Marvel vs. Capcom 2 recently came back into the forefront of the fighting game community (FGC) with news that, at Evo 2020, an 8-man invitational tournament would be held to commemorate the game's 20th anniversary. Many fighting game fans were pleasantly shocked by the announcement, especially knowing that its inclusion was thought to have bumped current titles like Mortal Kombat 11 and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle out of a main stage slot.
Though that ultimately didn't wind up being true, it was still rather shocking to see a game that's almost old enough to legally drink in the U.S. featured in a modern-day tournament. But what makes Marvel vs. Capcom 2 so universally beloved, especially in an age of overreaction and cynicism? It comes down to a few things games today just don't have.
Way back in the year 2000, Capcom and Marvel collaborated what was, at the time, just the latest entry in the wildly-popular Marvel vs. Capcom series, simply titled Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The game was released in arcades and on a number of home consoles, including the Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2, and the original Xbox. The game released with 56 characters, which even then was unheard of, though many of the character sprites were ported over from previous MvC titles. There were plenty of new characters though, like Marvel Comic's Cable and Marrow, along with Capcom's Hayato Kanzaki and Jill Valentine. 3 of the characters, Ruby Heart, SonSon, and Amingo, were original characters - not seen in any other game. Even at the time, players knew they had something special, but even they couldn't anticipate just how special Marvel vs. Capcom 2 would ultimately be.
For starters, MvC2 has some of the most iconic music ever created. Everyone will probably recognize the iconic character select theme but each stage has its own unique jazz-fusion track - accompanied by a hypnotic 3D background upon which the 2D sprites do battle. For the time, the combination of 2D and 3D graphics was relatively new, especially when it came to fighting games, and revolutionary.
Outside of the music, the wide array of characters and the nostalgia, what sets Marvel vs. Capcom 2 apart from every other fighting game is the sheer brokenness and imbalance the game possesses. The game released in a world before patches and online updates, so games were shipped as they were developed - with game-breaking glitches and all. Yes, we all know characters like Magneto and Sentinel are busted with their infinite combos, but even "weaker" characters like Thanos and Omega Red have them too. Every character is broken, every part of the game engine is busted, and the only thing better than playing with your buddies is watching the virtuosos of Marvel 2 do battle with one another. Legendary names like IFC|Yipes, Clockw0rk, Sanford Kelly, Justin Wong, and more still provide some of the most exciting battles we've ever seen. Knowing how meticulous each combo is, the high level of execution needed to perform flight combos and frame-perfect techniques like Cable's Air Hyper Viper Beam, only adds to the wonder.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is ultimately a broken mess, but it's our broken mess. For those of us who grew up during this era -- the fighting game "dead zone" where the genre was largely dormant -- we relied on games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to scratch that fighting game itch. MvC2 represents a time before esports, DLC or corporate tournament influence. A time focused solely on the games we loved. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is as grassroots of a game as you can get, and the future is more exciting than ever as a whole new generation gets to witness the game in all it's glory at Evo 2020.