Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

performs a healing assist on Ryu during his battle against the Hulk. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 re-implements the assist system from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, which had been removed in Clash of Super Heroes. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is the fourth installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of tag team-based fighting games. Players select a team of three characters to compete in a one-on-one battle, as opposed to teams of two characters in the series' previous entry, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. The game introduces a more refined version of the "Variable System" used in past Marvel vs. Capcom games, which allows players to tag in other team members at any point during the match. Unlike Clash of Super Heroes, which features unplayable partner characters that the player can summon at will, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 re-implements the "Variable Assist" gameplay mechanic introduced in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, allowing players to call upon one of their off-screen team members to perform a single special move to aid them. Each playable character possesses three different types of assists, denoted by the Greek letters α, β, and γ, which can range from projectile attacks to healing moves. Assist characters receive extra damage if struck by the opponent. As characters fight, the team members not in play will also slowly regenerate their life gauges. A match lasts until one team completely runs out of vitality for all three fighters; if the match timer reaches zero before either team is knocked out, the player with the most remaining health is declared the winner. The game also introduces a new gameplay mechanic called the "snapback", which forces the opponent to switch characters. Instead of six attack buttons separated as three pairs of low, medium, and high-strength punches and kicks, the game utilizes a setup of four attack buttons and two assist buttons. Versus Mode allows two players to compete against one another. The Japanese release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the Dreamcast also featured online play through Capcom's "Match Service" network, limited to two separate Dreamcast systems. Playable characters Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes contains a roster of 56 playable characters. In the arcade version, half of the characters are unlocked from the start while the other half are unlocked as revenue increases. In some console versions, 24 characters are available from the start and the remaining 32 must be unlocked using experience points. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, all start unlocked. Marvel Capcom ==Development==

On December 1, 1999, Capcom announced that a sequel to Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes was in development. It was developed for the Sega NAOMI arcade board and the Dreamcast as Capcom's first attempt at a fighting game outside of the CP System II and III hardware systems. The game was the first in the Marvel vs. Capcom series to combine hand-drawn two-dimensional sprites upon three-dimensional backgrounds. The Japanese home and arcade versions of the game were revealed to be compatible with the Dreamcast VMU. Players were able to connect their VMU to the arcade version to exchange data, earning them experience points which could be used to unlock new characters, stages, and costume colors in the home version. The experience system included three types of points: "N-Points", earned by playing through the arcade version; "D-Points", gained by playing through the Dreamcast version; and "V-Points", obtained by playing online multiplayer. During a press conference before E3 2002, Capcom unveiled its plans to bring MvC2 over to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. While the PS2 version allowed players to compete against one another via USB modem connections, the Xbox version did not feature Xbox Live support. Once again, online multiplayer was not available outside Japan. Following the commercial and critical success of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix in 2008, Capcom intended to continue making high-definition remakes of its past games. When asked specifically about MvC2, Capcom's VP of business development and strategic planning, Christian Svensson, indicated that the game was their most requested title by fans. On April 27, 2009, Marvel and Capcom jointly announced that MvC2 would be released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store. A demo for the PS3 version was released on April 30. When questioned about the lack of a Wii port, Svensson stated that Capcom was unable to release the game on the console due to licensing restrictions and WiiWare's file size limit. The PS3 and Xbox 360 ports were developed by Backbone Entertainment, who previously worked with Capcom on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. In April 2012, Capcom announced the release of MvC2 for iOS devices. Capcom created two control configurations for iPhone and iPad touch screens. Players have a choice between the standard six-button layout, or a compact four-button control scheme with "flick controls". ==Release==

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes was released for Japanese arcades on the Sega NAOMI platform on March 23, 2000, followed by North America in May 2000. The game was soon released on the Dreamcast in Japan on March 30, 2000, followed by North America on June 29; the European version, released on July 16, was published by Virgin Interactive. The Xbox version launched alongside its PS2 counterpart in Japan on September 19, 2002, and later received a North American release on March 30, 2003. It was then released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on July 29, 2009, and the PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network on August 13. The PS3 version was also released physically with a code instead of a disc for a limited time through GameStop. Lastly, the game became available for iOS devices on April 25, 2012. On December 15, 2013, Capcom announced that MvC2 would be removed from Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network towards the end of the month, following the apparent expiration of Capcom's licensing contracts with Marvel Comics. The game was pulled from PSN on December 17 and 19 in North America and Europe, respectively, and from Xbox Live Arcade globally on December 26. Eventually, the iOS version was also delisted from the Apple App Store. On August 2, 2021, prominent fighting game community member Maximilian Dood began a hashtag campaign to gather support for re-releases of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 onto modern consoles after it was delisted from digital platforms. The campaign led to #FREEMVC2 trending on Twitter and Mike Mika, the studio head for video game developer Digital Eclipse, expressing interest in re-releasing the game. On August 5, 2022, Arcade1Up revealed a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 arcade cabinet during the 2022 Evolution Championship Series. The cabinet includes Wi-Fi connectivity for online multiplayer, as well as several other Marvel crossover games developed by Capcom. ==Reception==

Upon release, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes received critical acclaim for its frantic gameplay style, detailed backdrops and visuals, and enormous cast of playable characters. In Japan, Game Machine listed it as the most successful arcade game of April 2000. Anoop Gantayat of IGN praised the game for its refined battle system, despite its sheer level of insanity, labeling it as "one of the best fighting games out there". The game was a runner-up for GameSpots annual "Best Fighting Game" award, which went to Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000. Over the years since its release, MvC2 has repeatedly been included by various critics into their lists of the best fighting games ever, including ScrewAttack at GameTrailers in 2007, where it placed second, and Virgin Media.com in 2009, where it placed third. It was declared the best 2D fighting game by Complex in 2011 and 2013. In 2013, the game was also named as the most iconic Marvel video game by Nerdist. In 2010, GamePro also chose it as the 33rd best PS2 game of all time. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game sold 1.4 million units worldwide before their removal on December 15, 2013. ==Sequel==

Following the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Capcom could not retain the Marvel Comics license due to legal issues over copyright, placing the series on indefinite hiatus. On April 20, 2010, 10 years after the game's original debut, Capcom announced the development of a sequel: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. While it utilizes largely similar game mechanics to MvC2, the sequel features new methods of play designed for newcomers to the fighting game genre, such as the addition of a simplified three-button control scheme. MvC3 was released in February 2011 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. ==Notes==