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For more information, see Marvel vs. Capcom (series) on the Marvel vs. Capcom Wiki.
Marvel vs Capcom logo

Marvel vs. Capcom (マーヴル VS. カプコン) is a crossover fighting game series developed by Capcom, pitting characters from Capcom's properties against Marvel's stable of super-heroes. A subset of fighting game crossovers developed by the company, Marvel vs. Capcom was the first one and by far the most popular.[1]

Hiryu was one of the many Capcom characters introduced as a playable character in the series, gaining a strong cult following afterwards that brought newfound popularity to both the character and series that persists to this day. As a result, Marvel vs. Capcom has become a major part of Hiryu's legacy.

History[]

Marvel and Capcom started several video game collaborations around 1993, carried forward mainly by Capcom's game designer Yoshiki Okamoto. The man who sparked interest in Marvel comic among the Capcom staff, however, was graphic artist Katsuya Akitomo, a huge X-Men fan who personally translated comic issues and brought them to Capcom for everyone to read, inspiring everyone on the Arcade divison to seek the license.[2]

Among the games made with Marvel's license there were X-Men: Children of the Atom (Arcade, 1994) and Marvel Super Heroes (Arcade, 1995). These two titles were fighting games whose gameplay style branched off the popular Street Fighter II[2], featuring the basic 1-on-1 3-round battle system pioneered by the fighting game series, but greatly expanding its combo system by allowing basic attacks and moves to chain together and even continue the chain against airborne enemies in what was later refined and known as the "Aerial Rave".

Children of the Atom underperformed badly in Japan despite getting a good reception by players, a cause given for this was apparently the failure of previous American comic book-based Arcade ventures, which made Arcade owners wary of investing in them[3], and while it did better in North America, it still sold below expectations[4]. Marvel Super Heroes didn't fare much better[5]. Nevertheless, the gameplay system established in both games was to be used in a follow-up.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter[]

For more information, see X-Men vs. Street Fighter on the Marvel vs. Capcom Wiki.
XvSF attract

Attract sequence

Director duties for the sequel befell Atsushi Tomita, who worked as the assistant director in the previous two games[6]. This was considered a risky project since, at that point in time, the gameplay system created in Children of the Atom was looked down within the company and not seen as particularly valuable. Thus, Tomita decided to see what he could do with this system and started to work in any and all ideas[6]. This led to the decision of making a crossover between both companies, pitting the X-Men mutants against characters from Street Fighter Alpha. As crossover video game weren't yet common in Japan at the time, this helped the game get a much better reception than its predecessors.[7]

Reportedly based on the "Dramatic Battle Mode" introduced in Street Fighter Alpha which allowed the player to fight a CPU enemy with two characters at the same time, X-Men vs. Street Fighter altered the original 1-on-1 system from Children of the Atom into a 2-on-2 tag team fighting game, letting players fight using a team of two characters and allowing to tag them in and out freely during a match, as well as perform move combinations. This tag team mechanic and a more unrestricted free-form, air-focused combo system would become the foundations of the crossover series.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter was released on September 1996 for Arcades, and was later ported to Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Unlike its predecessors, it became a success.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter[]

For more information, see Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter on the Marvel vs. Capcom Wiki.

Atsushi Tomita directed the next follow-up game, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, released less than a year after in July 1997. The Marvel side was expanded beyond the X-Men to include more of Marvel's overall stable, bringing back several characters from Marvel Super Heroes, while the Street Fighter cast remained mostly unchanged. The game was developed as a way to fix the "broken" system in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, where several characters had access to atleast one infinite combo.[8]

In terms of gameplay, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter introduced another key feature of the series in the form of the "Variable Assist", the ability to call up the passive character in the team in order to perform a quick assist attack before leaving the screen, a variation known as "Variable Counter" in which the action is performed off a blocked attack, and the "Variable Combination" allowing the two characters to attack using one of their Hyper Combos at the same time.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes[]

Main article: Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
MvC1cover

The third and final game in the series directed by Tomita, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes was also released less than a year after its predecessor in January 1998, and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation. This title saw the expansion of the Capcom side beyond Street Fighter, covering other series such as Darkstalkers and Mega Man.

Gameplay-wise Marvel vs. Capcom made a number of unique changes to the formula that were eventually discarded, most importantly the removal of the Variable Assist in favor of a "Special Partner" system, a group of minor characters who are randomly selected as the "third" member of the player's team and who can only perform a limited number of assist attacks. The game also introduced the "Duo Team Attack" or "Variable Cross", a special move allowing the two characters in a player's team to fight simultaneously for a limited time.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes[]

Main article: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
MvC2cover

The following game in the franchise, released Feburary 2000 for the Arcades and later ported to the Dreamcast, Xbox and PlayStation 2. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 would bring in almost every single playable character in all previous titles for a large roster of 56 playable characters, and would see major changes to the formula making it one of the most popular and influential fighting games.[1]

The biggest change in the gameplay style was the expansion to 3-on-3 tag teams instead of 2, allowing players to fight with three-character teams, each with one of three possible selectable assist options, making for a huge amount of possible combinations and team synergy. The control layout was altered in order to fit the two new assist call buttons, and an universal move called "Snapback" was added which allowed the attacker to temporarily force his opponent to switch characters.

The series entered a decade-long hiatus afterwards. In 2009 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was released on digital marketplaces for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and later for iOS through the Apple App Store. Following Disney's acquisition of Marvel, however, all these versions were removed from the digital stores.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds[]

Main article: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Umvc3cover

After the success of 2008's Street Fighter IV and the resurgence of interest in fighting games in general, Marvel approached Capcom to continue the series[1]. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was released on 2011 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. While there were plans for DLC after its release, the March 2011 earthquake in Tohoku put the company's schedules in disarray, and the staff decided to instead create a physical disc update with the planned DLC and extra content, releasing as Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in November 2011.[9]

The first game using 3D models, the title boosts a roster of 50 playable characters. The gameplay style was updated with new mechanics but mostly left intact from its previous version. New additions include the X-Factor, a comeback mechanic that increases a player's strength according to the number of members left on their team; the Team Aerial Combo, a strike done to mid-air opponents that switches playing characters, and a rearranged button layout.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite[]

Main article: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

The final title in the crossover series, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was released on 2017 for PlayStation, Xbox One and PC. It features a cast of 36 characters and a full cinematic story mode, a first for the series. It also made major alterations to the gameplay, reverting to 2-on-2 tag teams and ditching assists for an universal "Active Switch" mechanic that allows players to switch characters at any point during a match, even when attacked by the opponent.

Compilations[]

In 2012 Capcom released Marvel vs. Capcom Origins for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade digital markets, in September 25 in North America and October 10 in Europe. The title is a compilation including Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes with additions such as high-definition visuals, enhanced online, a challenge system and Achievements/Trophy support. As all other digital titles, it was delisted in December 2014.

In Fall 2020, Tastemaker made two sets in their "Arcade1UP" line-up of Arcade cabinets centered on the series: one including X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems, and Marvel vs. Capcom and the other coming with X-Men: Children of the Atom, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and the SNES-exclusive X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse. Both cabinets feature online multiplayer capabilities for the fighting games.[10]

At EVO 2022 Arcade1UP revealed a new compilation cabinet including the ever-popular Marvel vs. Capcom 2 alongside all Capcom-licensed Marvel fighting games and the beat'em ups X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse and Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems. Released October 2022, the Arcade boosts Wi-Fi connectivity allowing for online multiplayer in all games.[11]

Connections between both series[]

Mvco hiryu legion

Hiryu and the Options in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes

Strider content has been featured in the series since its third entry.

  • Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.
    • Strider Hiryu is one of the game's 15 playable characters. He fights using fast-paced moves and techniques centered on his Cypher sword, as well as long-range attacks using his 3 Options. His Glider and Climb Sickle also appear as part of moves or animations.
    • St. Petersburg appears as one of the stages.
    • Tong Pooh is one of the game's 22 Special Partners, performing her signature plasma kick.
    • Hiryu's theme, "Theme of Strider Hiryu", is a remix of the first stage's theme "Raid!", also including the stage's intro fanfare "Defense Line". This theme received remixed versions in not only later Marvel vs. Capcom games, but other crossovers as well.
    • Hiryu's ending is a replica of the Arcade game's ending, and features a remixed version of the ending theme "Sarani...".
  • Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
    • Strider Hiryu is one of the game's 56 playable characters, returning virtually unchanged.
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
    • Strider Hiryu is one of the update's 12 new playable characters to join the roster's total of 50 characters. His gameplay sees little changes from before.
    • Grandmaster Meio appears as one of the 104 ability cards in Heroes and Heralds Mode.
    • Strider Hien is the inspiration behind Hiryu's Color 4 palette.
  • Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
    • Strider Hiryu is one of the game's 36 playable characters. His moveset received minor updates, including a new move based on the Savage Slash.
    • The Third Moon appears as part of the merged stage "Knowmoon", sporting a design mixed with elements from Meio's Tower.
    • Grandmaster Meio appears as an NPC character in the game's story mode, assisting the main antagonist in their shared desire to erradicate organic life on Earth.
    • The Gravitron appears in the story as a vital component of Grandmaster Meio and Ultron Sigma's plan to turn all life into mechanical forms.
    • Strider Hien is Hiryu's Wave 1 DLC costume.
    • The music playing during the Grandmaster battle in story mode is a remix of "The Moon Tower" from the 2014 Strider.
StrHD charged cypher

Hiryu's Charged Cypher in Strider (2014), based on his special move "Gram"

Conversely, Hiryu's depiction in the series has influenced and directed his appearance in both follow-up Strider titles and crossover appearances.

  • Several moves and animations in Strider 2 are based on Hiryu's moves in this series.
    • Hiryu's design is derived from the updated look he sported in Marvel vs. Capcom, with several sprites being closely imitated.
    • Many of Hiryu's animations, such as his running dash and jump.
    • Hiryu's Slide animates in the same manner it does in Marvel vs. Capcom.
    • Hiryu's Hassou Jump is possibly based on the Wall Exchange and animated after the move Excalibur.
  • Several moves and animations in Strider (2014) as well.
    • Hiryu's neutral/idle stance is based on his Marvel vs. Capcom idle stance.
    • Hiryu's Cypher Heavy Strike is based on his Launcher basic attack.
    • Hiryu's dashing slash is based on the animation of the Ame-no-Murakumo move.
    • The Charged Cypher is based and animated after Hiryu's range-extending Gram slash.
    • The Plasma Catapult seems inspired on the air-dashing Excalibur move, and Hiryu's pose in both moves is identical.
    • All three Options function closely to how they work in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, and Hiryu does the same pointing animation to send them forth.
    • The Panther Run is likely inspired by Hiryu's win animation in Ultimate, where he leaves the screen on top of Option B.
  • Hiryu's moves also turn up in several of his crossover appearances.
    • Namco × Capcom has three basic attacks, two special moves and one Hyper Combo from Hiryu's fighting game movelist.
    • Hiryu's entire movelist is included in Project X Zone 2 as part of Hiryu's many combo moves.
    • Capcom Fighting All-Stars included toned-down versions of Hiryu's Gram special move and Ragnarok Hyper Combo.
    • Skills used by Hiryu cards in Street Fighter x All Capcom are named after several moves.
    • Zeku's Bushin Gram, a kick with an extended energy arc, is based and named after Hiryu's Gram, a slash with an extended plasma arc. A number of Zeku's basic attacks and other special moves are also modeled after Hiryu's fighting game incarnation.
    • Two of Hiryu's Hero Arts in TEPPEN are based on his Hyper Combos Legion and Ragnarok. The third Hero Art is named Formation, but the animation is unrelated to the move and is instead based on the Option A's defensive shield from the 2014 Strider.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Staff (November 8, 2017). "Developer's Interview 2017: Yoshinori Ono" (English). Official Capcom site. Retrieved from archive.org. Accessed November 14, 2020
  2. 2.0 2.1 Yasuda, Akira (May 13, 2014). Darkstalkers: Official Complete Works (English). Pg 212. UDON Entertainment. ISBN 1-92-792504-5
  3. Akitomo, Katsuya (October 30, 2020). "Akitomo's twitter" (Japanese). Translated by GSK. Accessed November 8, 2020.
  4. Akitomo, Katsuya (October 30, 2020). "Akitomo's twitter" (Japanese). Translated by GSK. Accessed November 8, 2020.
  5. Akitomo, Katsuya (October 30, 2020). "Akitomo's twitter" (Japanese). Translated by GSK. Accessed November 8, 2020.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Staff (October 25, 2014). "Creators File #164: Atsushi Tomita" (Japanese). Gpara.com. Retrieved from wayback.com. Accessed May 30, 2016
  7. Akitomo, Katsuya (October 30, 2020). "Akitomo's twitter" (Japanese). Translated by GSK. Accessed November 8, 2020.
  8. Co, Franz (March 16, 2012). "A History of Tag Team Fighting Game Innovations" (English). shoryuken.com. Retrieved from archive.org. Accessed November 14, 2020
  9. North, Dale (July 21, 2011). "Japan disaster led to disc-only release of Ultimate MvsC3". destructoid.com. Accessed November 14, 2020
  10. Paget, Mat (September 9, 2020). "Marvel Vs Capcom And More Arcade1Up Cabinets Available For Pre-Order" (English). gamespot.com. Accessed November 14, 2020
  11. McWhertor, Michael (August 5, 2022). "Marvel vs. Capcom 2 getting rereleased in arcade cabinet form" (English). polygon.com. Accessed August 30, 2022
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