Capcom held a pre-New York Comic-Con press event on Wednesday, where I got a chance to sit down with Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
I can confirm yes, yes he can. It’s an awesome revelation. To find out exactly why it’s so great that Deadpool can throw Ryu’s signature move, read on for a bit of comic history and a more in-depth preview of the game.
In Deadpool #27, Wade “Deadpool” Wilson, the Merc with a Mouth, got into a funk and found himself needing therapy. Instead of relying solely on the counseling of Dr. Bong (not a euphemism), Wade decided to do what all Marvel heroes do when they run into personal difficulties: fight other Marvel heroes. Conveniently, Wolverine and Kitty Pryde were in town, so Deadpool set his sights on a free-for-all brawl with Wolverine. For once, Logan wasn’t going to have any of it, and walked away from Deadpool, ignoring his taunts.
And then this happened:
It’s one of the greatest, most hilarious moments of Deadpool’s career, and one of the greatest scenes long-time Deadpool writer Joe Kelly penned for the book. And now Deadpool can throw that punch in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. It’s not a screen-filling, enemy-lighting move worthy of Ryu or Ken, but it’s a solid launcher that calls back to the fantastic scene. All that’s missing is for Kitty Pryde to be announced as a fighter in the game, but I’m not holding my breath.
Now, about the game itself. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 looks great, with a comic book-style, cel-shaded version of the Street Fighter 4 graphics engine. The Capcom characters don’t look like they were published by Udon and the Marvel characters don’t look like they were drawn by Kirby/Ditko/Romita/Steranko, but they have just the right combination of modern comic book aesthetics and smooth 3D animation.
I’m not a very good 2D fighter player and I don’t know my air combos from my cancels, but Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 seemed to play very well. It’s the same combat we’ve seen in the Street Fighter and X Vs. Capcom games, and it doesn’t look like a lot has changed. Capcom added a Simple fighting mode to appease button mashers like me, turning two buttons into normal attacks, two buttons into special attacks, and two buttons into supers/assists. This “Baby’s First Fighter” mode might rub longtime fans the wrong way, but any remotely talented player will be able to easily beat someone playing on simple mode.
All the different characters look and play very differently. Dormammu and Hulk are towering monsters, but while Hulk is a pure brawler, Dormammu favors infernal magic over direct strikes. Wesker is extremely fast and uses teleportation attacks. Viewtiful Joe is shorter than most other fighters, and has some unique timed attacks, like his Viewtiful Bomb special. Super-Skrull reminded me a great deal of Cable and Doctor Doom, with varied attacks that reflect on the Fantastic Four’s powers. Deadpool plays like Spider-Man with guns, swords, and no webs. And yes, he’s fun as hell.
The final release of the game is still a long way off, and according to the developers only a little more than half of the game’s roster has been revealed. It certainly looks like Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 will be every bit as addictive and nerd-pleasing as its predecessor. but none of that matters, because the most important question has been answered.
Deadpool can, indeed, Shoryuken.
