Virtua Fighter 2 on Genesis still holds up surprisingly well—it’s one of those rare arcade ports that actually feels like the real deal. The second you pick a fighter (I always go for Akira or Lau), you’re thrown into these crisp, no-nonsense 3D-style battles where every punch and throw matters. No fireballs or flashy supers here—just pure, weighty martial arts where spacing and timing make all the difference.

The roster’s small but balanced, and each character actually fights like their real-world style suggests. Jacky’s brawler punches feel nothing like Pai’s quick strikes, and good luck trying to spam throws against someone who knows what they’re doing. The graphics were mind-blowing back in the day, and even now, there’s something charming about those chunky polygon models.

It’s not the easiest fighter to master—messing up a counter or whiffing a kick leaves you wide open—but that’s what makes landing a perfect combo so satisfying. If you’ve got a friend around for versus mode, even better. Just don’t blame me when you start arguing about whether that last hit was cheap or not.