After more than 25 years since it was initially released, Virtua Fighter 3 is getting an official update to its arcade version in Japan. Sega has announced that the second iteration of the game, Virtua Fighter 3tb, which stands for Team Battle, will be getting an updated version that allows people to play online via its ALL.Net arcade download system. This newer version is set to be rolled out onto the Japanese arcade locations later this week on November 28.
Sega also released a teaser trailer, albeit only in Japanese which makes sense as this is intended only for their market. For those who aren’t aware, arcade games are very much alive in Japan and are frequented daily by a plethora of gamers, especially those within the fighting game circuits. The trailer shows gameplay from Virtua Fighter 3 tb while highlighting some of the new features that the online edition comes with. This includes online battles based on the technology which is based on the technology of Virtua Fighter V: Ultimate Showdown, a ranking system, and a new website that allows players to view their overall results and rank.
As we’ve already mentioned, Virtua Fighter 3tb Online is essentially Virtua Fighter 3tb, which originally launched in September 1997, with the original Virtua Fighter 3 being released the year before. At the time, it was considered revolutionary in terms of graphical prowess, as only Tekken before it had shown fighters being able to rotate and move in a fully 3D environment. This was most emphasized with the final boss, Dural, as its metallic surface reflected whatever the surrounding environment was, making it a technical marvel.
The title only received one home console port in 1999, to the Sega Dreamcast, and to this day has not been ported or brought to any other platform. Sega continued the franchise with Virtua Fighter 4 and Virtual Fighter 5 in 2001 and 2006 respectively. Virtua Fighter 5 would see the most revisions in the entire series, with a plethora of new arcade ports, as well as three editions for the home console. The most recent version, Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, was released in 2021 for the PlayStation 4.