Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
English Arcade Flyer
Vital Statistics
Genre	2D Fighting game
Developer	Capcom Backbone Entertainment *
Publisher	Capcom
Release Date(s)	Arcade February, 2000 Digital Rereleases July 29, 2009 * August 13, 2009 * April 25, 2012 *
Ports and Other Releases
Ports	Dreamcast, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (マーヴルVS.カプコン 2 ニューエイジ オブ ヒーローズ) is the fourth installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom crossover fighting game series. The game first received a perfect port for the Sega Dreamcast, and later two more ports for Xbox and PlayStation 2 in late 2002. In 2009 the game received an updated HD digital release for both Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in 2009, with features such as a customizable soundtrack, online play and achievement/trophy support. An iOS version was also released on 2012 for sale in the Apple App Store. All digital releases were delisted at the end of 2013.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 introduced a major change in the series' gameplay with the introduction of 3-on-3 tag battles, the player now selecting 3 characters to form a team, and freely changing between them mid-battle. Gameplay was also arranged around this feature: button layout was changed from 6 to 4 attack buttons + 2 assist calls, with medium attacks only accessed by chaining 2 weak attacks together; an assist system was implemented that allowed one to choose from 3 different sets (α, β and γ) determining which technique is used in assist calls and Double/Triple Hyper Combos, and the introduction of a new universal technique known as "Snapback" which forces the opponent to switch to one of his non-active characters for a short time.

Story & Characters

Unlike the previous game in the series, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has an original, if extremelly simple, storyline. There's a legendary evil believed to be just a fairytale, a immensely powerful entity known as "Abyss". Through the actions of a pirate organization seeking to claim it, Abyss is set free from its confinement in limbo. From his armor comes forth hideous waves that mutate fishes and accursed winds that destroy all life on land. All the game characters gather together to stop it before everything is lost, intending on sending Abyss back to the "Sea of Genesis".

Three original Capcom characters debuted on this game: Ruby Heart, a renowned pirate captain who searches for hidden magical objects; Amingo, a member of a gentle and cheerful race of plant people on a quest to find the source of the accursed wind which is killing plantlife; and SonSon, the granddaughter of the protagonist of an old Capcom game also named SonSon, who leaves on a quest to save her village from a strange sickness with her grandfather's legendary Ruyi Jingu Bang on hand. Ruby Heart is usually seen as the main protagonist of the game, being the owner of the flying ship that transports all characters into battle.

The game has a total of 56 playable characters, plus the non-playable boss "Abyss", an original character created exclusively for this game.

Strider Hiryu

Strider Hiryu returns in this game mostly unchanged from the previous game, using the same sprite set. Within the game's community Hiryu became one of the few characters perceived as a viable choice, and is best known for a team strategy with Dr. Doom known as "Team Clockw0rk" (after the player who invented it), which basically consists on trapping the opponent in a defense state by using Hiryu's Ouroboros Hyper Combo and Dr. Doom's "Molecular Shield" attack. As a result of this, fan works in the community tend to portray the two characters as being good friends.

As part of the promotion for the HD release of the game, Capcom commissioned UDON to create official art and a set of 6 trailers. Hiryu was one of the 12 chosen characters alongside Ryu, Jill, Zangief, Mega Man, M. Bison, Wolverine, Storm, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Magneto. He stars in the 5th official game trailer, paired up once again with Spider-Man. He was also one of the six characters featured in the digital demo.

Official profile

• Nickname: A Modern-Day Ninja (現代に生きる忍者)
• "A modern-day ninja wielding the light sword "Cypher". Specializes in basic ninjitsu skills." - Japanese

Alternative Colors

Color 1 (Low Punch)	Color 2 (Low Kick)	Color 3 (High Punch)	Color 4 (High Kick)	Color 5 (Assist 1)	Color 6 (Assist 2)

Hiryu sports 5 different color choices, all of which are original for this game, outside of the LK color which is his original Color 2 from the first Marvel vs. Capcom.

Hiryu's Moveset

Main article: Marvel vs. Capcom/Movelist

Hiryu's moveset remains practically identical to Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, with minor tweaks in their functions at most. The only new technique is a variation of "Formation A", in which Hiryu now calls forth an Option C to fly through the screen if using the HK button, while LK summons the panther as normal. This technique is later named "Formation A2" in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Additional Notes & References

• Since Hiryu uses the same sprite set from the first Marvel vs. Capcom, most of the visual references to the Arcade Strider remain, such as the death animation (referencing the Arcade game's own) and the intro and ending animations. He also retains the same voice samples.
• The game has no character-exclusive endings, instead featuring a single ending for everyone in which all non-unlockable characters return from battle in Ruby Heart's ship, as she analyzes Abyss' damaged orb and, apparently finding it worthless, throws it overboard to sink into the ocean. Hiryu appears in one of the ending stills together with Hulk and Venom.

Gallery

• Artwork
• Screenshots

Official artwork

Hyper Combo artwork

Movelist card

Official Art from UDON, by Joe Vriens

One-page comic book promotional artwork, by Joe Vriens

Standing pose art, by Joe Vriens

Hiryu with Ryu and Jill Valentine (UDON art)

Hiryu in the game's ending

External Links

• Official Site (Japanese - archived)
• Digital Release Official Site (English - dead link)
• Digital Release Official Site (Japanese - archived)