Virtua Fighter Kids

• Title — Virtua Fighter Kids • Developer — Sega AM2 • Publisher — Sega • Director — Makoto Osaki • Producer — Yu Suzuki • Programmer — Takayuki Yamaguchi • Artist — Masataka Aochi • Composer — Kazuhiko Kouchi • Series — Virtua Fighter • Platforms — Arcade, Sega Saturn • Released — Arcade March 1996Saturn • Genre — Fighting • Modes — Single player, multiplayer • Arcade System — ST-V

• Illustration — Gameplay screenshot All the characters have big heads, and the music is at a faster pace. The gameplay itself is slightly tweaked from Virtua Fighter 2. The Saturn version includes some new FMVs and programmable button sequences to allow players to test and use pre-made combos. Despite being children, some of the fighters retain the adult characteristics of their Virtua Fighter 2 counterparts, such as facial hair, muscles and breasts.

Merchandise for the game in Japan included a line of stuffed toys which sold very well even before development on the game was finished. In Japan, Virtua Fighter Kids was released on the Saturn as a promotional item in co-operation with drink brands "Java Tea" and "Energen" under the title Virtua Fighter Kids: Java Tea Original Edition. It was later released commercially without any mention of "Java Tea" on the cover. All Java Tea product placement was removed from the western versions of the game, but is present in all Japanese versions (arcade, regular and Java Edition).

Although no official sequels to Virtua Fighter Kids were ever made (other than the VF Kids versions of the CG Portrait Series in Japan called the Game Gear Portrait Series), the child versions of Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant reappear as playable characters in Fighters Megamix, and some of their fellow playable characters appear in the game's ending movie as well. The Kid styles of Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant were made into figures in the Sega Dreamcast game Shenmue.