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MARVEL VS. CAPCOM
Fighting
1 or 2 players
Capcom Japan
T-12021M
¥5800
Available Now in Japan
Where to buy
—by Kenneth Lee
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By now most gamers out there are quite familiar with Capcom's slew of 2D
fighting games: From the legendary STREET FIGHTER II to its more frenetic
"VS." series. While most hard-core fighting gamers denounce the VS. series
of games as being "sloppy" or "a button masher," one thing that cannot be
denied is that the VS. series of games are currently extremely popular,
perhaps even more so than Capcom's 'true' fighting game series, STREET
FIGHTER II / III. One reason for this is seeing and controlling your
favorite fighters and super heroes recreated and insanely animated in a
video game. Who wouldn't want to see his or her favorite Marvel Super Hero
or X-Men character wonderfully hand-drawn and animated, pummelling the crap out of
another super hero or street fighter? And so it is with this basic crux
that makes Capcom's MARVEL VS. CAPCOM so engaging and just plain fun,
especially at home on the Dreamcast with a few of your buddies.
Being the Dreamcast's first true 2D intensive game, all doubts are now
crushed as Capcom proves that Sega's new machine has more than enough power
to handle it. This is essentially a 100% arcade perfect port of the CPS-II
fighting game, with a few new home exclusive modes to boot, such as the
requisite "Survival Mode," "Training Mode" and "Cross Fever" mode, which is
a madness-filled 4 player(!) fighting fest, where you and three of your
friends can battle it out in a huge free-for-all.
The graphics are pure 2D retina-burning madness: All the fighters are
wonderfully animated and Capcom's 2D artists show their mastery once again,
as these sprite incarnations are nothing short of brilliant. All the insane
screen-sized supers and special effects are all in, backgrounds are filled
with cool little ambient animations, and each character exudes an
over-the-top personality that make them all stand out.
As the name suggests, this game pits a slew of super heroes from Marvel
Comics' universe, against various heroes and fighters from Capcom's
pantheon of games. From Marvel, you have Captain America, Spider-Man,
Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, Gambit, War Machine, and Venom. From Capcom's
universe, Ryu, Chun Li, Zangief, Captain Commando, Jin (from CYBERBOTS),
Morrigan, Rockman (Megaman), and Strider Hiryu! In addition there is a huge
group of "guest characters" (secondary attack) that can jump out and help
you in battle, and these are drawn from both universes, with a diverse cast
that includes, Thor, Jubilee, Anita (DARKSTALKERS), and Arthur (GHOULS AND
GHOSTS), to name a few. And after that, there are a few secret characters,
such as Roll (Rockman's partner), and Lilith, although the sprites
essentially stay the same.
The sound effects are solid and the music wonderfully remixed electronica.
The voices are clear and solid, and Sega owners can finally lay to rest the
'scratchy voice syndrome' that plagued so many of the older systems.
Finally, it is the area of gameplay that serves as MARVEL VS. CAPCOM's
greatest strength and weakness: Fighting game purists have long denounced
the VS. series as being skill-less, button-mashing insanity for gamers who
can't hang with the 'real' fighters like the true Street Fighter Zero
series or Virtua Fighter series, while VS. fanatics love the games because
of their over-the-top nature and ridiculously long air juggle combos. For
newcomers, the VS. series (MvC included) is essentially a sloppy, 'easier'
fighting game when compared to its ancestors; by doing simple joystick +
button combinations, you can get the entire screen to explode and asteroids
to bombard an entire area, etc. Indeed, everything is so over-the-top and
messy that most of the time it turns into a massive 'Super war,' with Super
Moves blasting all over the place. There are also massive air juggle
combos, "Aerial Raves," that can be done which requires a little more skill
but overall, MARVEL VS. CAPCOM can be considered a
'fun fighter'—something that can be played with your buddies to mess around with and your
brain turned off for a while—versus a 'serious fighter,' which are games
that require more skill and a lot more practice and determination, such as
the previously mentioned SF Zero series or VF series. There's nothing wrong
with MvC, but those that are looking for a new deep, fighting game should
look elsewhere. Special mention to Capcom's newest '#1 cheapest boss in
history,' Onslaught. Cheese is hardly the word to describe this fight.
In the end, while MARVEL VS. CAPCOM can be considered a slop-fest, for
skillless gamers, it is also undeniably fun to play, especially at home on
the Dreamcast, where you and your buddies can mix it up, taking your
favorite super heroes and street fighters and battling them out against
each other in larger-than-life, epic fights to the death. Too often a
property license is taken and made into a game, only to have horrible
consequences—RANMA 1/2 and DRAGONBALL fans remember the wretched Super
Famicom (SNES) games, or the bad RUROUNI
KENSHIN fighter on the PSX—and
to have the #1, undisputed 2D fighting game company in the world
reincarnate your favorite fighters and super heroes from Marvel Comics or
Capcom's universe into a fighting game with a solid, decent fighting
engine, and insane animation, is an indelible charm that cannot be
overlooked. From this old-school gamer's eyes, seeing such classic video
game heroes like Strider, or Captain Commando or even Megaman recreated and
superbly animated is a dream come true. And for comic fans, seeing many of
your favorites like Captain America or Venom in a game that plays really
well (compared to all the other 'anime / comic licensed games') is enough
incentive to buy this game.
Rating: 8.6/10 |
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