Aesthetically, Phoenix Wright and Frank West fit in as well as any other character. They aren’t overly cartoonish in appearance, they don’t have an outlandish design and they certainly don’t scream ‘idiotic’ or ‘out of place’. We have raccoons, dogs and women that looked like they just stepped out of a nightclub. Sure, they’re warriors if you want to get technical, but you said you don’t care about the gameplay? Purely the art style and the supposed integrity of a game that is merely a cluster of individual styles and shapes?
If that’s the case, then why are they a problem? If you bought the game to simply look at it, then having them there isn’t a problem. Phoenix Wright is incredibly underplayed and, while Frank West does get minimal use, his actual movelist is far more intimidating and ferocious than most of the cast. He throws zombies and chainsaws, beats the shit out of people with a variety of weapons and even roundhouse kicks people. Deadpool looks goofy, M.O.D.O.K looks even goofier and, despite them being warriors, they aesthetically act in a more out of place fashion than Frank West does.
This is asinine, but on to the original topic:
No, I don’t play Vanilla Marvel vs Capcom 3, as I sold it shortly before Ultimate was released. If I wanted a broken, poorly made fighting game with bugs and exploits out the wazoo, then I’d go play Marvel vs Capcom 2. When I want a fun, adequately balanced fighting game, then I’ll go and play Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.
I’ve been trolling this game for a few weeks. It has been a lot of fun, I recently became a 4th lord and now I’m running into Phoenix teams. Playing this game makes me appreciate UMVC3, as it’s certainly the better game.
Said before. It’s not about them being cartoony or not, but rather about them not being “fighting game material.” They just don’t mesh in well with the fighting game concept. Don’t tell me that when you think “fighting game,” you think lawyers and photographers. It’s all about the tone and concept of the game, which they don’t fit at all. Don’t you think that the concept of an average Joe throwing juice cartons and swinging plungers at, say, a space knight is even remotely silly? Not even just a bit? Face it, Frank is clearly supposed to be a “comedic” character (I would call him a “cheap joke,” though). Everything about him is just goofy and vulgar, and kills the tone of the game, from the redneck zombies to the shopping cart.
And “outlandish” has never been a problem when it comes to fighting game designs. Heck, most fighting game have a well-rooted tradition of having outlandish-looking fighting game characters in their games. Almost every fighting game series that was derived from Street Fighter II has a “freak” character or too. Like I’ve said before, it’s a firm tradition of the fighting game genre to have imaginative, freaky and crazy characters in games. The genre is very, very rich in its originality and uncompromised art style.
And I’m not talking about “being a warrior” in terms of gameplay, either, but in terms of concept. The raccoon? He’s a space bounty hunter armed to the teeth. The dog? Goddess who can unleash elemental-based attacks. The girls? They are ALL stylish fighters with supernatural skills.
And sorry to burst your bubble, but this fighting game is NOT merely a cluster of “individual styles and shapes.” That’s very clearly what YOU perceive it to be, though. Well, well.
I know they’re not played all that much, and I’m actually REALLY happy that Wright is the worst character in the game, but like I said before, I personally find their presence distracting. Simply having them in the game makes me feel I am watching Super Smash Brothers. They kill the mood, yadda yadda.
I think Frank’s moveset is the stupidest in the entire game, second only to Wright’s. And I don’t think Deadpool or MODOK act more out of place than these two pathetic civilians. They are stylish fighters with very well-defined personalities and colorful personas who fit in perfectly in a Capcom-style fighting game. Deadpool is a dangerous psycho with a sense of humour, and MODOK, while freaky, is a perfect addition to a fighting game.
Once in a in a while I’ll put in the Vanilla disc and choose Dante and go into the lab. I proceed in doing a mugen combo then I switch out the disc back to Ultimate. I choose Dante and try the mugen combo again only to find myself crying. I then repeat the process again.
I’m not saying he’s not awesome. I’ve watched cutscenes from Dead Rising on YouTube, and I have to say that he seems like a pretty interesting character. He’s a great character for his game, but he just looks goofy an out of place in this game. He fits his game perfectly, but just not this one, what with all the aliens, gods, demons, freaks of nature and super-powered warriors. An improvised fighter who fights with brooms just looks out of place.
That’s because both games have drastically different tones. Dead Rising has a tone that could be defined as “gritty realism,” closer to a traditional zombie film, while MVC has a tone that could be described as “ultra fantasy.” The games are just too different. It’s not that Frank is in himself a bad character, but that he looks out of place in THIS particular game.
Ah, yes, I know about that game. I agree with the “out of place” thing, but not so much with the “totally awesome” thing. Plus, that game clearly has a tone that is VERY different to that of a traditional fighting game like this one. The developers were clearly going for a “silly” tone wit it.
And who told you that fighting games are supposed to be “as stupid as humanly possible”? It’s not a comedic genre.
Then why are you supporting a lawyer and a stupid Daytona car in fighting games? Pretty much everyone has said that Wright is a perfect fit for a fighting game, which he is not, unless you consider fighting games to be some sort of random mish-mash of silly characters.
If you live in Oklahoma City, I’d give you my copy for free. I don’t play at all. Friend got me a used copy for christmas but I’ve only ever played it like 5 times. Now it just sits in the case which I use for a coaster.
Yeah, I know that this site is very centered on discussing gameplay, but you can still find discussion regarding general fighting game culture, even here. It’s the go-to place if you want to be immersed in fighting game culture.
Plus, I said that I don’t care about gameplay, not that I don’t discuss gameplay at all. And I do surf GameFAQs.
