VF5REVO has reverted to a rock-paper-scissors game of "block to grab, grab to hit, hit to block." For beginners or those returning after only playing up to Virtua Fighter 3, this might feel unfamiliar, so let's trace the series' evolution.

Virtua Fighter 3 was a static game with a basic mid/throw rock-paper-scissors system plus an advantage on wake-up. Virtua Fighter 4 seemed to become more dynamic with the introduction of ukemi, but due to overly powerful multi-directional escape throw breaks, it ultimately became a battle of intricate frame advantage/disadvantage rules and advanced defensive maneuvers/reversals rather than pure mind games. From Virtua Fighter 5FS onwards, multi-directional throw breaks were removed, and the emphasis on rock-paper-scissors choice battles increased again.

Even now, REVO retains evade-cancel-guard and 1-way evade throw breaks, so it's based on choosing defensive maneuvers and breaking the opponent's guard, much like Virtua Fighter 4. However, remember that the weight of the basic mind game of "to hit or to throw" like in Virtua Fighter 3 is not small.

Up until Virtua Fighter 4, using advanced defensive techniques precisely and adopting a "block everything and break every throw" playstyle was overwhelmingly advantageous, but it's different from FS onwards. With the removal of recovery frames for elbows and mid kicks, and increased combo damage, if the skill gap isn't too wide, "getting one good guess" is unconditionally advantageous.

📐 Expected Value Calculation Example

Opponent's advantageous situation, expecting Elbow 60% / Fastest Throw 40%. If I aggressively go for a 100-damage combo with a knee kick:

• When Elbow comes out: -24 × 0.6 = -14.4
• When Throw comes out: +100 × 0.4 = +40

Even if a 50-damage throw is successfully landed after an Elbow counter (considering 1/3 probability of throw escape), the expected value for the Elbow side is approximately -30 — still losing to the throw setup (+40). Such large combos often lead directly to ring-outs or wall combos.

That doesn't mean you can just spam knee kicks whenever you're at a disadvantage, or always go for an uppercut whenever you have a +4 advantage — that would be a guaranteed loss. To be patient, to go for a big move, or to poke with a small move — this method of choice is called gameplay strategy in Virtua Fighter.

The next part will be about gameplay strategy. (to be continued)