In 1999, 3D fighting games were hardly
new. Despite its commitment to its signature brand of sprite-based fighters, even Capcom had taken the leap to polygons, from its debut 3D fighter Star Gladiator to even Street Fighter getting the EX treatment. But even with these new graphical changes, most 3D fighting games rarely utilised the 3D space. Apart from the odd side step, most would keep the action to a 2D plane, still confined in a ring. But the arrival of new hardware in the form of NAOMI – Sega’s arcade board counterpart to the Dreamcast – was the perfect opportunity for new innovative ideas.