Fighting Vipers 2

Release Date - April, 1998 (JP)
Developer - Sega AM2
Publisher - Sega
Platform - Arcade (Sega Model 3)

When Sega’s AM2 division makes a fighting game, the world would do well to sit up and take notice. After creating the 3D fighting genre with the seminal Virtua Fighter in 1993, many competitors would arrive in this exciting new field of competitive gaming. AM2 themselves would put a new spin on their Virtua Fighter gameplay with 1995’s Fighting Vipers.

Fighting Vipers was a very different beast to Virtua Fighter. Where Virtua Fighter was built around a (relatively) grounded fighting system based on authentic martial arts techniques and featured a cast of mostly realistic combatants, Fighting Vipers would push things far beyond the realm of realism. Featuring armour clad rock-stars, fashion models and even fighters using weapons, the ‘Vipers’ were much more outlandish fighters. Likewise the move-sets were more over the top with some frankly super-human looking abilities on display! Despite all the added madness, the core gameplay was very similar with an identical control scheme of three buttons and similar inputs and move-lists to Virtua Fighter.

Fighting on a glass sky-scraper in suits of armour, they don’t make em like they used to.
(Screen from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV-3YvyZ_yI)

Fighting Vipers was a hit in the arcades and even received an excellent home port to Sega Saturn. A sequel was inevitable and Fighting Vipers 2 finally released into Japanese arcades in 1998.

Straight away players will notice that the entire base cast of eight Vipers returns, with an additional two fighters to round it out. Emi and Charlie join the fray, with Emi fighting with a self-made teddy bear mecha (yes, really) and Charlie using his BMX bike during battle (not too wild, considering returning character Picky would commonly be seen bashing people with his skateboard). On top of this is the returning boss characters from the first game, along with a couple of unlockable secret characters! All in all, quite a sizable roster.

*The entire cast from the first game returns in* Fighting Vipers 2.
(*Screenshot taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV-3YvyZ_yI)*

Fighting Vipers 2 uses Sega’s famed Model 3 arcade board, the board that was launched with the spectacular and wildly successful Virtua Fighter 3 back in 1996. While the board had now been out for some time, Model 3 still was a powerhouse in the arcades and Fighting Vipers 2 looked amazing as a result. Much like the jump from Virtua Fighter 2 to Virtua Fighter 3, Fighting Vipers 2 looked decidedly next-gen compared to the prior game in the series with incredibly detailed fighters and backgrounds.

The story in this sequel is about as corny as you would from a 90’s fighting game; the evil mayor of Armstrong City is hunting down the ‘Vipers’ (the fully armoured combatants from the first game) in an act of revenge. The ‘Vipers’ obviously won’t stand for this and warriors from around the world convene in Armstrong City once more for another showdown.

*Emi and her teddy bear robot armour… thing in action!*
*(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBBsY7WGm7w)*

Like most one on one fighters, the gameplay is the real star here, with Fighting Vipers 2 using the tried and tested control scheme of 3 buttons; Guard, Punch and Kick. Having three buttons seems very simple, and it is, but belies a deceptively deep system. Each character has a large move set and potential combination attacks that are pulled off with combinations of buttons and directions. Fights take place inside cages or walled arenas. No ring-outs here, and yes the cage could be used for additional damage when you throw your opponent against the walls!

You’ll notice that ‘armour’ has been mentioned a few times thus far as well, and this was another feature of Fighting Vipers that made it stand out from the competition. Characters wear suits of armour into battle, and the armour could be damaged over the course of a fight and eventually destroyed. Segments of the fighter’s body where armour was destroyed are more vulnerable to further attacks, so it made sense to focus your attacks. New to Fighting Vipers 2 was the ‘Super KO’. Now, when your opponent’s armour is completely destroyed, you have the opportunity to land a ‘Super KO’ that will instantly win you the match. Not a round, the entire MATCH. These moves resulted in your opponent being flung out of the arena, and were accompanied by some flashy footage of meteors crashing to earth, such was the power of this decisive blow!

A groovy intro shows off some of the graphical grunt of Sega’s Model 3 arcade board.
(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBBsY7WGm7w)

Fighting Vipers 2 managed to do well in arcades, a worthy successor to the first game and a wacky alternative to Sega’s own Virtua Fighter 3. Unfortunately the competition in 1998 was stiff, and Fighting Vipers 2 never managed to reach the lofty heights of Virtua Fighter 3 or Namco’s Tekken 3 (1997). The game did eventually get ported to Sega’s Dreamcast console, but bizarrely arrived very late, all the way in 2001. While the game was arcade-perfect, it was unfortunately lacking any additional content and was as such overlooked by much of the gaming public.

Looking back years later, Fighting Vipers 2 is seen as something of a hidden gem. A game that has many fun qualities and still remains unique in the growing fighting game landscape. Appreciated by both fighting game fans and Sega aficionados, Fighting Vipers 2 is well worth checking out for some hi-octane fighting.

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