Variable Geo

This article refers to the video game series, for the OVAs, see Variable Geo (anime).
Variable Geo

Front cover of V.G.: Variable Geo for the PC-9801, the first title of the series.
Developer(s) Giga (home computers)
TGL (home consoles)
Publisher(s) Giga
TGL (home consoles)
Designer(s) Takahiro Kimura
Platform(s) PC9800, Turbo CD, SNES, PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Fighting game/bishōjo
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously

Variable Geo (ヴァリアブル・ジオ), also known as V.G., is a Japanese 2D fighting game / eroge series developed and published by Giga for home computers. It was also developed and published by Technical Group Laboratory (TGL) for home game consoles. It focuses on an all-female martial arts competition where participants are required to promote various family restaurants by acting as waitresses when not fighting.

Gameplay

Similar in many respects to other fighting games of the day, gameplay in Variable Geo utilizes a four-button layout, with two buttons each for punches and kicks of differing strength and speed. Special moves are initiated by keying in various movements using the control pad or joystick and punctuated with the press of one of the punch or kick buttons.

Following the trend of other fighting games such as Street Fighter and The King of Fighters series, as well as Ningyou Tsukai, later games would add a special meter that would fill as the player inflicts or receives damage. Filling the bar would result in a stock of "Energy" being acquired, which could either be used for one of a number of enhanced super special attacks, or saved for later use in the match. Some moves also require more than one Special Stock to be acquired before being able to use them.

Both characters begin any given fight with a full health bar that is depleted as they take damage from attacks. The first character to have her health completely depleted is the loser. In a single player game, defeating a CPU-controlled character yields a reward, showcasing the defeated character in an imaginary situation where she is either forced to commit an embarrassing (usually sexual) act in public or private, or is raped by an unseen assailant or assailants.

Plot

Set in a near-future version of Japan, the games tell the story of a martial arts tournament created to determine the country's strongest woman. The tournaments are sponsored by a number of family restaurants, who in exchange for their sponsorship, are given promotion in the form of having a tournament entry work as a waitress. As a result of the popularity of the tournaments, the restaurants experience a boom in patronage.

The winner of the tournament is awarded the title "Virgin Goddess", as well as a large cash prize of ten billion yen, and a house erected anywhere on the planet they should choose. However, when a given waitress is defeated, they are required to publicly strip themselves of their clothing (self-fondling and public masturbation may be forced upon the loser, and in the most extreme cases, the loser is raped/gang-raped, either in private or in front of an audience), in order to teach the so-called "true" shame of defeat. In spite of such humiliation, the tournaments often draw many competitors, each placing their pride and their dreams on the line as they battle for the top.

Games

Title Platform Publisher(s) Release date
V.G. - Variable Geo PC9800 Giga July 9, 1993
Advanced V.G. Turbo CD TGL July 22, 1994
V.G. II - THE BOUT OF CABALISTIC GODDESS PC9800 Giga November 25, 1994
Super Variable Geo Super Famicom TGL July 21, 1995
Advanced V.G. Sega Saturn TGL March 27, 1995
Advanced V.G. PlayStation TGL March 19, 1996
Advanced V.G. 2 PlayStation TGL September 23, 1998
V.G. Custom PC Giga February 19, 1999
V.G. Max PC Giga September 10, 1999
V.G. Adventure PC Giga March 17, 2000
V.G. Rebirth PC Giga September 28, 2001
V.G. Rebirth Dash PC Giga March 23, 2002
V.G. NEO PC Giga December 19, 2003

The first game in the series largely ignored a major storyline in favor of focusing more on the fighting system and hentai sequences. Players take control of one of six V.G. waitresses and battle the other five in order to win the tournament. Kaori Yanase and Reimi Jahana serve as the game's sub and final boss characters respectively unless the player is controlling one of them, in which case Yuka takes the place of the player-controlled character.

An updated version of the first game which adds three new playable characters, a storyline which features Yuka as the main character (who has a clone), and includes a pair of "True" bosses, the genetically engineered "Hybrid" warriors K-1 and K-2. This game would later be re-released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation with updated graphics and sound. The only major difference between the two versions is that the Saturn version retains the "Graphic Mode" setting which allows the viewing of the hentai scenes. This option was omitted from the PlayStation version.

Kotoe Kashima, a childhood rival of Reimi, creates her own V.G. tournament in order to prove once and for all that she is far stronger and more beautiful than the Jahana Heiress. All of the previous fighters return and must face each other through a series of bouts. After defeating the other characters, the player must then face Kotoe's bodyguards before fighting Kotoe herself in a final match. This game was later declared non-canon by TGL.

A stripped down version of Advanced V.G. that removes Yuka clone, the Hybrids and Graphic Mode option.

The sequel to Advanced V.G. centers around a plot-driven "Story Mode" which features new protagonist Tamao Mitsurugi facing all of the previous competitors, as well as new faces Kyoko Kirishima and Saki Shinjou before going on to face the new boss characters Material and Miranda Jahana, Reimi's mother.

Another remake of Advanced V.G., this game features the same cast as Super V.G., but includes the same style of graphics and sound used in Advanced V.G. 2, along with reusing all Humiliation sequences from V.G. II: Bout of Cabalistic Goddess (though the dialogue was changed) and (non-canon) endings. Tamao Mitsurugi is a hidden character in the game and playable in versus and practice modes once unlocked.

A game in which the V.G. waitresses are rendered as super deformed style characters akin to Pocket Fighter. Includes the original six V.G. contestants, as well as Satomi Yajima from Advanced V.G., Tamao Mitsurugi from Advanced V.G. 2, Yumiko Watanuki from V.G. II and new character Masako Houjouin.

A text-based adventure game featuring the V.G. waitresses. The player takes control of Tamao Mitsurugi as she attempts to locate the missing Yuka Takeuchi and foil Miranda's latest plot. Fights are executed in a rock-paper-scissors fashion. With each successful attack, energy is added to a super meter that appears under the fighter's lifebar. Once full, the fighter can unleash a powerfully (in most characters' cases) unblockable attack. While Tamao is the only playable character in the storymode, there is a CPU versus mode that allows the player to pick from any character in the game.

A visual novel game in which the player plays the part of a reporter working on a story about the V.G. competition. The game also introduces the new character Hiyori Sakuragi. Depending on the choices the player makes, he/she will be paired with Yuka, Tamao or Reimi.

An update to V.G. Rebirth which includes nearly every other non-boss character (Ayako Yuuki is absent as she is a lesbian) as an option to pair with the player. It also introduces the new character Keiko Hatano.

The latest visual novel returns the series to its roots as a fighting tournament and features an entirely new cast, much in the same vein as Street Fighter III and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Characters

The V.G. series is notable as being one of the few games in the genre to feature an entirely female cast (the only exception is K-1, who only appeared once).

Anime

Main article: Variable Geo (anime)

There is a three-part anime OVA series based on the games that loosely follows the same plot as Advanced V.G., although with several facts changed: Miranda is dead and her spirit is seeking a new host body, the Hybrids do not exist, and the matches are ranked at different "levels" (Levels 1–5, with the implication that the penalties for losing differ, depending on the level of a given match), among other things. The voice actors for every character was changed for this series.

External links