Virtua Fighter 3tb Online brings the fight back to arcades

An arcade fighting classic of the ’90s is about to return to game centers in Japan. Sega announced an updated version of Virtua Fighter 3tb, which is set to debut on November 28. 

The new arcade iteration is, appropriately enough, titled Virtua Fighter 3tb Online (via Gematsu). On top of updated balancing and new skills, the meat of this version is the addition of online battles.

Thanks to Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown‘s technology, 3tb Online lets players take on others throughout Japan. Players can also put their names and records on display and edit and view them on the official website with the use of Aime cards. 

What is Virtua Fighter 3tb?

Virtua Fighter fans in Japan got their first crack at Virtua Fighter 3tb when it made its arcade debut back in September 1997, a little over a year after Virtua Fighter 3 launched. Like the Online addition to the new version, the tb in the title is pretty straightforward. It refers to the three-on-three team battle mode that served as the arcade update’s default state.

A flashback to those halcyon arcade days serves as the introduction to the new trailer. The preview also showcases the aforementioned Aime card compatibility before rolling into some of the soundtrack options and flashing through the playable roster, from Akira to Jeffry McWild.

The whole thing looks like a treat for fans of the earlier entries in Sega’s long-running series, but for now, it’s a Japan-only delight. There is currently no announcement as to whether Virtua Fighter 3tb will make its way outside of Japan or to home consoles.