Before I start my next batch of impressions of the the cast of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 I just want to throw couple of things out there:
Keep in mind that it has been publicly stated that some pretty significant balance changes have been made throughout this games preview life. Please resist the impulse to get out the torches and pitchforks if there are moves/attributes/features I mention here that aren't in the retail version of the game. I am basing my opinions and observations off of play experience and footage that spans several different builds of the game.
Going forward, I am going to do my best to include video to give you all some reference for the observations I am making, partially so you all don't think I am full of shit, and also so you all can have access to lots of great MvC3 footage as there is ALOT of it out there. That all said, lets jump back into it!
Amaterasu
If you read my entire list of impressions, you will hear me say the following a lot: Capcom really went all out to have characters from their different properties bring their game's unique flavor into a fighting game seamlessly. I have always felt that even characters from other fighting games have felt watered down and out of their element when coming to the Marvel related games. When I heard they were putting in characters like Arthur, Amaterasu and Viewtiful Joe I was excited, but worried. My concern was that they would just throw them in, give them a move or two related to their game and leave them to rot. I could not have been more wrong and Ammy is possibly the best example of Capcom's success in this regard.
From just a presentation standpoint, Amaterasu (Ammy) is a complete triumph. It truly feels as if they pulled her right out of Okami, trimmed off a few moves that weren't relevant to fighting games and then just added a thing or two to make sure she had all the necessary tools to play correctly in her new context. Some examples are in order:
Her air dash actually animates with hand drawn looking floral vine that shoots out from her and pulls her to her destination. This is a move pulled directly from Okami.
She has a HC that slows time down on screen while she continues to move normaly. Again, this is an actual ability she had in Okami and here, the same exact full screen "mist" filter is used along with the 4 kanji symbols appearing on screen.
Her basic attack strings use nearly the identical animations to her basic attack combo in Okami.
Her screen filling HC that blasts the opponent with fire, ice and lightning uses the exact fire, ice and lightning effects from Okami. Its so strikingly different from the rest of the game's aesthetics but in a really invigorating way. Each elemental flourish is accompanied by a musical cue that is also pulled right from Okami's original musical score. Its like a 5 second clip from Okami just happens on your screen. Its so unbelievably awesome!
Ammy shows off her elemental Hyper Combo for us twice!
Keep in mind that it has been publicly stated that some pretty significant balance changes have been made throughout this games preview life. Please resist the impulse to get out the torches and pitchforks if there are moves/attributes/features I mention here that aren't in the retail version of the game. I am basing my opinions and observations off of play experience and footage that spans several different builds of the game.
Going forward, I am going to do my best to include video to give you all some reference for the observations I am making, partially so you all don't think I am full of shit, and also so you all can have access to lots of great MvC3 footage as there is ALOT of it out there. That all said, lets jump back into it!
Amaterasu
If you read my entire list of impressions, you will hear me say the following a lot: Capcom really went all out to have characters from their different properties bring their game's unique flavor into a fighting game seamlessly. I have always felt that even characters from other fighting games have felt watered down and out of their element when coming to the Marvel related games. When I heard they were putting in characters like Arthur, Amaterasu and Viewtiful Joe I was excited, but worried. My concern was that they would just throw them in, give them a move or two related to their game and leave them to rot. I could not have been more wrong and Ammy is possibly the best example of Capcom's success in this regard.
From just a presentation standpoint, Amaterasu (Ammy) is a complete triumph. It truly feels as if they pulled her right out of Okami, trimmed off a few moves that weren't relevant to fighting games and then just added a thing or two to make sure she had all the necessary tools to play correctly in her new context. Some examples are in order:
Her air dash actually animates with hand drawn looking floral vine that shoots out from her and pulls her to her destination. This is a move pulled directly from Okami.
She has a HC that slows time down on screen while she continues to move normaly. Again, this is an actual ability she had in Okami and here, the same exact full screen "mist" filter is used along with the 4 kanji symbols appearing on screen.
Her basic attack strings use nearly the identical animations to her basic attack combo in Okami.
Her screen filling HC that blasts the opponent with fire, ice and lightning uses the exact fire, ice and lightning effects from Okami. Its so strikingly different from the rest of the game's aesthetics but in a really invigorating way. Each elemental flourish is accompanied by a musical cue that is also pulled right from Okami's original musical score. Its like a 5 second clip from Okami just happens on your screen. Its so unbelievably awesome!
Ammy shows off her elemental Hyper Combo for us twice!
I could really go on and on with more examples of how Capcom pulled in tons of presentation elements from Okami to make Ammy come to life, but I dont want to ramble on for a whole page here. Besides, I am happy to say that just as much time was spent on making Ammy play well as went into making her look good.
Ammy is a very versatile character who already seems to be popular in a wide variety of teams. Whether as an ssist, on point, keep away or rushdown, you can find a reason to include her and it will never feel like a wasted slot.
As an assist her most popular option is her Cold Star where she appears in the air behind the player and shots a series of about 6-7 ice projectiles downward at a 45 degree angle. It does great chip damage and locks down the opponent FOREVER on hit or block. Like "Doom rocks" before it, this assist is so good, it makes her worth reserving a spot on your team no matter what your strategy.
Tapping down twice and hitting one of the three attack buttons equips Ammy with different weapons, each of which is pulled straight from her game. Each endows her with different moves suited to different styles of play. Though I have heard it can be difficult to do, you can apparently switch equips mid combo to try to get creative, but no one has really cracked how to make truly effective use of this just yet. Even if that ends up being a dead end, the fact that she can switch stances to suit a particular style of play makes her extremely malleable to the play style you are going for.
She has really sick damage potential it seems, due to this one particular attack string that Worst Gief Ever of NeoEmpire found that does crazy damage on its own even without any fancy DHC/X-factor/assist shenanigans tacked on. Once people start building around it, Ammy is going to be a damage dealing god! Check it out:
That DAMAGE......
In that same video you also get a look at her suite of defensive moves. Those floating papers look great for covering a retreat and just controlling space. Those reflect/counter barriers are going to make people think twice about how they attack a skilled Ammy user too.
Overall, it's clear that once players start putting all these pieces together Ammy is going to be a real force. She really is going to please Okami fans as well as fighting game fans whether they be casual or competitive.
Well this ended up being a big one so thats all for now. Check back for at least 2 more character profiles tommorow!
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