Yes this is an opportunity But...... if you look at RGG's art direction for :

• Like a Dragon Ishin
• Lost Judgment
• Judgment
• Like a Dragon Gaiden
• VF5US (Hit sparks)

It appears that RGG doesn't really want to do raw, visceral realism Clearly they have the talent to if they wanted to, but Seiji Aoki idea of what is entertaining for spectators to watch seems to fall more on the fantasy side of things. If fighting looks to realistic then the game may not be appropriate for under 17 year old players, some countries may claim that the game is promoting gratuitous violence and so on.

I dunno, Yu Suzuki was going for realism hence (Virtua) in the name of that series of games. Sadly, It appears RGG /Seiji Aoki is going after something different

I would be happy if we just got the option to turn off the hit sparks, or hit effects, or heat effects, etc.

The game probably shouldn't have gratuitous violence (leave MK to screw with that), but they could at the very least add battle damage to make the experience more visceral. But most importantly, they should keep the martial arts real. Even the fantasy ones like Kage's should feel like they could be real. The game already does a great job on that second aspect so it's something we probably wouldn't need to worry about.

The hit sparks aren't the worst you would find in fighting games, since they are transparent and interfere with the animations less. But they still aren't a good thing to have in the game.

I feel you @masterpo. It seems like Yu Suzuki wanted pseudo-realism, but the inheritors of the franchise felt different

Aoki actually did say that he wished to preserve the design philosophy of simple controls and realistic movements in the future. That gives me hope for VF6.

Even with T8 around the corner, I still can't stop thinking about new VF

Called it that VF6 is happening and it's just a matter of time, the graphics and jump are gonna be so insane , and can't wait to see what type of innovation they'll come with. Also curious about the new Fighting styles and Martial arts they'll introduce in next VF.

But the most important thing is gonna be Shun Di of course, the game will be worth it's 70$ even if it will have only Shun Di as playable

Well, TGS 2023 is upon us here soon. I don't think Virtua Fighter will make an appearance considering that Sega seems to have no indication that anything but the listed titles on their website will be there. That being said, it is very cool that Daytona USA 2 and Fighting Vipers 2 will be present in the upcoming Ryu Ga Gotoku Gaiden, which I think demonstrates that Sega seems to have some interest in keeping their old franchises alive in some capacity (and Model 3 games no less!). Maybe we'll see a VF3tb mini game in the next RGG game! Hard to say if these are emulated or source ports.

Edit: I am very glad that VF3tb is featured in RGG8