Marvel vs Capcom 2/Getting Started

Getting the game

[Video for setting up] both the Dreamcast versions of the game on Fightcade2. For more information, check out the Versions page.

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this is a port of my message that's pinned in #lounge in the mvc2 discord. i think it'll (and ive gotten feedback that it has) help people get a foundation for how the game works, & help them help themselves when it comes to finding resources or videos, experimenting in the lab with movement or character synergies, and otherwise teach more than what was here before

Marvel vs Capcom 2 has seen many releases. Preppy's excellent "How to Get and Play MvC2" article explains a lot of the details, but here's a summary in order of ease of access of the many versions out there:

• Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: The official way to play MVC2 and any other Marvel Vs. Capcom titles. It adds a number of new goodies, most notably a training mode. Available for PC, Switch, Xbox One and Playstation 4, (which should work on Switch 2, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series). Newest and primary official way to play the game. If you don't want to cough up the cash, well...
• Fightcade 2: Fightcade is a helpful front-end to a few key emulators, including Flycast. You must add in Fightcade JSON so that Fightcade knows where to download ROMs from. It is important to note that as of June 2024, Fightcade updated the Flycast build used for games, including this one, so it may perform better now than in the past.
• Flycast GGPO: A new and popular way to play is emulating the NAOMI Arcade version on Flycast Dojo's GGPO test releases for rollback netcode (or just delay-based netcode also provided by Dojo). A guide to setting up Flycast Dojo's GGPO support is on Mizuumi.
• NullDC BEAR re-implements Flycast's GGPO support & offers alternative delay-based netplay using the older, discontinued NullDC emulator.
• PSN/XBLA ports: Great ports with native GGPO and widescreen support. These were delisted in December of 2013, but the PS3 version remains accessible through unofficial means. Consult's Preppy's article for a guide.
• RPCS3: Uses RPCS3, a PS3 emulator, and RPCN, it's PSN equivalent, to run the PSN port of the game online with rollback.
• Dreamcast/NAOMI: The best way to play the original release is through the Dreamcast home port or a NAOMI arcade board.
  • If you do manage to find a NAOMI arcade board Hagure has detailed how to configure settings for the best gameplay and unlock characters.
  • If you are using a Dreamcast, it's easiest to start with a version using Jed's hack to unlock all characters. If you don't have that, you can download a fully unlocked Save file and transfer that to your VMU. If you can't do that, your best option is to simply leave your Dreamcast running all the time in Training Mode and then exit and redeem the points every few hours and overnight until you're done.
• Xbox and PS2: These are largely inferior home ports owing to hardware limitations. You can emulate or play on real hardware but they're not representative of Marvel 2's de-facto gameplay. That said, they do offer some small advantages over the arcade and Dreamcast versions, such as having an in-game move list, so if you are willing to accept the shortcomings of these versions, they're still playable- they are simply not optimal.
  • The Xbox 360 is backwards compatible with the Xbox port of the game, but it has some issues with sprites glitching out if played in this way.

GAME GUIDES:

1. jmcrofts' "5 mechanics you need to know" video. This is a simple guide that establishes the game in a easy-to-digest way.

2. Filth Gnasty's beginner guide that goes over the system mechanics, with some advanced stuff too. (there's some misinformation: [putting this here later sorry]⁠)

3. G Conceptz's YouTube channel. Home to many guides on aspects of the game, + a few character guides.

4. Joo's Combo Collection. A tool-assisted montage with VERY detailed breakdowns of the game's mechanics (that i plan to put here eventually. i've started a bit already) and breakdowns of each combo afterwards! I like using this as a way to see what characters can do, and even if it isn't all particularly realistic for people to do, it can give people ideas for combos or synergies they might not have considered before! It worked for me!

CHARACTERS

1. Andor's YouTube channel. Video breakdowns on some teams are played by the pros + videos of every character's movesets & assists.

2. Malek's guide to doing combos as any character goes over the Magic Series as well as general combo route formats.

3. Malek's guide to team building gives the general gist of how team compositions work, and what you can look out for.

4. Dj-B13's Tricks of the Trade videos that highlight lots of characters and showcase combos, sequences, and setups.

OTHER KEY RESOURCES

1. Romneto's YouTube channel. home to MANY matches, combos, & HIGHLIGHTs with every character in the game. This is THE place to see what characters can really do in the hands of incredible players.

2. jmcrofts' other MvC2 videos. He has ones for specific characters, + videos on popular sets, glitches, and trivia link 1 and link 2

3. magnetro's YouTube channel, which houses lots of combo videos, in-depth information, and tutorials, as well as uploads of Joo's Combo Collection.

4. MvC2: Deconstructed, a Massive info source of MvC2. A compilation of a ton of useful information, like frame data (albeit hard to read at first glance), stats, rankings, and system mechanics of the game, all gathered by digging through the files directly. A primary reference for this wiki.

other resources

1. Supercombo Wiki - you are here! Currently under heavy work to become a complete and understandable guide for newbies and veterans alike, discussion and contributions to this community project is in this channel.

2. Fandom wiki Incomplete, a bit awkward to read, and should become overshadowed by this wiki in a due time, but still has a lot of info written down.

3. GameFAQs forums, which aren't used anymore, but serves as an archive of 10+ year old guides, discussions and tech discoveries. Not too useful compared to the above options, but home to some interesting reads nonetheless.

Links

• Major Tournaments
• Arcade Unlock Codes
• Frame Data/Hitboxes (MvC2)- https://www.sf4remix.com/anotaks_temp_crap/mvc2/ Compiled by Anotak, still being worked on.