Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (Xbox 360)

[aruljothi]

   Release Date: 04/29/2009
ESRB Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega

Eleven years ago, when arcades still mattered, it was Sega's Virtua Fighter 3tb that ruled the roost in Japan, enjoying a long reign at the top of the arcade charts as the Model 3 hardware board's flagship app. Nothing could topple it, not any of Capcom's 2D fighters at the time, and certainly not Namco's Tekken Tag Tournament, which was VF3's closest spiritual rival throughout the 90s. No, what finally flicked the seemingly invincible Virtua Fighter off the pole position in Japanese arcades wasn't even a traditional fighting game at all; it was Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (VOOT for short). Perhaps it was the allure of the Virtual On sequel's enormous, immersive arcade cabinets that drew people in, or maybe it was Gundam/Policenauts designer Katoki Hajime's immaculate virtuaroid designs. Whatever it was, VOOT's appeal was tremendous, and Sega has translated that appeal in nearly impeccable form to Xbox Live Arcade.

As with previous iterations in the series, the XBLA version bears the M.S.B.S. (Mind Shift Battle System) designation, 5.66, indicating it's place as the latest version in the series. This particular upgrade, which is based on the presumably final iteration of VOOT in arcades, adds three variants of previously existing mechs -- the 10/80SP, the RVR-12 Apharmd C, and the SBV-328-B Stein-Vok -- each with their own own particular traits and characteristics that distinguish them from the game's original mechs. Version 5.66 also includes the customizable color feature introduced in the arcade game, as well as the bonus stages originally introduced in the Dreamcast port of VOOT.


If you've never played Virtual On in its various incarnations on Sega Saturn (Virtual On: Cyber Troopers), Dreamcast (Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram), and PlayStation 2 (Virtual On: Marz), what you've been missing is a beautifully designed series that brings large-scale mech-flavored arena combat to arcades (and homes). At various intervals (primarily when Sega was still producing its own hardware), Sega released special twin stick controllers designed specifically for the latest Virtual On, in order to bring as much of the arcade experience home, and also to alleviate control issues brought upon by controllers with less than two analog sticks (i.e. Dreamcast). When Activision brought the still-impressive Dreamcast port of VOOT to North America (sans the twin stick controller), ineffective control configurations plagued the title; it just could not capture the mechanical-yet-intuitive precision of the arcade game. It was a visually excellent port of the original game, but playing it was a mighty struggle on the Dreamcast controller, akin to driving a manual transmission car with only one arm.

Somehow, even with the move to Xbox 360 and its dual-analog controller, the game still does not control the way it was meant to. In the arcade version, pushing up on the left stick and pulling down on the right would result in your mech pivoting right, similar to steering a car. To pivot left you'd simply push/pull the sticks in the opposite direction. Pulling both sticks outwards caused your mech to jump, while dashing and the limited, but effective, attack options were mapped to trigger and thumb buttons on the arcade sticks. Knowing this, and looking at an Xbox 360 controller, you can see how the developers -- with slight modifications -- could translate the controls much more accurately to the Xbox than could ever be accomplished on the long-lost Dreamcast.