The Beginners Guide to Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.

[@Rooflemonger]

Here we are with the Beginners guide to Virtua Fighter 5! This covers both the new VF5 Revo on PC, and also the already existing VF5 Ultimate Showdown on Playstation. Virtua Fighter 5 is a game that has stood the test of time, and now its back with a shiny new coat of paint and balance changes so its time to learn how the game works! In this guide we will cover everything from the basics to advanced concepts of how the gameplay works, and everything has time stamps for your convenience so skip forward to whatever makes sense for you, make sure to watch the important sections though! Also, leave a like for timestamps and the fact this video took a very long time to make! Enjoy!

[@H1Caliber]

Are you using a lever or leverless for this game? I find leverless is good for tekken and 2D games, but with more precise, overall “clunkier” movement, I feel a stick would be better for this particular game

[@Rooflemonger]

Tomorrow, Virtua Fighter 5 revo Choose A Main! Lets talk about every character in the game, what they can do, and what fun buffs(or nerfs) they got along the way in VF5 Revo! Also it will look extra pretty because that video will be made in revo itself so true 4k shiny power on display

[@puno_de_leyenda3299]

Awesome! Thank you! A small suggestion, if you could please have a "if you like X fighting game character(s)/archetypes, you may like Y VF character" for each character section? Thanks!

[@Rooflemonger]

@@puno_de_leyenda3299 archetypes are not hard and fast in 3d fighters the same as 2d fighters. Like in VF its the joke but everyone is a grappler, just some grab better than others. I will do my best to present the characters as they are in terms of the character, what they represent, and their general gameplay

[@Khemith_Demon_Hours]

I just watched the Frosty Fausting's VF tourney. Pick Jean. Just kidding, everyone should pick jean.

[@FedericoAndino]

Roofle, thank you. You are THE most consistent fighting game guide creator of all time.

[@Rooflemonger]

🙏

[@NecromancyBlack]

A few I think important things to know about throws. These are pitfalls I fell into when I started VF5 a couple of months ago: 1) if you are doing a lazy throw break, don't input it as P+G, always press guard first before the P. This is because if you input P+G at the same time it will never transition into a block, and if they don't throw you and attack instead, you'll just get hit. G and then P will always default you back to guarding. 2) also, the throw breaks are very specific and only the very first valid "throw" during the break window counts. If you are pressing P+G and then press forward, but the throw started before you hit forward, it will count as neutral break. It's often good to get into the habit of inputting the direction you want to break first. 3) invalid directions count. That means if you are trying to input a throw break while also crouching and get thrown, you will not break anything. The "down+back+P+G" will be accepted as a throw break attempt but since there are no standing throws with that break, it will ALWAYS fail to break. 4) Neutral throws are character dependent. They are kinda nasty on a few characters and you should now and again look out for them. Wolf's perfectly leaves you at optimal oki positioning, so it's extremely risky to get up from afterwards. Shun Di's neutral throw actually gives him drinks, so it's worth breaking now and again, even if his forward throw is worth more drinks. 5) Finally, it's good to understand what happens after you break a throw. Majority of throws when you break them leave the thrower at -6 and sideturned. There are plenty of exceptions, mostly that some leave them forward facing or even back facing(!), but some are also more like -3 instead of -6. Sidethrows however when broken, leave the thrower at +2! This is because unlike regular throws, there is the ability to react to break sidethrows, so the trade off there is that thrower still remains in some advantage for having landed a throw on the opponents side.

[@meandmeandmeagree]

Not a beginner, but watching and commenting for engagement. Feels good to have VF content to support.

[@tangramman]

Thank you kindly for all your work! Ain't nobody more dedicated to creating high quality guides.

[@Rooflemonger]

The great VF versus Tekken war begins again. I need the brave sega soldiers to be armed and ready

[@Onionblast1000]

I just pre purchased 5 on steam last night. Cant wait for it to drop. Never really got super into fighting games but this is one i really wanna give a shot. Thanks for posting this at the perfect time lol

[@nelkaimgaming]

Thanks for this beginner's guide, Rooflemonger! We appreciate the work you do. I played the beta a bit and got into ranked (usually I don't in fighting games). Now I'm ready to go all-in when the game comes out tomorrow. My main takeaways from the guide are: - EX attacks have special interactions differing from the normal version of the attacks - You cannot pre-side step before an attack starts - When staggered, hold Guard while smashing all other buttons to recover quickly and go right into a blocking stance - Taka has a glandular problem - You can use "big/little bounds" to extend combos - Walls are OP - Tech rolling sideways lets you get up with a crouching block - You can get side/back-turned and potentially receive more damage/comboed - You can ring out the opponent by aggressively crouch-dashing forward. Best tactic ever. Period. There's one thing I wanted to mention about throws: depending on how big the characters are, the distance to connect a throw changes a bit. During the beta, I noticed I could connect a throw against Wolf while being further from him compared to, lets say, Eileen. I may be wrong, but I think fighting games usually have a specific distance in which you can connect a throw, but in Virtua Fighter it varies from character to character. Another detail I noticed during the beta was buffering combo strings. I may be wrong, but it seems you can buffer any combo string EXCEPT those that includes a throw or a directional input. In those cases, you have to press the buttons within a time frame after the previous hit connects. Is it like that? Or maybe I was just messing up the inputs, lol.

[@NecromancyBlack]

So for buffers: Game has a 12f buffer on attacks. The only part that actually matters for this 12f window is the "attack" part of the input (eg the P, P+K, 4K, etc). You can pre-buffer-buffer the directional parts of the attack before the 12f. Eg wolf has a half circle back input for 63214PP, a useful combo ender. You can buffer all of that half circle back before the 12F, hold the back and hit the P once in the 12f buffer, and the move will come out. There is some more advance tech called 1f-delay and 0f-delay where this pre-buffer-buffer becomes important for being able to constantly add 1f to your moves (required for some combos) or to avoid it (required for some moves to come out fast enough to combo/punish). One reason why you might have issues with buffer moves with a throw input is that if you hit G by itself at anytime, it will completely clear any buffered inputs before it. So accidentally hitting G and then P instead of P+G will clear the buffer, and also won't count as a throw input. This is intentional, as you can use this trick to tap P mid string to cancel out of the string and buffer a different move without accidentally continuing the previous sting. This is a core skill to VF5. The basic 5P into 6P check roof showed in this video should really be done as 5P G 6P, so that you cancel out of your 5P strings and get the 6P out without any gaps.

[@NecromancyBlack]

Also, for "- You cannot pre-side step before an attack starts", not entirely true. There are two side-steps, which are actually called "Defensive Moves" and I'll refer to them as DM from now on. - Successful DM: this is where you step during the startup or active frames on a move that doesn't track the way you stepped. It will evade other moves and will always take 23 frames to complete. You can't early cancel these into anything except an Offensive Move. - Unsuccessful DM: This is where you sidestep to the side a move tracks, or there is no move currently starting up/active. These last longer then a successful DM, BUT you can actually cancel them into more things, including forward dash or forward crouch dash. Why is being able to cancel into forward dashes important? Because forward dash and crouch dash can be instantly canceled into guard. This means an unsuccessful DM can be quickly canceled into a block, avoiding you getting hit by slow full-circular and such. This is actually in the VF5 training mode! Evasion Tutorial #4 in VF5 US/REVO is actually all about this technique. And if that wasn't enough layers for you, backdashes can also be cancelled into DM after 10f. So you can backdash, into DM, into dash, into guard. This is actually surprisingly strong, because if the opponent starts an attack during those 10f you're backdashing, your DM will actually turn into a successful DM. The buffered dash into guard will be ignored, and you can instead go for a punish after the DM ends. THIS GAME HAS LAYERS

[@nelkaimgaming]

@@NecromancyBlack Thanks for all the insight! Good to know about G clearing buffer and all the things you can do with the sidesteps/dashes. This game has more layers than a wedding cake indeed.

[@NecromancyBlack]

@@nelkaimgaming I like the fact that pretty much everything has a use, but it's not all mandatory to use every time. Allows for some real player expression.

[@Hypercube1729]

Thanks for your continous efforts, man! This must have taken a lot of time. Appreciate it!

[@syrup3438]

You got me Into tekken (500h) and now you’re gonna get me Into VF. Hands down the best fg creator!

[@Rooflemonger]

🙏

[@Quinmcgaming]

FOR 10,000 YEARS WE HAVE WAITED FOR THIS

[@junosynth]

I know. Some us VF die hards have grand children now.

[@JohnSmithAprilMay]

Thank you so much for this. I haven't played VF since the original VF4 on Playstation 2, so I am coming into this brand new. Looking forward to tomorrow when I can finally dust off the VF corner of my brain.

[@acousticnoisemachine]

"It doesn't matter how small or French your character is..." ...I absolutely lost it.

[@CarlWatkins]

I haven't really played since Virtua Fighter 2, so this was great to catch-up on what I missed. Looking forward to REVO. Going to try to get into one of their online tournaments and see how I do. I'm not expecting much as far as my performance, but I think it will be fun 😅

[@Rooflemonger]

fun is what matters first, and VF is so fast paced its harder for the salt to build up! a bad ringout loss can easily turn into a good laugh over how silly it is

[@itsizzyuwu]

Thank you for being the one to handhold dummies like myself through the process of learning new games, your content and enthusiasm add more enjoyment to this hobby for many more people than you can imagine. ♥

[@BrandNewSoulAT]

I’ve been waiting for this like a fiend, one more day tol it’s out!!!

[@xjwr385]

same I can't wait any longer 😭

[@loganstrosahl7952]

Really really appreciate you shining a light on this awesome game

[@ssbbc2561]

One of the best beginner's guide.. love it and enjoyed it!

[@Cadmeus]

This is so helpful. I've been playing fighting games very casually since SF2 back when it was arcade only, but I've never tried to get into VF, or actually get good at a game. Really looking forward to the PC release, but well there is a lot to learn! Much appreciated, looking forward to more videos.

[@toyothegamer]

I hope buying this will help the development if vf6

[@mystic_ramen]

Had this game preordered since early last month, and I'm really excited to play more VF. Thanks for the helpful vid man 🙏

[@Lumbambino]

Can't wait for REVO! Thank you for the guide!

[@ShiibityBeepBap]

Cant wait for VF6

[@supervoltekka593]

To paraphrase the Wolfman himself: "I'll praise YOU for your wisdom!"

[@g_a_n_t_z]

Nice. I was waiting for this. Thanks.

[@hollowichi1931]

I really wish I understood the concepts in the "3 best moves" section when I played the beta. As a new player, jumping in mostly blind, it felt impossible to hit a player that just crouched in front of me, so knowing 6P will help tremendously. Unless I eventually learn that Aoi's 6P isn't her fastest mid or something, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

[@mcbill7352]

LETS GOOO i have been so excited for this video

[@DRAKE-mi9rc]

I pray this game will be my jam

[@pktoasty2470]

thank you so much for all your hard work Rooflemonger! I have been longing to get my hands on VF5 for PC for awhile now and it is finally time. with your beginner guide I can fully take in all of the system's mechanics and speed up my learning/maining a character process. thanks for helping us all beat a lot of the frustration this game can inflict on newcomers alike!

[@domdellamorte]

Great video as usual. Ive been re-acclimating to VF in the Like a Dragon arcade and Ive had some questions. Every single one answered here 👌🏻

[@matthewa63]

Roofle, you are the goat. You are the best FGC youtuber in my eyes.

[@Rooflemonger]

🙏

[@Sunnyislive25498]

Thank You roofle i needed this

[@spiralflame88]

I really appreciate this guide!

[@Rooflemonger]

🙏

[@thato8000]

If VF6 core gameplay mechanics are like this, VF6 will be THE true fighting game. I cannot wait, when's it coming out 😭

[@ciscorey6520]

Great job-this is a very comprehensive beginner guide. I'll recommend it to anyone looking to quickly ramp up on the game's fundamentals. If I could ask that anything be added to it, it'd be how parries/sabakis work; i.e.: parry interactions with wake-up moves and h.circular/f.circular moves. Great video nonetheless!

[@GhostPurple69]

1:26 ah yes, the wisdom of kickenguard: "there are two possible situations-do this or that; my friendly advice is that you will regret both."

[@TaqueriaDonSalami]

Thanks! I was waiting for this video

[@VashTown]

Never heard of you, but beautiful guide. If I do end up getting REVO it'll be because of you.

[@3rdworldgwaming467]

Thanks for this guide Roofle ❤. Ur the best!

[@I_AM_BAYTOR]

1 more day and I can start getting whupped in VF for the first time since the 90s.

[@brunorodrigues2661]

You are amazing thanks ! It's the first 3D fighting game I played and I had a blast during the beta. It's probably my favorite fighting game

[@patrickyounts297]

Looking forward to the release tomorrow, and your video on choosing a main, even though I know I'll be playing Shun Di and finally locking in on Vanessa. I ignored her way back in the day but I've come to appreciate her play style.

[@armorgiraffe]

Never played vf before, been out of the fighting game loop for a couple of months now.. preloading vf on steam right now and im hella excited to get into it!!

[@KaptainPrime]

* character takes foot and a half drop* Rooflemonger: F A L L O F F A N D D I E Me: 😮

[@Rooflemonger]

there is sharks in the water, and on the concrete when there isnt water

[@hubertkrakowski722]

​​@@Rooflemonger Damn, Satan Shark ain't joking around.

[@blockchainballer4542]

For the VF algorithm 😉👊

[@Owofolf]

I can’t wait to get to try this game for the first time, never played VF and the beta happened at the same time Clive launched so never got to try

[@KoenrakuVF]

great video, thanks for making it

[@trza49er]

It looks so damn beautiful! Really excited to get reacquainted with this old friend.

[@marcusshoults]

Hopefully SEGA appreciates you more than Capcom does when it comes to some VF6 preview content

[@Rooflemonger]

Here's hoping lol

[@blockyvids2]

I’ve never been good at traditional fighters like SF, MK, Skullgirls, or even Marvel. Smash, Sonic the Fighters and VF have always been my jam. Love to see more people interested in this game!

[@colerodocker8894]

Awesome thanks! Now to spend a couple weeks deciding on who to main.....lol

[@Kirkosaur]

ohh yeah!! thanks for doing this

[@cylondorado4582]

I’m gonna have to try this, as I crave 3D.

[@spritennerdy]

Great guide guy

[@UnkieNic]

Seems like a good game for old men. Im in 👍

[@Rooflemonger]

literally the best franchise for us old timers lol

[@GeekGhostGamerTop]

The training guide and tutorial reminds me of Mark of the Wolves on mobile. And the 360 degree cam movement is sweet (also reminds of Tekken 3 on arcade) Like, said in my VF video essay...... NO BREAD, NO WATER, NO MEAT, JUST VIRTUA FIGHTER!!!!!!

[@zacharyhansen8250]

Its crazy how intuitive this game is just by design. Of course there are some things that don't make a whole lot of sense but in general a little critical thinking you can kind of figure out a lot of this games mechanics. Even down to how everything works at the wall. Like of course someone push kicking you into the wall puts you into a stagger state that makes you vulnerable to potentially big damage. Of course attacks with a downward arc usually lead to a bound by literally Bouncing someone off the ground. Of course all of these professional (Or otherwise incredibly talented) martial artists are fully capable of evading and dodging attacks as a baseline.

[@Mumblues]

Ready to pick up lau again!

[@ichibankasuga5607]

Thanks for the video, 2025 for me will be the year of Virtua Fighter and Death Stranding 2.

[@ScorchstadsChannel]

I am ready!

[@hotfuzz0328]

Will be looking forward to all revo content. Starting it with my 11 yo daughter

[@BeardedNerdSE]

One aspect that I felt was missing from this guide, as an Aoi player, is reversals. They negate some aspects like the wakeup kicks, and are another thing you need to know about your opponent. There's automatic reverals in some situations and against some attacks, like Jacky will just straight up reverse high punches if you do nothing. So that might make you more careful doing high punches around him. Or Aoi can reverse pretty damn much everything with the right command, so you need to mix up your game against her and not become predictable. Otherwise a great resource as usual.

[@Rooflemonger]

reversals are incredibly rare and not a core gameplay mechanic, thus not in the vid. This is meant to cover the game generally, not go into character specifics that will be the character guides

[@NecromancyBlack]

"reversals are incredibly rare and not a core gameplay mechanic" There's literally one character I can think off (Jeffry) that doesn't have some kind of reversal mechanic. Sabakis are very common, hit absorbing attacks less common but important to understand, and a few full on auto-parry things spread around the cast.

[@MKCGreatKungLao]

In 2025, we are getting a fighting game without meters and comeback mechanics. You can't YOLO in VF. Only skill matters. Amazing.

[@NurseLee]

Yeah...YEAH!!!. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@babyjoker997]

Let’s get it on now

[@StreyX]

I never knew hitting someone side turned changed the frame data, good to know.

[@Rooflemonger]

Yep its a big part off the game! Thats why catching someone with an evade can be so strong, as you will catch them sideturned. Let alone the characters like Akira or Brad who will force sideturn with their regular attacks

[@alvatenebrae8622]

I CANT WAIT TIL IT UNLOCKS ON STEAM

[@flavioalbatrozz2557]

Send this to mainmanswe, he really needed.

[@TrickyEileen]

The promised time begins

[@steelbreese72]

Thank you.

[@ghhdgjjfjjggj]

15 MORE HOURS!! MY CHILDHOOD

[@neon-lake]

JUNEN HAYAINDAYO!!! 🗣🗣🗣

[@Patrickvdm23]

Will VF5 Revo a standalone game “so apart from the ultimate showdown version” or is Revo a patch within the ultimate showdown version? Last fighting game i fully played was Soul Blade back when i was 7 years old. I like to start somewhere fresh and see if i like a fighting game again. Idk where to start, but my gut says with VF :P Or should i go to Tekken, Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter?

[@Locii97]

So is REVO only on PC? Haven't played VF in awhile this looking fun

[@FixerFour]

I am excited for this game, but I am scared about Wolf. I still haven't gotten over my King trauma, and you're telling me grabs are stronger in this game?

[@Rooflemonger]

everyone in this game is a grappler. Also king is a cheap knockoff copy of wolf and always has been.

[@Fenrisson]

Random comment for engagement purposes.

[@nickhall7995]

Wish the would release REVO on Xbox

[@NecromancyBlack]

Only one mistake I found and that was when you basically said the frames from side turn you should add on extra frames for anything. This isn't true, the frames it shows are actually correct for attacks. So in your example where Brad was sideturned at +9 and doing the 2P, there are absolutely ways to blow him up for it. Moves that avoid lows on startup can still be used, a lot of parries and reversal can also still be used. They are at an additional -3 for guarding and sidestepping, but the frames are correct for moves. Hell, this even applies in backturned. There's a few reversals out there that work just as well from backturn as they do from the front (eg Taka's high/mid punch reversal), so don't go always expecting you to be guaranteed at frames below +10.

[@charlesajones77]

The whole foot positioning thing is one of the few ways in which I prefer Tekken. In VF, everybody is ambidextrous. Which is ridiculous. Not only is it unrealistic, it makes evasion that much more of a guessing game. Which foot is forward determines whether you will use your right limb or left. In Tekken, you always use the same limb for the same move, which makes way more sense.

[@NecromancyBlack]

Having played Tekken first and now VF5, the foot mixup is honestly way better when mixed with sidestepping. VF5 can afford to make sidestepping really strong because it becomes more of game with trying to figure out which side your opponent will try and track against. Tekken I feel suffers from the direction to step being too constant and fully reliant on hitbox interaction but it easily becomes too strong feeling or too weak.

[@Mene0]

Alogrithm

[@Rooflemonger]

🙏

[@planexshifter]

Wait- When does it release?!?!

[@joelmyers427]

The ps5 version isn’t receiving rollback netcode??

[@oklimbo]

I just downloaded ultimate showdown last night to hop on and mash with the homies. I'm bout to absorb this to scam them next time 😂

[@reallyshikan5652]

Is this a new game or just a massive update to VF5 as in a separate purchase?

[@GenderNeutch]

More the latter as far as I know

[@AmbienteOficial]

It's the last version of the game, with new balance changes, 60 fps/4k resolution and a new rollback netcode, coming to Steam for the first time.

[@bazlegoi309]

ima even leave a comment for the timestamps

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa731]

Am i crazy for wanting to learn the game with Vanessa? Can i focus on only one stance? Which one?

[@diirising7507]

Nope, I see some Vet Vanessa players advice newbies to focus on one stance first.

[@1000Tomatoes]

I really hope they fixed the desync.

[@Kai-jn7pn]

How active is the PS5 US playerbase for VF5?

[@Rooflemonger]

There's always people but but revo is newer and shinier on PC with proper rollback netcode so the new audience is going there and anyone already on US will be switching over if they can

[@ZzigZaG00NIN]

Didn't know throw was like that

[@Edo江戸江戸]

is this gonna have cross-play with the playstation version?

[@Rooflemonger]

unfortunately no, the PC version stands alone. They are the same game balance wise but only PC has rollback netcode and the other features

[@hudson3539]

​@@Rooflemongerwill there be a PS5 revo with cross play? Thanks for your amazing videos. My donut brain hurt

[@Rooflemonger]

@@hudson3539 I sincerely hope so, and im kinda shocked there isnt out of the gate to be honest. Maybe a bit further down the line they will

[@diirising7507]

For the algo 🎉

[@WhatisaLee]

Great vid! Though I have one gripe: using P to demonstrate successful evades is a strange choice because it’s plus on block. P (blocked) > evade is not a great sequence in real play lol You can use P to demonstrate how evades fail (which is actually a great way to juxtapose the evade outcomes) but a blocked 6P would be better to demo a successful one. If Z-axis movement is desired during advantage, OM should be used instead.

[@diegoantoniorosariopalomin4977]

I find this game far more difficult than tekken 8. Which quite complex but at least has tools to onboard you that previous entries lacked

[@Rooflemonger]

Honestly I find Tekken much more needlessly complex than VF, especially cause things like sidesteps where rules are character to character and move to move.

[@chadbrockett2686]

So incredibly frustrating to me that they didn’t release revo on PlayStation. Obviously I want rollback but not only that I feel like the already small player base is going to (with good reason) massively migrate off the platform. I already have a PlayStation and can’t afford a pc so it just feels like I’m arbitrarily being left behind

[@soramercury7074]

26:40 "joycon icon" nah idk how we could possible think about freaking joycons when we talk about real fighting games.

[@planexshifter]

No There are new moves not in VF5

[@mrclaka6218]

P-P-P-P-Punch,......Block,....B-B-B-Block..........KICK

[@fortisch]

I really hope people pick this up. Tekken needs a competitor to stop doing dumb bs.

[@sambatal]

The amount of ads on your videos is really intrusive. an ad every 2 minutes. sheesh

[@Rooflemonger]

if thats the case blame youtube cause I set the ads myself and there is absolutely no ad every 2 minutes

[@vaulttraveler]

Casual beginners guide... 1h long 😂

[@Rooflemonger]

nothing casual about this beginner guide. I am here to teach you everything

[@junosynth]

The basics of VF is something the majority of US players still haven't mastered yet, honestly. Most are still intermediate level, so it's important to go over these concepts at the beginning of the video for everyone. Good job BTW with the video!

[@GenderNeutch]

​@@junosynthI think I remember roof saying VF5 is actually one of the easiest fighting games overall. After watching this I have big respect though for the mechanics. There's a ton of stuff to know around throws (even if the guessing game seems kinda simple at first glance), normal and ex attacks, tracking moves that switch direction depending on which way the character faces, etc. Made my head hurt for sure 😂

[@junosynth]

​@GenderNeutch Yeah , the overall concepts are easy. The high skill ceiling comes from being able to have very fast and consistently accurate yomi reads to outsmart your opponent. Also consistent fast reaction time to keep up with the other high level players speed.