MultiVersus is My New Favorite Platform Fighter

You likely had one of three responses to that headline: 1) How? 2) How old is this person??? 3) squinting and shaking your head. All of these are valid until you realize the context I'm coming from! You'll probably still be surprised but hopefully, you get a new perspective.

Growing up, the only Nintendo system I had was a Game Boy Advance SP (it was red). Since I was born in 1997, I have no memory of the original Super Smash Bros. on N64. I have great memories of playing Melee with my friends and family on GameCube for sure though. At that point, I had an Xbox and honestly didn't have a full grasp of how gaming really worked. I never thought of wanting Super Smash for my system, nor did I realize it wasn't even possible. When I did play, I would get confused with who I was with all the characters running, jumping, and attacking, and I didn't understand how my percentage going up was bad. Thankfully, I learned with a little help. The years went by and when Brawl was released, I would once again play only when visiting friends.

Here's where it gets complex: I remember when PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale was released and by that point, I had a PS3. But I didn't want it...because it was a "fake Smash" (I don't believe I was aware of the "Smash Clone" term yet but I think mine got the point across too and more insultingly at that) Pretty bold mindset for someone who had never owned any of the Smash games. I don’t remember if any of my friends had it but I remember seeing gameplay for it and not exactly being pulled in by it.

Fast forward to the PS4 and I was able to get Brawlhalla for free. Being older, I accepted it for what it was. I had a decent time playing it with friends but being as the roster was all original characters I can’t say I was excited about them but I remember gravitating towards a few for cosmetic reasons alone. I do remember the collabs with Street Fighter and WWE amongst others but I knew I wasn’t paying for these characters based on how much I played the game.

Fast forward again to the PS5 and the recent arrival of Multiversus. Now this, this had everything I wanted.

When Multiversus was first announced I remember being sold on the initial roster because of The Iron Giant specifically. He was so unexpected and to see the “Ultra Instinct” Shaggy meme be brought to life was the icing on the cake. This was a game that wanted to embrace fun and was clearly aware of internet culture in a good way. I signed up for the alpha and didn’t get a code myself but my friend had one so I was able to play a few days before it officially hit the online stores. Right away I found myself grasping the mechanics and using the stage, my position, and the attacks in the most calculated way. After finishing the tutorial I headed into some practice matches with my friend before venturing out into the “real world” online.

I had a blast every single match.

Not only is the game fun but the free character rotation gives players the chance to eventually use everyone and see who they want to spend coins on to unlock. Coins are relatively easy to earn through challenges and you also get some just for completing matches and a small bonus for winning but I think this payout can be increased. Still, I’ve since earned enough to unlock The Iron Giant and Garnett and am sitting on about 4,500 coins, so it's time to decide if I want to get Batman or Harley Quinn. The Caped Crusader is my favorite superhero in general but I truly enjoy using Harley more in this game.

I really love this game. I’m learning to use characters based on their class, enjoying the music on the stages, developing strategies, and most of all–having fun. It took over a decade but I now have a platform fighter I can truly latch on to. I look forward to seeing what characters and stages continue to be added; to getting the battle pass and earning more cosmetics to truly personalize my experience like my ringout animation. Since I know what I’m doing for sure at this point, I look forward to anything and everything my favorite platform fighter has in store for me.

P.S. I’m a Wonder Woman and Garnet main but using Superman’s air-up special to get a ringout is satisfying every time.

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