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Here, ladies and gentlemen, we have one of the great bait-and-switch techniques of the
last couple decades. The true difference between arcade and console gaming - and we didn’t
even have to get any DDR pads involved. This is the PlayStation version of Marvel Vs. Capcom
- the original one, no numbers needed - one of history’s great mistakes.
Now, let’s get one thing straight: Marvel Vs. Capcom was an unbelievable arcade game.
The port for the Dreamcast was exceptionally accurate. But the Dreamcast was a 6th-gen
console. The Playstation, for all its potential, was a 5th-gen system. It couldn’t push the
sprites fast enough. It couldn’t handle this level of awesome. So, because there still
had to be a Marvel Vs. Capcom on the Playstation, we got this. A sad excuse.
The first difference you note, in the main arcade mode, you’re not playing a two-on-two
match. It’s supposed to be a two-on-two match, but that’d take resources and memory
the machine just didn’t have. Instead, it plays much more like a one-on-one fighter
with an assist character, either one of the playable roster or a dedicated support character.
Interestingly enough, after a knockout, the fight continues immediately without refilling
the victor’s health bar. Very Killer Instinct, and perhaps an attempt to mimic the mechanics
of the real game, but it’s too little, too late.
The most damning indictment is the cross-over mode, which attempts to mimic the gameplay
of the arcade by allowing two separate characters each with their own health bar. Sounds fantastic,
except that the character you choose becomes your opponent’s reserve unit, and vice versa.
This way, the memory limitation is alleviated by only having two characters, the one you
chose and the one chosen for you. It’s distressingly fair, but only because it makes every game
a mirror match... in a manner of speaking. And if you’re using one of the pallate-swapped
hidden characters - like Red Venom, or Gold War Machine, or the robotic Chun-Li wannabe
Shadow Lady... well, the whole thing can quickly become a mess. Heck, the only hidden character
with a unique design is Roll, and the manual input code to use her (start at Zangief, left
left down down right right down down left left up right up up right right to the space
off the board adjacent to Mega Man) doesn’t even work.
It sounds like the arcade, it looks like the arcade, but the most crucial element is missing:
it doesn’t play like the arcade. And that’s unfortunate, because back in the day this
beast was king of the hill. Fortunately, that can’t really happen today. These games are
designed for the home and if they eventually find themselves in an arcade, so much the
better. Besides, the chances are better that there’s a guy you know with a pair of quality
arcade sticks than there being a functioning arcade in your town, complete with people
who aren’t just in it for the tickets. I would say let this be the last misstep for
the series, but you’re familiar with the whole Ultimate MVC3 debacle. I don’t think
I need to yammer on about it anymore. You either hate it, or you love it, or you hate
it but you’re going to buy it anyway because Phoenix Wright. That latter option might just
be me. But that’s okay.