People born before the age of online patches on consoles will never know how bad some multiplayer games could be. Nowadays, if a game is broken, it can be fixed, but back then, what you got was non-negotiable.
Anyone who suffered under the tyranny of Meta Knight in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Oddjob in GoldenEye 007, or even Ned Flanders in Simpsons Wrestling will know just how unfair a video game can be.
One of the most brutally unbalanced fighting games of all time is making its return in 2024 after its reveal during the June Nintendo Direct, as Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is coming out as part of the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. When it does, a new generation of gamers can learn the meaning of pain.
Cable is the beam spam monster from your worst nightmares
Cable was a hugely popular character in the nineties comics, especially following his appearance in the X-Men cartoon, but fighting game fans aren’t so fond of him.
The Marvel vs. Capcom games are known for their beam-spamming characters, with Cyclops being a prominent offender, but Cable is the worst of them.
Cable is notorious for his Viper Beam, Hyper Viper Beam, and its aerial equivalents. Viper Beam has very little startup, fills up a good chunk of the screen, and is really easy to pull off.
Cable players in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, are notorious for spamming Viper Beams, especially the aerial one, as it’s great for annihilating players who aren’t clued in on the mechanics.
Once word gets out about how good Cable is with little teaching time, then he’s going to become incredibly popular (and annoying) in Marvel vs. Capcom 2’s new online modes.
Cable isn’t even the most overpowered character
Cable might be a nightmare, but he’s not even the strongest character in the game. He’s considered the fourth-strongest, behind Storm, Magneto, and the Sentinel.
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The problem with the other top-ranking X-Men characters is that they take much more time to master. Magneto and Storm can pull off impressive infinites, but that requires knowledge of the game’s systems to use effectively. The Sentinel has an amazing arsenal of moves, though its size means a canny player can abuse its hurtbox.
Cable takes little effort to learn and even the best characters (like the Sentinel) can struggle against his beam spam. This is what makes him so frustrating and why he will likely see a lot of play in Marvel vs. Capcom 2’s new online mode.
It helps that Cable’s a cool character who has been given a lot of attention in recent years through different TV shows and movies. The fact that you can master him with little effort is just the icing on the cake.
It’s not Marvel vs. Capcom 2 without a wildly unbalanced roster
The official Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics website has confirmed that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will have some changes, as some flashing effects have been toned down.
However, no gameplay alterations or balance changes have been mentioned. This would be the perfect time to tweak the heroes, in order to tone down the top four characters and bring up some of the weaker ones, especially Capcom characters.
But, do Marvel vs. Capcom fans really want that?
The Marvel vs. Capcom franchise is all about flashiness and pulling off impressive moves. It’s not Street Fighter or Tekken, where game balance can make or break its competitive scene.
Fans have waited a long time for a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 remaster on modern systems, and they want the classic experience. If the developers want to rebalance the game, their efforts are better spent making a brand-new title, rather than messing with a classic.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 fans are ecstatic that the game is returning, Hyper Viper Beam and all. It’s just the new players who have to learn to experience the agony of what Cable can pull off with very little effort.