Years of Marvel vs. Capcom experience hasn’t prepared me for the uphill battle of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. With the myriad of changes made to game, these first few days have been humbling to say the least. So far, my experience has consisted of me putting hours into training mode, just trying to get a basic grasp of how the game works. With every new game, comes new challenges, and a new opportunity to prove myself.
Unlike other fighting games like Street Fighter V or ARMS, I couldn’t immediately pick this up, fight against random opponents at the bottom of the ranking system and just have fun. Too many changes the controls, mechanics, and roster left me feeling like a fish out of water. At least with the experience of training myself up, I had an idea of what to do to get in game shape.
First, I tried my hand at the game’s Tutorial and Trial modes. The tutorial is a bare bones effort, which is unfortunately not surprising by Capcom’s standards. The trial mode was even worse, as it ramps up in difficulty so quickly that only the most hardened of series veterans will get anything out of it. At this point, I give up on Capcom giving players better training tools.
Instead, I just spent hours in training mode, trying to come to grips with everything. First on my list was the button layout. Changing from a three-attack system to a four-attack one completely messed with my brain. Repeatedly, I ran through the new Magic Series in order to drill it into my head. It still feels alien to me, but it’ll come in time.
Next was trying to understand how re-launch combos work. In the previous game, most OTGs were only triggered by a handful of specific moves, most of which came from assist characters. This time, every character has the ability to pick up a rival on their own. For hours, I’d smash my foes to the ground, only for them to stay there.
It wasn’t until I watched a tutorial video that showed me the trick. In order to land the OTG, you have to delay your jumping heavy kick as much as possible. Having grown accustomed to mashing out the Magic Series, this took a considerable amount of time to get acclimated to. At this point, I can do basic relaunch combos now with pretty much everyone.
The last major piece of the puzzle is finding characters I like to play. Sadly, due to the ongoing squabbles between Marvel and Fox, none of the X-Men characters are currently in the game. This gutted my entire team from Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Right now, I’m rocking with Gamora/Captain Marvel, but it’s going to take a lot more time before I find the right mix.
Getting over the first hump in any fighting game is the toughest struggle of all. With all of the changes that have occurred in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, this is one of toughest hurdles I’ve faced in fighting games yet. Hoping I can make it to the other side as a better player than I am today!
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In Third Person 