The "vs." series is the offspring of the Street Fighter engine. It pits the fighters of the Capcom world against those of the Marvel comics. In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom has decided to stick with the old fighting game formula. The control is an updated version of the Street Fighter system.

Essentially, the layout offers a number of different buttons, ranging from weak to strong attacks. The special moves can be performed by combining a joystick movement with an attack button. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is different in that it only utilizes four buttons rather than six. The middle attack is now accessed by chaining a weak hit with a strong. The change is a concession to the structure of the Dreamcast controller.

The "vs." series is also home to the team battle structure. In it, you get to choose a couple of fighters to battle on your side. By hitting a tag button, the warriors can be brought into the fight at any time. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the first of the series to include three-on-three tag battles. The game is also unusual in the number of selectable characters.

In the beginning, the player can choose from 24 different fighters, including the ever-popular Ryu. After earning a certain number of bonus points, a new character will enter into the game. In total, 56 fighters can be unlocked. The newcomers range from Cable, the leader of X-Force, to Jill Valentine of Resident Evil fame.

The team battles open up a whole new kind of fighting game. The player can mix the strengths of his teammates in search of the perfect combination. In the beginning of a fight, the player gets to choose an assist attack. At any time, the move can be accessed by pressing the two strong buttons at one time. Upon doing so, the chosen teammate will enter the battle and toss out an attack.

In addition, when a character is on the sidelines, he/she will slowly regain their health. This adds more strategy to the slugfest, with each player trying to keep his team at maximum power. The team members can also combine a number of moves, leading to some large multi-hit combos. Finally, each team also possesses a combo super move, in which the three members combine their most destructive attack.

As with almost every Dreamcast game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 supports the VMU memory card. In addition, the Arcade Stick can be used in place of the traditional controller.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast, 2000)