In retrospect, MVC2 is surely one of the best 2D fighting games of alltime. It is the ultimate cross-over fighting game,mixing the awesome worlds of Marvel & Capcom together in an all out brawl.With the exception of boss characters, every Marvel character to evergrace a Capcom fighting game is selectable, and of course a few handfuls of old favorites from the Capcom world(including some brand new ones) have joined the roster for a grand total of 56 characters inall!
The 3-on-3tag team gameplay is unlike anything seen in any other game, and is a truedelicacy. It could be summed up as 'Street Fighter to the extreme,' and has a lasting appeal that so few fighting games could ever hope for. MvC2 gives you the ultimatefreedom of creativity... players form a team of 3 characters and select an'assist' technique for each individual character; opening up aseemingly endless amountof combo possibilities. Each character has 3 assist types, whichcan make or break your team's defense, offense, combos... and maybe even 'coolnessfactor'. That said,Marvel VS Capcom 2 is a game that just never goes out of style.

MVC2 is an incredibly fast-pacedgame, even faster than the prequels which were known for their speed. It's one of the fastest fighting games ever,requiring nothing less than top-notch reaction time & hand-eyecoordination. A high level matchprobably can't even be followed visually by non-players! Sometimes there's so much going on at once that high-level gameplay from skilled playersmay possibly look like button mashingto 'oblivious' onlookers. However, a truly skilled player of this game can feel'in control' ofhis entire team at all times; and ultimately his opponent's team as well. The gameplay is amazingly fun to watch when two skilled players go at it, and even more-so to play. Why?Tag-team assists during the fight (which can be punished/combo'd), super move cancels, triple tag team supers,huge combos, and even infinite combos; which both make and break this gameat the same time. The open-ended combo system is the best aspect about thegame, andit's what truly makes MvC2 stand out from the crowd.
When Marvel VS Capcom 2first came out, it was pretty much 'god-like' among all other fighting games (and still is tosome).... Later down the road, there were indeed some 'cheap'infinite combos and corner traps that were discovered by high level players.Certain teams in MvC2 can easily be considered over-powered, and the top tiercharacters of the game are quite difficult to beat with less powerfulcharacters... but it can be done if you have the skills. Even though the game isn't balanced, as some characters are leagues betterthanothers, it's still fun... why? Because even a team of low tier characters who have solidchemistry, when under thecontrol of expert hands, can beat a top tier team of of an upper-mid or even highlevel player, where victory becomes the ultimate satisfaction. It's trulya beautiful thing when the underdogs win.

Other flaws besides balance?Not many. I always wondered why the character walking animations appeared'choppy' right before the fight begins. The animation in this game isdefinitely above average, but why do characters have to look like they're'skating' across the stage before the fight? It never made sense to me,but it doesn't really matter. I've heard hundreds, no, thousands of people complain about the 'jazzy'music of MvC2, but one can't deny the catchiness of many of the musictracks. Although,when you've heard the character selection BGM over and over and over...and over times infinity... it does become very old, and youmay even begin to form a hatred for that female jazz singer. lol. Thankfully the PS3/360versions of the game allow you to play the game with your own soundtrack usingthe mp3'son your system. Awesome.
I was ecstatic when I heard MvC2 was confirmed for the next gen consoles,complete with graphic filters which nicely smooth out the 2D sprites, as well asthe long awaited online mode! MvC2 online is straight forward, though a bit short onfeatures... thebattle room layout also could've been designed a bit better and havegiven us moreoptions, but at least the netcode is solid enough to allow players from across theglobe to enjoy MvC2 online with minimal lag. As in any online fighting game,it's always a treat to play against other players that you never would've gotten a chance to play in real life. As expected, there are indeed a lotof noobs online, but once you make some friends in skilled players, it's likeplaying at the arcade all over again... just a bit less personal, and far morecrybabies. lol. MvC2 is one of those games where the effectiveness & power of the characters/teamsreally depends on the player's skill level, as you'll find out by playingonline. (Low tier teams FTW!)

Love it or hate it, Marvel VS Capcom 2 is a behemoth of a fightinggame and introduced some of the most unique & enjoyable gameplay elementsever seen in a fighting game (still to this day). It's still oneof the most fun fighting games ever created (especially if you know how to play it on ahigh level). There's no story mode, no adventure mode, no exciting extras(besides unlocking characters and stages in the beginning), but who needs 'em...this isa 'fighting game' made for fighting gamers, and it delivers. Hardcore Street Fighter players play Street Fighter for one reason andone reason only: to experience the game with other skilled players, and to punishany noobs if any cross their path... and we all know that MvC2 allows skilled players to punish noobs in ways they could never have dreamed of... it's abeautiful thing.

Page Updated: May 14th, 2021 Developer(s): Capcom, Backbone (PSN/XBLA versions) Publisher(s): Capcom Artwork by: Bengus Platform(s): Arcade,Dreamcast, PS2, PS3 (PSN), Xbox, Xbox 360 (XBL), iOS Release Date(s): February 2000Arcade Mar. 30th, 2000 Dreamcast June 29th, 2000 Dreamcast July 16th, 2000 Dreamcast Sept. 19th, 2002 PS2 / Xbox Nov. 19th, 2002 PS2 Nov. 29th, 2002 PS2 / Xbox Mar. 30th, 2003 Xbox July 29th, 2009XBLA Aug. 13th, 2009PSN Apr. 25th, 2012iOS Characters: Ryu,Chun-Li,Guile, Jill Valentine, Charlie,Felicia,B.B.Hood, Akuma, Zangief, Cammy,Servbot,Sakura,Anakaris,Amingo,SonSon, Ruby Heart, Hayato,Tron Bonne, Dhalsim, M. Bison, Ken Masters, Dan Hibiki, Roll,Morrigan,CaptainCommando, Mega Man, StriderHiryu, Spider-Man,Jin Saotome, Cable, Marrow, Captain America, Venom,Hulk,Gambit,WarMachine, Wolverine,OmegaRed, Rogue,Cyclops,Shuma-Gorath,Sentinel,IronMan,Juggernaut, Magneto, Psylocke,Iceman, Storm,Dr.Doom, SilverSamurai, Thanos,Sabretooth,Blackheart,Spiral,Colossus,Abyss Featured Video: Related Games: X-Men:Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-MenVS Street Fighter,Marvel Super Heroes VSStreet Fighter, Marvel VS Capcom, Marvel VS Capcom 3, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite, Capcom VS SNK, Capcom VS SNK 2, TatsunokoVS Capcom GameplayEngine 9.5 / 10 Story/ Theme 8.5 / 10 OverallGraphics 9.0 / 10 Animation 8.5 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 7.5 / 10 Innovation 10 / 10 Art Direction 9.5 / 10 Customization 9.0 / 10 Options / Extras 7.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation 8.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun 10 / 10 'Ouch' Factor 9.5 / 10 Characters 10 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 9.5/10 Review based on Dreamcastversion Final Words: The culmination of Capcom's highlysuccessful Marvel VS series (which started back in 1996), Marvel VS Capcom 2 made a statement in arcades of the early 2000's (lasting for many years tocome). On a personal note, I met a lot of cool people through playing MVC2at arcades and tournaments back in the day (including one of my best friends).Good times... good times indeed. Over a decade after theoriginal release, Marvel 2 is still 'The Shit'.Very few fighting games come close to MVC2 in terms of fun, gameplay, and flashiness. I think one of thethings I love most about MVC2 is the speed... it's probably the fastest fightinggame in existence, especiallywhen compared to many fighting games nowadays. No doubt MVC2 was, and still is one of the most enjoyable 2D fighting games forcasual players and skilled players alike. For high level players, the tournamentscene is a little different, as 'cheap' (as they say) tactics are usedto dominate, and assists can be abused for chip damage, which lead toinescapable traps... A lot of people still complain about the traps& balance issues of thisgame, but the fact that skilled players can do those sorts of things makesit impressive in its own right. In what othergame can you do crazy triangle jump rush down combos or 15 second long cornertraps (besides MVC3)? Exactly...good times if you ask me. True, MVC2 is 'unbalanced' but I think that's what Capcom intended to do in thefirst place. The imbalance of the game makes it fun. And don't forget,low-tier characters can be used effectively and are still very fun toplay, especially when you can beat a toptier team. MVC2 made an epic return on PSN & XBLAin Summer of 2009, finally offering online play... we had towait nine long years to for online matches, but thankfully it was worth it(mostly). The netcodeis fairly solid on both PSN & XBLA, and playing other skilled players across the globe is particularly funin a game like MVC2. There are manyskilled players out there and clever new teams & tactics to test your skills against.For the record, I love playing 'low tier' teams online with other skilled low-tier users, but I'malways up for mixing it up and going all out with 'tournament style' teams as well. After an entire decade of support for Marvel VS Capcom 2 from theloyal players, Capcom brought back the Marvel VS series in 2011 with MVC3 and UltimateMVC3. While the MVC3 series looks awesome and has some pretty coolnew elements, I have say... I still prefer playing MVC2any day of the week. Check out my MVC3 reviews ifyou want to find out why. ~TFG Webmaster | @FIGHTERS_GEN