Marvel vs Capcom 3: Hsien-Ko Reveal

Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is one of my most anticipated games of 2011.  I was really hype with the game after noticing that Dante (My favorite CAPCOM character of my favorite game of all time, Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening) was fighting Dead Pool in a bar on the extended Episode 1 Trailer.

However, when a “leaked” list came out saying that it was a possibility that my second favorite character, Hsien-Ko (Lei Lei) had an opportunity to make it in as well.  The possibility of  her being in made me wait with tingling anticipation but.. that wait is finally over.  The Chinese hopping ghost has officially joined the fray.

Hsien-Ko’s real name in Japan is “Lei-Lei“, which was changed during her English adaption here in America.  She was transformed by magic, becoming a Chinese hopping ghost (or vampire).  She’s a Dark Hunter, meaning that she hunts the Dark Stalkers and isn’t actually one of them (such as Donovan and Bulleta; who also goes by the name of B.B. Hood in Marvel vs Capcom 2).

Also, she has a twin sister named Lin-Lin (Mei-Ling in the English adaptation) and they fight to release their mother’s soul which is trapped in the darkness.  Essentially, Lei-Lei is the body, and the paper on her forehead (The ward) is her sister controlling her; Lei takes the roll of the body, Lin is the mind.  Without the sister, Lei loses a vast majority of her powers, and the ability to even control them.

The two obtained this form after using a sub-division of the Tensei-no-Jutsu technique; successfully transforming them into a jiangshi, which is a type of Chinese Zombie (In real life, they are said to be demonic possession of recently deceased corpse, possess a terrifying appearance, and do not possess will or thought.  More can be found here).

Their purpose is actually fulfilled, they save their mother, and are reincarnated with her wishes as infants.  They end up becoming Dark Stalkers again, and fighting to get back to Earth Realm.  This happens after the twins have the same dream after their 16th birthdays, effectively falling into comas and having their souls beckoned into the Dark Realm.

(Be sure to check out This Page for more information about Hsien-Ko).

She seems to have the majority of the same moves she possessed in the Dark Stalkers series, such as Cyclone Blade Dance (0:22) or her Phantom Reverb (0:40).  Her sister is actually the paper-ward on her head, but it seems as though she unleashes some of her power when she releases her mind and takes the form beside her during her Super at (0:44), but I could be mistaken. Also, she was a character that excelled at controlling space in Dark Stalkers due to her wide assortment of weaponry; in this game it seems she has the same characteristics (I even noticed she can throw projectiles to actually stun you, 0:31).

Though it appears as though she lacks mobility (she’s seen hopping in here, and has a slow “air walk” [0:33] instead of a dash), she seems to be a zoning character, and may be an anti-zoning character, so there’s really no need for it.   I’ve noticed that Hsien-Ko can produce two Phantom Reverbs (0:40), this may not seem like a big deal, but these things counter projectiles.  With this simple fact in mind, those who rely on projectiles, such as Arthur, may be at an extreme disadvantage when they have to go up against our undead zombie girl (Check this out!).  From what I can tell, it also appears as though her Cyclone Blade Dance will be hard to punish from how she swings back and forth (maybe projectile based characters, and particular hypers will punish a whiffed CBD easily), and even appears to cross-up, and can be combo’d (0:36), though I wonder if this works on smaller characters, like Amaterasu.

Everyone was again questioning the rumor list; just like originally on Super Street Fighter IV.  It’s a bit tough to believe someone you don’t know in telling you something that you wish to be true, we are all skeptical.  Super Street Fighter IV fit into the rumor list perfectly, well, so did Marvel vs Capcom 3; though, I believe there are two differences with this and I believe that CAPCOM was genuinely upset this time around, as it wasn’t intentional in the least.

With SSFIV, I believe that there was no set characters as of yet.  I believe that one rumor  list got particularly popular, and CAPCOM used that to feed off the hype and based their characters off that one person’s list (lucky guy, right?).  Well, I believe with Marvel vs Capcom 3, they had legal goings with Marvel and their own characters, so they actually had to make a pre-determined list beforehand that was out of their control. Someone internally leaked that information and they tried to cover it up (Check out my blog Here that talks about this), but ultimately, they failed as the inevitability of the character reveals showed that we can “believe the hype”.

I think that we should keep our eyes and ears open further, as it shows that CAPCOM is unable to keep things private, which doesn’t effect their hype, but it does show that their integrity as a company is fairly weak.  Then again, this may just be something they do intentionally to build hype, such as the leaks of Oni and Evil Ryu in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.  They may do something to give us a little tease, evaluate our responses, and make changes and future decisions according to the response of their fan base and consumers.

All I’m saying is, if it seems like it’s true and we are getting repeated evidence, do not deny the power of the rumor list, and do not expect CAPCOM to be above “technicalities” when speaking on who is in or out of the game, and expect them to flat out lie if necessary.  We all learn in due time if they are or aren’t, but their track record right now is against them in this department now.

With the inclusion of Lei-Lei; my Marvel vs Capcom 3 Team has now reached it’s completion. Team “RoK the Reaper” now consisting of: Dormmamu, Hsien-Ko, and Dante (in that order).  With the final characters revealed, I am happy with the roster, only because I got some people I can work with (Though, the only characters I wanted that didn’t make the cut were: Emma Frost from Marvel, and Cammy White from CAPCOM).

This game won’t be as fast as Marvel vs Capcom 2, I’m still worried about how broken Sentinel is going to be (view his trailer Here) even worse, is in that trailer he is right in the middle between Storm and Magneto, the former Gods of that game.  However, new game, new balancing, and I’m hoping I can fair well against the competition.