Not many people would argue the fact that Soul Calibur is the Dreamcast's current AAA title, one that sold a lot of people on the system at launch.  Well, its time to add another must-have, system-selling, AAA title to the list: Capcom's Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.  Simply put, this game goes above and beyond what anyone has ever done in a 2D fighting game.  Its so over-the-top that, despite whatever complaints exist about the lack of skill needed to play compared to other Street Fighter-type games, you cannot help but have fun with it. 

First, let’s look at the major differences between the original and sequel.  Marvel Vs. Capcom was a decent port, but was difficult to play due to the Dreamcast controller layout.  Luckily, Capcom changed the six-button format that has been the standard since the first Street Fighter II, creating one that is infinitely more playable on the standard Dreamcast controller. This ties in with the other major change: 3-on-3 fighting.  Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has only four attack buttons, weak punch and kick, and strong punch and kick.  Pressing both of either the weak or strong attacks tags in one of the other characters.  The trigger buttons are used for the "assist" attacks, meaning that one of your other characters comes in for a quick attack.  This is similar to the "helper" characters in Marvel vs. Capcom, but makes more sense.  By making this change in the controls, the Dreamcast controller actually works extremely well, and control all-around is very tight.  

The 3-on-3 format extends the match length, sometimes to four minutes or longer, so many matches will not end with a player getting defeated outright unless the time is set to infinite.  Personally, I really like the longer match time.  It gives you more time to play with the 56 characters Capcom has put into this game.  Yes, you read that correctly, there are 56 playable fighters in this game.  Several are new to Capcom fighting games, most notably Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil games (who can summon zombies to gnaw on you, and can assist by giving red and green healing herbs complete with Resident Evil-style vital signs).  Other fighters are pulled from a huge list of games:  the previous three Vs. games, Darkstalkers, Star Gladiators, X-Men: Children of the Atom, and so on.  The number of combinations available to the player is simply mind-boggling.  In order to simply play all of the fighters, two people would have to play ten matches.  Incredible.  

Also back in this game are the Hyper Combos, this time expanded in several ways.  For one thing, the combo bar starts at level one, and can go all the way up to level five.  If a player does a Hyper Combo, and then quickly enters the move for one of his other fighter's Hyper Combo, that other fighter will jump out and perform his.  This can be done a third time.  Or, more simply, pressing both assist buttons at the same time with three levels of the combo bar available brings all three characters on screen at once to unleash their Hyper Combos.  I have pulled off 90+ hit combos doing this.  Despite what it may sound like, I find the Hyper Combos to be more balanced than in the previous game.  Their damage seems somewhat reduced, and it’s easier to heal off much of it due to the longer match length. 

Graphically, this is an arcade-perfect version of the game.  Marvel vs. Capcom 2 ran on the Naomi board in the arcade (a first for Capcom), which means easy and accurate porting to the Dreamcast.  Animation is at a similar level to the previous game, and while not as impressive as Street Fighter III, the fact that there are often three, four, or even more characters on the screen at once more than makes up for that fact.  The backgrounds have been done in 3-D for the first time, but look so sharp that the only difference that is noticeable is that they just look better.  This game is just hands-down the single most impressive looking 2-D fighting game Capcom or anyone else has ever made.  

As far as replay value goes, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 does not disappoint.  The magic number of 56 fighters that Capcom so proudly states on the back of the packaging is not available when you first load up the game.  The game starts you off with 24 fighters, including several new ones and a bunch of favorites (Strider, Ryu, Jill).  Whenever you play the game at all (including the Arcade mode, Vs. mode, training, etc.) you earn points, which can be spent on new costumes, new stages, and most importantly, new characters.  Some get quite expensive toward the end, but you do get a decent amount of points for playing two-player matches.  Finally, Capcom has made a Vs. game that really encourages players to play the arcade mode and hone their skills.  The obligatory training mode is of course present, and not much different than the one in the last few Capcom fighters.  Another nice option available is the ability to swap fighters over the VMU. 

I suppose its necessary to compare Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 with the other two big Street Fighter releases Capcom has put out in the last few months, Street Fighter III: Double Impact and Street Fighter Alpha 3.  Picking a favorite is extremely difficult, because they are all very different games.  Double Impact has incredible animation and a solid, balanced fighting engine that is really a throwback in the skill it demands for mastery.  Alpha 3 is one of the deepest, option-filled games ever released, with a large roster of characters and multiple attack systems as well as the best one-player options of any Street Fighter.  Both are excellent purchases and I cannot recommend them highly enough to fighting game fans.  That said; if you have to buy only one of these three games, buy Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.  Your friends, the ones who hate fighting games and never play them, will play this game.  It’s so flashy, so addictive, and it has so many fighters, it’s almost impossible to stop playing once the game is loaded.  

Hopefully, it’s pretty obvious that I consider this one of the best games currently available for purchase on the Dreamcast.  I cannot stress it enough:  Unless you totally abhor fighting games, this game is a must-have.  Capcom set out to make the most ambitious 2-D fighting game ever, and they succeeded totally and absolutely.  Graphics, options, replay value, fighters, and control…this game has it all.  Now you'll have to excuse me, I haven't played the game in a few hours and I'm starting to feel the pangs of withdrawal.