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E3 2010: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Dream Roster
We suggest ten characters that may or may not take you for a ride in MvC3.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is quite a ways from being released, but it was still prominently displayed on the floor of E3 at Capcom's booth. Fanboys rejoiced as they finally got their hands on the game, but many questions still remained. Now that everyone has a general feel for how the game will play (after all, it's rather mysteriously built on the same engine as Lost Planet and Dead Rising), gamers are asking what characters will fill out the rest of the roster. Only ten characters are currently playable on MvC3 demos, meaning there are at least twenty more characters yet to be introduced. And Capcom is mum on additions (though our very own Mark Ryan Sallee extracted from Seth Killian that Amingo won't be in the game -- yay!)
A few of us here at IGN put our heads together to come up with a list of ten characters we hope might make the final roster. Five of them are Capcom characters, and five of them are Marvel characters, but they all share a common trait -- none of them have appeared in this fighting franchise before. But perhaps they will. Capcom, are you listening?
Dr. Wily
The menacing evil doctor from the core Mega Man series would be an obvious inclusion into the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise. If he makes it in, we imagine he would fight somewhat like the Pokemon Trainer does in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For those unfamiliar with the Wii fighting game, Pokemon Trainer sits in the background while he summons forth various Pokemon to fight for him. Wily in MvC3 would play the same way, sitting safely on the sidelines while deploying various Robot Masters into battle. Our robotic preferences? Quick Man, Magnet Man and Knight Man would be pretty cool, but almost any would work (just no Plant Man, please). And if you defeat him, he should probably beg for mercy, his modus operandi at the end of every Mega Man game in the classic franchise.
Albert Wesker
Resident Evil has been a mainstay in the Capcom lineup since its debut some fifteen years ago. Albert Wesker, the leader of S.T.A.R.S-turned-arch-enemy, has appeared in more games than any other character in the entire franchise, and for good reason. The unexpected turns the Resident Evil games take when he makes an appearance are usually the best twists in the series. We're not sure what form Wesker would take if he were to appear in the game (we'd prefer his normal self as seen when first introduced in the original Resident Evil as opposed to, say, his monstrous form seen at the end of Resident Evil 5), but either way, fans of the survival horror series would rejoice at his inclusion in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Phoenix Wright
Hold it! Gaming's most popular lawyer would make an awesome addition to the roster. We're unsure exactly how he would do battle, but with all sorts of faux law knowledge at his disposal, we know he could definitely hold his own. Perhaps Wright is more of a brawler than we imagined? After all, the young attorney has lived through all sorts of outrageous plots against his life and the lives of his clients over all of the games in which he stars, so he's certainly a survivor. And in a game like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, it's all about surviving. Regardless of how he may fight if included on the roster, however, we imagine there would be few (if any) objections from fans of the series (pun very much intended).
Nathan "Radd" Spencer
NES gamers had a lot of awesome games to choose from, but Capcom's more often than not proved to be the cream of the crop. From Mega Man to Duck Tales, Capcom games were amazing on the NES, and one of the titles Capcom released that fans were most wild about was a game called Bionic Commando. The main character of the game, the Bionic Commando himself, was a character named Nathan Spencer, also known as Radd. With his bionic arm and myriad amounts of bravery, Spencer was able to bring down Master-D (okay, Hitler), but notably, he was unable to jump. Heck, he can't even jump in one of his newest iterations, Bionic Commando Rearmed. If he makes an appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, they'll have to rectify that.
Arthur
One of Capcom's oldest characters is also one that hasn't yet appeared in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. For those of you who are too young to remember, Arthur is the main character in the Ghosts n' Goblins franchise, a series that was first introduced twenty-five years ago. There's only four games in the core series (and only a single new title since 1991), but it's still held near-and-dear to nostalgic old-school gamers. If included in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Arthur should wield his typical lance and armor. And since Arthur would lose his armor and be only in his underwear when struck a single time in Ghosts n' Goblins games, we think that when he takes enough damage -- say three-fourths damage -- he should be limited to his underwear. That'd be embarrassing! Or would it?
Dr. Strange
Much like Loki, Stephen Strange's vast resources and power level would not only make for a very original character in the MvC 3 roster, but make for some damn impressive visuals. Strange's lack of physical power could be an interesting caveat for someone with so much strength in long-range attacks. Perhaps a character that only functions well from a distance or in the air? It'd also be great to see him be able to distort the stage and maybe even alter the visual style of the game with certain spells, truly making Strange live up to his frequent title of "Sorcerer Supreme."
Loki
We all know Thor is going to be in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. There's no way, with a major motion picture on the way next summer, that Capcom wouldn't give the God of Thunder his grand videogame debut. But what about an Asgardian villain? For that role there's no one more appropriate than Loki, the God of Mischief and Thor's half brother. Loki's powers are so vast that Capcom's designers could let their imaginations run wild, and the thought of seeing Loki summon a Frost Giant to crush his foes is just too delicious to ignore. We also envision some really cool "fake out" moves that allow players to cast illusions of certain spells that actually execute as something else. Plenty of possibility here.
Sandman
You're probably looking at the rest of our Marvel picks and wondering why a "common" thug like Sandman is on here. Our reasons are simple. First, he's a Spider-Man villain, and any of Spidey's more popular rogues would be great additions to MvC3. (We also would love to see Norman Osborn make the cut.) Second, Sandman is yet another character whose abilities allow him to really break the traditional fighting game mold. We have plenty of guys like Wolverine and Deadpool in this game, let's mix it up a bit. Sandman's ability to basically do anything with his body would let the Capcom team's imagination run wild and make for a very unconventional fighter -- a must for a game this big.
Silver Surfer
We've always found it a bit odd that, of the wide range of Marvel characters featured in the Vs. series, we've never seen Silver Surfer or his "creator" Galactus. We sincerely hope that changes with MvC3. While it's true that Norrin Radd is far beyond the typical power level of the average fighter in this game, we struggle to really care. We want to surf around the screen on our board, fire beams that make Iron Man's power cannon look puny and maybe even summon a Galactus foot to stomp on our foes. We'd also love to see Surfer perpetually flying if it's possible to find a fair balance for that sort of ability. Regardless, the Surfer is far too iconic to ignore this time around.
Dazzler
Dazzler isn't the coolest or most well-known X-Man, but she would be an excellent addition to MVC3. Though she's physically, weak, Dazzler would have some fairly strong energy attacks with special moves that could include belting out a tune and exploding in a dazzling display of colorful lights. We'd, of course, want the '80s Dazzler who looked like David Bowie and was only recently discovered to be a mutant. That was Dazzler at her best (and most dangerous). Colin Moriarty, Hilary Goldstein and Rich George |
