When Marvel vs Capcom 3 was originally announced, there was a lot of excitement and wonder at what it would have to offer. Even though some people were underwhelmed by the original, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 added a lot of exciting changes. These range from Phoenix Wright, to exciting heroes like Rocket Raccoon. The title was a hit and its eventual departure filled many with sadness. Now that Marvel vs Capcom is coming back, Capcom has revamped the popular fighter for a new generation. With a diverse cast, wide array of stages, all the DLC included and more, is Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 a must or is it a lazy port we should all forget about?
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 starts by having a diverse cast, filled with popular and forgotten characters. With characters like Frank West, Doctor Strange, Shuma-Gorath and Nathan Spencer, there is quite a bit of diversity, but the real highlight is how the characters’ play.
Instead of turning untraditional and non-fighters into generic fighters, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 does a good job of creating a move set based off their individual personality. For instance, Phoenix Wright has a bunch of awkward moves and comical expressions that suit the character, while also holding true to his source material. One of his supers also plays out like his game, making for an amusing way to defeat or at least damage your foe. From there, Capcom went the extra mile by adding subtle touches, such as Phoenix Wright having different word bubbles based on the language you set for him. So Japanese will make his bubbles appear in Japanese and vice versa. It’s a small, but welcome addition that shows the amount of thought and care that went into these fighters.
The same goes for the overall appearance of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Keeping true to Marvel’s roots, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 has a comic book like appearance. Everything, be it the character select screen or combos, have this design in mind. Sure a realistic style is nice and so is a heavily stylized one, but the one they used for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 does both Capcom and Marvel characters’ justice.
Continuing down this path, the levels in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 are filled with life and small touches. My favorite map is the one with sentinel robots attacking, since it has a poster showing some of missing characters from previous versions on a wanted poster in the background. This level of thought makes the overall experience far more enjoyable, than simply having a couple of modes or color schemes.
To make the most of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, there are multiple modes to experience. Like most fighting games there is a training and challenge mode, which will help you on your road to mastering each character. In addition to that, there are standards like arcade, versus online and more.
Arcade is quite a bit of fun and ends with a climatic battle against Galactus. It’s a good introduction to the characters, with the final battle being a nice change of pace. If arcade isn’t your thing, Heroes and Heralds is a lot of fun.
Heroes and Heralds is Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3’s version of an RPG driven fighting game mode. Here you can use multiple cards, filled with references to popular and niche Capcom/Marvel series, that have various effects. These range from boosting super rate to taking things away from the enemy, making it an interesting mode. The more you play, the more cards you earn, allowing you to further mess with the mechanics. The nice thing about this mode is that it’s not only accessible, but the elements are very straightforward. Not only that, it’s also nice that you can freely change your build to change your challenge or decrease the difficulty.
Verdict
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 isn’t the perfect fighter, but it is a very good crossover title. Not only does Capcom go to great lengths to honor both sides of the crossover, the game is a blast to play. Sure some characters are hard to use or a little underwhelming, but that is also the joy of games like this. Add to it that the re-release includes Jill and Shuma, plus all the costumes besides Magneto, filled with delightful references like iconic outfits, X and more, it’s an absolute must for fans and newcomers alike.
[Editor’s Note: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 was reviewed on PS4 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]