(Originally posted on August, 2017)
(2017, PC)
Attempting to top the kind of Fruit Loops-as-a-game, genre stretching 2D combat of 2000’s Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Marvel vs Capcom 3 finally arrived after an 11 year period of speculation, wavering hope and even some well-crafted hoaxes. Just months later, the definitive update in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 packed in even more characters, stages and gameplay tweaks. Having experienced years of satisfaction bewildering arcade opponents with my Metal Zangief in MvC2, the will to guard my wallet has been well tested as I sat out on the consoles exclusively housing Ghost Rider and Viewtiful Joe’s fighting debut. All the way forward to 2017, the PC port of UMvC 3 is so very late, but no less welcome. Moving towards entirely polygonal graphics, UMvC3 is largely a continuation of MvC2’s hectic, assist character based gameplay, but with quite a few shakeups to make up for the long gap…
Further simplifying the toned down controls of MvC2’s 4 strike button and 2 assist button set-up, UmvC3 brings your attacks down to just 3: Weak, medium and strong; the other buttons being freed for assist/tag and shortcut commands. Initially rather confused that I could pull off Ryu’s Tatsumaki or shoot Spiderman’s webs with no differentiation between punch or kick, the essence of earlier games soon emerged with just a few plays. Within a few hours of pure experimentation, I was easily performing jump-in combos, launching opponents and following up with multi tag air combos before slamming them back towards the ground; the dozens of uninterrupted hits punctuated by a loud thud and satisfying camera angle change. Racking up huge combos is now easier than ever, but I must admit to missing the difficulty wall of 90s Marvel fighters. All this impressive destruction seems almost too easy, invoking nostalgia of watching those in the arcade who’ve mastered the 6 button configuration…going on to do all sorts of crazy feats while I was stuck throwing fireballs. Not all is easy, as more so than the likes of Apocalypse, Onslaught and Abyss, Galactus is a hugely frustrating boss, not just in size but in move set. Even when playing on easy, fights are rather stressful as too much time is spent frantically trying to regain control of a character glued to the floor after the slap of a purple, 30 foot palm.
Even for casual fans, the huge, splendidly unusual roster makes the game well worth a look. I’m not a big comic book fan, but the Capcom side alone long had me itching to play this. Finally controlling Final Fight’s Mike Hagger after decades of imagining him in a 2D fighter, playing as one of Capcom’s coolest 90s era characters in Zero, or the awkward but no less intriguing choice of Okami’s Amaterasu all make this a must play! Of course not everyone could possibly make it in, but I appreciated the thoughtful touch of color options to simulate ‘alternate’ characters: For example, Morrigan has Lilith’s colors and Zero could almost pass off as his MMZ incarnation or Bass/Forte. Each character has a brief ending that’s more fan service than any attempt at substantial story. Still, I was driven to topple the massive Galactus with everyone just to see the jokes and cameos for whoever didn’t make the cut to the main roster. Not just appearing like your standard Capcom fighter with Marvel characters added, the presentation is lovingly crafted with a bright, panel style comic book theme. Filled with far more life than the bland stages of MvC2, highlights include the nostalgic, friendly frights of the Ghouls and Ghosts stage and bustling, mildly vertigo inducing rendition of Spiderman’s NYC. Focusing just on the arcade style play, I did not touch the additional one player mode which looked to mix map-based strategy elements and item collecting in between fights.
While the massive soundtrack is an improvement over MvC2’s (in) famously bizarre and inappropriate soft jazz, I still found myself listening to podcasts during much of my plays, as just a relatively small number of gems swim in a sea of uninspired remixes and overproduced originals. The synth, drum and guitar samples offer little of interest, being dragged down by a palpable artificiality that’s missing the aggressive, distinctive charm heard on Capcom’s CPS series hardware. There are still a number of excellent tracks: Haggar has a tense and unique take on Final Fight’s stage 1 theme. Trish, She-Hulk and X-23 sounded like they were given a bit more time and are interesting in their use of vocals. Spiderman stands out as far groovier than anything else. The crumbling, ghoul infested Demon Village has a mildly frightening melancholy that’s as beautiful as it is sad. Even when powered by mid-2000s console hardware, I wasn’t yet made a fan of the move to completely polygonal graphics. Compared to their hand drawn counterparts, Hulk lacks intimidation, Wolverine ferocity and all appearing Darkstalkers look like plastic mannequins compared to the incredible animation and personality they established in 1994.'
With an appealing roster, accessible gameplay and light hearted presentation, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 offers plenty to any fan of 2D fighters. Whether I ever go back or not, it was well worth $15 for the completely fresh visuals and many hours enjoyed in exploring the nearly 50 playable characters. For those who’ve never played a Marvel fighter, it’s perhaps the best starting point in the somewhat overwhelmingly flashy series. As someone who’s played the games at least casually since the beginning, the comparatively easy control and memorizing curve has ignited my interest in the more difficult yet engaging games found earlier on. Purchasing and revisiting the likes of Children of the Atom and X-Men vs. Street Fighter would mean even more money for Capcom, if they ever get around to porting them…
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