OMFG ITS FINALLY HERE I CAN'T BELIEVE IT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 10 YEARS OMFG!!! GET. FUCKING. HYPED!!!!
What is MVC3?
Answer: A 2D fighting game (but now with 3D models and backgrounds) made by Capcom that is in fact a cross over game featuring characters from both the MARVEL and CAPCOM universe. It is the 3rd iteration in the franchise with the last one in the franchise coming 10 years ago. It is known for its fast paced, wild action, crazy awesome characters, 3 on 3 fighting and insane DRAMA/HYPE.
If you haven't played a MVC game before... YOU ARE IN FOR A RIDE!
A Decade of Hype - The First of Many MVC3 Combo Video
PSN GAF PLAYERS
Eraldo Coil made the GAF Mahvel 3 Chat on Psn. If you're interested in joining the PSN Gafcrew in MVC3 make sure you get someone to send you a link (Ploid, Eraldo_Coil, etc.). Anyone that's already has access. You must be on someone's friend list to receive a link.
For more information please check out this POST or just scroll down for it.
XBOX 360 GAF PLAYERS
To play with other GAF users with 360s, this is the method we'll be using:
Add the Gamertag "GAF MvC3" to your friends list.
From here, you can select the gamertag in your friends list on your 360, cycle right into their "Personal Profile" and select "View Friends."
From there, you can see all the other Gaffers that have added this GAF MvC3 gamertag, making it function as a hub where you can send invites for MvC3 games to each other and the full shenanigans.
XBL GAF has an IRC channel for anyone looking to organize messages.
GAME PLAY
- MVC3 retains the fast-paced, over the top 3 v 3 fighting action of the previous Versus series. The speed of the game is at least as fast as MVC2 so fans will feel right at home.
- The game is easier to pick up and play than Street Fighter 4. The commands for specials rarely exceed the difficulty of a Dragon Punch or a Half Circle motion.
- Each player picks 3 characters to fight with (from either Marvel or Capcom side). For each of the 3 characters the player chooses an Assist Mode out of 3 possible options (Alpha, Beta, Gamma). This will change the type of special move your character will perform when asked for an Assist or his Super in Team Supers.
HUD
- Life Gauge - When a character takes damage in MvC, he sustains some permanent damage (yellow) and some recoverable (red) damage. If you tag out your point character, he will slowly regain his red life while on the sidelines. A character is KO'd once his life bar is emptied, whether or not he has red life remaining.
- Hyper Combo Gauge - States how much hyper meter you have. Hyper gauge is used to perform Hypers and Supers. More on that later.
- Timer - If time expires, the team with the most combined life remaining wins the match. One "second" on the game timer is roughly equal to 2 real seconds. Standard fighting game stuff.
MOVEMENT
- Double Jump - Some characters can jump more than once before touching the ground. This is character dependent.
- Super Jump - Pressing down then immediately pressing up will cause your character to super jump. After a launcher, you can hold up to jump the instant after the launch to continue the combo. The main drawback of using super jumps instead of normal or double jumps is that you cannot call an assist after super jumping, though other team-based mechanics (DHC, air exchange) are still at your disposal.
- Dash - Used to move quickly around the screen. The basic inputs to dash are either double-tapping a direction, or two simultaneous attack buttons plus a direction. Two attacks with no direction will dash forward. Dash speed and distance varies from character to character.
- Dash Cancel - You can cancel dashes with attacks or by ducking. Duck cancelling dashes just ends the approach early and is good for approaching the opponent safely and baiting, and attack cancelling is an important part of rushdown.
- Wavedash - The act of using multiple dashes in order to cover ground quickly. The best way to do it is tapping two simultaneous attack buttons repeatedly.
- Air Dash - Some characters can dash wile in the air. Like ground dashes, the exact behavior (speed, trajectory, etc.) of air dashes varies between characters who have them.
- 8-Way Dash and Triangle Jump - Some characters with an air dash can dash in 8 directions (up, down, left, right, up-forward, down-forward, up-back, down-back). This ability is known as an 8-Way AD. This further enables the character to employ what is known as a trijump/tridash in which the character can dash down-forward, down, or down-back after jumping, most of the time with an attack after.
Triangle jump is just super jump or air dash up/forward, followed by air dash down/forward in the opponent's face. It basically mixes them up for high/low attacks.
- Flight - Some characters are able to go into a mode that makes them essentially "fly" on the screen. While the Flight mode does give the player some tactical advantage as far as space control is concerned, it sacrifices the ability to guard. So a character in flight mode CANNOT block but can still call in Assists. Flight mode needs to be turned on and can just as easily be turned off.
ATTACKING
- Chain Combos and Magic Series - The Vs series employs many kinds of chain combos, which allow you to instantly cancel the recovery on one attack and move into another with no delay and very lenient timing. The Magic Series is a specific type of chain combo that allows you to cancel any normal attack into another normal attack of greater strength for an easy combo, provided that the first normal connects with the opponent. The most straightforward example would be L>M>H>S. These are general rules, and what will actually work varies from character to character. You cannot combo into a command normal of lesser strength (meaning you can't go from H to M). You can combo any normal into a launcher, special attacks, or hypers. In an air combo, L>L>M>M>H>S seems to work fine. These rules are general and vary from character to character. What works some will not work for others.
- Launchers and Air Combos - On the ground, neutral S is the universal launcher attack. After hitting with a launcher, hold up or up/forward to automatically super jump and try to continue the combo. While airborne, you can perform chain combos, specials/hypers (character dependent), and air tags, described below.
- Wallbounce - Several characters have attacks that cause the opponent to bounce off of the wall, setting them up for additional combos. Examples include Wesker's B Ghost Butterfly, or his C Jaguar Kick, both of which can be followed up with or without his teleports depending on the situation. Note that you are only permitted one wallbounce per combo. Performing a wallbounce attack a second time in the same combo will not cause a second wallbounce.
- Knockdown, Wakeup, and Off-The-Ground (OTG) Attacks - If you end an air combo with a hard knockdown, the opponent will hit the ground and lay flat on his back for a brief period of time. While he is laying on the ground, however, he is completely open to any attack that can hit OTG, so you can use OTG attacks to continue your combo. Note that only specific attacks are able to hit OTG; again, know your character. Like wallbounces, you are only permitted one OTG attack per combo. Furthermore, it should be noted that if you knock the opponent to the ground from very low altitudes, he will immediately roll backward upon touching the ground (similar in appearance to an MvC2 style tech roll), during which he is completely invulnerable and cannot be hit OTG.
HYPER COMBOS
- This is the name used for super moves in the Versus series, and these require either one or three stocks of meter. Hypers are usually extremely strong attack moves, but there are also "utility" hypers with a variety of effects. In addition, attack hypers can be split into a few loose categories that have slightly different effects. "Normal" hypers do their attack no matter what. They do much more "chip" than any other type, but will not stop on a miss or juggle a dead opponent and can leave you with increased vulnerability in some situations. The classic hypers of this type are probably Iron Man's Proton Cannon or Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken, both of which shoot giant lasers. "Catch" hypers generally have your character rush towards the enemy and on hit do a "canned" combination (i.e. you cannot control it). These have the advantage of being more cinematic in general, and less vulnerable if you totally miss or kill your opponent in the beginning of the move but can be blocked and do almost no "chip." Most level 3 hypers are of the catch variety; the classic examples are Morrigan's Darkness Illusion and Captain America's Final Justice. The third category is throw hypers. Like the description says, they have the same properties as throws, having extremely short range but generally being unblockable. Otherwise they work like the "catch" hypers. There are very few throw hypers in the game, but Thor, Tron Bonne and M.O.D.O.K. all have one. Finally there are Utility hypers. These do no damage, but have some other useful advantage. The best examples are Wolverine's Berzerker Charge/speed boost, and Dante's Devil Trigger.
TEAM MECHANICS
- Assist Selection - Each character has 3 assists you can choose from: α (Alpha), β (Beta), and γ (Gamma). As compared to MvC2, which had labels for the assists such as "anti-air" or "combo extender," in MvC3 the assists have a set of two descriptors: the "type," and the "direction." The type is what kind of attack it is: "direct" means a physical attack, "shot" means a projectile, and "special" means something weird. The direction is straightforward, ranging from "upward" (straight up), "tilt up," "front," to "tilt dw." This can be largely meaningless though, as an assist can be labeled "direct front" and be either a low attack (X-23's ankle cutter or Felicia's rolling buckler) or a projectile antiair attack (Dante's "Jam Session"). Know your assists and pick wisely. Some good assists to start with are the Dr. Doom Y (Molecular shield/"doom rocks") which is good to cover advancing on the enemy, Trish's B "Peekaboo" (air trap), which is a good trap/zoning assist, or Dante's A (Jam session) which is a good AA/combo extender.
- Team Order - During the pre-fight "VS" screen, hold the A1 button to begin the match with your second character or the A2 button to begin with your third character.
- Using Assists - Tap the A1 or A2 button to call the corresponding teammate in to perform their chosen assist attack. There are some rules for assists as well. You cannot call an assist during a special move or a super jump. In addition, during and briefly after an assist you cannot call the other one again (but the other assist is available more rapidly than the one you just used). You also cannot tag in during an assist, with identical lockout rules.
- Normal Tag - This is the act of changing your character out for one of your assists. In the simplest terms, you tag via holding the appropriate assist button (A1 or A2) for a half-second or so. The tag can be buffered to some degree but will not negate the recovery of the move in question, so if you do a hyper combo with a slow recovery while holding the assist button, you will not be automatically protected from a punish. (check!) Tagging a teammate in via this method also eliminates any red life that he has not yet recovered. You can alternatively tag through aerial exchanges, Delayed Hyper Combos (DHC's), and Cross-Counters (all described below), although the last two options take one or more bars of meter to execute. As a general rule, "naked" or random tagging is a very bad idea, so use one of the alternative methods whenever possible.
- Team Air Combos - Also known as Aerial Exchange. In the air, neutral S is a knockdown attack, but any directional input plus S during an air combo will tag in your next teammate and allow you to continue the combo. The opponent can break out of your team aerial combo by matching your S input. Tagging your teammate in via S preserves any of his/her red life that has not yet been recovered.
- Delayed Hyper Combo (DHC) - This is the process in which you cancel one Hyper Combo with another. For example I am using Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken. If I have another bar of meter I can input the command for my next teammate's hyper and that teammate will immediately switch-in and perform that hyper for extra damage. This can be done a second time to bring in the third member of your team as well. Tagging your teammate in via DHC preserves any of his/her red life that has not yet been recovered. Many use this technique as a safe way to get a character out and get another one in.
- Team Hyper Combo (THC) - These are utilized by hitting both assist buttons at once. Essentially as many people as as you have bars or characters left will come out and do their hyper combos, to a maximum of three. The hyper used in the THC is determined by the assist chosen.
- Cross-Over Counter - If you enter Forward + A1 or A2 while blocking you will tag out your character and permanently bring in the associated character with their chosen assist. This uses one bar of meter. Tagging your teammate in via Cross-Over Counter preserves any of his/her red life that has not yet been recovered.
- Snap Back - Forces out the opponent's point character and brings in one of his teammates determined by the assist button used to perform the technique. This uses one bar of meter and eliminates any red life that the opposing character has not yet recovered.
X-FACTOR
Video Walkthrough
- A mechanic new to MvC3 . X-Factor is activated by pressing all 4 attack buttons at once. When X-Factor is active, your point character regains "red life" at an extremely rapid rate, your character is substantially sped up, and both normal and "chip" damage are greatly increased. In addition, on activation, all of your cooldowns are reset (see XFC below). The potency and duration of X-Factor is dependent on the number of teammates you have remaining. If all 3 of your characters are alive, then you get a level 1 X-Factor. If you're down to your last character, you get a level 3 X-Factor which substantially increases all attributes of X Factor. YOU CAN ONLY USE IT ONCE PER ROUND!
- X-Factor gives different boosts depending upon your character. Chun-Li for example would get an insane speed boost where as someone like Wolverine would get an insane heal boost. Others receive higher damage or defense. X-Factor characters receive NO CHIP DAMAGE.
- X-Factor Cancel (XFC) - XFC allows X-Factor to be used to its full potential. Executing X-Factor during any point of an attack (normal, special, or hyper) cancels the remainder of that attack's animation and recovery. This leaves you with the opportunity to either get your character out of harm's way or continue with another attack that would not have been able to be comboed without XFC. The damage boost granted during X-Factor can make the damage from XFC combos very potent. Furthermore, you can also activate XFC during block, which allows for "custom alpha counters:" block > XFC > counterattack.
Disclaimer: Game play mechanics discussion borrowed/used from Shoryuken's Wiki for MVC3. I merely trimmed it down some but I felt it to be the best "word" on the mechanics of MVC3 hence I used it here.
GENERAL FEATURES IN THE GAME
- The game will have all the standard features seen in a fighting game, including Training Mode, Online mode, Versus mode, Mission mode etc.
- There will be a Simple and Normal control scheme. Simple mode maps the regular attacks/combos on the Light attack button, the Special moves onto the Medium attack button and the Hyper combos on the Heavy attack button. Your options are limited though, you will not be able to perform every move using the Simple mode.
- You can save your signature team in a slot on the character select screen so you don't have to keep selecting your team over and over again for matches. This is called a RESERVE TEAM.
CHARACTERS
(because we know that's what 99% people care about)
The Shoryuken MVC3 Wiki has all the tips, tricks and video walkthrough for all these characters that you need.
[*]More DLC characters are planned so if your favorite character didn't make the cut DON'T POLLUTE THE THREAD with "Aww X character made it in but Y didn't? Capcom is lame! Will not be buying MVC3!"
SPECIAL EDITION
Includes:
- STEELBOOK CASE featuring exclusive art work
- Comic/Art book- A 12-page prologue comic, written by Marvel writer Frank Tieri, plus campaign art and a curated selection of fan art.
- 1-month Subscription to Marvel Digital Comics, providing unlimited online access to Marvel content
- 2 Playable DLC Characters Shuma Gorath and Jill Valentine. Content is available 4 weeks post-launch.
- Please note that getting the Special Edition will not give you the DLC characters on release date. The DLC characters will be available a month after release and you will get them then.
RELEASE DATE & PLATFORM
Release Date: FEBRUARY 15th 2011
Platforms: PS3 and Xbox 360
TRAILERS, VIDEOS, PROMOTION
MVC3 Episode 1 Trailer
MVC3 Episode 2 Trailer
MVC3 Episode 3 Trailer
Haunt's Epic MVC3 Character Preview
Yipes MVC3 Edition
