwards Virtua Fighter. It was a great game for being the first true 3D fighter. Obviously it was outclasses over time, but that doesn't make it's achievements any less special.
I find myself enjoying these old Sega 3D fighters more than any other 3D fighter. DOA is still my favorite series in the category but Virtua Fighter is my second favorite and Fighting Vipers is certainly up there and deserved more attention. I loved Fighters Megamix on Saturn especially as it was practically the Super Smash Bros of Sega.
You do know that a large part of the "Namco" games team, were previous Virtua Fighter team. Basically learned how to things right at Sega, then took off with a higher bidder. If that is not a sell out, I don't know what that is.
Somewhat impressive at start but it gets boring after a while, same or even worse goes with its sequel. Its legacy was saved at Fighters Megamix though as thats a great game.
Sega was really starting to hit high points with Saturn development at this time. It's amazing how they went from figuring it out to getting stunning results in just a short time frame.
Sega graphics library
U ah, just compare this to the original Virtua Fighter. Such a leap in graphic fedelity.
@@orderofmagnitude-TPATP as the name implies, that's only the graphics portion of the pipeline. There's still a lot of other work that needs to be done in order to get the best results.
@@orderofmagnitude-TPATP SEGA-AM2 was one of the main in house devs who developed the Sega Graphics Library but Fighting Vipers on Sega Saturn was also developed by SEGA-AM2 as they were researching advanced or mature use of the Saturn hardware... I would not be fooled into just believing the SGL hype because SEGA-AM2's reputation was only the line after Sega of America's staff made them rush Daytona USA in early 95.
Fun fact about Pepsiman in Fighting Vipers is that his moveset comprises of a Dural style mishmash of the game's roster's moves with some extra Virtua Fighter thrown in. His moveset and model was repurposed into Kuhn in Fighting Vipers 2
Nice info about fighting vipers 2.
Fighting Vipers is soooo cool on Saturn. I finally got the Japanese version a few weeks ago, made me so happy to add it to my collection. Pepsi Man is a hoot.
It's well worth the pick up. Over the US release you not only get Pepsi Man but also all the removed Honey images. The Euro version is also missing Pepsi Man but kept the Honey Images.
Honey/Candy is my main in Fighters Megamix.
I have the full version of it on the MW3 Limited Edition Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Useless Fact: Honey has a counterpart named Honey The Cat, in Sonic The Fighters. It is code hidden because she was just a test character while they were developing the FV engine and left her there. Later re releases of the game would crash trying to hack it to make her playable, but I think they re-added her again at some point? But she was casted as a character in the Sonic comics though!
Interesting bit of trivia 👍
My favourite fighting game. Never played the sequel.
It's not as fun I found.
This is peak polygonal Sega outside Virtua Fighter. I remember seeing a high energy ad on TV for the game in 1997.
I'm not sure about that.
This is probably one of the few games I've seen that had great ports on all systems 👍
Pepsiman getting his own theme as a victory fanfare is perfect.
He also has his own theme in the character select too when he first appears.
@@RetroCore you forgot to mention the special and far more so superior PS4 and PS5 disc version of fighting viper's via lost judgement that is in hd and 4k HDR.
Sometimes I forget this wasn't just a Saturn game
That just goes to show how strong of a title it was on the Saturn.
I think the only surprise was no PC port back in the day as Virtua Fighter had one. Still a great game and all the home ports are very good. Such a shame the series has been dead for a long time now...
Now that you mention it, yeah that is odd.
I have the japanese version of this game on my Saturn and we played it a lot back in the day. One of my most favorite fighting games of all time!
Yeah, this was a really good time game back in the day.
I just loved the music in this game, still play it even in the car. Never owned the Saturn version but did finally get it on the 360 and it is awesome.
I remember Fighting Vipers, at the Saturn port is still the best port and a landmark for Saturn development with it being the first Saturn game that was rendered almost completely in 3D, oh and the Japanese version gets Pepsi Man as a hidden character which is so cool and the Saturn port even has lighting that was wasn’t even in the model 2 arcade original, as for the PS2 port, it should have been arcade perfect while the Xbox 360 version is arcade emulation, anyway great battle of the ports as always and I’m also surprised you hadn’t covered this until now.
I remember seeing screenshots of Fighting Vipers in magazines as a teenager but some how I just kept missing out on the game in Arcades, couldn't afford a Saturn in the mid 90's and didn't know they had Fighting Vipers 2 for Dreamcast a few years later. Funny story is I did my first PC build ever in 2008 getting a Phenom X3 720 with a Radeon HD4850 video card. At the same time about a week after my build I discovered emuparadise had the Sega Model 2 emulator for windows with a handful of dumps including Fighting Vipers. When I played it for the first time I was blown away loving the game but frustrated that I was only getting 25 to 30fps despite the upgrade. Out of desperation I went back to CompUSA exchanging the AMD mobo for an Intel mobo, exchanging the Phenom X3 for a Core 2 Duo E8600 and the HD4850 for the NVidia GTS450. Despite losing some value cause of their stupid "restocking fees," and blowing all my money past my budget, I went through all that just to fully enjoy playing Fighting Vipers with an improved 75 to 80fps lol. 🤣😇
The sequel Fighting Vipers 2 will have an Arcade perfect port in Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man who Erased his Name!!
FV2 on the Dreamcast was an almost perfect conversion of the Arcade original. Even a bit better than Virtua Fighter 3TB on Dreamcast.
The Saturn version is amazing considering the hardware!
I agree. Looking at the side by side comparison the Saturn port holds up extremely well.
i don't usually like the saturn but i must say this game really showcases what it was capable of. it's a shame there wasn't the support for the saturn like there was for the playstation.
The Saturn was and still is awesome 👍
AM2 really understood the Saturn. Kinda wonder what they're version of VF3 would have looked like. I’m guessing better than the Dreamcast one at least from a gameplay perspective
I wonder too. My Brother worked in the games industry back then and swears he saw a character demo of Aoi on a plain blue background at some event. Probably ETCS in London.
From PS1/Saturn till PS2/Dreamcast eras have been a great time for the fans of fighting games, especially for those wanting to try non-mainline titles that are not made by SNK & Capcom. Fighting Vipers is one of them and I would love to see the new installment of this game, perhaps they could combine with Virtua Fighter & make an all star Sega fighting game. Sega only focuses more on Sonic, Yakuza, Megami Tensei & Persona series these days and Sega needs to bring back old franchises.
Don't forget that they already combined Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter for Fighters Megamix for Saturn. A second edition of that or even a re-release of it, enhanced or not, would be nice.
@ravagingwolverine Yeah, I forgot Fighter Megamix existed. With that said, a newer installment of that game would be more welcome.
Couldn't agree more! Fighters Megamix 2 is what we need.
i got a series X as of last week. and didnt know this game ran on it. off to buy this
Yeah, there are many backwards compatible games. Daytona is another one. I have most of the Sega stuff on my 360 and Series X.
Xbox360, Arcade, Saturn, and PS2. Yes, putting the Saturn ahead of the PS2 due to poor interlaced PQ, too dark, and bland colors. XB360 is the sharpest, and appears to have the best color out of the other ports. The backgrounds look so much more detailed and vibrant as well. The Saturn image is clean, but has mesh transparencies, something I can't stand. The VDP does a great job on the ground textures, and the backgrounds look good to me. I use to own it on Saturn back in the day as well.
You barely notice the mesh on a CRT or even LCD with analog connections. But if you're playing on emulators, it looks very noticeable and bad. I recently purchased the Xbox 360 version and was very impressed with how good it looked!
@Bristecom I recall seeing the mesh on CRTs. I hear people say that, and I'm like it must have been the RF connector or a cheap ass TV. I can recall buying either MK3 or MK Trilogy and seeing the mesh transparency on my Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp sets we had. Wrestle Mania Arcade had the mesh if I'm not mistaken. It was certainly visible on a CRT. We used S-Video connectors, which made the colors pop a bit on the Panasonic and Sharp.
@@hababacon Yeah, I didn't say it was invisible with a good enough TV and cable. I played with S-Video on a nice Sony Trinitron back in the day, and then moved to a Sony LCD TV and I recall seeing it but I didn't think it was too bad (depending on the size of the mesh). But perfectly replicated emulators on modern TV's and monitors make this stand out significantly more.
Actually, you do. Well unless you're using horrid composite or even worse, RF. I played my Saturn in RGB, even in the days of CRTs. The mesh is very noticeable. Playing with composite though does blend the mesh.
Exactly. Mesh was there. I guess like me you used RGB.
Used to have a giant poster of Candy/Honey in rather revealing attire; lol my step dad always felt uneasy about it - even though its that typical silicon graphics pre rendered type deal. I think i got it from sega Saturn magazine....
Funny thing is....
I have never actually played fighting vipers, only the sequal (I bought last bronx instead) and never played megamix either!! One of my regrets for not having those in my collection (irrelevant obviously as its all gone now...)
Oh well.
And this is why I love battle of the ports because I still feel part of it even though I haven't had my collection for a decade now.
Haha, I had similar old Sega female character posters that my dad made me take down. Fighters Megamix was one of my favorite games on Saturn. So many characters and stages and lots of fun! I was lucky to have bought it for cheap back in the day. I recommend trying it on emulator at least. Every time you beat a series, you get a new character and some characters are hilarious! It also has a nice art gallery you can unlock.
They really did seem insistent on making Honey the sexy girl, huh? Can't say they were wrong, but it's a bit weird to me since my first introduction to her was the furry version in Sonic the Fighters.
@@zanegandini5350 yea I saw that as I was showing my wife or trying to find this poster I had on Google...
You must be a little younger than us old old folk if that was your first introduction too the character
Fighters Megamix at the time was amazing. So much crammed in to that game. The secrets just kept on coming and coming.
Ah, I know that poster. Probay had thag one on the wall myself at some point.
Never played it before, looks fun, i remember reading about it's sequel Fighters Megamix, and how VF characters included there also had moves from VF3 :) Wonder why Pepsiman game wasn't converted for PSX?
Fighters Megamix is more of a fan service game mixed between Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers with other Sega IPs thrown in 👍
I remember playing this on DreamCast I think that was part 2
Yeah, that was part 2.
A weird thing I noticed with the 360 version is at the start of each round the announcers voice skips a bit so it sounds like "let-e action begin" instead of "let the action begin"
I imported the Japanese version so I got to play as PEPSIMAN!!!!
Good choice!
Me too. I did it back in the day and kept the Japanese version because of Pepsiman, lol
I have the (American) Saturn version of Fighting Vipers, and it does play great. Also great fun in Fighters Megamix, a game I keep hoping Sega will revisit, though highly unlikely at this point. I do have the Japanese version of FMM (got my Saturn switched to play Japanese games back in 1998, since clearly the best Saturn games never made it to the US). Also, I have the 360 version on my Xbox One X, which does 4k. Haven't played it in awhile so I should look and see how it looks in 4k :)
Fighters Megamix never got a US release? Man, the US Saturn line-up sucked. It got a UK and European release. I wonder how many good games didn't get a US release. Did Parodius make it? That was also released in the UK and Dragon Ball saw a release in Spain and France.
@@RetroCore Oh yeah, FMM did come out in the US (that's where I first played it), but I got the Japanese version from my niece years ago. I got my Saturn switched because that way I was able to play KOF 95-97, Samurai Spirits 3 and 4, X-Men vs Street Fighter (the PlayStation version did come out in the US, but the superior Saturn version didn't), the non-MPEG Lunar Silver Star Story, the original Sakura Taisen and Grandia, among others. And my Saturn still plays, just as well as when I first bought it in January 1997 (the CD drive did crap out a year ago, but I replaced the drive and it plays right as rain).
2:40-2:42
Perfectly cut blood splatter
That's one game I didn't remember existed. I remember you could play as the Daytona USA car in the Saturn version... I think.
Ah, you're thinking of Fighters Mega Mix.
@@RetroCore Oh, then I didn't remembered this game at all. xD
It's funny that you did this comparison now because I just looked into it myself and purchased the Xbox 360 Live Arcade version a few days ago. All the Model 2 ports on 360 are nice. A shame that they pulled Daytona USA off the store and never offered the Virtual On port for the US (despite having the newer OT Dreamcast sequel). By the way, you forgot the port in Yakuza/Lost Judgment which can be played in the Club Sega arcade with crappy scanline filters over it! LOL
>Daytona USA
I think it's easy to guess why that game was pulled. Simulation racers are almost always the first victim of trademark/copyright problems.
I didn't know about the Yakuza inbeded version but I think it's safe to say it's just emulation with a crappy filter😊
@@RetroCore It does have the fully playable Honey the Cat character in Sonic the Fighters so I think they are ports of the Xbox Live Arcade/PSN versions but with less features and crappy filters.
Amazing game! My cousin had it, and also Virtua Fighter 2. Lately, I bought Fighters Megamix for my own console 😏. Great memories with that games.
Good choice!
Oh one last thing judgment has fighting viper
I have that game too on my PS4.
That port is just emulated though.
Owning a Sega Saturn back then and trying to find information of Fighting Vipers in the U.S.A. left you looking for the American gamer magazines of the time that had already or most of them apparently decided not to give the arcade game much coverage. (they were covering Tekken, Tekken 2, Soul Edge/Blade, Street Fighter variants and Mortal Kombat variants with Virtua Fighter barely getting much coverage)
It took a few if not just one of the American gamer magazines to immediately point out that there was some censorship with the American or North America release (since Sega of America basically held the gates) so on one had it is understandable that Pepsiman is not possible to be included but a lot of the extra content like Honey's variant outfits and bonus art.. all of which is covered, is early CGi and fairly tame for back then and looks G rated now and yet that stuff was removed by Sega of America's 90s staff who kept doing these things not just with Sega Saturn games but MegaDrive/Genesis games coming from Japan and all because they kept insisting that their target age was twelve year old boys... so any new retro fans should not be surprised why apart from the Sega of America staff created 32X and intentional mishandling of the Sega Saturn overall that most late teens and twenty year old plus gamers ended up going to Sony PlayStation so as not to be treated like twelve year olds after they used their hard earned job money to buy a game system and games... see this is a key detail that most fanboys forget about... the tyrants that managed Sega of America during the entire 1990s decade would intentionally and deliberately alienate the older gamers while SoA tried to chase Nintendo fanbase money and then turned tail around 97 and all of a sudded wanted to support JRPGs... meanwhile Sony's PS1 was weaker hardware in some areas but any staff trying to pull those SoA antics ended up let go even when some of those ended up somehow at SoA because they had the same line of thinking.
Also note that on Dreamcast, neither Virtual On nor Fighting Vipers 2 were officially localized by Sega of America... not even Shemue II for that matter which is why some of us will always say that the entire 1990s Sega of America staff were tyrants who sucked and brought the company to ruin, something not even Sony or Nintendo could do... Microsoft technically did because Sega would end up stuck in fourth place but that's by 2001.
Request for 23th September 2023:
Battle of the Ports - SoulCalibur Show 478
Sorry, can't do that one because the Android version isnt available anymore in Japan. I also can't download the Xbox 360 version either because it's delisted.
i own the ss and ps3 ports...cool game...only surpassed by fighter megamix and fv2 ^^
Xbox360 port is the best but my favorite will always be Saturn's version, still have original disk.
It's my favourite too.
XBox 360 ports of these classic Sega Arcade tittles are not only upgrades on the Saturn ports but often they end up looking better than the Original Arcade Games themselves, thanks to the HD resolution 16:9 widescreen support.
Thank every last one of yall in the comments.... Keep this game ALIVE!!!!! ArmStone City Still Stands!!!!
6:34 Isn't it that standard NTSC TVs only could do 480i or 240p? Unless you mean it would've been better that it be 240p instead of any form of interlaced.
No, by the time the PS2 was released TVs could easily handle 480p. Practically all Dreamcast games can run at 480p via the VGA adapter and when not using that they still run in Progressive scan. It's a mystery why the PS2 mostly runs in interlaced mode. It looks like crap.
@@RetroCore I'm pretty sure NTSC with AV composite only does 480i. Did the PS2 do RGB or VGA?
'90s gaming magazines like Gamefan called Pepsiman "Dural's mutant Brother."
We'll have a legit playable version of Fighting Vipers 2 in the upcoming Yakuza/Like A Dragon game.
The series is well known for featuring playable old-school SEGA Arcade games.
We already have a legit way to play Fighting Vipers 2. It was released on the Dreamcast in Japan and Europe.
@@RetroCore neither country and continent of which I'm a resident.
The west never had a way to play unless you wanted to import or emulate.
Awww, no mention of the Daytona USA car in Fighters Megamix? :)
There's a Dragon Engine version of the game that is available in Judgment and Lost Judgment, two Yakuza / Like A Dragon series spin-offs. I am not sure if it is just emulation or a modified port of the PS3/X360 versions, but at least is in 1080p, since it is possible to play it on PS4/5, PC and XOne/Series.
Man, I wish they'd release all of these games hidden in the Yakuza style games on a compilation disc. Daytona 2 is hidden in the latest installment.
@@RetroCore I never even go to the arcades in those games. Tried playing Space Harrier in some Yakuza title, and it played generic background ambience over the game audio which was enough for me to give up. I'd prefer a proper arcade collection with everything they've put into those games.
Oh shoot, this game brings me back! I remember loving it on the Saturn while playing as Grace. I also remember reading some gaming mag & was annoyed that the Japanese version have all of these exclusive extras since I only had the USA one. Especially Pepsi-Man! I never heard of that mascot back in the days but I just love drinking Pepsi. Hell, I start drinking 7-up more cuz of the 1st Cool Spot game.
"Pepsi for TV game "
Lol, that phrase is legendary. But yeah, video games in Japan are known as Terebi Gamu Or TV Game
FV because of VF
Ranking and Random Mode also appears in the original Arcade release as well. You mention the XBL/PSN release as being emulated, and while that's true, the PS2 version was also an emulation of the arcade program ROMs with graphical data optimized for load times on the PS2 rather than the graphic ROMs. In the side-by-side comparisons, the arcade version (I'm assuming m2emulator emulated), clock/timing emulation is not completely accurate, which is why the arcade version looks to lag behind in the attract mode. 30 elapsed ingame seconds takes 33 realtime seconds for the m2emulator.
The PS2 version was also emulation based? Wow. I never knew that. Some nice information..
Can you please fill out the incomplete timecode list in the description which is showing only the arcade version?
Sorry, I'm so busy this weekend. I'm not at home no so I don't have access to the raw video file with the time stamps.
I wish they had done a Dreamcast port. :(
They could have added it to Fighting Vipers 2. Then again, if you're in the US you wouldn't have got thag as it was a Japan and EU only release.
@@RetroCore it could have been beautiful.
The best way to play SEGA games is on SEGA hardware. Period.
While the X360 looks good and sharp, the Saturn is just way better overall.
As someone who didn't grow up playing either game, I actually prefer Fighting Vipers over Virtua Fighter 2, if I'm to be honest. That said, I can understand why people don't, because of the goofy characters. I've only ever played the Saturn versions, and they're great.
I can see that. Fighting Vipers is much easier to get in to. While it isn't as deep as VF2, there's still a fair bit to learn about each character.
Like Virtua fighter 2, I always find it amazing that not only did the game run at 60 frames a second, but they also put it in the Saturn's high res mode. The only thing that I don't much care for, in the entire game, is that stupid helicopter on the last stage. I remember Dan Jevins, gamefan magazine's "knightmare", actually apologizing for asking Sega to put the helicopter in there. LOL
The helicopter does look rather dumb the way it darts about all over the place.
@@RetroCore It does, and should probably have never been included...or, at the very least, keep it at a long-shot sort....
Not a stinker in the lot. Amazing how great AM2 was.
I do want to pick up the Japanese Saturn version at some point, but priority for next Saturn purchase right now, when I decide to make that purchase, will be Last Bronx, Japanese version as well.
Last Bronx on the Saturn comes with so many extras. There's a moves poster sheet, stickers and other flyers. Of course, there's the bonus moves guide disc as well.
@@RetroCore Not sure why I am after 3D fighters of the 32 bit and PS2 eras, but after buying Soul Edge PS1, and Soul Calibur 2 PS2, I want SC 3, and Last Bronx (I have a boatload of other fighting games too) I kind of have an urge to possess and play them. The Soul games I played and enjoyed at a friends house, Last Bronx has that same feel, with the weapons and all. My guess is if I find a copy with that guide, it'll be much higher than the 30 bucks normal copies with just disc and manual currently go for on Ebay (or not, holy smokes, prices have come down for copies right now, hopefully around Christmas I can still find one with the special disc and extras for the $25 I see a couple for now). Fighting Vipers Japan version has that extra something I want it for, Pepsiman.
Last pickups, Namco Anthology 2 took a nice chunk of change to get, mind you not as bad as it usually sells for, mine ran $44 with free shipping, it usually goes for around $70 to $80. I bought it for the Valkyrie no Bouken remake on it.
The Saturn version was incredible 😮
This game is very weird playing now 😢
Yeah, it takes a while to get back in to this one.
@@RetroCore I used to master every single character on this game. When the PS2 and PS3 version came out...holy 💩! I couldn't play it anymore 😬🤭
Too much FIGHTERS MEGAMIX 🤣
I was wondering : "Wait, he didn't make a BotP on this game ?!"
Also, since you made a episode on this game, you have to talk about his little brother, aka Sonic the Fighters.
Sadly Sonic the Fighters only has one port to the Xbox 360 and PS3 which are identical.
I wonder if anyone ever mistook Jane for a man.... She does have some resemblance to Vasquez from Aliens. As does Bahn to JoJo, of those bizarre adventures.
I'm sure Vasquez was an influence😉
I think you need to fix the time stamps in the description.
BAHN. Character in Japanese games (mandatory) that is "Totally Not a Nod to Kūjō Jōtarō!®️"
In the last seven years (or so) in popular culture:
"Is that a..."
Reply: "No, it's not a JoJo reference😉"
No Dreamcast port? What were you thinking AM2?
this was segas response tp battle arena toishinden and tekken ........i thought it was VF 2.5 really
4:57 PEPSI MAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturn port was great!
It sure was. It really threw a lot in there. 3D area s, gurad shading and lighting.
Wow! They just straight up stole Jotaro Kujo and slapped the name "Bahn" on him. What's the deal with these kinds of fighting games and somehow managing to skirt copyright infringement?
They may have had the blessing of the original artist. We don't k ow for sure.
Missing time codes 🙂
Yep, I'm not at home this weekend.
Hi Mark,
Mark, I was wondering if you be interested on taking another requests for you to review on the Battle of the Ports bro. The game is called. "The Last Ninja". I checked onto your channel to do a quick search, but I came up with nothing.
The game is available on the Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, and Archimedes
I think it would make a fine edition for the channel bro. 8^)
Anthony..
Last Ninja I've heard of. It's a real tough one. Maybe in the future. For now I'll add it to the list.
You say Pepsiman is the best extra character in the Saturn version but what about...
...the Hornet 41?
Ah, the Hornet is great fan service but it's not really a great character to control. Pepsi Man plays like some thought went into his move set as a main character.
This one just never did anything for me. I'd place it under Last Bronx in terms of holding my interest.
Last Bronx is more stylish but Fighting Vipers is more raw. I like both.
Pepsiman?
SEGA SATURN!!!!!
Yet another 3D fighter from Sega? And what sets this one apart form Last Bronx and Virtua Fighter? Yeah, it looks like a fine game and all, but Namco does 3D fighters better IMO. I see you're taking it easy this week with yet another game that only has 3 home ports. Honestly, that's completely valid after all you're suffering last week. You have anything planned yet for the 500th episode? I can't believe you've already reached that milestone, seems like it was yesterday. Honestly, you need to compare Jungle Hunt soon, a true classic from Taito. I don't think that would be a good 500th candidate per say, but definitely one to consider for some time.
You should be thankful to Virtua FIghter because it is the first ever true 3D fighter. Without Virtua Fighter. Tekken. Soul, Dead or Alive would not have existed.
@@gouravchakraborty9801 I never specified I wasn't thankful torwards Virtua Fighter. It was a great game for being the first true 3D fighter. Obviously it was outclasses over time, but that doesn't make it's achievements any less special.
I find myself enjoying these old Sega 3D fighters more than any other 3D fighter. DOA is still my favorite series in the category but Virtua Fighter is my second favorite and Fighting Vipers is certainly up there and deserved more attention. I loved Fighters Megamix on Saturn especially as it was practically the Super Smash Bros of Sega.
VF2-1994
FV-1995
LB-1996
Do some research before complaining.
You do know that a large part of the "Namco" games team, were previous Virtua Fighter team. Basically learned how to things right at Sega, then took off with a higher bidder. If that is not a sell out, I don't know what that is.
Somewhat impressive at start but it gets boring after a while, same or even worse goes with its sequel.
Its legacy was saved at Fighters Megamix though as thats a great game.
Fighters Megamix is the best.