It was first released in arcades on the NAOMI 2 board followed by a console port as well as Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution on the PlayStation 2 under the budget-priced "Greatest Hits" label in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Virtua Fighter 4 became much more streamlined and user friendly than its predecessors, while expanding on old ideas and adding new techniques.

The evade + throw escape option select, which was an advanced technique discovered in Virtua Fighter 3, was expanded upon.

Vanessa Lewis is a black Vale Tudo/Muay Thai kickboxer with two completely separate moves sets that can be switched between on the fly, and Lei-Fei, a Shaolin monk, employs many stances that flow into one another.

The mode consisted of an encyclopedia of fighting game terms, complete character command list walkthroughs, tips on all of the game's mechanics, recommended character combos, alternative options for failed combos, detailed command input timings, slow motion for frame counting and timing, and other useful training tips.

VF4 allows the option to skip the current command, view the move (computer controlled), enable advice.

VF4 started out with thirteen fighters entering the tournament for their own personal reasons, while Judgement Six used them for gathering data for Dural.

Jeffry finally gained enough money to repair his boat, but there was only one problem: the Satan Shark mysteriously disappeared.

Sarah regained her memories and lived a quiet life with her brother, until she had flashbacks of the time where she was brainwashed by Judgement Six and attempted to kill Jacky.

Vanessa joins the fourth tournament to protect Sarah from Judgement Six, and to avenge the murder of her mentor, Lewis.

[5] In Japan, Virtua Fighter 4 is famous for spearheading and opening the market for internet functionality in arcades.

VF.NET started in Japan in 2001, and since companies have created their own arcade networks, e-Amusement by Konami, NESiCAxLive by Taito and Square Enix, and ALL.Net by Sega.

While the music, stages and low-polygon visual style were retained from the first game, the character roster, animations, mechanics and movesets were taken from Evolution.

In the previous PS2 release of Virtua Fighter 4, a button code would make the player's character look like a VF1 model.

In Japan, the game was included as part of a box set with a book called Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary: Memory of a Decade and a DVD.

[7] In North America, the game was included within the home version of Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, and in Europe it was only available as a promotional item; it was not sold at retail.

"[14] In Japan, the PlayStation 2 version sold 500,000 units during its first weekend on sale in early 2002, making it Sega's fastest-selling game of that generation.

Next Generation ranked it as the 97th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country.

"[20] Game Informer gave the PS2 release a 9.75/10, opining that "Underneath its silky shine is a feast of fighting goodies that will change everything you have ever come to expect from this genre.

[26] Edge noted in retrospect that "Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution was unchallenged in having the best tutorial in fighting game history.