Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Xbox 360 cover

***Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds*** is the third main installment in the *Marvel vs. Capcom* series. The game features characters from Capcom video games and the American comic book company Marvel Comics. It is the fifth installment of the *Marvel vs. Capcom* franchise, the eighth installment in the *Vs.* series, the first to be exclusive to consoles, and the second in the *Vs.* series to use three-dimensional graphics on a two-dimensional battle area, following *Tatsunoko vs. Capcom*. This is also the first *Marvel vs. Capcom* game to be released since The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel in 2009. The game is produced and directed by Ryota Niitsuma, who had previously worked on *Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars*, and features the same fast-paced, over-the-top fighting mechanics as earlier games in the series, along with new methods of play designed to make the game more accessible to new players. The game was released on February 15 in the U.S, February 17 in Japan, and February 18 in Europe.

An updated version, known simply as *Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3*, features 12 new characters, 8 new stages, and updated gameplay. It was released in the U.S on November 15, 2011, November 17 in Japan and November 18 in Europe; less than nine months after the initial version of MvC3 was released. A proper sequel, titled *Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite*, was released in 2017.

## Gameplay

The game features the same tag-based team feature as previous installments of the series, where each player chooses three characters that can be swapped at any point during a match. It also utilizes an order selection called "Evolved Vs. Fighting System", a modified version of earlier systems seen in other Marvel/Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK crossover games. It is the first game in the franchise to feature three-dimensional character models as opposed to two-dimensional sprites, though gameplay remains restricted to two-dimensions, allowing characters to move only backward, forward, or straight up into the air. Unlike Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which features four attack buttons separated as two pairs of low and high-strength punches and kicks, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 uses a simplified, three-button control scheme of undefined low, medium, and high attacks modeled after Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, which Capcom believes will "knock down the wall of complicated controls and open up the field of strategic fighting to all comers", as well as a new "Exchange" button used to launch opponents into the air, switch characters while performing a combo, and slam the opponent into the ground when used by certain characters. Players can use each button to string together combination attacks, as well as perform special moves using a combination of button presses and joystick movement. As characters attack, their Special Gauge fills with energy which can be expended by the player to execute powerful Hyper Comboes and Team Combos that involve multiple characters etc.

## Roster

The game features new and returning characters to the Marvel vs. Capcom series, with accompanying artwork by Shinkiro. The final build features 40 characters. Returning characters have distinct playstyle changes, such as Hulk being able to perform steady air combos, Captain America's shield hitting back on the return after being thrown, and Iron Man's new stance and Proton Cannon firing at a 45° angle.

 Shuma-Gorath+ (DLC character) | Jill+ (DLC character)

! = New to *MvC3*.

+ = Veteran in the *MvC* series.

¤ = Originally appeared as a unplayable assist before in the *MvC* series.

## Development

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was first announced at Capcom's Captivate press show in Hawaii on April 20, 2010, with the game's public reveal following one week later after the company's imposed information embargo. The game was revealed to have been in development since the summer of 2008 when Capcom re-acquired the Marvel license after a period of legal issues that placed the series on hiatus for nearly a decade. In 2009, during the development of the game, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for USD $4 billion; the buyout did not directly affect the development of this game itself, but it would affect the development of any future *Marvel vs. Capcom* games going forward. Ryota Niitsuma, who had previously headed production on Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, signed on as director and producer of the new project, which was green-lit after "years and years of unrelenting fan demand". Niitsuma stated that they built the game from the ground up using the same MT Framework game engine seen in Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2, which he describes as "the biggest engine that a fighting game has ever had under the hood". Capcom's design philosophy for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was to make a game that would reach out to those who have been long-time fans of the series, but at the same time expand their user base to those who may be familiar with the characters represented but not with fighting games in general. In particular, company president Keiji Inafune expressed a desire to appeal to a worldwide audience so contrast to the previous titles in the series, Capcom currently has no plans for an arcade release so it initially focus only on console versions for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This game is expected to sell 2 million units across both platforms.

In addition to the complete transition to 3D models, several characters also sport updated designs. Iron Man now sports his Extremis armor as opposed to the Modular Armor he wore in the previous titles, Wolverine now wears his John Cassaday-designed costume from the more recent Astonishing X-Men rather than his '90s era costume, and Captain America now wears a belt with pouches. Employees from Marvel have been working closely with Capcom's art design team to ensure that each character from their company is properly represented. Both Marvel and Capcom have discussed the possibility of a comic book adaptation of the game by UDON, which project manager Jim Zubkavich stated would most likely be in the form of a four to twelve issue mini-series (the prequel comic to the supposed mini-series is available in the Collector's Edition). The X-Men characters use the cast of the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series in this game, while the Avengers use the voice cast of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series.

## Trivia

* The announcer of this game makes many references to previous games.
	+ The announcer has pre-battle speeches such as *"Live and let die...FIGHT!!!"* (from Capcom vs. SNK 2) and *"Go for broke...FIGHT!!!"* (from Street Fighter Alpha 3).
	+ He also says *"That's right, the third chapter"*, as a nod to Street Fighter III: Third Strike's main theme.
	+ Some of the little messages you can get for getting a combo are references to subtitles or messages from the franchises present in the game, such as **GREAT** (Street Fighter Alpha), **COOL, CRAZY, DUDE, SWEET, STYLISH** (Devil May Cry), **FANTASTIC** (either Fantastic Four or Dead Rising), **MIGHTY** (Mighty Thor), **INCREDIBLE** (The Incredible Hulk), **AMAZING** (The Amazing Spider-Man), **UNCANNY** (Uncanny X-Men), **MARVELOUS** (Marvel), **VIEWTIFUL** (Viewtiful Joe), **GALACTIC** (Galactus), and **UNSTOPPABLE** (possibly a nod to Juggernaut).
* Similar to *Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes*, instead of displaying the names of the winning fighters when the match ends, this game uses the more traditional "You Win" and "You Lose" messages that are used in the *Street Fighter* series, and for 2-player games, the game says "Player 1 Wins" or "Player 2 Wins," depending on which player won the match.
* The "I'm Gonna Take You For A Ride" song from *Marvel vs. Capcom 2*, which was used as the background music for the character selection screen in that game, was brought back and remixed for this game, and reused as the background music for the character selection screen for the game's training mode. In addition, the game announcer references it by saying, "*Marvel vs. Capcom 3* is here! I'm gonna take you on a wild ride!"
* The number "3" in the series logo looks similar to the number "3" in the logo of "Monster Hunter Portable 3rd", a game from Monster Hunter series.
* This is the first time for the three X-Men characters (Wolverine, Storm, and Magneto) to have remixed versions of their own current themes from their respective last appearance on certain 2D Capcom-made Marvel fighting games (sans *Marvel vs. Capcom 2*).
* Originally, the development team planned to have English and Japanese voice actors for all characters. However, Niitsuma eventually decided against it, stating that having the Marvel roster speaking Japanese did not mesh well with the characters' image.
* Also akin to *Tatsunoko vs. Capcom*, the game also features a two-input jumping medium attack function for all characters to make up for the lack of extra attack buttons, though unlike the said game, *Marvel vs. Capcom 3* somehow completely inverts the character's model in question whenever the said second input is used; this can be noticeable when used with characters that have only a single element placed on their person that's oriented to one side, such as Spencer's arm, Dante's cut-off sleeve and Zero's charging Hyper Zero Blaster.

## External links

* Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds on the Capcom Wiki