Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is not only worthy as the long-awaited sequel to the excellent first two Ultimate Alliance games, but also an excellent successor to the X-Men Legends series that is at the core of its DNA. Though I wish there were character-specific dialogue and better alternate costumes, the breadth of content, exciting and creative combat, and sheer passion for all things Marvel makes Ultimate Alliance 3 a Switch essential.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Developer: Koei Tecmo, Team Ninja
Price: $60
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
First thing’s first: I’ve complained for a few years now about every Marvel game choosing to exclude the X-Men and Fantastic 4, or even mentions of them, because of behind-the-scenes movie rights issues. I said I’d bring it up as a negative in every game that features the wider Marvel universe until it was fixed, and I did. So now I’m here to cap off that promise, as Ultimate Alliance 3 features characters and settings from all corners of the Marvel universe. A ton of X-Men are playable, the Fantastic 4 are coming as DLC, and the Xavier Mansion is the setting for a whole chapter of the game. I couldn’t be happier about Marvel finally letting some of their best characters come out to play, as it makes Ultimate Alliance 3 feel like a truly complete celebration of Marvel and its entire legacy. So, kudos to Marvel, Koei Tecmo, Nintendo, and everyone else involved in what will be the beginning of a new age of Marvel games.
The story of Ultimate Alliance 3 will be somewhat familiar to anyone who’s seen any of the recent Marvel films. The Mad Titan Thanos and his “children”, The Black Order, are looking for the six all-powerful Infinity Stones. It’s more complicated than that though, as Ultimate Alliance 3 is largely inspired by the Marvel Comics iterations of these characters and their stories, with only light influence being taken from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thanos seeks to impress the embodiment of Death, rather than wipe out half of all people for “philosophical” reasons. The Black Order even features Supergiant, a member who was cut from the films. If you’ve been frustrated with the MCU’s major influence on Marvel games and comics recently, then Ultimate Alliance 3 is the perfect game for you.
“It’s a minor thing to mention, but introducing characters to casual Marvel fans is a great way to expand their horizons while giving dedicated fans some of their lesser-known favorites. “
The story bounces around many of the Marvel Universe’s most iconic locations. From Wakanda to Attilan to Xavier’s Mansion, all corners of the Marvel universe are explored. Non-playable characters from these places show up as well, though some of them seem as though they should be playable. Vision, Cyclops, Colossus, and Valkyrie seem as though they were cut at the last minute, though as is the case with Cyclops and Colossus, these characters could come in the form as free DLC in the future.
One small thing I’m very happy to see in Ultimate Alliance 3 is its commitment to carrying on the series tradition of including obscure characters to introduce to new audiences. The original Ultimate Alliance had Blade (who most people didn’t know was a Marvel character), Ultimate Alliance 2 had Songbird, and Ultimate Alliance 3 has Elsa Bloodstone, the charming monster-hunter. It’s a minor thing to mention, but introducing characters to casual Marvel fans is a great way to expand their horizons while giving dedicated fans some of their lesser-known favorites. I remember being thrilled about seeing Deadpool in the original Ultimate Alliance when he was such an obscure character at the time, so I’m glad others will get that feeling again.
The gameplay of Ultimate Alliance 3 is quite similar to the gameplay of previous Ultimate Alliance games, striking a mix between an action-RPG and a beat ’em up; something like Diablo. Each character has vastly different attacks and movement options, all fitting their respective characters. My favorite addition has to be Synergy attacks, which happen when two or more members of your party use special attacks together to deal extra damage. For example, Star-Lord can shoot a tornado from his element guns, which could then be set on fire by Dr. Strange. It sells the “team-up” feeling of Ultimate Alliance 3, as all these heroes and villains are making enormous explosions while yelling goofy quotes.
The story is a decent length, but there’s also “Infinity” mode for those who prefer specific challenges. Infinity mode provides you with missions that have set conditions or teams, which reward you with items, EXP, and even alternate costumes. While the difficulty of these challenges can feel a bit steep at times, you can always come back when you’re over-leveled to plow through them if you find them too challenging.
“The alternate costumes in Ultimate Alliance 3 are unfortunately rather underwhelming, as they all amount to simple palette swaps.“
My two major disappointments with Ultimate Alliance 3 come from its alternate costumes and lack of unique character dialogue. In previous Ultimate Alliance games, characters who have a history with one another would reference this with special dialogue. If you fought Scorpion with Spider-Man on your team, the two of them would have some banter about their antagonistic relationship that spices up the story’s dialogue. In Ultimate Alliance 3, you have one blanket response, no matter what character you talk to and no matter who you play as. It’s strange to talk to Jessica Jones as Luke Cage (who are married to each other, I’ll add), only to have Jessica say ‘I’ve got Luke on my speed-dial if anything goes wrong” to his face. It feels a bit lazy, as specific dialogue can make the game’s world feel more connected, all while giving comic book fans a nice wink.
The alternate costumes in Ultimate Alliance 3 are unfortunately rather underwhelming, as they all amount to simple palette swaps. Most of the costumes don’t feel like references to anything, which makes earning them feel like a chore. I’ve read that free actual costumes will be added as free DLC in the future, but not having them in the game at launch is a big disappointment. The first Ultimate Alliance was especially good with its costumes, which were all taken from comics and films, and gave you stat boosts in addition to greatly changing your character’s appearance.
The voice acting of Ultimate Alliance 3 deserves a mention for how fantastic it is. I thought Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite had some wonky voice-work, as have some of the recent Marvel cartoons, but Ultimate Alliance 3 uses a lot of the best voice actors that some of these characters have ever had. Yuri Lowenthal returns as Spider-Man after his stellar performance in Spider-Man PS4, Wolverine is once again voiced by the legendary Steve Blum (who I could never imagine a replacement for), and Nolan North continues to be the best voice for Deadpool.
The Final Word
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is an incredible game that should be considered a Switch essential. It has exciting and unique gameplay, plenty of content, and an endless amount of passion for all of Marvel comics. I wish the dialogue and alternate costumes received as much attention as they did in previous Ultimate Alliance games, but otherwise, Ultimate Alliance 3 lives up to its legendary predecessors in pretty much every way.
MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
