Growing up, I received a hand-me-down PS2 from my uncle around the age of 8; most of the games he also gave were either too mature for me or just regular sports games. But there was one game that wasn’t like the rest that my mother (thankfully) didn’t keep away,Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I remember seeing characters like Spider-Man and Hulk on the cover and being ecstatic to play my first video game with superheroes in it. This would also be my first exposure to fighting games.
I think it didn’t take long after that for me to completely fall in love withMarvel vs. Capcom, not for just the Marvel characters, but also to appreciate the Capcom characters as well. I even remember one time arguing with a friend that the Hulk would lose in a fight against Zangief in middle school. I owe all the credit toMarvel vs. Capcomfor turning me into the fighting game nerd I am today.
Now fast forward roughly a decade and thousands of hours into other fighting games, and I wound up hearing about the reveal ofMarvel vs.Capcom: Infiniteat PSX 2016. I remember going crazy at the fact that we would finally get another game in the series after waiting so long sinceMarvel vs.Capcom 3in 2011. I was incredibly happy that one of my favorite franchises would be getting the next-gen treatment; I could get lost and waste all of my time playing it all over again.
Well, the following year I attended E3 2017 to not only check out all of the new games, but also to seeMarvel vs.Capcom:Infinitefor myself. As soon as the expo doors opened, I rushed over to the demo booth to play, and when I got my hands on it and played the 10-minute demo, I didn’t know how to feel. The game still had the signature quick movement and tag system just like the previousMarvel vs. Capcomgames, but it felt…hollow.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinitehad no X-Men characters, really dull stages, forgettable music, and of coursethose not so great character designs. All of the reasons why I still play fighting games were inMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, but none of the reasons I fell in love with them. The game was really strong when it came to gameplay, but it lacked in almost everything else, and that feeling carried over last September when the game was finally released.
[pullquote]“All of the reasons why I still play fighting games were inMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, but none of the reasons I fell in love with them."[/pullquote]
I recall rushing home from my local game store the night it came out to play and to give it the fair shot it deserved. I went straight into the Versus mode to test out all of the characters and Infinity Stones to see what I liked. However, with none of my mains present,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinitefelt like even more of an unfamiliar game to me. After a couple of hours, I realized this game wasn’t going to go very far, and I was right to assume that after seeinga wave of criticism for the game at its release.
I slowly became less and less interested in the game as the months went by. And why should I been?Dragon Ball FighterZhad just come out earlier this year, and so had the Arcade Edition ofStreet Fighter V. And as (probably) the biggest nail on the coffin,EVO also had just announced its main stage line-up for this past summer’s tournamentwithMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinitenowhere to be seen. I think that was the point when I realizedMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s run, ironically, wouldn’t last much longer.
Now that the game has been out for more than a year since its release, I feelMvChas been dead for so long. There hasn’t been anything really done with the game sinceInfinite’s most recent update in May, which supposedly justremoved antipiracy software. But somewhat recently, there has beenlots of talk among fans(though obviously they are rumors at this point) about the possibility of a newMarvel vs. Capcomin the works, or potentially an overhauled version ofInfinite.
As much as those options are still unlikely at this point, the thought of a new entry in the series brings me hope and worry at the same time. ThoughInfinitestumbled in a lot of ways last year, I think that new entry, if pulled off just right, could bring back the fans who adore this franchise easily. With the right tweaks and lessons learned fromMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Capcom could return to form as the leaders of the fighting game genre that they have been known for.
Probably the biggest change that Capcom would need to make for a newMvCgame is the look of it all.Marvel vs.Capcomalways had a bright and animated look to it, from its 2D heyday to the cell-shading and colorful animations ofMarvel vs.Capcom3. The series thrives on its appearance: watch any top-levelMvCcompetitive action and try not to be astounded with how the game looks when characters are pulling off infinites and supers all over the screen. And with fighting games being such a dense market nowadays, the overall design and aesthetic of a game is key to capturing your audience right away.
Also important is the music: I probably wouldn’t rememberMvC2’s music if it wasn’t so catchy. Honestly, I still jam out to theRiver Stage themeto this day. With poppy horns and upbeat tempos, the music felt just as integral as the characters in the game.
Of course, this brings me to probably the biggest change needed for a newMvCgame: the roster.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infiniteprobably received the most complaints in its weak roster compared to past games. Even if you consider the DLC characters,Infinitehad only 36 characters, which is equivalent to the roster for the originalMvC3. To compare this further,Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3had 48 characters andMvC2had 56. It seems essential to bring back favorites like the X-Men, Deadpool, Virgil, Magneto, Akuma, Doctor Doom, and so many more. Now that Marvel (under the ownership of Disney) has acquired pretty much all of these characters, it seems like a no-brainer to have this stacked roster now. With games likeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateboasting rosters of 70+ characters, it seems certainly possible for Capcom to follow suit for a newMvCgame.
[pullquote]“With games likeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateboasting rosters of 70+ characters, it seems certainly possible for Capcom to follow suit for a newMvCgame."[/pullquote]
I could probably dissect even further into what could makeMarvel vs. Capcomgreat again, but I all I really want is to capture that feeling I had as a middle schooler trying to learn combos with my favorite Marvel and Capcom characters. Though there have been many other impactful video games in my life, no other game got me hooked into a genre the way that the earlierMarvel vs.Capcomgames did. Hell, up until now I don’t think I gave that series enough credit that it deserved.
I’m grateful for all of the memories this series has given me and I’m hopeful for many more to come after the slight stumbles that the series took withMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Here’s to those still wanting to learn how to do an infinite in 2018.
