![sarah bryant virtua fighter sarah bryant virtua fighter](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/virtuafighter/images/c/ca/Sara-o1.gif)
According to the game's story, Sarah, eldest daughter of the Bryant family becomes suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her brother Jacky's horrible accident in the 1990 Indianapolis 500. Context is everything.Sarah Bryant (サラ・ブライアント)Sarah Bryant is a college student from San Francisco, CA that debuted in the original Virtua Fighter.
![sarah bryant virtua fighter sarah bryant virtua fighter](https://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters3/sub_sarah_p01.jpg)
It's nothing like the exploration modes of, say, Soulcalibur. Little things like this add meat to the home version of a fighting game. In addition to arcade and versus mode, there is a tournament mode where you set up brackets with different fighters and work your way up to a finals round. The 32X edition of Virtua Fighter includes a handful of game modes. And I popped it into my 32X this weekend just to see how quick I picked it back up. I remember the flickering and bobbled animation of the Saturn game giving me real trouble with my moves. Akira's throw is another move I can rip out without a problem. I love Sarah's knee attack (the way it breaks your opponent's plans is awesome) and I can pull it off flawlessly in the 32X version. And even though the animations have been slightly streamlined, there is zero effect on the timing of your attacks. Punishing your opponents with hard grapples and sweeping kicks is dead-on. What matters more is that the game plays "right." If you mastered any of the fighters in the arcade, your dominance will translate to the 32X edition after a three-minute acquaintance with the controls on a Genesis pad. I'm not exactly painting a pretty picture here, but the point is that all of these visual hits are necessary for the underpowered 32X to serve a wholly playable port of the arcade classic. And, as expected, the screen resolution takes an ample hit so the edges of the polys are pretty jagged. The fighter models are simplified - less polygons and shading. The backdrops are sacrificed for flat matte backgrounds. Virtua Fighter on the 32X makes some sacrifices. Simpler+models,+sure.+But+they+react+exceedingly+well.
![sarah bryant virtua fighter sarah bryant virtua fighter](https://alchetron.com/cdn/sarah-bryant-virtua-fighter-9c94088d-3f9e-417a-9267-979524fa7ef-resize-750.jpeg)
Why all this history for a 32X game retro review? Because in a total cosmic warp freak-out, the 32X version of Virtua Fighter is superior to the Saturn edition. It was obviously rushed in time for the Saturn's surprise early launch (another SEGA blunder), and SEGA tried to make up for it later with the vastly improved Virtua Fighter Remix. The controls were too loose and the polygonal models were flawed. SEGA brought Virtua Fighter home as a pack-in game for the Saturn in spring of 1995. Like Street Fighter II, SEGA's Virtua Fighter starred a cast of notable characters, such as Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant, and encouraged you to really drill deep and master one fighter. Powered by SEGA's Model 1 board, Virtua Fighter was the world's first 3D arcade fighting game (4D Sports Boxing technically qualifies as the first 3D fighting game), placing two combatants in duel where physical space is just as critical to consider as timing. Virtua Racing, released a year prior, was SEGA's first polygonal arcade, but Virtua Fighter was the breakthrough that snapped heads. 1993's Virtua Fighter was nothing short of a digital revolution. More games like Virtua Fighter could have made a real difference, too. Had SEGA made different decisions in regards to the 32X (the gaming giant seemed adrift at this point - where was the authoritative voice of Tom Kalinske that drove the Genesis to such success?), the add-on's story could have enjoyed a happier ending. But there are a handful of games for the 32X that reveal a glimmer of promise. The add-on was completely mishandled, from its unbelievably steep entry price to releasing it in the shadow of the Saturn. The 32X is the subject of much ridicule for good reason.