Marvel vs Capcom

Introduction

Marvel VS Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes is a crossover, tag-team fighting game developed by Capcom, and released on January 23, 1998, developed for the CPSII Arcade board. It is the third game in the Marvel VS Capcom video game franchise, and the fifth overall Marvel fighting game developed by Capcom, serving as the sequel to Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter. The game features a playable roster of 21 characters and 22 assists, split (mostly) evenly between the two companies. Much like its predecessors, and unlike the games that came after it, MVC1 features 2-VS-2 tag-team fighting gameplay, rather than the 3-VS-3 gameplay the series is well known for. In addition to this, assists are no longer teammate based, but rather based on a separate roster of characters who each have a unique function, distinguishing them from the playable roster. MVC1 also added the additional feature of Duo Team Attacks, where both player characters come out to attack for a limited period of time until their meter runs out, distinguishing it from the team supers of future Marvel games.

Marvel VS Capcom EX Edition, as it is known in Japan, is the PlayStation 1 port of the game. It is considered inferior to the arcade version for the reason that it removes the tag-team mechanic altogether. While it offers a mode under the name of "Cross Over" mode to give tag-team functionality, teams must be identical to one another in this mode, serving as a compromise to the PS1's small memory size. Therefore, the arcade version is vastly preferred over the PS1 port.

Story

The storyline is loosely based on the X-Men: Onslaught arc from the Marvel Comics continuity: following an incident in which mutant telepath Charles Xavier was forced to enter into the mind of Magneto, part of Magneto's anger slipped into Xavier's psyche, and after merging with Xavier's darkest emotions it spawned a powerful psychic entity known as Onslaught. The game expands on the story by having Xavier's conscience calling forth heroes from the Capcom universe in order to help stop him.

Community Links

• RedGGPO : https://redggpo.com A newer alternative to fightcade with better emulation.
• Discord RedGGPO : https://discord.gg/fkdY65N Official RedGGPO discord for matchmaking and platform discussion.
• FightCade : https://www.fightcade.com An online plateform for arcade gaming, where people gather to play online and chat about the game.
• Discord MVC1 Group : https://discord.gg/NFGqcXD A Discord group useful for finding people to play Fightcade games with.

Why Play Marvel VS Capcom 1?

Are you sick and tired of all the death combos in MVC2 and UMVC3? Do you want a more digestible but still challenging Marvel VS Capcom experience? Don't like what Marvel VS Capcom Infinite brings to the table? This is the game for you, then. Now no, this game doesn't outright have zero death combos, there's still plenty of infinites and high damage death combos here and there. But like Infinite, you're far more likely to deal set combos and fishing for hits rather than rushing to steal the first death. The game gives you room to breathe and play a more unique midscreen game where combos are finite, while still providing the Marvel experience of tight gameplay and frantic chaos.

Notation

Some abbreviations first: (Hopefully this doesn't get too confusing)

• JP/LP - light punch
• SP/MP - medium punch
• FP/HP - hard punch
• SK/LK - light kick
• FK/MK - medium kick
• RK/HK - hard kick
• PP - press any two punch buttons
• KK - press any two kick buttons

• The left notation (JP, SK, etc.) is old arcade notation. The right notation (LP, LK, etc.) is modern notation, and the preferred notation that this wiki will use moving forward.

Numpad notation:

• Universal method to read inputs. Assuming your character faces right (you are on the left side):
  

• 2 is down, 4 is back, 6 is forward, and 8 is up.
• 1, 3, 7, and 9 are each diagonals.
• 5 is no input from the left stick/movement.

Motions Notation:

• QCF - Quarter circle forward; roll the stick from (Numpad notation) 2 > 3 > 6 = 236
• QCB - Quarter circle back; roll the stick from (Numpad notation) 2 > 1 > 4 = 214
• HCF - Half circle forward; roll stick (Numpad notation) 4 > 1 > 2 > 3 > 6 = 41236
• HCB - Half circle back; roll stick (Numpad notation) 6 > 3 > 2 > 1 > 4 = 63214
• SPD - 270 degree motion with stick. I find the easiest way to do this motion is (Numpad notation) 6 > 3 > 2 > 1 > 4 > 7 = 632147
• DP - Z motion; (Numpad notation) 6 > 2 > 3 = 623
• RDP - Backwards Z motion; (Numpad notation) 4 > 2 > 1 = 421
• [D]~U - means hold 2/1/3 for a bit (time varies) and then go U (8); Known as a charge.
• [B]~F - means hold 4/3/7 for a bit (time varies) and then go F (6); Known as a charge.

Game Mechanics

Dashing: B/Fx2:

• A slight dash across the screen for offensive or defensive purposes. Some characters have an air-dash.

Super Jump: D then U or Kx3:

• A more extended jump with higher verticality.

Switch Fighters: HP + HK:

• This will only work, though, if your secondary fighter still has some energy left in their Health Meter. When you switch, the secondary character comes flying in from behind you. They start at the top of the screen and attack your opponent, coming down at them at an angle. Your secondary character is vulnerable at this time.

• As soon as your secondary character lands, they'll do a quick little "taunt" thingee to sort of "announce" their arrival and then prepare to fight. You are also vulnerable at this time, so switch wisely. Once this is done, your secondary fighter becomes your active fighter,and the previous fighter becomes your secondary.

• When one fighter completely loses their Health Meter, they are "dead" and your other fighter jumps in, to finish the fight... alone.

Tech-Throws: F + MP + HP before you get thrown:

• Throws are in this game, and I'm pretty sure everybody's got one, whether it's a "true" throw, or some kind of hold. You can lighten the damage that throws take away by Tech. Hitting out of them.

Dual Team Attack: QCF + HP + HK (requires 2 levels):

• You can evoke a Hyper Combo, where both of your characters (if they're both still alive) come in and blast the opponent with their Hyper Combos.

Dual Combination Attack: QCB + HP + HK (requires 2-3 levels):

• If both characters on the team are still alive, they both have a chance to go in at the same time for a short amount of time. During that time, the player controls both characters and has infinity meter until time runs out.

Guest Character: MP + MK:

• Before the match starts, you're given the chance to choose a Guest Character for a limited amount of times during the match. Each Guest Character has their own way of attacking during the match.

Push Block: Px3 while blocking:

• Every character can do a push block when they block while they're blocking. Doing this, you'll quickly give your opponent a push back so that they're out of range. This can be pretty useful when you have a quick character who's really "picking on you."

Variable Counter: RDP + HP + HK (requires 1 level):

• Your teammate (if they're still alive) will come in and help you out by smacking your opponent with one of their moves. After a Variable Counter, the teammate that helped out will be left fighting.

Assists

There are 20 Assist characters with 2 secret helper characters. Just push a button during the assist select screen and you get whichever assist the random selector was on. There is a limited amount of times you can use each assist which is dependent on how useful they are. Assists are very useful in creating distractions among other things. You can easily connect many supers after an assist connects too. It is important to note that all assists can be knocked away if hit. All attacks from assists take chipping damage.

How To Select An Assist

The Assist Select grid is labeled from 1 to 20 from left to right, top to bottom. Shadow and Sentinel are 21 and 22, respectively. For instance, say you want Ton-Pooh. Since she is the first square on the 2nd row, her number is 5. To select her, before the Assist Select gird appears, simply hold down HP and LP, since 4 + 1 = 5. Below is the compilation of what buttons to use for selecting the character. In other words, it's like binary code.

LP = 1

MP = 2

HP = 4

LK = 8

MK = 16

HK = 32?

List of Assists

Helper	Code	Notes
01. Unknown Soldier - Forgotten World	LP + START	He shoots out some beams at your opponent covering most of the bottom half of the screen.
02. Lou - Chariot	MP + START	He's an elf that shoots several arrows and flame at your opponent.
03. King Arthur - Ghouls n Ghosts	LP + MP + START	He throws lances at your opponent. The fun part is that if he gets hit, he loses his armor! The lances are a very bland projectile. They don't pose much threat and aren't very big with limited range to boot. A carefully timed Arthur summon is still more useful than Pure and Fur, though.
04. Saki - Nigiirochou no Kiseki	HP + START	She shoots a laser at your opponents.
05. Tong-Pooh - Strider	LP + HP + START	She does a long range kick in the middle of the screen.
06. Devilot - Cyberbots	MP + HP + START	She comes in on a mech which self-destructs after a LONG time. It's unblockable though so use her in cornering the opponent! If you can set up traps where the opponent is forced to be stuffed, it can be a very useful assist for free damage.
07. Anita - Darkstalkers	LP + MP + HP + START	Her disembodied doll heads float around her as she walks forward, making a shield of sorts. Eventually, she will release her doll heads forward.
08. Pure and Fur - Capcom Mascot	LK + START	She makes a whole bunch of dice rain down as far behind your character as possible. The worst helper in my opinion.
09. Michelle Heart - Wings of Ales	LK + LP + START	She appears on the same level as the opponent and shoots beams in three directions.
10. Thor - Marvel Comics	MP + LK + START	Shoot lightning at his opponent in a horizontal beam. It can be ducked, as it only hits high, but it can be a decent anti-air and is useful for locking your opponent down, preventing them from being able to move for a bit as they're forced to crouch.
11. Cyclops - X-Men	LP + MP + LK + START	Optic blasts his opponent. Uses his low(jab) optic blast.
12. Magneto - X-Men	LK + HP + START	Throws out an EM disrupter.
13. Storm - X-Men	LP + HP + LK + START	She throws out a vertical typhoon a bit in front of you.
14. Jubilee - X-Men	MP + HP + LK + START	Shoots out several firecrackers at different angles that slightly track the opponent, pops her gum and leaves!
15. Rogue - X-Men	LP + MP + HP + LK + START	She does her rushing punch special from XSF. Starts from the middle of the screen and moves diagonally upward.
16. Psylocke - X-Men	MK + START	She does a Psi-Thrust super on your opponent, dashing in from the side. The second best assist in the game, and an assist that beats out Colossus. She's easier to interrupt, but she's essentially a female Colossus assist otherwise.
17. Juggernaut - X-Men	LP + MK + START	Comes barreling toward the opponent, doing a weak version of his Juggernaut. Headcrush. Fills the entire screen.
18. Iceman - X-Men	MP + MK + START	Makes a whole bunch of ice blocks fall onto the screen.
19. Colossus - X-Men	LP + MP + MK + START	Dives in, then shoulder charges into the opponent. 5 frigging uses! Easily the best assist in the game, as he has very high priority and can truck through most attacks, but can be beat out by Psylocke, the other best assist.
20. US Agent - MSH vs SF	HP + MK + START	Does a Charging Star across the screen.
21. Shadow - MSH vs SF	LP + MK + HP + START	Does his Somersault Super move(the one where he does three flash kicks). Good anti-air.
22. Sentinel – XCOTA	MP + MK + HP + START	Flies across the screen and physically attacks the opponent. Mostly fills the entire screen.

Basic Strategy

MAGIC SERIES

One of the things that makes MvC stand out (good or bad) from other fighting games is the so called "Magic Series" of each fighter. This is the ability of each fighter to link their attack buttons together while attacking.

To do the series though, you have to connect with the first hit. It doesn't matter if the opponent is blocking or not. Each fighter has a ground, jumping, and super jumping magic series.

For example: Strider's ground magic series is the Hunter series. This means that on the ground, he can link all six buttons (or any other combination) together while attacking his opponent. So if he was on the ground and hitting Ryu, he could hit JP, SK, SP, FK, FP, RK. Or he could skip a few and do JP, FK, FP, RK. However, he can not cycle backwards through the buttons such as JP, FK, SP. He can only, on the ground, go from punch to kick and only by increasing strength. I really hope this is understandable as this is essential to being a good player at this game. Here are the Magic Series I know of although I'm not sure if they are all in MvC:

1) Hunter Series: defined above

2) Weakest to Strongest:

Basically, you can link a weak(JP or SK) to medium(SP or FK) to strong(FP or RK).

Remember, you can also just do JP - RK or FK - FP. You don't have to do all the buttons.

3) Weakest to Any: Able to link a weak(JP or SK) to one button of stronger strength.

4) Punch to Kick: Shuma Gorath had this ground series in MSHSF.

You can only do, one punch of any strength to one kick of any strength.

Venom has this ground magic series.

5) Kick to Punch: I think Blackheart had this in MSHSF.

Other then that, I haven't seen anybody else with this series.

6) None: Characters, like Dan in MSH, have no ground magic series.

You can't link any buttons together.

Advanced Strategy

Tier List

2020 Tier List by MVC1 Discord Members

• S+: Carnage, Gold War Machine, War Machine
• S: Wolverine, Chun-Li, Strider, Spiderman, Gambit
• A: Captain Commando, Hulk, Venom, Jin, Mega Man
• B: Captain America, Zangief, Ryu, Shadow Lady
• C: Lilith, Orange Hulk, Morrigan
• Roll: Roll

Old Tier List (Made by ???)

• Top: Red Venom, Gold War Machine / War Machine
• High: Chun Li, Wolverine, Gambit, Strider Hiryu, Spiderman
• Mid: Megaman, Ryu, Jin, Venom
• Low: Hulk, Morrigan, Zangief, Shadow Lady
• Bottom: Roll

Assist Tier List

• S: Colossus
• A: Psylocke, Lou, Michelle Heart, Juggernaut
• B+: Thor, US Agent, Cyclops, Shadow
• B: Saki, Unknown Soldier, Devilot, Magneto, Anita, Tong-Pooh
• C: Iceman, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Sentinel, Arthur
• Pure: Pure and Fur

Matchup Chart

	Cap Am.	Cap Com.	Carnage	Chun-Li	Gambit	Gold War	Hulk	Jin	Lilith	Mega Man	Morrigan	O. Hulk	Roll	Ryu	S. Lady	Spiderman	Strider	Venom	War M.	Wolverine	Zangief	Totals
Cap Am.	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cap Com.	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Carnage	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chun-Li	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gambit	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gold War	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Hulk	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Jin	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Lilith	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mega Man	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Morrigan	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
O. Hulk	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Roll	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ryu	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
S. Lady	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Spiderman	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?	?
Strider	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?	?
Venom	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?	?
War M.	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?	?
Wolverine	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?	?
Zangief	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	-	?

Game Versions

Arcade

The first release, and the preferred platform to play MVC1 on. Everything this wiki discusses will be referencing this version of the game. Unfortunately, the only way to play the secret characters is to enter their secret code every time, unlike the console versions where they are unlockable. Otherwise, standard arcade version of a fighting game.

PlayStation Port

The PlayStation version of the game, titled Marvel vs. Capcom EX Edition in Japan, differs from the arcade version, in that players are unable to switch characters on-the-fly, reducing the secondary character to an assist role only. Significantly, this removes the tag-team aspect of the game, which is considered by some to be one of its defining characteristics. The PlayStation version instead offers a "Cross over" mode where each player chooses one character, and the second character for each team is a mirror of the opponent's pick. In this mode, the players may switch characters at will, but the teams must always be identical. This compromise is most likely necessitated by the console's small memory size -- the use of identical teams alleviates the memory requirements.

Dreamcast

It includes a training mode and is nearly arcade perfect, aside from a slightly different audio quality.

The Characters

Spider_Man_(MVC)

Wolverine (MVC)

Gambit (MVC)

War Machine (MVC)

Hulk (MVC)

Captain America (MVC)

Venom (MVC)

Strider (MvC)

Zangief (MVC)

Chun Li (MVC)

Ryu (MVC)

Morrigan (MVC)

Captain Commando (MVC)

Mega Man (MVC)

Jin (MVC)

Secret Characters

Carnage (MVC)

Highlight Chun-Li and draw a "12". Enter , ×4, , ×4, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×2, .

Orange Hulk (MVC)

Highlight Chun-Li and draw a "34". Enter ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×4, , .

Gold War Machine (MVC)

Highlight Zangief and draw a "56". Enter ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×5.

Shadow Lady (MVC)

Highlight Morrigan and draw a "78". Enter , ×2, ×4, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×5.

Lilith (MVC)

Highlight Zangief and draw a "90". ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×4, , , ×4, ×2, ×4, ×2, ×4, , .

Roll (MVC)

Enter Enter ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, ×2, , , ×2, ×2.

Link

• Japanese Wiki
• DC Japanese Site
• great japanese archive