When my oldest nephew was 2 years old, he wanted to play games with me, but his hands were too small for controllers. I set him up with my Saturn twin sticks, and he couod sit up on his knees and play. He learned to play pretty well, and could beat three or four matches in a row before he was three. He's 17 now, but I will always think back fondly on that Saturn port and watching him play so excitedly.

This soundtrack for this game is fantastic.

When I was in Tokyo in 2016 I finally got to play the Arcade version of this game after so many years. It was like a childhood dream come true because I was obsessed with this game on Saturn.

This game brings back good memories, I wish they would release this game on Steam...

Mechs, awesome gameplay, and an incredible soundtrack! Virtual On was a classic!

I absolutely loved this in the arcade back in the day. It was popular in America too, or at least they had it at my bowling alley. Chicago IL

One of my favourite arcade games of all time!

Oh heck yeah! More Virtual-On content, and a BotP episode at that! Awesome work as always, and thanks for representing one of my favorite games!

man, I used to love playing this back in Rio. I was trying to remember its name just the other day. Thank you!

Excellent as always thanks. I absolutely love this game!

Did Virtual On come out before or after Cyber Sled? But I'm surprised they didn't go with the Virtua moniker.

We actually got this at our mall arcade here in the US awhile back, and it's the only place I've seen a cabinet of it. My friend and I used to play this all the time! Love this game, and I think I might have to hop on that 360 version while there's still the chance.

Fantastic as always Mark! Keep up the content!!

2 model 2 boards and converted onto the saturn.... they did very well there!

Yes finally I have been waiting for this for a long time :D VO is a great series and the first is such a classic, I knew it was only a matter of time before you did this. I'm typing this in excitement before I watch.

Sweet! New battle of the ports!

This one I played on Saturn. A LOT!!!!! I miss that SEGA, trying new things, cutting edge tech, new stuff... yeah, the 80s and 90s SEGA were WAY better than it is nowadays.

Great video picking up my 360 version today. 👍👍👍

I finally got to see this in action. The game was a curiosity over the years for me.

You can play the PC version at 60fps thanks to a fanmade patch from a Japanese User. Which, combined with network play immediately brought that version as the 2nd best way to play next to the arcade original until the PS3/360 versions arrived.

I loved this game as a kid. I remember playing this in the arcade and briefly on the Saturn before the one I had as a kid broke. Good thing I got a new one and a copy of Virtual On now!

Use to play the twin stick cabinet back in the day

I will have to load that one up on one system or another - for whatever reason I always skipped / avoided that title and I can´t eve say why! Thanks for the great Video and keep up the good work!

Even though the 360/PS3 ports are better, I think the PS2 offers more as a complete package. I mean it has stuff like chibi mode etc lol. Also the Saturn version is perhaps the worst but it still plays great and has a certain charm to it. Thinking about it, this might be the rare occasion where all the ports are really good in their own way. Not often you can say that on a BOTP episode lol. Great video!!

I love Virtual-on too! I I own the Saturn version which is a great convertion. Love this game music more than other sega Arcade games of the time. Next VO2. Awesome video!

love the first series, ported my interest to it's 1/100 scale model builds lol, but still find time for myself to play the first game on pc, what a nostalgic game

And I can’t lie they did an excellent job on the sega Saturn port, they pretty much got as close to the sega model 2 arcade’s graphics as they could, not bad for the 2D powerhouse of the Saturn to flash off as much as it did ❤️

Cheers Mark - yeah, the Windows 95 version was one of my first PC games and it looked mind-blowing back then - unfortunately only keyboard support so the game always proved a bit tricky to play properly. I later got Oratorio Tangram with the Twin Stick for the Dreamcast and it still looks amazing through VGA on a CRT monitor.

It looks so similar to Real Robots - Final Attack. I loved that game on the PS One.

i see by your character you are a man of culture

It's also on PS3. Did you hear they're re-releasing this, Oratario Tangram and Force for PS4? Also there's a crossover of Virtual and A Certain Magical Index called A Certain Magical Virtual On for PS4 and Vita. The PC one also supported the use of 2 joysticks to simulate twinsticks.

Virtual On is one of my favourite Saturn games. I didn't even know about It's existence when I first decided to get a Saturn. I just saw it for cheap one day and decided to pick it up without knowing what it was and I'm glad I did. I must say, It's a must own for the Saturn!

Great episode, love Virtual On. Never played the arcade version but I own the Saturn port (Also the Dreamcast sequel and Marz) and plays really well, love the music too, energetic and mostly upbeat. I knew you will use the *Everything merges with the night* song for the side by side comparison part haha My favourite tune from the game.

I heard that there is a way to set the framerate to 60fps on the PC version. If you go into the game installation folder, there should be a file named 'VON.INI', or something like that. When you open it, it should look something like this: [View] Sky=On Outside=On [Option] ColorSelect=On EnemyColor=Off Movie=On Motion=1 ColorFormat=565 ScrSize=0 SSHoriz=0 FieldGraphic=Rich Texture=7 SelMode=0 [Device Settings] 1P Keyboard Assign=c800d000cb00cd002a002c001f0021002e002f002d002000 1P Device No.=0x00010000 2P Device No.=0x00010000 2P Keyboard Assign=170025002400260018001900d200c900cf00d100d300c700 [Processor] ProcessorCheck=Off PentiumCheck=Off MMXCheck=Off IntelCheck=Off Add these lines to the bottom of the [Option] section: MenuMode=Debug DebugDisp=On Save the file, but do make a backup copy in-case something goes wrong. Now when you start the game, hit the ALT key and there should be a new menu labelled DEBUG. There's a bunch of options that are available that I will break down on: DispFloor: Allows you to disable the display of various objects in the stages. Pretty self-explanatory. Motion: This one's where you can change the framerate of the game. Select 1/1 for Model 2-accurate 60 FPS. Kill: Allows you to kill either yourself or your opponent. Even works in the Attract mode and tutorial screens. SE and CD: allows you to disable sound effects or music. No Shot: Disables your opponent's ability to fire weapons. When combined with the Deathmatch setting, makes for a good training mode. Screen: Basically a quick way to change graphics options. Texture: More stuff available in the normal graphics menu. You can disable textures on either VR and weapon effects for that Model 1 look. This is where I got all this information from: www.oratan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1422 But yeah, I just wanted to share this for anyone that was interested in taking a look at the PC version, as I feel it can help improve the experience. Anyways, awesome video as always, and I'm looking forward to the next episode!

Had no idea that the PS2 version was a port. Good to know!

I miss arcade cabinets. Now the only ones I really see are a Mrs pacman/galaga + a few other games in one cabinet.

I wish this game would get a modern release. Any of the Virtual-Ons. I yearn to play them.

An always overlooked control is the opposite of splitting the joysticks. When split is jump, the joining is quick land from that jump and if you're close for a melee attack, it executes block. I use split and join move often to quickly lock on to opponent while spending less time in the air

So I was browsing around the net, and found out about this game called "Real Robots: Final Battle" from Banpresto. When I saw gameplay of it, I immediately thought "Virtual On on PlayStation?", but it actually looked pretty good. Ever give it a play?

I had no idea it was so popular in Japan. I had a Saturn when it came out and knew nothing about the game, but I saw Sega advertising the game on TV. I knew it was a mech game, but I had no idea how it played. Still, I thought it looked cool and I decided to buy it despite knowing almost nothing about it. That turned out to be a great decision as it was always among my favorite Saturn games and I played it a ton. Several weeks ago, I decided to test some of my old Saturn games with my semi-functioning Saturn(as opposed to my other, non-functioning Saturn...bad luck for me) and I played a good bit of Virtual On again. Still plays great, and I was impressed again with how good the graphics are for the Saturn. I got the second one for the Dreamcast and played that one quite a bit as well. There are a lot of similarities, but I may enjoy the first one more due to the simpler game design(no v-armor) and because the DC controller is inferior to me. I busted a shoulder button playing VO2 because the action was too intense for the controller and I'm not hard on my stuff. Nice to see the other ports in action.

I had never heard before about this game. Watching your footage it looks like WarTech: Senko no Ronde was at least partially inspired by it.

My Buddy had the twin stick Saturn version in the States

Being a PS1 fan and this gem is my excuse to get a Sega Saturn. I LOVE IT.

You forgot to mention that the Win 95 port also has suport to a local multiplayer mode, with 3 options of split screen display and LAN mode, and let me tell ya, if you have somebody else to play in the LAN mode, it's a blast;

Hahaha. Do I really have to say anything about this timeless classic Mark. 8^) But I will say that I LOVE Virtual On. I have all the home versions of it and will continue to collect in the franchise with them. Nice choice as always bro. 8^) Anthony..

A great video on a great game. (Raiden is best mech)

As a fan of Evangelion and Patlabor I enjoyed a lot this BotP! All the versions are pretty good

ah, custom robo like action. this is fine in my book *grabs ds for his dose of custom robo arena*

It's actually possible to get the win95 port to run at 60fps via enabling a debug mode in one of the configuration files. After that, you just have to go to the menu and select it.

05:47 I like that bass ... Time for a cover

I got this for saturn not long ago for extremely cheap. Which is really surprising for western released saturn games, It only cost me $15AUD in almost pristine condition

I love those saturn consoles on the back of the mechs, next is virtual on oratorio tangram? those have Dreamcast on the back xD

So, if you're a PC gamer the easiest way to play this is via PS2 emulation, and if you happen to be an Xboxer you get the best version.

Jimmy Kielbasa + Fei-Yen (Shape: Heart)

Yakumo, you should have contacted us to borrow our PS2 footage which is captured directly from the console. The PS2 version is the most complete version with a new secret character and Z-GRADT is made playable for the first time, it also includes both the arcade and Saturn soundtracks. Best port by far as it was based off the arcade source code directly.

Coming to ps4 this November:D

Googled Virtual On after the video and it looks like Sega is bringing a collection to the PS4.

I got the Saturn version recently. Am considering getting the Twin Sticks for it but they wont be cheap!

The one who start Robot Waifu Material !!!!!!!

This kinda remembers Armored core! I mean in the combat thingy and stuff...But actually i'll try on my emulator just to see some Mecha carnage

The music in this game is amazing! Almost feel bad for the bass getting abused in the intro video :D Always hated that the Dreamcast game cuts out the sound when listening to the music in the options menu :(

There was also a PC version that was designed for PowerVR, that I think was pretty close to the arcade version.

Been playing it on my PS5 and it is amazing!! Glad I bought it off the JP PS Store while it was on sale. A shame it’s not available in the west though. And yeah, I dislike the default button mapping too. I changed it to my liking and it made the game much better. And because of that game and Rolling Gunner, I want a twin stick controller.

More awesome mark and more awesome boftp and I think that the Saturn port wins again in my opinion so what is the next battle of the ports game for next week?

I dont know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but both this game, Virtual On & Virtua Striker, on the Xbox 360 (cant speak for PS3) is only purchasable, on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. Both games were never made available in the US (I assume Europe as well), so you would have to make a Japanese XBL account, add money, just to get it.

Hahaha. Quote of the day right there Mark. 8^) Anthony..

Obviously the 360 version is the way to play it, but really impressed by the Saturn port for the time and hardware involved.

About the worse "Presented by Sega" voice clip in the PS2 version... That version actually has some sort of "true arcade" mode. If you hold down L1+L2+R1+R2 on Press Start Button screen, it'll switch to a different mode that's exactly the same as the arcade, including the original voice clip at the Sega logo, the arcade demo and tutorials and the Select button acting as an "insert coin" button.

Surprising enough, the North American version Saturn port of the game was actually released before the Japanese version was by a short span of 21 days.

By now we have the compilation. Save Marz xD

The only VO game I've played was the sequel for the Dreamcast.

Really fun game. Arcade version of the game can now be played within Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4.

The closest thing to having Gundam in the arcades.

The windows version has 60fps mode, it just resets every time you boot the game. Also, there are fixes for any bugs on the game if you use D3DWindower.

yes is still available on ps3

Never heard of this

I'm surprised you never mentioned the crapton of extras the Ps2 port has. Such as an art gallery, a secret menu where you can turn on a mode where you play as the end boss, among other cool stuff, and a hidden fight against a super version of Fei-Yen. (Who you can unlock) Also three quarters of the manual is dedicated to an interview with the original developers

I believe the PS2 version also has a secret final boss in the form of the original Fei-Yen (the one you see in the game is just a clone). It is unlocked by beating the other levels really fast.

I feel bad reading the comments about people playing this on Saturn. The arcade is the only way to play this game for real. Imagine playing Street Fighter II on Sega Genesis at home by yourself instead of playing it with a room filled with 20 SFII cabinets and a hundred players with quarters lined up on the machines.

did you got the controls working properly on the midel 2 emulator?

Was the accelerated version genuinely Japan-Only? I could've sworn that the rest of the world got one when Diamond had the nVidia NV-1 based Diamond Edge 3D (which also had a cable to hook up Saturn pads/joysticks). I remember a good few Saturn ports that came to Win95 worked with it. Hell, some even came with the card.

Sadly,I can't get the retrobox version work on win xp

Darn i think they removed this version, all i see is ontario tangram or something, or are they the same?

Had this game on Dreamcast it was ok but the camera made it kinda of hard to fully enjoy the game.

It's the Dreamcast Virtual on version a completely different game?

the 360 release sure is the best version of the game, though the Saturn version is still impressive considering the cut-backs made, and more-so CRI's spotty game development track record.

the 3D accelerated version of the game uses the PowerVR PCX cards, which were one of the better cards at the time (alot of 3D cards at the time were total rubbish), and mainly failed due to a lack of support, the 3DFX cards simply had more support. That said, the PCX cards did get games like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider so there was that Of course the PowerVR tech would later end up in the Dreamcast. Sadly I don't have the Saturn's twin stick controller, Ive heard it works with some other games too like Gungriffon II.

Where the heck do I buy this for 360? I need it! I'm still not letting go of my Saturn Twin Sticks though, or my Pentium II-III Win98SE machines for Virtual On!

Mr. Mark, how do you recognize when a ps2 game or compilation is emulated and no a port?

About the xbox 360 version, and keep in mind this is silly but, shouldn't it be "forward compatible" instead of "backwards" since you are talking about the game not the console? The xbox one has backward compatibility with the game The game has forward compatibility with the console. Again. A silly thing I just thought about while watching the video. PS: I am not English native so, keep that in mind. I'm probably wrong but I enjoy this kind of questions. :-) Awesome video!!

As a mecha otaku I've always loved Virtual On but I've always sucked at it. I have the 360 version, time to practice!

I'll purchase it on Xbox 360 someday.

PS4/5 Virtual-On collection: Masterpiece is out, will you make a renew on this port comparison video? Though I think it doesn't make much difference to Xbox version.

Did you record the PS2 version while set to progressive scan?

Hatsune Miku would have Fei-Yen’s outfit in the Project Diva games!!

Was the Dreamcast version a sequel?

YES I've been eargly waiting for this........hold on making a sandwich.......ok lets begin woohoo👍thanks buddy.

Sega does what Nintendon't

Where can I find the PC version ? It's nowhere to be seen. Is it japan only so I must go to Yahoo Auction Japan ?

Revisiting the old videos haha. To be honest, the best port out of everything here is the PS2 port, not only offers Split Screen (Which cames handy times to times to me), it also allows for some extra things, speed changes between Arcade or true 60 fps, Replay data, Link system (SOMETHING A LOT OF GAMES SHOULD FU*KING HAVE; DAYTONA USA WHY WHY!!?!?!?!) and it does even include a "live monitor" for that! (Btw, as long a game has "System Link" functions, it can be played online!, so, this game CAN be played online!) There is also the "Chibi" stuff going on, 480p, resolutions for 480i, it really screams "I was developed by M2!". The second best port could be PS3/360 due to how easy is to get (At least while is on the Store)... Oh and it recently received a conversion for PS4 too! (Alongside Oratan and Force!) Ports here are all good, but PS2 stands out for being the best one.