Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (マーヴル VS. カプコン クラッシュ オブ スーパーヒーローズ) is the fifth Marvel Comics-licensed fighting game by Capcom and the third game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. The game was developed in late 1997 and first released in January 1998. Its later port for the PlayStation was released as Marvel vs. Capcom: EX Edition in Japan; a Sega Saturn version was released as well. It was re-released in 2012 as part of Marvel vs. Capcom Origins.

In contrast to X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, the game features characters from numerous Capcom franchises such as Mega Man and Strider, rather than just Street Fighter characters. The game takes place within the Marvel comic continuity, as Professor Charles Xavier calls out for heroes to stop him before he merges with the consciousness of Magneto and becomes the being known as Onslaught, the final boss.

Gameplay
Unlike the previous game in the series, the point character of a Marvel vs. Capcom team cannot summon the offscreen partner for an assist attack; instead, an assist character is randomly selected before the match begins. This character can be summoned a limited number of times in battle to attack the opponent in parallel. Codes can be used to force the system to select a certain assist character.

The Duo Team Attack allows a player to control both characters on his or her team simultaneously for a brief period of time; the characters have unlimited use of their super moves during this time. Since some characters have hard-to-avoid super moves that do substantial damage if blocked, the Duo Team Attack can lead to tactics that are oriented around activating it before an opponent could. Since the PlayStation version only allows one character to play a point, a Duo Team Attack will call the assist character repeatedly without cost during its duration.

Partners

 * Marvel: Colossus, Cyclops, Iceman, Jubilee, Juggernaut, Magneto, Psylocke, Rogue, Sentinel, Storm, Thor, U.S. Agent.


 * Capcom: Anita, Arthur, Devilotte, Lou & Siva, Michelle Heart, Pure & Fur, Saki Omokane, Shadow, Ton Pooh, Unknown Soldier.

Release
An arcade perfect Dreamcast port was released in 1999 as a launch title. This version contains a "cross-fever" mode that allows four-player simultaneous gameplay.

A PlayStation port was released in 1999/2000. Due to memory limitations, majority of the modes remove the tag team gameplay, reducing the secondary character to an assist role (similar to Rival Schools: United By Fate). The port, however, contains a "crossover" mode that allows tag team play with identical teams (the character Player 1 chooses, becomes the partner for the opposite). This version also offers three exclusive bonuses that are not presented in the Dreamcast version; beating the game with Mega Man allows him to use the Magnetic Shockwave super attack teased in his ending, an ending collection, and an art gallery.

The game was re-released in the Marvel vs. Capcom Origins collection alongside Marvel Super Heroes for the PlayStation Network on September 25, 2012, and Xbox Live Arcade on September 26, 2012. The port features widescreen high definition graphic options, various display options, online multiplayer, PlayStation Trophies and Xbox Live Achievements.

Soundtrack
The original soundtrack was released by Capcom's own Suleputer label on March 21, 1998, in Japan only.

Reception
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes was well received by critics, especially its Arcade and Dreamcast versions. In 2007, CraveOnline users voted it the third top 2D fighter of all time and the staff noted it for introducing tag-team style fighting to the genre. In 2013, Geek Magazine ranked it as the eight best Marvel video game.