A lot of people tell me they don’t play MvC2 because:
- it is broken b/c of infinites…
- they don’t know how to play
I don’t think 1) is the problem, because getting hit with an infinite meant that you first got hit which is your own problem.
- is something that can be dealt with.
I’m running a little project for players who don’t play videogames often, but still want to know how to play competitively (oxymoron?). I understand though. Given today’s community of gamers, stuff can range from Brawl, 3s, Tekken, MvC2, KOF, GG, Basara X, you name it. How are we supposed to be able to keep up with all this? First off, you don’t have to. Obviously though, you want to. So, given you have good execution, you have a good feel for fighting rhythm (when to attack, when and how to block, when to throw/tech throw, how to move well) all you need to know are your tools and options for freestyling.
I am first going to deal with MvC2. This is the general thread, so here I will point out general game knowledge.
Follow me alongside Kao Megura’s FAQ (very respectable, as I have read) which you can find on GameFaqs.
MvC2 does not have separate buttons for medium attacks. The game does not use the terms jab, strong, fierce and short, forward, roundhouse but uses light punch, medium punch, heavy punch and so on. The only buttons you have at your disposal are light punch, light kick, heavy punch, heavy kick, and your assist buttons. In order to execute a medium attack in this game, you simply press your light attack button a 2nd time after hitting with a light attack. You can press your assist buttons in conjunction with your attack buttons, so you can perform a light kick and call your assist character at the same time or a medium kick and call your assist at the same time. Play around with your assist call timing to see what different effects you come up with as far as combos, cross-ups, and links go.
The next point brings me to the technique of pushblocking. This may be new to you if you haven’t played MvC1, XvSF, CvS or whatever other game that allows you to advance guard. In MvC2, you pushblock by pressing PP while blocking a hit. Anything that causes you to block will allow you to pushblock. Experiment with pushblocking as it will be useful in escaping certain traps and hi/lo mix-ups in this game. Be warned that if you do a regular jump in MvC2, you are only allowed to block once. After your character stops blocking, as they descend to the ground, they are purely vulnerable to attack. Tactics around guardbreaking can be devastating in this game. You can not be guardbroken on super jump. If your 1st character dies, then your next character will come on screen. That character is in a neutral jump state. This means they can potentially be guardbroken. Methods most people use to escape guardbreaks involve using moves upon entrance that allow you to do anything but fall straight down or even attacking to trade or beat out your opponent’s attempt. When you are on the ground, as long as there is something to block, you can continue to pushblock.
Each character has a choice of 3 assists that they can offer you. Play around with these options and form some strategies off of them to aid you in play. Which assist you choose will determine not only what action that character performs when you press their assist button, but also what action they variable counter (like alpha counter) with when you are in guard and perform this motion. SFA3/SFZ3 players should be familiar with this. When blocking, if you have at least 1 super bar and press b, db, d + any assist button, that corresponding assist will be countered in and will perform their assist action thereby making them your point character. This makes the choosing of your assists even more important. Also, the assist you choose will determine which hyper combo (basically a super move) that character will perform when you press both of your assist buttons at the same time in order to perform a Team Hyper Combo. Normally, you can only call an assist while you are on the ground or in neutral jump, but some characters make their own exceptions to this. Experiment or read up to find out who and how.
In MvC2, you can chain hyper combos given the appropriate amount of super meters. If say, Ryu were to connect his Shinku Hadouken, qcf+:2p:, before the super ends, you can input qcb+:2p: to, say, bring in Akuma where he will do his Messatsu Gou Hadou. Experiment with this to find some interesting combinations and even escape and counter tactics.
MvC2 is very combo-friendly as a lot of things will link given rather easily if set up right. Again, unlike KOF or CvS2 or even SFA3, you don’t have to pause and time your next input precisely to link your next normal, but can pretty much just dial in the appropriate follow up. Thus, the term Magic Series. Experiment with this using your characters to see what you can link on the ground and in the air for different combos. Also, most normal attacks can be cancelled into a hyper combo to allow for interesting links. What’s more, given the fact that you can DHC in this game, w/ 2 bars, all it usually takes is one hit from your opponent to link there next character’s hyper combo. This makes for interesting sights.
Dashing in MvC2 can be performed by either pressing f,f or PP. You can cancel your dash by pressing d. Experiment with this and you will see that characters who don’t have exceptionally far or fast dashes can go faster and/or further if you cancel a dash and then redash right after. Accordingly, in order to backdash, use b+PP or db+PP.
Most characters will be able to initiate an air combo just by connecting df+:hp: or df+:hk:. Some characters have sick combos after launch, while others have very tricky situations they can put you in on hit. Watch carefully what happens to you after launch as it is not unexpected for a reset to happen where you are being hit on the left to suddenly be crossed up and hit on the right (as well as other angles).
An escape roll allows you to avoid being hit when knocked onto the ground which can extend certain characters’ combos. Be careful while doing this, b/c certain characters can even use this to their advantage to dash with you while you roll and possibly cross you up or leave something trailing behind you to surprise you as you get up.
Throw when close enough and break throws with the same if you expect one. You can also reduce the damage you would have received or even the follow up otg by attempting to tech throw even after being thrown.
Using your snapback, you can hit your opponent’s current character and, dependent upon which assist button you used, bring in that corresponding character. If you hit a character and their assist at the same time, the character will be knocked off-screen, while their assist will be knocked back allowing most characters, to follow up and kill them before they even leave the screen for an assist infinite. If you hit the main character and avoid the assist, the main character will be hit offscreen, leaving the assist behind for however long they need to get offscreen.
Those are the game basics. See you in the character threads for solid, start-up basics.
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