Marvel Vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (arcade) Marrow FAQ Ver 1.06 (Updated 5-6-2000) Author: Adrian Au (cerebrate@spacewar.com) Legal Stuff ----------- Feel free to download or print this FAQ but get my permission first if you wish to post or distribute it or any part of it. Do not use any part of this FAQ for making profit. You got it free, everybody else should as well. This is my work, so give me credit for it. In other words this FAQ is copyright 2000 Adrian Au. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is copyright 2000 by Capcom. Marrow and all other characters are registered trademarks of their respective companies of Marvel Comics and Capcom Entertainment. ================= Table of Contents ================= I. Revision History II. Character Introduction III. Controls IV. Simple, Special & Super Moves V. Combomania VI. Quirks and Other Stuff VII. Strategy VIII. Final Words =================== I. Revision History =================== Ver 1.00 1-5-2000 A very sketchy FAQ, bare bones kinda stuff (no pun intended). Only things off the top of my head. Simple Moves, Combomania and other sections aren't necessarily complete nor correct. Ver 1.01 8-5-2000 Yay! First update! Just a few little entries here and there. Information, suggestions and corrections are still greatly appreciated. Ver 1.03 15-5-2000 More stuff added than the last update, hence the 1.03 label. Typos fixed. I've tried to prune the FAQ down to a more readable length but it's still grown to 23Kb. Ver 1.05 28-5-2000 Not much changed. More typos, more simple moves and her second win pose. Ver 1.06 5-6-2000 Double jump combo added. Not much else. ========================== II. Character Introduction ========================== A new character, Marrow (that's the girl with the bone daggers) hails from the comic book universe of Marvel. She first appeared as a Morlock child in the X-Men comic books a couple of years ago. For those unacquainted with the Morlocks, they were a band of mutants, often with horrid disfigurements, that fled from the modern world into the sub-sub-basement of the New York sewers. Sarah (that's what she was known as back then) has since grown up hating humans and emerged as a brash and arrogant mutant terrorist. Recently she was persuaded to assist the X-Men and eventually joined them. She is characterised by bony knife-like protrusions, mainly on her back, and can pull them out to use as weapons. Weird is the word to describe our little calcium dysfunction. Her different moves are great for confusing a human opponent. All in all she is a slightly unorthodox character and compliments almost any team with her speed and combo ability. ============= III. Controls ============= You should know the buttons by now but if you don't I'll put them in anyway. A slight change to the six-button setup has implemented since Capcom's last Versus game. Because there is a need to control 3 characters the button layout is now as follows: _ _ _ (_) (_) (_) Jab punch Fierce punch Assist1 _ _ _ (_) (_) (_) Short kick Roundhouse kick Assist2 Strong punch and Forward kick have been changed. They are now executed by a second press of Jab punch and Short kick and even then only if the first Jab/Short Kick hit. This means they are only ever used in combos. Since there are only two punches and two kicks I'll use the light punch, heavy punch notation and not mention Strong punch and Forward kick. I think it'll be less confusing for newbies and gaming veterans shouldn't have a problem with it. The two assist buttons are used to control all sorts of things involving your other two partners. Control notations: ------------------ LP: Light Punch LK: Light Kick HP: Heavy Punch HK: Heavy Kick P: Press any one punch PP: Both punches at the same time (LP+HP) K: Press any one kick KK: Both kicks at the same time (LK+HK) A1: Assist 1 A2: Assist 2 D: Down U: Up F: Forward B: Back DF: Diagonal Down/Forward DB: Diagonal Down/Back QCF: Quarter Circle Forward (D, DF, F) QCB: Quarter Circle Back (D, DB, B) HCB: Half Circle Back (F, DF, D, DB, B) ZF: Forward Dragon Punch (F, D, DF) ================================= IV. Simple, Special & Super Moves ================================= Stuff to know ------------- I shouldn't have to tell you about tech-hits, push-blocks, evasion rolls and such, so I won't. Any budding arcade addicts wanting to know the basics should go to the moves list FAQs (KMegura and CJayC have posted excellent ones). I'm only gonna include the newer changes or things I feel are of particular importance to Marrow's game. Double and Triple Jumps are small hops in mid-air that extend airtime and have great potential for extending combos. Marrow has a Double Jump. Just tap U again while airborne. Very useful for lining up her Ride & Slash. Super Jumps, like the name says, are jumps which are, well... super. With a simple D, U movement of the joystick or KK, your character will rocket themselves up into the air about one or two screens and come floating back down at normal pace. Basically an ultra high jump. Very useful for evading attacks and launching an assault. Press any one of the assist buttons and if the corresponding partner isn't dead they will jump out, do a single attack and jump out again. This is what most of us call a Partner Assist. Partner assists are an integral part of the game. They can lay cover fire as you dash in to attack, they can be a one button anti-air defense (BBHood's Cheer & Fire!), they can add a few hits on to any attack (ever had 4+ projectiles coming at you?) or you could use them as a human shield. The attack they perform is decided at character selection. You'll have to play around with them to work out the best uses of these assists. The partner assist you choose also determines what they contribute to the team super and partner counters. Marrows assists are listed under Quirks and Other Stuff. Ever noticed when you jump over to the other side of the opponent they turn around? Ever noticed that if they were blocking that they are suddenly blocking the wrong direction? Crossups take advantage of this technicality to hit the opponent while they are (aren't) blocking. Crossups aren't as useful in the Versus series because of characters with vertical attacks (eg. Capt Commando, Ken, Iron Man), and counter moves (Jill & Cammy). They are now best used to connect an assist. Tag In's are like tag team wrestling where one of your reserve characters jump in with an attack, your current player jumps out to recuperate and the fight continues. Press both weak attacks to switch with your second character and both strong attacks to switch your third character. When Marrow tags in she says 'Let me in!', dunno why. Note that if a Tag In isn't blocked, the victim goes spiraling up and back down giving you a chance to unload a few juggle hits or OTG hits. What's OTG? Read on. OTG hits, known to some people as 'On The Ground' and to others as 'Off The Ground'. It really doesn't matter because you do them while they are ON the ground and knock the other guy OFF the ground. OTGs are usually ducking weak attacks (Marrow's ducking LK) but some special moves and supers have OTG properties (like Hulk's rockwave thingy). Its possible to go from some OTG hits into a launcher and air combo. This is the stuff you use to pile on the damage. Launchers if unblocked will launch (duh!) your opponent into the air where you can follow them with a quick tap U and attack them for more hits with an air combo. Marrow's launcher is D+HP. Use these combined with OTGs to carve great chunks out of the opponents life meter. Snapbacks enable your character to forcibly remove an enemy character from the match (only temporarily though). It requires one level of the super meter and is done with a QCF and an assist button. The opponent fly's off the screen and is replaced by another (probably corresponding to the assist button used). Note this is blockable and, quite frankly, not worth wasting one super meter on. The only reason I can think of for using this is to keep the same opponent in the game when they are low on life. Hyper Combos, Team Hyper Combos and Delayed Hyper Combos are all explained together under Super Moves below. What are Supers? That's just my name for Hyper Combos. I think it came from waaaay back, when I used to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo (Gees, what a name!). Simple Moves ------------ Jab Punch: LP Standing- Extends her fist out. Good for fakeouts and combos. Crouching- Much the same except crouching. Jumping- Her fist sticks out slightly angled downwards. Strong Punch: (only in combos) Standing- Sarah switches hands and does a slash. Crouching- Jumping- Fierce Punch: HP Standing- She does a big slash that reminds me of Wolverine's FP. Crouching- Her Launcher. A two handed slash upwards. Good recovery if blocked. Jumping- Swings down with both hands. Not much range but this hits hard! Short Kick: LK Standing- A quick kick Crouching- Another quick kick only lower. Not much different. Jumping- Forward Kick: (only in combos) Standing- A quick knee to the groin. Fast but seems to have less range than the short kick. Crouching- While crouching, she sticks her leg upwards at 45 degrees. This also has problems connecting due to range. Jumping- Roundhouse Kick: HK Standing- Does a quick somersault kick. Crouching- Spins around on the spot and sweeps low with both her legs. Good speed and good range. A solid move to use. Jumping- Does a quick somersault ending with her leg stuck out horizontally. This isn't that fast as the somersault takes a bit of time. Throws: F+HP Fierce Punch- Grabs the opponent with one hand and quickly grows a nasty looking bone gauntlet on the other. Ka-Pow! Can also be done in the air. Special Moves ------------- Bone-erang: QCF+P A boomerang projectile. She throws one of her bones but it doesn't return to you like a normal boomerang. Instead it hangs around at 3/4 of the screen for 2 seconds and can keep hitting your foe, letting you creep up to attack. Most people see it coming so use it for block damage, zoning and general harassment. Can be done in the air. The LP version swings out horizontally. The HP version curves upwards a little when standing on the ground and curves downwards when thrown in mid-air. I think this move was inspired by Jedah from the Darkstalkers universe. Towering Spine: ZF+P Sarah crouches over and lets rip with bone spikes out of her back. An impressive but basic anti-air move. Watch out for the noticeable lag at the end. Dashers like Wolverine and Cammy can and will take advantage of this. Ride & Slash: HCB+P She says something like 'Gimmie a ride' rather loudly and does a quick jump. Its pretty hard to connect as the jump forward goes a fixed short distance. If it connects with the enemy she sits on their shoulders and slashes their face. Looks very cool but is easy to see coming and even easier to block (unless its a crossup). Best done in the air. Ricochet Slash: QCB+K She leaps back and propels herself off the wall into a lunge like Vega of SF2 (I don't care what anybody out there thinks. To me, Vega is the clawed Spaniard and Bison is the boss). This is a quick move that can often hit your opponent unawares. Just don't get predictable with it. Super Moves ----------- I think most of you know what Supers and Team Supers are from previous games. Each character has their own Supers. Team supers are done pressing both assist buttons but only one or two characters will do the super if there is only one or two levels of the super meter fully charged. Delayed Supers is the same thing... with a slight twist. Whilst in the middle of a Super you can cancel it into another super from one of your partners. This can be done again to string three supers in a row. Just do the second or third characters super during the current one, it sorts itself out. I don't know what the use of this is yet when you can do a Team Super. Maybe its a safer way to switch characters. Maybe it does more damage. In all cases, they look pretty damn stylish. Stinger Bones: QCF+PP Sarah really outdoes herself and launches whole strings of razor sharp vertebrae at her opponent. A solid way to finish a combo. Bone Buster: QCB+PP Dozens of knives spring out of her back and home in on your opponent. This can be done in the air and is an ideal way to finish an air combo but only if your fast enough to connect it. I find it easier to do it right on top of an opponent and make crossup blocking a nightmare! ============= V. Combomania ============= Now here's the fun part! I find there are four parts to my typical combo; the jump in, ground combos, air combos and combo finishers. The names are pretty self explanatory but its best if I describe how they link up. The usual sequence is the Jump in, Ground combo, Launcher, Air combo and finally a combo finisher. Note the combo doesn't have to end here (This is where OTGs come in), nor does it have to follow this order. For example, the jump in is optional. You could just as easily dash it and start with a ground combo. Also as easily, you can skip the launched air combo and go straight into the finisher. All parts can work on their own. It up you to piece together your favourite combos. My personal favourites usually involve OTGs. Jump ins -------- 1) LP, LP 2) LP, LK 3) LK, LK 4) LP, LK, LP 5) LP, LK, LK 6) LP, LK, LP, LK Generally any two or three weak attacks as you come down. From here, you can go to any of the other three parts. Strong attacks can be used towards the end but they will push or knock the opponent down. Either way you can't continue the combo. Ground Combos ------------- Ground combos are pretty much like your jump ins, two or three weak attacks with one exception, you can also do crouching attacks. From here, you can go to air combos or a combo finisher. Note that you must be very close to connect all four weak hits (the last standing LK will be very short ranged). Air Combos ---------- 1) LP, LK, LP, LK 2) LP, LK, LP This is where the real magic happens. To link a ground combo into an air combo you must use her launcher. If they're already airborne pull off one these right there and then. There really is only one air combo series but you can take off the last one or two hits if you find it hard connecting the Ride & Slash or Bone buster as a combo finisher. Combo Finishers --------------- 1) HP 2) HK 3) Ride & Slash (HCB+P) 4) Stinger Bones (QCF+PP) 5) Bone Buster (QCB+PP) Combo finishers are just heavy attacks, special moves or supers that knock the opponent away so you can't combo further. The Ride & Slash and the Bone Buster are hard to connect in air combos and almost impossible to do in ground combos. To connect them after air combos, I like to pause for a second with a double jump and then crossup with them. Though not technically a combo I find it easier and more reliable. The Ride & Slash however, will connect straight after a launcher. Jeffrey Ryoko Tani submitted this air combo sequence: After the launcher, LP, LK, LP, pause, LP, LK, U, LP, LK, LP, LK, Bone Buster. I think this is quite a difficult combo. Most of the time I miss the last part after the double jump but I have connected the whole thing at least twice. The pause is very small, only long enough to start comboing her LP again. Try doing this after a launched OTG or in a crossup assist. ========================== VI. Quirks and Other Stuff ========================== Animations ---------- Opening: Marrow takes a peek from under a manhole cover and then pops out of the sewers. The manhole cover flips away and rolls to a stop at the opponents feet, the manhole itself mysteriously disappears and Marrow falls into a low fighting stance not unlike Spiderman. Win pose: 1) She stands facing away from the screen. Over her shoulder, you can see an evil glint in her eye. 2) With a flick of her wrist a dagger flys out towards the players, cracking the 'screen' in the process. Losing to time out: Disgusted, she turns away and chucks one of her bone daggers into the ground. Assists & Team Supers --------------------- Projectile Type (Alpha): Bone-erang / Bone Buster Anti-Air Type (Beta): Towering Spine / Bone Buster Expansion Type (Gamma): Ricochet Slash / Stinger Bones My favourite assist would have to be her expansion one. It sweeps across the screen making it a sure hit on ground opponents and doesn't linger on screen long enough to eat an opponent's super like her other assists. Costume Colours --------------- LP: Green LK: Blue HP: Lavender HK: Light Green A1: Grey A2: Purple ============= VII. Strategy ============= There are heaps of very different characters in MvC2 and there is no single tactic I can give to defeat all of them with the same degree of success. For example, Jin is a counter player with very high priority moves and won't beaten with the same tactics used on a poker like Gambit. Marrow can be a difficult character to start with. Her main feature is the odd trajectories her moves have. Unfortunately, this means she has no single move or tactic that beginners can reliably fall back against if they ever find themselves in trouble. Take the offensive. Although she isn't as effective at this tactic as characters like Spiderman or Jill, stay in the opponents face and don't let up. You have heaps of small and large combos at your disposal, use them. Poke high and low. Infinite helpers are available. Dash or jump in for combos. Throw in a few Bone-erangs and Ricochet Slashes. Mix it up. Keep the opponent guessing where the next attack will come from. If everything goes as planned you'll never need to play defensive. But everyone at some time will find a challenger better at controlling the pace of the the match than them, so I've included a few pointers. It varies by your opponent and their characters but roughly 70% of all attacks will come from the air. If you do not wish to block these, counter with her launcher, a partner assist (I find Cyclops' uppercut to be unbeatable) or even a super. Or you could simply switch to a more suitable character. Remember that nothing can substitute for knowledge and experience of your opponent's strengths, weaknesses and tactics. Abyss Strategy -------------- Never use assists against Abyss (projectile assists against the 2nd form is the only exception). You can use Marrow's supers against all Abyss' forms relatively safely but I like to save them up for a team super finish against the 3rd form. 1st Form: The armoured form is a pushover. Get up close and personal to do small combos. When he winds up for an attack, block (duh!) and hit him again while he recovers. You can jump over to the other side of him and unload a few more hits as he slowly turns around. In no time you'll get to the... 2nd Form: The green slime form has one very, VERY itchy trigger finger. He utilises all manner of projectile attacks from flame-throwers to lasers to big bubbles of goo! Stay airborne and away. Continually throw Bone-erangs at him. You can try a Ricochet Slash or two but it can be pretty hard to get past the flame-thrower. Whenever he disappears into the ground he's going to launch those bubbles. Jump, try to stay airborne and attack the bubbles. Even if the bubbles trap you he can't really hit you with anything up there. As with the 1st form, this one is real slow to turn around so if you ever find yourself facing his back, combo him before he gets you in his sights. When you defeat him you reach the final form. 3rd Form: The big red beast. If you have been stocking up your super meter, this is easy. Just pile the damage onto Abyss with supers (I've seen Iron Man defeat this form with four Ion Cannons, nothing else). If you haven't, this part can get quite lengthy. Most important, you must block or you will get hammered. I know it may be difficult but learn to anticipate Abyss' attacks. The only time you can get solid hits on him is before he attacks. Combo him and block the attacks. Secondly, not only can you hit his beast form but also that funny ball that's sometimes floating in mid air. Against this form it doesn't pay to turtle all day. You simply won't get the chance to hit him afterwards. Neither is it good to be overly offensive because you're gonna get slammed in all directions. That's about it! Congrats on finishing the game but it seems Capcom weren't bothered to create 52 individual endings for each character (I wouldn't! Would you?). ================= VIII. Final Words ================= Acknowledgments --------------- Thanks to CJayC for being the legend he is. Apologies to you (you were right about the Bone-erang). A pat on the back for Marvel and Capcom. Keep the games coming. I stand in awe of all you guys and girls out there who have ever written a game FAQ. I now have a better idea on how long these things take to get right. Most of all, a big thank you to Lucas Chang for being so good but not having the guts to write his own FAQ, he made me do it. Now I'm famous and you're not! Thanks to Matt McD for suggestions on assists and combos. Also, thanks to Jeffrey Ryoko Tani for the double jump combo. If you want your 5 minutes of fame, help me fill out or correct this FAQ. If I haven't already got it, I'll give the credit to you, honest! For all you math geniuses out there ----------------------------------- From 56 characters, with 3 assists each to chose from, there is a total of 168 different assists in the game. There are 27720 different combinations of teams with 27 combinations of assists for each team making a total of 748440 different combinations of teams and assists. 768398400 different 2 player team matchups, 560162433600 if you include assist variations. Anyone want to hazard a guess at how many different team supers there are? Remember that most characters have the same super for at least two of their assist choices and the fact that team supers don't always involve 3 characters. From my calculations there are 299466 of them (but don't trust me, work them out for yourself). Legal Stuff ----------- Feel free to download or print this FAQ but get my permission first if you wish to post or distribute it or any part of it. Do not use any part of this FAQ for making profit. You got it free, everybody else should as well. This is my work, so give me credit for it. In other words this FAQ is copyright 2000 Adrian Au. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is copyright 2000 by Capcom. Marrow and all other characters are registered trademarks of their respective companies of Marvel Comics and Capcom Entertainment. Contacting Me ------------- Suggestions, additions and corrections are always welcome. You should know this by now but I can be reached at cerebrate@spacewar.com. Only contact me in regards to MvC2 or this FAQ but I will not send updates of this FAQ to any mailing list. Get it from www.gamefaqs.com. My latest updates will always be posted there. Permission has been given to , and to post this FAQ. Not bad for my first FAQ. Now get out there and slay the opposition!