R.I.P
February 2011 to
December 2013
Featured in EVO 2011, 2012, EVO 2013 and most likely EVO 2014
This is the eulogy post for the future of Marvel 3 related support. This is not the end of the game being competitive but this is the end of the game getting any update, balance patch, expansion or any thing similar. With the de-listed of MVC2/MVC3 from PSN/XBLA it's pretty clear that the digital license for the MVC franchise is over.
While it's sad that the game will get no additional support... I would say that the enjoyment and excitement that the game has provided over the year has been some of the best I have experienced in my gaming life. The freedom that the fighting engine offered, the diversity of the cast, the fast paced action, the glorious animation/sound effects/voice work, the potential for theory craft... this game was made for one purpose and that is to install raw excitement in both the player and the spectator. The game continued the trend of its predecessor MVC2 of making memes and color commentary that brighten up the day of any person looking up the usual fighting game streams. It brought a lot of new players to the scene. It made people laugh, it made people angry, it made people hype, it made people salty and it even made people cry.
Capcom Cup was a great tournament for the game despite the lackluster grand final. The top 8 was filled excellent matches and I suggest that anyone who missed the matches watch them when they are archived. But this post isn't about Capcom Cup.... it's about the moments that the game delivered that made you go "OMFG WOW!!!!" or "THAT'S MAHVEL BAYBEE!!!" From crazy comebacks to a godlike incoming mix up to superb mobility and neutral play even the live discovery of game breaking glitches... this game had a ton to offer.
I am only going to list my top 10 favorite moments but there are many more similar moments that have happened over the years with the game.
Marvel vs Capcom 3 Top 10 Moments of All Time
10)
Green Ace demolishes Team Norcal in the first Curleh Mustache Battle Royale
This was the first Battle Royale tournament where teams from various regions competed in a 5v5 tournament. Team Norcal and Team NY were the favorites to win. Team Norcal was especially stacked with players like FChamp, Neo, PRBalog, Chris Schmidt. Florida also had a solid team with players like Flocker, Flash Metroid and Marvelo but the real secret weapon of the team was Green Ace.
Green Ace was always known as one of the best players in Florida. He used the ORIGINAL team DMC (back then there was no Vergil so Wesker was the stand in for Vergil) and still plays that team because he's the best player of that team. At CEO,
Green Ace and PRBalrog had an AMAZING exhibition set but the catalyst for this set was the Green Ace performance against team Norcal.
Green Ace recently made top 8 at NEC and still features one of the best Dante (if not the best) in the world. He's an absolute joy to watch for anyone who is a fan of the game.
9)
The fall and rise of RayRay
Everyone remembers the RayRay vs Fanatiq MM. It was a blow up to put it nicely. RayRay was inexperienced in the art of MM and just got destroyed. However, unlike most players who drop off from the radar RayRay grew immensely as a player to become a top player. He has made a few top 8s in majors and is a regular contender at NLBC but it was his phenomenal run at ECT that really cemented his status as an up and coming titan of the game.
RayRay has great knowledge of the game, great execution and has that extra flair that makes him a fan favorite.
8)
Marlin "Based Swag" Pie
In 10 years from now when people talk about or look up MVC3 then MarlinPie will be the player that pops off. The innovator of what is now referred to as the "Doom swag"... he single handedly made a dull character into a character with insane combo potential. Before that he was known for his explosive Viper and his equally interesting Amaterasu play. He started off playing with Magneto and he was pretty fly with Magneto too but he really hit his stride with Doom. His best performance includes a win in Canada and at Shadowloo Showdown against FChamp, otherwise he had made a few top 8s and was voted in for Capcom Cup. He is very hot and cold... but when he's hot he can pull some crazy stuff!
There is no particular video I can link of MarlinPie that embodies him properly so I just linked a compilation video.
Here's his win over FChamp at Shadowloo Showdown.
7)
The "Quicksilver" Discovery at the first Curleh Mustache
MVC3 is an extremely open engine fighting game and that means it has its fair share of glitches... some of them even game breaking. In the age of Youtube there is rarely a glitch or tech that is seen in tournaments before it is already posted on Youtube... except for this time when RogueYoshi had been saving up a very powerful glitch to unleash at the very first Curleh Mustache. There were rumors about this crazy glitch but very few people had actually seen it and when RogueYoshi used it the room went absolutely nuts!
In the words of Mr Quotes... "WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3!!!"
6)
Good vs Evil Phoenix event at Seasons Beating
Phoenix was and is still considered by many to be one of the most hated fighting game characters of all time. The mechanic around the character is built around giving up some early advantage for a character that is designed to be OP. Vanilla MVC3 was not properly tuned for such a character with the abundance of meter in it but UMVC3 was much better tuned for it however that hatred for the character never went away.
There was an event at the second to last Seasons Beating where it was a team tournament featuring Phoenix players versus non Phoenix players. Phoenix players were the heavy favorites as they included the EVO champ Viscant among other top players who all used the best character in the game. The non Phoenix team had some exciting players though and what unfolded was one of the most hype events in fighting game history.
I only linked the Viscant set as it was the final one but the whole series is good stuff.
5)
Kusoru's defiant win at Final Round
Marvel is America's game.. now and forever and ever. That doesn't mean that there are those rare occasions when an international player comes in and swoops up a major tournament win. It happened first when Tokido beat Justin at CEO in MVC3 which even though was the first time in the game's history... it doesn't compare to what Kusoru did at Final Round. Kusoru came in with a very unorthodox team and made a legendary run through the best of the best players that America had to offer. It was the first time that people were exposed to the Log Trap and high level Viewtiful Joe play... America was not ready. To top it off, Kusoru was trolling non stop. Sadly Kusoru has never returned to US soil retaining his status as undefeated in the US.
4)
FChamp vs ChrisG : A Classic Rivalry
As of this post, FChamp and ChrisG are the two best MVC3 players. Since they are both the best it is logical that they fight each other regularly in tournaments. And when they fight each other its a sight to see. MVC3 is notorious for being a fast rushdown/mix up heavy game with less focus on neutral but when you see these two play you throw those notions out of the window. They play extremely intelligently, properly placing every projectile, every assist call and optimizing every bit of meter usage. Their rivalry has reached almost "El Classico" level although ChrisG does get the better of FChamp nowadays. Their clashes have produced some of the best matches in the game. In the header I linked their historic EVO match but their
FT15 match is also excellent and it was featured at the very last Seasons Beating..
3)
PRRog's miraculous Tron Bonne LVL3
PRRog quickly rose in prominence in MVC but the one moment that really cemented it was in Grand Finals of the first MVC3 EVO tournament. PRRog had just come off a big win over Justin "Marvelous" Wong and he had tech that no one had seen before. He was up against Viscant, who did go on to win the whole tournament. However, the final match to reset the bracket was one for the ages.... a single Tron against a Dark Phoenix and Haggar with a play that rocked the world.
2)
Justin Wong's outstanding EVO 2013 run
Justin Wong is the face of Marvel. When you think of Marvel and "winning".. you think of Justin Wong. He should file a motion to have his middle name remaned to "Marvelous". Justin Wong has won a lot of majors in MVC3 but no EVO wins sadly even though he won nearly every EVO in MVC2 and has gotten top 8 in all MVC3 EVOs. At EVO 2013, Justin was not the favorite to win... however something in him lit up and he went permanent Wong factor mode to run through the loser's bracket all the way up to the Grand Finals where he just didn't let up even until the final moment. It was a performance that brought many people to their knees and some people were so moved by the performance that they cried. Even Justin himself was moved by the outcome of the events as he had never been cheered on for like that in his life.
1)
The Bionic Arm
Every super hero has an origin story... and every big fighting game had an origin moment. The Bionic Arm was the origin moment of MVC3. It set the tone for the hype that was to come and it succeeded in placing MVC3 as the most watched spectator game in a lot of events (at the most recent EVO MVC3 broke 150K views, a record for the FGC). It's sad that Combofiend does not compete anymore as he was one of the most exciting Marvel players. He did leave a big mark on the game as he gave us the Bionic Arm moment. The moment was so powerful that it essentially spawned off the meme... no one even calls the hyper by its real name (Bionic Lancer) anymore. The original video has almost 600K views.
While the original Bionic Arm moment was amazing...
this particular "Bionic Arm" moment is technically superior in terms of skills and reads. People usually forget it because Combofiend has made so many Bionic Arm moments and they usually remember the first one only.