Genre: 3d Fighter
Developer: Sega-AM3
Publisher: Sega

Last Bronx uses what looks to be the Virtua Fighter 2 engine-- sharp resolution and flawless framerate included. Unfortunately, the art direction is a significant step down from the aforementioned game, with mediocre character designs, and dull lifeless backgrounds. The game also suffers occasionally from severe flickering and some strange z-buffer bugs. While not ugly by any stretch, Virtua Fighter 2 is hands-down the better looking game.

Stylistically, the game's sound effects are par-the-course for Sega's Saturn arcade conversions. Voice acting, all in Japanese, is more clear than the garbled voice work in Virtua Fighter 2, but terribly cliche-ridden. The technopop soundtrack is a pleasant surprise, even if it is almost exactly like other Sega arcade music selections at the time.

The title not only looks just like Virtua Fighter 2, but it plays more or less just like it too. The control scheme and pacing of the game is extremely familiar, although the characters do feel less floaty, and there is a greater emphasis on fantastically powerful attacks. And while the gameplay doesn't feel as deep or water tight as Virtua Fighter 2's, some of the new mechanics-- such as rebounding off of the stage walls into aerial attacks-- are nifty.

From the menus to the game's appearance to the soundtrack to the gameplay, Last Bronx feels more like a "total conversion" of Virtua Fighter 2 than an actual brand-new game. But even though it is decidedly lacking in polish, and is painfully derivative-- especially the nauseating anime opening sequence and character endings-- Last Bronx is a competent 3d fighter that is a bit more accessible and, possibly, more casually fun than Virtua Fighter 2.