Fighting Vipers 2/FAQ
Questions
Why should I play this?
It’s a pretty neat and heavily underlooked fighting game I think many will enjoy. It’s fast, frantic with easy to do combos and a few options to consider in many situations. If that’s what you’re looking for, then you came to the right place.
Is this a 3D fighter?
Many will disagree with me but I think so. Its about as 3D as early Virtua Fighter and Tekken (that also includes the first Fighting Vipers.) Movement isn’t too complex but you’re still in a 3d space. Fighting Vipers has techniques that can take advantage of said 3D space. Its 3D in the old school sense. I just like to think things through simple lenses.
Is this like Tekken?
In terms of gameplay meta, not really. Tekken from 3 onward really likes to prioritize movement and spacing. Not much in the way of footsies in this game (in comparison) because most of the action is REALLY up close. But it’s pretty over-the-top and wacky tho. Tekken is more of a wack-ass anime while Fighting Vipers is like a slapstick cartoon. You don’t play as bears, dinosaurs or cyborgs but you’re wacking everyone with a guitar, a bmx bike or a skateboard. It’s like the EXTREEEEEEME 90s fighter.
Not much footsies you say? What about oki, OTGs, crossups and the like?
Not so much OTGs (relegated to pursuits only) or crossups (relegated to one air move and still a 3d game) but yeah. Okizeme is no less present as other games plus a lot of stuff as well as mixups, priority, 50/50s, trades and the like. 3D fighting game terms are present like While Standing moves and Crouch Dashing and such. It twists stuff in a way like VF does.
You mention Virtua Fighter a lot. How much alike are they?
They’re alike in quite a lot of ways. In fact, they have the same developer, Am2, albeit with different directors. Many similarities lie on the control scheme and fighting engine so many gameplay concepts will cross over. Both pretty much twist around fighting game concepts into their own thing. VF around this time (VF3 specifically) does a lot more with 3D movement than FV2 though. VF in general is more grounded in terms of gameplay and aesthetic, but it has taken FV’s concept of walls and later FV2’s concept of crumples and stagger moves in VF4 (beyond mids staggering crouching opponents.) So you could see Fighting Vipers as Virtua Fighter’s chaotic little brother.
What other 3d fighters would you compare this to?
If I had to pick one that fighting game enthusiasts will recognize, it'd be Bloody Roar. Pretty similar chaotic nature and similar (enough) meta. Haven't spent much time with that series but I've seen enough comparisons in the circle I hang around in.
Is this easy to get into?
Very much so. Its about as easy to get into as VF. It’s a 3 button fighter. Combos are easy and pretty juggle friendly. The hard stuff is when you get in deeper to its unique mechanics and high speed decision making. But if you wanna mash with friends, then this game is for you.
Will learning about this help me transition to other games?
Best I can answer is a firm “maybe.” VF helped me understand fighting games better so with FV2 being an offshoot, maybe you’ll have a similar experience.
How come this game never made it to North America?
A bit of context with the first Fighting Vipers, it was meant for a western audience but it did better in Japan, plus it was on the Sega Saturn which wasn’t all that hot over in the west either. So they probably figured FV was a lost cause in North America and kept at it with VF since its still in its prime. I don’t think FV2 did well in general and had a quick & dirty Dreamcast port a couple of years later… which also wasn’t all that hot in 2001. I can only chalk it up to the wrong place at the wrong time. Not saying it would’ve made Sega millions otherwise but there are clear factors outside the game itself. Same with a lot of Sega franchises, really. Hell, I didn’t know there was an FV2 til a few years ago. And I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
This game got some mediocre reviews for the Dreamcast. How come?
To top it off, the Dreamcast port wasn’t amazing. Many reviews claim it’s the same as the first Fighting Vipers (which had a damn good Saturn port btw.) A lot of its unique mechanics are never really mentioned at all. To make matters worse, it’s competing with Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive 2 which not only added a lot compare to their arcade versions, they also looked great and are considered technical marvels for their time. I don’t think FV2 looks bad, but it definitely paled in comparison.
TIERS! What is the tierlist of this game?
Thanks to the discord server I linked in the main page:
Cheap - B.M., Kuhn S - Bahn, Mahler (Del Sol), Raxel A - Tokio, Charlie, Grace, Picky B - Sanman, Jane C - Honey, Emi
Armor plays a huge role with how tiers roll combined with everything else. But everyone is viable. Everyone has at least one cheap move.
Some characters have better armor than others?
Yeah. Characters like Bahn and Sanman have some of the strongest armor out of the main roster while Picky is at the bottom. There isn’t any clear armor values like the first Fighting Vipers so I might need to do more research on it for now.
How do I select different costumes?
There aren’t different costumes but alternate colors. On the character select screen (Arcade mode) press up or down. On the Versus mode character select, press R or L (Dreamcast).
Is there a discord?
Yup. Right here.
Any video tutorials?
I made a couple. You can look in System tab[1].
What’s the competitive scene like?
Nonexistent. There are a few old school clips of a tournament. One with a Honey cosplayer. Another with VF Wolf player, Bunbunmaru, getting pissed at losing at it. For FV2, none other than Heruru and Zero-chan doing some high level play for a couple of hours. There are some small scale tournaments recently. One from Mikado Arcade youtube channel. And an online tournament I was a part of (for fun of course!) Its more that scenes start happening slowly after two decades.
Gameplay Bits
| Can BunBunMaru become the fighter of the top in Japan..
1996 | |
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| Donation stream tourney of FV1 | |
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| Fighting Vipers 2 Forever. Probably the highest level play you’ll see of this. | |
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| Thunderia Online tourney with no commentary. | |
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| Mikado Arcade Tournament | |
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