I saw someone comment "10k is not a lot, this person better LOVE UMVC3" and it got me thinking.
I don't think people realize how unique of an experience it was to be an active part of UMVC3 during it's peak player base.
Let me walk you through that life changing experience-
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During the time frame of 2011-2017, you'd be hard pressed to find a local, regional, or major that did not included UMVC3 as part of it's lineup.
The game would regularly pull top 3 in entrants and OFTEN have the most degenerate, loudest, and invested crowds of any fighting game out there.
I'm not joking, top 8 viewings would take up the whole venue, people would be standing on chairs, taking sidebets, it was kangaroo court in all the best ways.
When you first stepped into a UMVC3 local you'd immediately know and FEEL the difference from other games. This is not to knock other games, I think a lot of games from around this decade and prior really captured a lot of these similar feelings, huge in part to the fact that rollback netcode (or even good netcode) was not as prominent during these times.
We didn't have the option to have online tournaments for UMVC3 like this amazing #200 that just happened for quite some time. It was only offline, and it was only with the most dedicated of fanbases.
This game is exciting there's kids out there learning it RIGHT NOW.
"Yea Street fighter Six has kids too" ok but that game has massive support and came out 3 years ago.
There's kids playing UMVC3 that are YOUNGER THAN THE GAME HAS BEEN OUT.
Unless you find me a 2 year old Ryu prodigy, it's just not the same feeling yet that new fighting games are bringing to the table.
There's people entering this game in their 30s with kids, careers, mortages, and they can't react to Zero even less than they could when they were in their 20s but they still enter.
Maybe it's masochism but I choose to believe UMVC3 heads grew up in an environment that allowed them to find parts of themselves that maybe weren't so prevalent before finding this community.
Even now, you step into a UMVC3 tourney, the numbers won't be as large but the love is still there. New cats are always happy to teach, to chat about the game, to ask about your favorite character, how you got here, it's all just love.
I can't champion this game enough and Max knows it too, 10k isn't much but we gladly would soon find a way to pool more to make it worthwhile. Because this game has changed lives and created bonds that quite literally priceless.
This game is tough, a game that prioritized hype and fun before anything else, a buggy mess in some ways because of it but it delivered on that mission statement. If you can imagine it, it feels like you can always make it happen in this game. That's the kind of freedom individuality it brings. It truly speaks to the soul of a fighting game player and what having true freedom means to you in a game.
You should know that the love people have for this game is not fake, not fabricated, not forced, they really live and die for this shit. Don't be afraid to love your game this hard, you're not cringe, you're dope for that.
A wise man once said "IT'S MAHVEL BABY!" 🫳🎤
Some sad news we are losing one of our locals King-Raichu they are moving back to NYC, so we are making sure we are dedicating this tournament to him with a free entry of MVC2 and you wouldn't want to miss the FT10 against @bigmodilly and @KingRaichuFGC!
Memories to last a lifetime!
The final day is officially over for #MAXMODE2026 - we hope you had an amazing time and got those salty runbacks. 🧂
📸@twotoestoto
Congrats to Our Top 8 for ECS S3EP9!!! @bigmodilly taking another win for the Upstate already calling the money but almost had it taken by @DirtyLlama91
🥇bigmo
🥈 DATA| Dirty Llama
🥉 Filldoh
4th: Sushio 0'Neal
5th: @Papa_Sebb
5th: DATA|Poss_uwu
7th: CuteTacco
7th: @CountRATu
ANI-MAY Champloo GGSTRIVE Top 8! Good to see a lot of people coming back to strive maybe its time we bring it back 👀!
🥇 @ATLRiot_
🥈 @HeroKoami
🥉 Kyubert (yourf)
4th @XeonTheCow
5th HTS| SaintFarSlash
5th Dratlek
7th PowerUpPablo
7th Strict_Filter
Just a Friendly Reminder that we are less than a week from Ani-May Champloo our biggest line of Anime Fighters! We will have free pizza (so make sure you sign up early) and a alot of prizes/raffles including a Snackbox Micro! Come see us May 4th for some Anime Action!