First I tried the PC version, and that didn't recognize the ISO image, and I couldn't find a NoCD. Then I tried the Saturn version, and the performance was pretty bad. Then I tried the MAME version, and MAME is always a hassle to set-up. So, first it would straight up complain about lacking BIOS files and whatnot, and after I found all the needed files, it still complained that one file had "incorrect length", but that was a file within the Virtua Fighter ROM, so I couldn't do much about that. Someone said you gotta find the right version of the ROM for the right version of the program. After doing some more research, I found a comment by one of the devs saying that, even when the game seemingly works, it doesn't generate damage points correctly or something like that.

Finally I tried the 32X version, which I didn't even know existed. Downloaded Kega Fusion emulator, and it worked flawlessly without any hassle. Plus it has this delightful filter called Blargg that makes the image look exactly like a CRT screen, which made me feel like I was playing it on the actual hardware back in the 90s.

Regarding the actual game, I suppose it's to 3D fighting games what Wolfenstein 3D is to first-person shooters.

Like Wolfenstein, it does feel archaic by today's standards. It definitely didn't age as well as some of the 2D fighters of the era. Most characters feel quite similar, with only noticeable differences being a couple of special moves and the speed. Animations are pretty slow, and it can be frustrating when you get grappled or knocked down, and it takes you a long time to get up.

However, I will say that for 1993 it's impressive how much of the foundation it laid for games in this genre that would follow. The way the hits connect and the animations make you feel the weight of the characters is something you wouldn't see in Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Fatal Fury. And I think this was Virtua Fighter's greatest contribution, and this is something that couldn't have been possible without 3D. Being the first 3D fighting game, it could've easily played like a 2D game with 3D graphics, but it went far beyond that, making the characters not only look 3D, but feel like actual people in an actual environment. The tactile sensations this game elicits are something that would be copied and built upon later in Dead or Alive, Tekken and other fighting franchises.

That being said, just like with the first DOA, once I finished the arcade mode, I felt like there wasn't much else to do in the game. In many ways I feel like DOA is a remake of VF, as it looks and feels like simply an improvement of VF. Then again VF has its own sequels, which I'm looking forward to checking out.