Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Series Catch-All

Grabbed it last night, beat it twice on easy mode. Which is already saying more than I can for Street Fighter 4, which I had trouble with on Very Easy let alone Easy.

Galactus can suck one, though.

I agree that the game just wants your fingers to move fast for a lot of the combos. I will never be an advanced player, and the only time I will manage a shoryuken style move is completely by accident. I CAN do it, but it requires more concentration than a hadouken, which I can't even get some of the time.

The instruction manual is only semi-helpful. I don't know how I'm supposed to have my partners join in with a hyper combo.

Otherwise, really fun, and it does certainly take me back. However, it's still too complicated for me to bother trying online play. I'll stick to gaming with friends.

ahrezmendi wrote:

I've actually had far more success relying on normals than on specials. Specials have their place in combos, but most my damage comes from chaining together normals to command normals. Like with Zero, s.L -> s.M -> s.H -> f + s.H is a simple and very damaging combo all comprised of normals.

How do you manage to land them? I can't seem to get in. I went into training mode, set the CPU on easy and did my best. I landed a few good combos with Akuma, but even then I was just mashing. Gah.

1Dgaf wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:

I've actually had far more success relying on normals than on specials. Specials have their place in combos, but most my damage comes from chaining together normals to command normals. Like with Zero, s.L -> s.M -> s.H -> f + s.H is a simple and very damaging combo all comprised of normals.

How do you manage to land them? I can't seem to get in. I went into training mode, set the CPU on easy and did my best. I landed a few good combos with Akuma, but even then I was just mashing. Gah.

It's highly character dependent, but I found that linking L -> M has to be fast, frequently faster than any other link. Once you've landed the M then the timing usually gets easier for landing the H, and then landing S after that is an even wider window.

I haven't tried Akuma yet, but for some characters the timing is radically different. Trish for example, you have to delay hitting H or it simply won't come out, where as someone like Dante or Zero you can basically do a piano tap between all 3 buttons and you'll get the combo. If you're having trouble, I recommend practicing with Zero, Morrigan, Chris, or Dante as I've found their basic L -> M -> H chains to be easiest.

Pick your characters and spend a day in training mode is probably good.

Thirteenth wrote:

Pick your characters and spend a day in training mode is probably good.

Normally I agree with this, but just like Super SF4 before it, this game gives no information about *how* to do what it wants you to do. I've already had to hit up YouTube to see how to pass 2 of Zero's missions, and one of Chris'.

Aksys still has the best training modes in the BlazBlue games, way better than anything Capcom has put out.

Experimenting with the characters on your own has its benefits.

I'd say go through arcade with the characters just to give you an idea of how to use your characters. The AI is no real person, granted, but to see how moves work and how someone could potentially escape from you is all good stuff to know.

Thirteenth wrote:

Experimenting with the characters on your own has its benefits.

I'm not disagreeing. It's just that there are certain barriers that training mode/missions can't help with.

I'm currently trying to nail down my assist characters for Zero. I know from his missions that he works well with Trish and her ground assist, but I've also seen Arthur work well as an assist character. I still need to try Amaterasu, she's got that awesome ground ice assist.

Can someone please explain the concept of jump cancelling. I really don't get it.

You can jump in the middle of certain moves before they finish their animation, thus cancelling them. It has a variety of uses. Some moves have long recovery and are made safer if jump cancelled. Most launchers can be jump-cancelled if they hit so you can follow up with an air combo. The jump has to be timed, but the execution windows are often generous in this game.

Thirteenth wrote:
ahrezmendi wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

Experimenting with the characters on your own has its benefits.

I'm not disagreeing. It's just that there are certain barriers that training mode/missions can't help with.

I think you lost me. Do you have a specific example of one of these barriers?

I mean things like linking OTG attacks with assists, or throwing at an Air M early so that you can double jump in your air combo. My point was simply that practicing on your own is good, but you need to know what it is you're practicing, not just go into training mode blindly. I'm also thinking we might be saying the same thing but in different words.

Picking this up on Sunday then round robbining all day with a bunch of friends before the All Star game. I watched this video and now I'm way too hype. HYPEEEEEEEEEE!

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ahrezmendi wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

Experimenting with the characters on your own has its benefits.

I'm not disagreeing. It's just that there are certain barriers that training mode/missions can't help with.

I think you lost me. Do you have a specific example of one of these barriers?

Thirteenth wrote:

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Well said, 13th =)

I've been practising special moves in training then playing arcade mode on easy. All I want to do is figure out how to move around and get used to the sh*t going on on-screen. I'm not worrying about assist types etc. I can't beat the CPU on easy yet, so that's an indication of how much work I need to do.

MisterStatic wrote:

That Shoryuken guide is amazing. However, I suck. Even with an arcade stick, I cannot pull off simple "sweeps" like Hulk's gamma charge with any sort of consistency (<50%). This SF4 stick I got with the Wal-Mart deal (MadCatz SF4 Arcade Fightstick)...How crappy is that compared to the pricier sticks? It seems like the square bracket around the stick is problematic. I love the idea of finally learning the ins and outs of a fighting game, but I just don't know if it is in my 40 y/o fingers.

The lower priced SF4 sticks have pretty low quality components in them. I picked one of those up for the PS3 a little while back, and after just a little use I was finding that the buttons where not consistently picking up inputs, and the stick didn't properly up-right 80% of the time. I've since replaced the buttons and stick with Seimitsu parts (comparable to Sanwa) and it now works just as well as the TE stick I use for the 360. replacing parts in these things is as easy as taking of the bottom, popping out the old bits and putting in the new.

Correction: The manufacturer of the parts I used is Seimitsu, not Seimatsu.

Beating the cpu on easy is really just about the last boss. The rest is pretty easy. The main thing you want to do on the last boss is get one of the 3 character mega combos on him. That does a lot of damage. Also, remember to switch your players out regularly and do some super jumps to stay in the air when he's slamming his fist down.

1Dgaf wrote:

I've been practising special moves in training then playing arcade mode on easy. All I want to do is figure out how to move around and get used to the sh*t going on on-screen. I'm not worrying about assist types etc. I can't beat the CPU on easy yet, so that's an indication of how much work I need to do.

Hey 1D, I decided (much to my chagrin) to give MvC3 another chance and keep it over the weekend before sending it back to Gamefly. I'm in the same boat as you - I still haven't even figured out how to accurately switch characters on my team - so if you want to do some friendly flailing against each other and get some of the easier achievements, feel free to send me an invite.

As for further impressions, it really struck me how little the fighting game genre has changed in the past 20 years. Playing this last night - on Very Easy no less - evoked the same feelings of rage, impotence and frustration that I felt back in high school playing Street Fighter II at the local pool hall. On the one hand it's great that the purity of the game experience has such staying power, on the other it feels like 'damn, don't you want to try something new? It's been 20 years already'

Evil,

I can't get to the last boss. When I can, I know I'll be making progress.

Thanks nel, I'll do that. I'm in the UK, so the lag might be too bad to play with, but let's see if we can get a game in first.

Great video, BNice. I really need to sit down with Dante and learn to do more than just a simple launcher combo to QCF + H.

EDIT: Quiet thread, we were all much more vocal about SF4/Super SF4. Is this just people still getting a feel for the game, or is there nothing to talk about?

This showed up in my YouTube subscriptions the other day:

It's an interview/analysis session with an old MvC 2 champ who plays with one of the most non-standard line ups seen - Hsien-Ko/Tronn, Spiderman, and Zero. It's great stuff, with good insight into assist choices and starting character choices. I particularly like his approach to stopping the Sentinel barrage.

Sentinel with Xfactor 3 pretty much breaks the game at the moment. Ranked matches are terrible.

Anyone tried 360 matchmaking? Any issues? PSN is pretty much broken at this point.

Stylez wrote:

Sentinel with Xfactor 3 pretty much breaks the game at the moment. Ranked matches are terrible.

This is what I was afraid of after I saw a match on YouTube. That said, I don't think this applies to just Sentinel, almost every character in the game is capable of single combo kills, especially with X-factor 3. Many characters don't even need 3 (Tronn can do a single combo Down with X-factor 1). My problem with Sentinel is that he can do this *and* fill the screen with crap you can't get past. He can also do incredible chip damage.

Anyone tried 360 matchmaking? Any issues? PSN is pretty much broken at this point.

I haven't tried the matchmaking yet, but the lobbies I've been invited to and created have been fine. I was considering giving matchmaking a try this weekend, but now I'm not so sure. I can imagine few things that would sour me on the game faster than being spammed to death by Sentinel repeatedly.

I've heard nothing good about the netcode, it's apparantly far worse then SF4's.

It is far worse than SF4's. Half of the problem is that connections to other players rarely succeed. The other half of the problem is that the game kicks you back to either the start menu or the online menu after every failed attempt to join a game, adding unnecessary load time and forcing you to go through some steps just to try joining again. The only acceptable way to play online for me is to customize search for 2 slot lobbies. Even then it often takes 2 or more tries to get in a game. Somebody at Capcom deserves a slap on the wrist for this. They have a fairly workable matchmaking system in SFIV, but somehow neglect to use it for later games.

I'm starting to think maybe the Japanese have it too good. Their perfect internet makes it so that they can afford to have crappy netcodes in their games.

It is perplexing how the Japanese manage to f*ck certain things up in games. I believe the society is somewhat insular, which I assume feeds into aspects of business and decision making, but I would have thought commerce and common sense would have trumped that.

1Dgaf wrote:

It is perplexing how the Japanese manage to f*ck certain things up in games. I believe the society is somewhat insular, which I assume feeds into aspects of business and decision making, but I would have thought commerce and common sense would have trumped that.

Agreed, for example see Square Enix.

In the case of fighting games, honestly, you have a "casual vs. hardcore" market that is a Hell of a lot more extreme than nearly any other genre out there. I've spent time with some of the folks that do the fighting game tournaments, and all the exploits and tricks they discover is insane. Half the time those exploits are turned into actual game mechanics (air dashing I believe is an example as being added in certain games...didn't Smash Bros. add it, even?)

Yet if you want games to be accessible, well, you pretty much got to make it more simple than the tournament crowd wants it. Smash Bros. is the only game that tends to reach a happy medium, but then you get people debating whether it is a party game vs a fighting game.

I love the feel of 2D Capcom fighters, personally, and even loved Rival Schools on the Playstation since it was still fast-paced like their 2D games. I never got sucked into 3D fighters except for DoA 2 and 4 and Soul Calibur. All other 3D fighters, to me, suck balls. But in the end, they really provide no middle ground for me. I view it as a problem that I can't really beat a fighting game on normal difficulty. That's just way too biased to a hardcore crowd.

Thirteenth wrote:

I'm starting to think maybe the Japanese have it too good. Their perfect internet makes it so that they can afford to have crappy netcodes in their games.

?
What perfect internet are you referring to?

My take on the Japanese design philosophy, particularly for fighters, has always been that they assume players are in close proximity, which is almost always true in Japan. I think this is why SF4 didn't have more than 2 player lobbies, I think it's why Smash Bros. Brawl has no ability to easily match up with friends, and I highly suspect it's responsible for the issues here. Players in Japan, at least from what I saw when I was there and from reading accounts, still play predominantly in a local setting and not online, and it shows in the games that are built there. Case in point - Weren't all of the Capcom fighters that have good matchmaking and lobby systems made by Backbone (MvC 2, Super SF2 HD)?

The part that shocks me is that apparently nobody even talks to the US players, certainly not the casual ones anyway. If they had, they'd know that launching a game like this with poor matchmaking, no spectator mode, and 8 player lobbies is not a recipe for good online play. So much for Seth Killian's focus on community.

ahrezmendi wrote:

no spectator mode, and 8 player lobbies is not a recipe for good online play.

This. I was playing a friends-only lobby with 1D and another friend this weekend, and was totally perplexed that I was forced to watch only their health bars while waiting for a rematch.