See also:
* [[AwesomeMusic/CapcomVs Awesome Music - Capcom vs.]]
* [[GameBreaker/CapcomVs Game Breaker - Capcom vs.]]
* [[Memes/CapcomVs Memetic Mutation - Capcom vs.]]
----
* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: If you played a drinking game for each and every time somebody picked one or two of the "Four Gods" (Storm, Magneto, Sentinel, and Cable) with Psylocke, Captain Commando, Doctor Doom, Strider Hiryu, or Cyclops on {{assist|Character}}, you'd have died of alcohol poisoning a long time ago. For more casual gamers, add Juggernaut and Tron on assist.
* ContestedSequel: While several fans of the series consider ''[=MvC2=]'' to be the best incarnation of the game so far, a good portion of fans, specifically those put off by the game's difficulty and seeming imbalance, prefer the older entries or ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]''.
* CultClassic: It may be an asset flip in many areas and a poorly balanced glitchfest in others, but it's undeniable that this is one of the most important fighting games ever made in terms of the community it inspired, and the impact it has had on [[MediaNotes/FightingGameCommunity the FGC]] at large is still felt to this day. EVO 2020 -- before its unfortunate cancellation -- even announced the return of this game as part of its lineup because ''[=MvC2=]'' had reached its 20-year anniversary, which says a ton about how beloved this game is if people can still get hype for it over two decades later. Plus, [[CoolVersusAwesome it's]] [[MemeticMutation Mahvel, baby!]]
* DesignatedHero: This game has the subtitle ''New Age of '''Heroes''''', and includes [[CardCarryingVillain M. Bison]], [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Shadaloo-era Cammy]], [[BloodKnight Akuma]], [[PsychoForHire B.B. Hood]], [[MadScientist Tron Bonne]], [[AdorableEvilMinions Servbot]], [[MagnificentBastard Doctor Doom]], [[OmnicidalManiac Thanos]], [[KnightTemplar Magneto]], [[TheBrute Juggernaut]], [[KillerRobot Sentinel]], Spiral, Silver Samurai, [[RenegadeRussian Omega Red]], [[AxCrazy Sabretooth]], [[EldritchAbomination Shuma-Gorath]], [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Blackheart]], and [[AntiHero Venom]]. That said, they could have meant the old-school definition of hero.
* EpilepticTrees: A Website/{{YouTube}}r named Baberuthless has story ideas on the (potential) lore on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcEIw9OEPH4 the game's stages]].
* FandomRivalry:
** The ''[=MvC2=]'' fandom is at odds with the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' one when it comes to arguing which game has the best TournamentPlay scene that keeps their respective console (Platform/SegaDreamcast and Platform/NintendoGameCube) alive and kicking outside of the usual scopes of RetroGaming years after release, which became HilariousInHindsight when Ryu became a GuestFighter via DLC in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Smash 4]]''.
** To an extent, also with fans of ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium'', especially when it comes to arguing which is the best entry in the ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVs Vs.]]'' series. Generally speaking, most members of the FGC [[FriendlyFandoms are fine with both games]] (given their ties to ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' and how their differing approaches to team battles ultimately complement one another), but expect more ardent fans of ''[=CvS2=]'' to voice the opinion that ''[=MvC2=]'' [[HypeBacklash is overrated]] and/or ''[=CvS2=]'' is underrated.
* FanNickname:
** The competitive scene uses nicknames for several commonly used teams. Aside from acronym names (such as MSP for the team of Magneto/Storm/Psylocke) some of them include "Santhrax" (Sentinel/Storm/Captain Commando, named after competitive player Sanford), "{{Scrub}}" (Cable/Sentinel/Captain Commando), "Matrix" (Storm/Sentinel/Cyclops) and "[=Clockw0rk=]" (Sentinel/Strider/Doom, after another player of said name).
** They also coined the [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] OCV ('''O'''ne '''C'''haracter '''V'''ictory), which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a CurbstompBattle with only one character. It's even an achievement in the XBLA version to win 50 full battles like this.
** Cable, Magneto, Sentinel, and Storm are collectively referred to as the "Four Gods," since they are considered [[GameBreaker so much stronger than everyone else]] to the point of being [[CharacterTiers God Tier]].
*** Iron Man is labelled as an honorary "fifth God" due to his own strength being nearly on par with the others, and often has the nickname "Magneto Jr." attached to him as he can fulfill a roughly similar role to said character. It helps that Iron Man become associated with a [[ClusterFBomb particularly]] [[NoIndoorVoice quotable]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpYdEjvAg3k 2011 video]] detailing how to peform his infinite.
** M. Bison's white costume (carried over from ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter'') gained the nickname "The Milkman."
** Bone Claw Wolverine is called Bonerine to differentiate him from the more iconic version with metal claws (who is the SecretCharacter in this case).
** Captain Commando has earned the derogatory nickname of "Captain Suckass", because while he is one of the most widely used characters in the game, it's solely for [[ThatOneAttack his Captain Corridor Assist]] and [[CripplingOverspecialization he's considered mediocre at best otherwise]]. This leads to a lot of players just giving up if he's their last active character.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: While all of the previous ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' games reused assets from previous ones, this is really the entry where Creator/{{Capcom}} finally said "Screw it" and went all out to include as many recycled character sprites as possible. At the time, nobody really minded, as it helped the game become a DreamMatchGame, but Capcom's persistent reuse of sprites and later, 3D character models, would become one of the biggest complaints about their fighting games. This ultimately came to a head in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'', which was heavily critcized for the massive number of reused assets from [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 the previous game]].
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** [[CombatTentacles For some strange reason]], Shuma-Gorath is popular in Japan.
** ''Marvel vs. Capcom 2'' in general has a much larger competitive scene in America than in Japan. This is justified, since half of the cast was from [[Creator/MarvelComics American comic books]] and that was one of the reasons why Capcom decided to create ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'', so Japanese players can have something they can relate to. In fact, in the game's home country of Japan, it has nowhere nearly as big of a legacy or positive reception as it does in the West, and the game's lack of balance also put the nail in the coffin. The West was largely unaware of how much of a meme ''[=MvC2=]'' was (and, by extension, the entire series) until a then-unknown Japanese player named Kusoru [[https://web.archive.org/web/20201114050436/https://shoryuken.com/2012/03/06/kusoru-ultimate-marvel-vs-capcom-3-and-the-mentality-of-kusoge-players-in-japan/ won Final Round XV in 2012]] with a ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 UMvC3]]'' team that was largely considered awful, with [[http://romancancel.blogspot.com/2012/03/kusoru-wins-umvc3-at-final-round-xv.html a related blog post]] explaining that ''[=MvC2=]'' and other tag team fighters like it (e.g. ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'') are largely considered ''kusoge'' (shitty games) in, at best, a SoBadItsGood manner that nobody takes seriously and, at worst, a BileFascination manner.
** Played straight in the Philippines as well, where the game still sees regular play in the arcades, even with [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 its sequel]] already available. Retrospectives from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5iEz_-GUGs players in the scene back then]] acknowledge it was due to the decision made by arcade managers who intentionally lowered the damage settings for the game to make matches last longer to appease gamers who wanted to make their money worth it, which triggered similar decisions from competing arcade chains. Not only did it trigger massive interest in ''[=MvC2=]'', but it also birthed a meta unique to the Philippines due to the higher frequency for time-out wins, although many of these quirks were later phased out when arcades started disappearing and the scene began adapting the international settings.
** The Platform/PlayStation2 port became extremely popular in Latin America during [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]]. This is because the console saw rampant amounts of piracy and bootleg copies in the region at the time, making the game much more accessible to a wider audience.
* GoodBadBugs: This game was so poorly put together (one porting team stated that its code was held together with "string and glue") that glitches became an integral part of competitive play. This lead to a unique situation where the competitive game is still growing even decades later since glitches can lead to new strategies and tactics that are countered by even more glitches.
** One very noticeable non-gameplay one pertains to the fact that Captain America's render in the intro and results screen always faces the opposite direction of his teammates.
** If Juggernaut has his Cyttorak Power-Up activated when he is switched out, the game never takes away his damage boost, thus making its properties permanent.
** Perform Venom's "Venom Web" Hyper Combo and immediately cancel it with B.B. Hood's "Beautiful Memories" Hyper while the opponent is in a webbed state. If the character attacked loses the last of their health from the second Hyper Combo, they will be able to move around and attack unless they get attacked once.
*** Adding attacks from other characters (such as Ruby Heart and M. Bison) can result in the defeated character permanently laying on screen for the rest of the game.
** It's possible for three of Guile's Flash Kicks to get stuck on screen, which do massive damage to opponents even when blocking.
** Choose Gambit and perform a [[SwitchOutMove Snapback]] with Assist 2. Then perform a Cajun Strike towards the left wall. Gambit will fly up into the air and off the screen, completely out of reach from most characters. Only Bison and Spiral are able to attack him due to their teleports.
* HighTierScrappy: Cable is the bane of many a player annoyed by his run and gun tactics. Not to mention [[ThatOneAttack Air Hyper Viper Beam]]. Being by far the easiest to play of the "Four Gods" doesn't help (the other three, Sentinel, Storm, and Magneto, are all DifficultButAwesome to some degree and are surprisingly frequently spared from this fate as a result).
* HilariousInHindsight:
** The infamous '''[[MemeticMutation MAHVEL BAYBEE]]''' video takes a new meaning when you remember that Marvel made a deal with the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]]. Sadly, there's no Mango Sentinel for the New York Knicks in this one.
** You might think that ComicBook/{{Thanos}}' moveset in this game (slightly streamlined from his stint as the FinalBoss in ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'') is a tad silly, with him [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sVeL0UA06k throwing]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_GGJPH2ix4#t=4m52s bubbles]] and launching what looks like ''the moon'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua8I-MFbpns for his Power Gem Hyper Combo.]] [[spoiler:However, in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', those two things are way more relevant. For the bubbles, Thanos turns Star-Lord's gun and Gamora's knife into bubbles before either could kill the latter to prevent the Mad Titan from getting the Soul Stone. For the moon, Thanos uses the Infinity Gauntlet to hurl one of his home planet's moons onto Iron Man's team.]]
* LowTierLetdown: Even taking into account her JokeCharacter credentials, Roll herself ended up with weak attacks and has trouble being able to abuse them to the point of being so bad that she has her own tier ''below Bottom Tier''. Some versions of the "ratio" ruleset -- [[https://wiki.supercombo.gg/w/Marvel_vs_Capcom_2/Ratios a new set of rules]] that really took off around TheNewTwenties where you are given a point budget for your team, with characters generally costing more as they go up the tier list -- have Roll cost zero or even ''negative'' points, meaning she is seen as so crippling to a team that you are allowed to choose otherwise impossible combinations with the extra point(s) she provides just to justify picking her.
* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound:
** The AudibleSharpness of Strider Hiryu's Cypher (SCWHING!), Sentinel's fly/unfly, Doom's finger lasers and Storm's infamous "HOH!" all qualify.
** When you strike a metallic character.
** Venom's cackle upon winning a match. ''"Ha ha ha!!"''
** '''''"HYPER COMBO FINISH!"'''''
* NightmareFuel: Abyss. Dear God, '''Abyss.''' [[SequentialBoss Each form]] is more disturbing than the last -- the first is an eerily silent PoweredArmor with green horns, which ''melt when he dies'', complete with his only audible line: a [[VoiceOfTheLegion demonically echoing]] "'''''[[BigNo NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!]]'''''" His second form is a HumanoidAbomination that laughs. And laughs. And laughs. ''[[LaughingMad And. Laughs.]]'' (Even its first appearance is marked by a creepy little chuckle.) This one also melts away into the ground upon defeat, only you see a brief image of its final form's monstrous visage in the process. [[OneWingedAngel Said third form?]] A full-on EldritchAbomination made out of red, blood-like sludge, taking up half of the screen. Some of his winposes can include [[BodyHorror spontaneously]] [[MultipleHeadCase growing two additional heads]], or launching your character into the air and ''[[IAmAHumanitarian eating them up]]'' (complete with licking its lips and a knowing smirk after the act)! Even his role in the ExcusePlot is horrifying -- in that ''just his mere '''existence''' [[WalkingWasteland is killing all life]]''. His true form is that of an unsettling 3D orb with rotating runic writings on it, which goes absolutely batshit and explodes when you win.
* PolishedPort: Since the Sega NAOMI's and Sega Dreamcast's architecture is very similar, this allowed for an excellent port on the Dreamcast.
* PortingDisaster: When the Xbox version is played on the Xbox 360, the character sprites glitch a lot and there are occasional slowdowns.
* ScrappyMechanic: Unlocking characters in the Japanese [[Platform/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] version. Unlike the Western version and future ports, where you only have to worry about getting points by playing any combination of Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, Training Mode, and Score Attack over and over (albeit under [[GuideDangIt specific conditions]], as outlined [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/561477-marvel-vs-capcom-2/59076946 here]]), in the Japanese version you have three diferent sets of points: D-Points, N-Points and V-Points, with each new character requiring a certain amount of each to be bought. So where's the problem? Well, while you can get D-Points by just playing Arcade Mode, getting N-Points and V-Points is a nightmare. N-Points require you to take your VMU to an actual ''Marvel vs. Capcom 2'' arcade cabinet, connect it to a slot on the machine and beat the arcade mode to earn points, and V-Points can only be obtained by winning matches in the online mode. So, you wanna unlock all characters, colors and stages? You better have an arcade center with the game close to your house and a good internet connection. To make make matters worse, VMU support on the cabinet was a feature arcade operators had to ''opt into''. And keep in mind, this was a problem when the game came out, when arcades were common and the Dreamcast was alive. 20 years later (and counting) with ''[=MvC2=]'' cabinets nowhere to be found and [[TemporaryOnlineContent Dreamcast servers long gone]]? Yeah, you're pretty much locked away from most of the content in the game permanently.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tb0c0yb650 Clock Tower BGM music]] has some similarities with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8w8BVZv0_o Mezzoforte's "Spring Fever,"]] according to a few comments on Website/YouTube.
* TaintedByThePreview: The announcement of the official [=Arcade1Up=] cabinet at EVO 2022 disappointed fans who wanted to see the game be rereleased on modern consoles and [=PCs=] as well. While there wasn't a confirmation that the game'll never be released on another console again, the [=#FreeMvC2=] movement's goal was to see that rather than an [=Arcade1Up=] cabinet.
* ThatOneAttack:
** Cable's Air Hyper Viper Beam. No delay, insane priority, easily comboable, spammable, and chain into itself. You can basically do a massive combo just by repeating this move.
** Storm's Hail Storm is the bane of everyone's existence when she's active. It comes out fairly quickly, does a lot of damage and effectively punishes sloppy assisting. It pretty much goes without saying that to effectively combat Storm, you have to always keep your eyes open for this move.
** ''Tron Bonne's drill attack''. Comes out quickly, deals lots of hits, great range, and easily spammable. Drill, baby, drill.
** On the Assist side of things, we have Captain Commando's Captain Corridor. Comes out quickly, has insane vertical range, and is invulnerable for the first few frames of the move. No wonder he's one of the top Capcom characters chosen.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The [=PS2=] and Xbox ports; solid as they are, many competitive players dislike them due to the game having many of the small GoodBadBugs and glitches utilized in TournamentPlay being nerfed or removed outright.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: While the previous entries just handwaved the plot ([[VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter Apocalypse kidnapping mutants]] [[VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter for his plan]], [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfSuperHeroes Onslaught being formed]], and both threatening both Marvel and Capcom worlds), it at least was ''something'' to justify why everyone is fighting. Here, it's just a vague idea what's going on from ending. Namely, Ruby Heart summons the heroes and villains of Capcom and Marvel's world to help stop Abyss and... that's it. What makes this frustrating is that the last few threats were from Marvel's side, so this is the first time this is something from Capcom's end, but there's no explanation as to what Abyss is, where he came from, and what history he has with Ruby. It's until you can find [[AllThereInTheManual the Monthy Arcadia magazines published on March 2000]] that it mentions how Ruby's connected to Abyss [[spoiler:specifically after she helped an unnamed pirate group trying to raid and steal Abyss in his Armor of Erosion form]].
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Thanks to Capcom's (in)famous [[NewWorkRecycledGraphics asset reuse of character sprites]] during this era, both sides of the roster ended up reflecting this:
** On the Marvel side, the game kind of drips with the late [[TheNineties '90s]] and early [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]], with its very heavy SpotlightStealingCrossover tendencies involving the ComicBook/XMen (18/28, or two-thirds, of the Marvel roster is comprised of ''X-Men'' related characters) and the very '90s character designs. It's definitely the only time when Marrow (heavily pushed in that era, a forgotten and oft-mocked afterthought any time thereafter) would have ever been trumpeted as a major fighting game newcomer.
** On the Capcom side, ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' unsurprisingly takes up the most roster slots, with all of them being composed of the well-known and popular characters from the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' series. More disconcerting is almost all of the other characters hail from games that, were while popular in the '90s, [[FranchiseKiller are no longer actively published by Capcom]], with major exceptions being [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Jill Valentine]] (in her original ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 RE1]]'' costume no less) and VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}} (and Roll by extension).
* VindicatedByHistory:
** The Character Select music was almost always used as an example of SoundtrackDissonance by critics of the game in its early years. However, when it returned in remixed form for ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' it was met with much better reception and being seen as nostalgic by many fans.
** Similarly, there was [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a rather negative reaction]] to ''[=MvC2=]'' dropping ''all'' of the individual character themes (some of which, like Captain America and Spider-Man's, dated back all the way to ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'') for a more "generic" musical selection that was tied to the stages instead of the fighters themselves. The entire OST and its various jazzy tunes were held up as prime examples of SoundtrackDissonance for quite some time. Players would eventually come to appreciate ''[=MvC2=]''[='s=] (rather catchy) music by its own merits, especially after it was pointed out that the use of jazz in fighting games [[VideoGame/FatalFury was]] [[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting hardly]] [[Franchise/TheKingOfFighters anything]] [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear new]] -- [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} even from]] [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Capcom themselves]] (with later games like ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' and ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' either dabbling in or heavily leaning on jazz compositions to great effect), and Capcom would return to the beloved {{leitmotif}}s in the next installment.
** While ''[=MvC2=]'' has never really been received poorly (at least [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in the West]]), [[LetsPlay/TheOnlineWarrior Maximilian]] and [[UsefulNotes/FGCAces Justin Wong]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBF4v4XnZM0 discussed in August 2021]] how the NewbieBoom brought on by ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' made the game look better than the Magneto/Sentinel/Storm/Psylocke simulator a large number of people thought it was, simply by not playing the high tier characters. They also noted that smaller scenes for the game, such as the one in the Philippines, kept the game fresh by averting DefaultSettingSyndrome, with Wong specifically pointing out how all the top tier characters are legitimately awful when the damage setting is at its lowest, making for some interesting sets.