When the arcade version of Virtua Fighter 2 was launched in Japan at the tail end of last year, Mean Machines was present to observe the occasion. Huge crowds gathered around the 50" projection monitors to watch VF2 being played. Makeshift posters were put on the wall where players recorded any new moves they discovered. At the same time, VF mania hit fever pitch with the launch of the first game on the newly launched Sega Saturn. It was the game that sold over a million Saturns in Japan alone.

What was thought impossible one year ago is a reality today: Virtua Fighter 2 on Saturn is almost arcade-perfect. The game runs twice as smoothly as its predecessor, has three times the amount of moves, two more characters and it's fully texture-mapped, boasting an unprecedented level of detail.

Even the intricate backdrops are fairly represented in the sequel. Oh, and there's hardly any flickering or glitches whatsoever. Numerous options have been added to the basic arcade conversion. Ranking Mode evaluates and judges your performance and Expert Mode learns from its mistakes and actually uses your best techniques against you.

Best of all, however, is Team Battle Mode, where you choose five characters and square them off against an opponent's grouping. One of the most exciting new selectables allows you to choose between the normal conversion and a translation of the Japan-only mini-sequel Virtua Fighter 2.1.

It really seems as thought AM2 have thought of everything...

Virtua Fighter was better than Tekken. Anyway, who gives a monkey's, because Virtua Fighter 2 makes mincemeat of anything available on that console. Despite all the gossip, the advanced pictures, the PR hype - the arrival of VF2 is still startling. The Saturn really is capable of wonders.

The wonders don't just begin with the incredible graphics (forgive the amount of incredibles appearing in this review), although these are the pinnacle in home console visuals.

The true miracle is so much gameplay crammed into the internal RAM: thousands of moves, countless animations, running at more frames per second than your telly. Besides dwarfing all comers in scale, Virtua Fighter is the best because of its style and panache - the sozzled antics of Shun are a typically inspired addition.

One final piece of advice for the company whose name is a four letter word: Never underestimate the power of the Saturn.

I guarantee that there are going to be a lot of long faces on PlayStation owners when they see Virtua Fighter 2. The original always played better than anything that Sony had to offer, but suffered in the visual stakes.

VF2 is even more playable and boasts supreme graphics - super-smooth, extremely fast - there is nothing to match it. The high resolution mode the game runs in makes this the finest-looking 3D game ever.

Who would have thought that the Saturn (which seems to be wheezing a bit even just copying the first VF) would be able to produce graphics this good?

In terms of gameplay, Virtua Fighter 2 is totally unrivalled. Each character has between 50 and 70 different techniques. Learning them all and discovering how to link them into powerful combinations offers months of intensive, super-enjoyable gameplay. If you were happy with Saturn releases to date, prepare to reset your standards.

Virtua Fighter 2 is possibly the best game ever.

Graphics 98%
P. More colour, more polygons, more speed, more texture maps than anything seen on any home system. Absolutely unbelievable.

Animation 98%
P. Superb, ultra-lifelike motions on all of the characters, running at a smoothness that must be seen to be believed.

Music 93%
P. A choice of the excellent arcade music, or some equally decent remixed tunes courtesy of the Sega Digital Studio.

Effects 93%
P. Just about everything from the arcade machine, including each character's amusing victory taunts.

Playability 98%
P. Rampantly playable in the arcades - and the Saturn conversion crams in just about every move and technique. Truly a joy to play.

Lastability 96%
P. The huge amount of options, coupled with hundreds of different moves makes this a game that lasts months - if not years.

Overall 97%
A gargantuan achievement, VF2 is one of the most awe-inspiring videogames ever. A new era of Saturn gaming starts here.