Games tend to be all about the now. The FGC is currently fresh off its generational molting session: Tekken, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are all fresh with new entries, as people argue online over how it’s actually a bad thing their new game doesn’t play exactly like their old one.
There’s a certain appeal to playing older games though. While games like 3rd Strike may not have flashy Drive Rush combos or universal reversals, you jump into an old game to see what happens when a game is broken free of the chains of recency. While games like Street Fighter 6 will grow and change over its lifespan by design, older games only grow and change because of the players finding something new, or refining what they do know and polishing their gameplay to a mirror shine.
9This past weekend I got to see a great example of this with a fighting game that’s very dear and personal to my own heart: one Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3.
The Ideal Fighting Game
To me, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 is the platonic ideal of a fighting game. I remember being an outsider to the world of joysticks and combos, thinking that fighting games were all split-second reactions and flashy combos that kill you in one hit.
In my half-decade foray into learning fighting games since, I’ve been shown how much more goes on under the hood- the practice, fundamentals, split-second decisions. These are the core of fighting games. I watch a Guilty Gear tournament and I don’t just see “ooohoo funny big combo”, I see the mindsets of players making decisions.
But with Marvel Vs Capcom I’m immediately taken back to that magic and wonder. These principles are still there, yes, but UMVC3 works in such a bizarre and unique realm that everything feels alien and fresh. It’s the high execution of old games mixed with the high-intensity chaos of a tag game.
You really see this in a tournament setting. While plenty of new people joined Infinite Carnage’s mini tournament, the stars were the veterans of the scene- people I see at our weekly meetups ignoring the new games to keep doing Captain America combos in the corner.
The Vintage Charm Of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
It stands to reason that little advancement has been made in the field of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 ‘s meta, so to speak. While Zangief can go from bottom 3 to bracket threat in one patch in Street Fighter 6, the static nature of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 means that it’s all down to mastery. As I watch one player do a touch of death combo (self-explanatory) with Spencer, I don’t think “wow Spencer is really strong, he’ll probably get nerfed soon”. I see practice, commitment and probably some level of spite that would make someone learn to instinctively grapple a dude while they’re tailsplinning in the air, where a combo should be ending.
It’s like that for every character too- I look at Doctor Doom’s foot dive combos with shock and awe, as they all contain levels of execution a totally un-serious player simply wouldn’t be able to do. More important than that, it’s also beautiful.
The attack poses in this game are beautiful- every sprite is distinct, and sells the illusion so many people believe about fighting games- that what you’re seeing is some inhuman dedication to learning to press buttons really fast. As I see Doctor Doom go from his jumping mediums into foot dives, it’s kind of crazy just seeing how expressive a bunch of comic book characters kicking your butt can look.
That’s not even getting into the truly high level stuff. Being able to mess around with three characters at once is the core of Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 ‘s charm. One player I saw had Nova’s barrier set up, preventing the opponent from walking forward while pelting him with projectiles from Doctor Doom’s rock assist. Jumping to avoid it? Well, Nova unfortunately has an arcing shot that can catch you in the air too.
It’s these kind of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t setups that define Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Characters are all broken in their own way, and finding out how to best use them can make you immune to tierlists. One player even placed high with Hsien-Ko, a character broken in all the wrong ways and the subject of her own video essay breaking down how.
The Joy Of Community
Of course, it’s not like Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 players are some sort of samurai, honing their mastery of the blade-wielding devil. They’re a community brought together by their love for a game, even amidst licensing issues and less-than-stellar sequels. While I was sat in the viewing area the matches were punctuated by screams coming from the players themselves- so loud that they even get picked up by the commentary mics.
Suffice to say it’s a great time to be a Marvel Vs Capcom fan- while Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 has been available on PC for a while, the surprise announcement of the return of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 has reinvigorated the community, with many fledglings of the FGC likely going to be playing an iconic fighter for the first time. I cannot understate how big a deal this is- from Skullgirls to Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 to even games like Final Fantasy XVI, so much of the action genre has roots that tie back to the Versus series.
The tournament in turn also highlighted that there’s always a place for older games. While some may decry a static meta or a “solved” game, the fact of the matter is it all comes down to the players themselves. And a decade’s worth of experience in an old game than a a few years in a new one.
