A Flawed but Satisfying Sequel | Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Retrospective Review

After completing the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 Retrospective, I was eager to continue on with its sequel; Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2! In this retrospective, I go over some of the history behind it's development, discuss its differences from the first game (both good and bad), and how I think it fared overall. The Marvel Ultimate Alliance series is one of my all-time favorite franchises and we have a lot to discuss for this second game, so I hope you'll join me in revisiting Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.
Always Nerdy is a KZbin channel dedicated to all things nerdy and Marvel, with a focus on Marvel Gaming properties such as Marvel's Avengers and the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series.
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MUA1 Retrospective:
• Marvel Ultimate Allian...

[@themegatonmenace1224]

Seeing Carnage standing with the heroes during the speech made me laugh.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

I enjoyed that a lot too lol

[@tyronjasonhuff]

Same fam...good times

[@UnlimitedProduction1]

Lol right one of Marvel's biggest murderers

[@vwin9112]

oh the cheesy irony later on.

[@Zenslayer666]

"Dont mind me, im just plotting how im gonna dismember each of you as painful and bloody as possible... Cheers!"

[@BaithNa]

I was playing this game over the weekend and thought to myself "its pretty dumb that the game built around mixing and matching characters would be bogged down by a civil war that splits the roster in half"

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Do you think you would have preferred the Galactus storyline set up by the previous game instead?

[@BaithNa]

@@alwaysnerdyretros Probably. I agree with your points about Nano Nick fury too. He's a very rushed and forced villain and He's a horrible secret unlockable because that means we can never play with the regular Fury

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

@@BaithNa Ok I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels that way! It’s especially upsetting when you see normal Nick Fury as an AI teammate during the beginning of the game 😢

[@qman2061]

@@alwaysnerdyretros Yup. I feel with a bit more time the game could have loads of more content

[@titaniumcranium3755]

@@qman2061 agreed. The first game everyone had 4 costumes (except moonknight who had 3) that weren't pallet swaps

[@robbayern529]

It always bothered me that Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic basically turn the Villians into a slave army and no one has a problem with it.

[@phabiorules]

I guess the writer did that because he thought no one would side with cap, so it was his way of trying to make it more morally gray. The problem was that a lot of people understood cap's perspective, so it just made iron man the bad guys.

[@keelanbarron928]

@@phabiorules wait, why would they think that no one would side with cap?

[@mr.frenzy7304]

@@keelanbarron928 because he's boring

[@KaiKrimson56]

@@keelanbarron928 Iron Man has a robot suit. That makes him more interesting to me then Cap.

[@julianx2rl]

To be fair, imagine if someone killed a relative of yours. Would you feel any sympathy towards that person if they were turned into a puppet? Personally I'd like that person to be dead period, but killing their minds its the next best thing, at least their bodies can be useful.

[@destronlaserwave9566]

Fun fact, apparently as an April Fools joke, Aunt May was announced as a character for the game. This game is my childhood. While I will admit it is very flawed, the 1st game and its sequel got me into Marvel. Hell without it I probably wouldn't know who Deadpool or Penance was. Edit: also I love Venom and Deadpool's voice in this game.

[@dr.calibrations7984]

Aunt May and her rolling pin of JUSTICE is beyond Galactus.

[@jasong6367]

Venom just sounds really funny when he dies

[@jakobthedragonboy]

wanna hear something cool: Deadpools Voice Actor in this is actually someone pretty Low-Key famous, John Kassir AKA the F--k Mothering *CRYPT KEEPER* from tales from the crypt as well as The Atom in the 90's JLA pilot.

[@denistuohy2535]

Yeah Marvel Ultimate Alliance is by far the biggest reason for Deadpool becoming popular and put into the mainstream

[@Shakiahjprod]

@@denistuohy2535 Which is crazy, that's how I found out about him and so did my little brothers 😂

[@Ivan-xk4uy]

I will 8/10 go for anti-registration, it’s more than just the characters you get, but I personally believe in cap’s side.

[@Nanocide_9]

same

[@usayeed727]

100%

[@eliefosso7215]

Preach

[@CasehBaltehmoe]

I mean Iron Man becomes a govt cop & hero fascist so it’s kind of one sided

[@Seasonal-Shadow_4674]

I never got to beat the game last-Gen though knew all what happened, hopefully it’s not too late to go back and play it and beat it still

[@jordanscott4543]

I really appreciated how bosses had animations when you punched rather than just being static whenever you hit them like in the first one.

[@eziospaghettiauditore8369]

Yup

[@Christian-gr3gu]

Yeah that was annoying

[@xavierbrown5189]

One thing UA2 took away that was in UA1 are those comic book side missions. I really enjoyed having to go through those missions with your solo hero

[@idkwhattoputhere-4007]

I didn’t played UA1 but I think the game is called Ultimate *alliance* for something the point of the game was to played with friends or in my case I played with my brother so it wouldn’t make sense to have some solo missions

[@nathanduncan672]

@@idkwhattoputhere-4007 Some people would play solo with one hero for the challenge

[@sinanaldulaymi4103]

@@idkwhattoputhere-4007 Well if you had played UA1, you would've known that even if you were playing the solo missions, they had multiplayer support. One player played the hero while the other played the enemies and it was honestly sometimes more fun to try out being the enemies and experiencing how they play

[@Montesama314]

I love how the insane serial killer Carnage is standing quietly on stage instead of slaughtering and devouring everyone in sight.

[@lordpaps2270]

Seeing Wolverine slaughtering folks next to Cap and Peter in those cutscenes is the funniest thing😂

[@Ellie-dj3kr]

Reed was SUCH a disappointment to me in this story arc. His whole reasoning to side with the SRA in order to protect Susan was just so... drastic. I love that they gave Susan a voice line to say against Reed when you choose anti-reg cause she was very very disappointed in him after he sided with the bill. But I love these! 10/10 Nerdy :D

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you! I liked that she had different perspectives on reed depending on the side you chose too. I may have only got recordings of her on the pro reg side with Reed, but I prefer their conflict on opposite sides

[@M64bros]

@@alwaysnerdyretros I agree with you. This video you put together was very magnificent. I remember playing the first ultimate alliance game back when I was in middle school at a youth center and it was very fun. I loved your video as well It was very nostalgic to me. 👍

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

@@M64bros thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment :)

[@M64bros]

@@alwaysnerdyretros My pleasure

[@osirisatot19]

I always thought this was funny in this game and in the comics, its like Sue finally realized what a dick Reed can be; of course him and Hank Pym would take Tony's side.

[@TkPhoenix17]

I remember the devs of this game saying they only did 1 additional costume for budget reasons. They said they could do multiple low-quality skins or 1 high-quality skin.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Oh really? I hadn’t seen that. It would definitely make sense though. I guess I would prefer the 1 high quality skin over multiple poor ones too

[@qman2061]

@@alwaysnerdyretros Maybe if they had more time we could have both

[@someonewhocommentsonyoutub3779]

I've thought about this a lot over the years, but I think the big reason this game didn't resonate with players as much as the first comes down to one thing: Players feeling like they're less free to choose. In the first game you felt so free to play the game how you wanted. A big roster that equally shows off the different corners of the Marvel Universe (at the time) to the point where when replaying the game years later, I had such a hard time choosing who to play as at any given moment because the entire roster was so solid. We had way more costumes to choose from, with said costumes offering stat bonuses unique to that costume. We had dozens of different abilities per character to mix and match to our hearts' content, and unique gear items to further enhance the stats of our choosing. But what do we get for the sequel? A slightly smaller roster that yeah admittedly covers the main bases as far as Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four but no interesting wild cards like Blade or Moon Knight, which mainly stems from them building the roster to fit the story instead of the other way around. We only get one alternate costume per character, with no unique bonuses, we're stuck with the same four abilities for each character instead of being able to build them the way we see fit. Whether the dev team intended it to come off this way or not, the game sends the message that we have to play it the way *they* want us to play it, not how we want to play.

[@mr.iiconic]

Plus a lot of the characters were locked for the majority because of the civil war thing. Though I will disagree on saying that this game doesn't have any wild cards. I was pleasantly surprised to see underrated comic characters like penance or songbird, especially songbird because she is so awesome, featured.

[@logandutton4324]

The funny thing is I also had the PS2 version of this game at one point as well as for the PS3, and it actually had Blade in it. That was the very first time I even saw him. I believe it also had Psylocke as a freebie in there too. 👍

[@Yungbratha]

@@logandutton4324 Blade was in UA1 as well. It was so many characters that you could find or rescue that would join the roster. I had my all black team for a while on UA1. Storm, Luke Cage, Blade, and either Black Panther or the Black Nick Fury(which was a costume option awesomely!) You just didn’t have much to explore and find and look for in the 2nd one.

[@logandutton4324]

@@Yungbratha Interesting. 👌

[@diegotm4365]

Agreed

[@abelchavez2463]

The Avengers game wishes it could be as good as ultimate alliance

[@jimink3047]

Fax lol. I was so close to buying it a couple days ago but I said fuck it and bought ua2 instead. My childhood game. (Along w skate 3 lol) this game is just so damn good. I need to play the 1st one. Never had it but played it a few times. Any good?

[@thedecipher346]

@@jimink3047 Its very good and in my opinion its better than the second one.

[@GeesGurger]

I mean it looks like marvels avengers is going in a good direction rn especially with the new black panther dlc which has no reused assets at all and it has a longer campaign than before

[@jimink3047]

@@GeesGurger yeah. They had such a bad launch for Star Wars Bf2 and they made the dlc free basically. And that’s like the biggest comeback in gaming. Marvel has the opportunity to have that big comeback if they make some characters free. Idk what the game is like. I don’t have it. And I don’t plan on getting it if I have to pay for all this shit to play as some characters. I’ll stick with ultimate alliance and X-men legends

[@GeesGurger]

@@jimink3047 All the characters are free so are the dlc expansions, but if you ever did want to get the game I’d get it if it was on sale because it’s not worth $60

[@theohobo]

“I doubt that things will ever be how they used to be.” “No, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be good again.” Well holy crap if that doesn’t relate to how the world is right now I don’t know what does

[@darrellgardner4561]

If I remember right, about the costumes, the developer basically said "instead of getting 4 generic alternate costumes, you get one really high quality one" or something along those lines. Basically 4 "low effort" costumes or 1 high quality. Personally I don't remember UA1 costumes being bad, and they were more than color swaps for the most part. UA2 costumes are ok, just not terribly exciting. Also, the gear system probably would have worked better if medals buff the team, while still having gear for individual characters.

[@devonogrady4515]

The costumes in MUA1 were a lot less detailed because of the graphical limitations, so I'm assuming that's what they meant by "low quality"

[@teddyj9482]

I’m 100% anti-registration. My biggest issue concerning the registration isn’t the act itself but the attitudes of the civilians responsible for it. While, yes, the New Warriors were careless and irresponsible, it was the villains who made the decision that killed thousands of lives. Blaming the heroes for the actions of the villains, for me, turns the issue from a “freedom vs security” viewpoint to a “freedom vs convenience” one.

[@mr.iiconic]

I'm anti reg as well, but the fault does also rest of the New Warriors even if it's mostly on Nitro. The idea of registration is that the new warriors and heroes on their level shouldn't legally be able to take on threats like Nitro who can kill on such a large scale, which i get even if I'm against registration

[@darknessknows1235]

tbh if not for the criminal acts of the Reg side I'd probably be with them, looking at it from a civilian side. But tbf, it's not exactly unheard of for normal people to blame "authority" police figures just doing their job, even if a lot of it in irl generally is their fault.

[@teddyj9482]

@@darknessknows1235 you’re right, and that’s makes it even more frustrating.

[@amadeusagripino6862]

I'm 100% anti registration because I'm always 100% against government. If there's government, I'm against.

[@StrifeSoul990]

I agree with Strange honestly. Both sides are right and wrong. There needs to be accountability. But also super heros are heros. They save people and the world and deserve a bit of trust. There isn't a correct side. Cap sees this in the end too when he surrenders after seeing how lost him and Tony become.

[@BlackPrince24]

31:27 Seeing Carnage there while Tony makes his speech is hilarious knowing what Carnage is xD

[@edwardpat4252]

No One: Stan Lee:..... “You Hero’s are okay in my book...”

[@icarusgaming6269]

Imagine being controlled by the symbiote and the nanites fighting for dominance

[@kahendimurphy6236]

Like how😂😂😂😂?

[@mikeval1525]

Simple, they made nanites for the symbiotic as well. Drugs that weaken a symbiote‘s will exist in the marvel universe.

[@Bobbybillybillbob]

For suck a shitty movie, it surprises me just how good Origins Wolverine the game was! Between the battle damaged clothes, growing battle damage in Logan and overall 8mproved story for the film!

[@Insanity1121]

I actually read in a Game Informer interview with the developers that the reason for the lack of costumes in 2 is primarily due to the graphics. Since 2 was primarily developed for the HD 360 and PS3, each individual model for characters cost more time and money. I think lack of budget from Activision might've also compounded into the more lackluster cutscenes. Loved the review btw.

[@cerromeceo]

Or just laziness

[@aryan7767]

@@cerromeceo dude game devs are anything but lazy. theyre exploited like crazy, working overtime. they gotta prioritize

[@cerromeceo]

@@aryan7767 naw they just lazy

[@WowSuchGaming2009]

@@cerromeceo agree they was just lazy

[@WowSuchGaming2009]

@@aryan7767 still not a excuse

[@Cobalt-Blue22.]

11:21 Man... I sure do miss Stan Lee. A TRUE KING OF CAMEOS. Excelsior!

[@roryscott2941]

One thing I liked about about MUA 1 that I don't think happened in the sequel (it's been years so forgive me if I'm wrong) was the little side missions and choices that had huge impacts on the universe. If you don't save a computer the Legacy Virus runs rampant, save Senator Kelly and he has a change of heart on mutants. It didn't effect the gameplay but I remember feeling guilty when I missed a few

[@addex1236]

Theres something sweetly grandfather like to Stan Lee's Reasoning that's is just so sweet

[@CoolPotatoe]

I really thought Galactus was going to bring the heroes together after the Civil War section. Instead we got nanites....

[@amadeusagripino6862]

@@NeightrixPrime 100%. And what's worse, government evilness is bankrolled with money they steal from me and you.

[@Redhead-pf8le]

If you talk to Thor at the beginning of the game, he says he beat Galactus offscreen

[@Theendman42]

If Raven Software made Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, it would have been amazing. I love the first one for the original story, and I LOVED X-Men Origins Wolverine the video game. I played that so many times and the combat was extremely awesome, as well as Wolverine's healing factor and his shirt getting dynamically damaged through gameplay.

[@freedoggos6036]

I love how there's two separate cutscenes where lady Deathstrike gets absolutely CLOCKED

[@TheFrickinRican]

This is the kinda shit i watch at 3 am while eating shredded cheese by the handful. I love the hell out of the first two, but never saw or heard anything about the third, would you ever cover it?

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Yeah I’m working on a retrospective for it now actually. I have a lot of old videos on MUA3 too, but the retrospective will be the most recent

[@TheFrickinRican]

@@alwaysnerdyretros oh shit! Nice!

[@brianlegrand9825]

If you're thinking about getting a switch MUA3 is worth it. It goes back to the MUA1 style game play

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

@Alexander Capanov yes definitely! I never got to play web of shadows so I’m anxious to try it out. I’d like to start getting into spider-man games sooner rather than later, but idk when exactly just yet

[@jimink3047]

@@brianlegrand9825 I played it. I didn’t really care for it because it’s an old game feel with great graphics. I just wish the avengers game would have all the damn avengers or they make a marvel game. Where there are different stories and online gameplay like hero’s vs villians n shit and they could have a story on each team like X-men avengers fan 4 etc

[@selinarose6922]

I love this game so much(I hope MUA4 goes back to a similar form of storytelling with all the unique dialogue and such)

[@fertilebeef802]

MUA4 should be multi-platform, especially PC.

[@Seasonal-Shadow_4674]

@@fertilebeef802 aight we riot if that doesn’t happen

[@fertilebeef802]

@@Seasonal-Shadow_4674 I’ll supply the torches.

[@Seasonal-Shadow_4674]

@@fertilebeef802 I actually never got to beat the MUA’s on last Gen and kept forgetting to get around to them. Hopefully it ain’t too late to go back and play in future

[@adrianblissett375]

And camera angles.

[@blue_ex3852]

I remember riding my bike all the way to Walmart to purchase this game and being so excited to play it. Good times

[@thomasraines1396]

@Alexander Capanov what movie?

[@blue_ex3852]

@Alexander Capanov the invincible iron man ?

[@thomasraines1396]

@Alexander Capanov what was it called?

[@Ivan-xk4uy]

I love this game, especially the art style and civil war aspect

[@Popcornnugget]

Yea that’s why this game is unique it has that rough and Batman kinda art style

[@JohnRodriguez-ng4pj]

I remember the graphics used to be "real life"

[@aftertheworld451]

That Stan Lee quote hit me so fucking hard. Being a real superhero means never turning bad. God rest that man's soul.

[@pjretherford8994]

After you beat the game and talk to stan lee using deadpool he'll ask why is there 2 of him there

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Oh really? I’ll have to try that out now 😆

[@therandomartist3201]

What I really love is: SPOILERS After defeating the final boss in new game plus you can play as him in his boss form and it feels grand to use.

[@jamall7003]

I loved Penance so much just cause i thought he was so out of place in the game but also because of his awesome abilities.

[@TheAlexrider860]

Man i wish the remasters were still available Ive wanted to replay this for years

[@timothyoconnell7638]

Yeah :-/ I didn’t even know they did a remaster

[@mr.iiconic]

@02JR Swag Activision lost the publishing rights and cannot legally sell the game anymore.

[@tylermatthew349]

Suck they won’t make this no more

[@agiammarco94]

My biggest issues with this game (other than the subpar story and cinematics) it's the fact that the game about the ultimate alliance is a game about that alliance spliiting up. Now that also deals with how I'm not a fan of the civil war story in general

[@IvanTheSaint]

I remember I HATED Maria Hill when I was a kid because of this game 😂

[@CaptainCretaceous91]

Ditto

[@jakeriese4862]

Me too. I'm glad mcu made her likeable

[@FerLuna-br4cq]

​Now she's dead lmao ​@@jakeriese4862

[@DunDunDuuuuuum]

I know those comment old but when the movie adaptation was released I was expecting Maria Hill to have a bigger role and basically become like this character but im happy that didn’t happen

[@DunDunDuuuuuum]

I know those comment old but when the movie adaptation was released I was expecting Maria Hill to have a bigger role and basically become like this character but im happy that didn’t happen

[@FullThrottlePod]

I didnt even realize this was a new upload. I've been watching so many of your videos I just assumed KZbin was recommending me more of your videos.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Hahaha 😂 Good timing! Thanks for checking it out btw

[@helpiatemytoaster]

My childhood.

[@LuisRamos-ir5tq]

You made me understand the story line so much more this game is really good I might replay it later

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you and you definitely should! The gameplay is still really enjoyable

[@parrishharris3008]

Me to 😍

[@jakeriese4862]

@@alwaysnerdyretros is Namirita who attacked Nitro the same one as who helps Namor in Alantis

[@themegatonmenace1224]

I like mua 2 less than the original. The 3 biggest reasons are having to unlock Hulk and Thor, the civil war being to short, and Nanite Nick Fury.

[@swedishking3222]

the whole nanite thing sucked

[@thespectaculargamernerd8114]

Nanite Nick Fury is the worst final boss of the trilogy.

[@waltt69]

Sadly the X-Men legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games were far more enjoyable than the more recent versions of this type of game like Gotham Knights and Marvel's Avengers.

[@sins_of_paradise5575]

I loved this game but my biggest problem was how short it was and the fact that I missed some of my main characters from the first game like doctor strange, ghost rider, moon knight and colossus

[@danieldlinton3773]

ur vids makes me wanna start playing marvel games again. haha great job, hope ur having a blessed day.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Hahah you should! Have a blessed day yourself and thank you for commenting

[@Cereal_Booty]

I like how a psycho path is standing as a hero lmao next to Iron man during his speech.

[@CruelPizza213]

I wouldn’t necessarily say that Cap’s ending is a what if scenario, the hero registration act was eventually repealed, it’s just that in game it’s a lot earlier.

[@fertilebeef802]

It’s unfortunate that this game’s remaster (as well as the first game’s remaster) were overpriced and then taken off the marketplaces. But I’m glad I grabbed them when I did. I remember playing both games a lot as a kid, and even to this day I still play these games often. The gameplay is nothing special, but it’s nostalgic and definitely can be immersive if you let it. Solid review for a solid game!

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you! I remember feeling the same way when it released. Definitely felt overpriced for what they gave, but I’m glad I eventually fell to the temptation lol.

[@troymack8205]

SAME!!! I was watching a youtuber do a play through review and once he mentioned a re-released upscaled mua1 and 2, within 10 seconds of the beginning I ran to the market place on xbox and bought them as I missed out the first time on the carnage dlc for mua2. Glad I did as they removed them again from the market place...so happy I capitalize on the opportunity!!

[@ZIGM1NT]

I was able to get the games a couple months ago

[@troymack8205]

@@ZIGM1NT Then you got yourself a good piece of marvel gaming. I prefer playing mua1 over mua2 but I'm having a blast with mua3 just the grind is real though.

[@JordyElNino21]

wish I knew ab the opportunity 🥲 really have been wanting to play these games lately

[@Kal-Grayskull]

I really loved playing this game, whilst 2006's Civil War isn't one of my favourite events I sure do enjoy playing Role-Playing games and having different characters on my team. Probably my favourite part was unlocking Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts.

[@GiantButterKnife]

I'm digging this look back on these games. Even though it's not an old game, I think it would be interesting to see your take on Ultimate Alliance 3, just to round out the series. In the same vein, I'd love to see more content made about the X-Men Legends games. I played both of them so much when they came out.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you for the suggestions! I’m actually working on mua3 now so that’ll be the next one up. Right now I’m thinking Marvel Nemesis will follow that and then maybe X-men Legends 1. I love the legends games too so I definitely plan on getting to them soon!

[@vzwalker]

Man... I'll forever love this game and ill never care what anyone says, not only did this game get me into videogames as my first videogame ever but also got me into marvel as a whole. I really wanna play it again soon because I haven't played it in years and I'm just so upset that I can't buy it for PS4 online atleast in my area. I played this game so much and completed it so many times I lost count and I discovered so many other things each time I played, I may have never played the first game or the third but this is the game that made me have the dreams and interests I have today and I'll forever love it with all my heart and Ill never ever in a million years forget it. ❤️

[@martywood482]

I agree, I felt the scale of the story just wasn't as interesting as the one in the first game.

[@kyletandy2509]

It's really disappointing that there are characters that show up in game that you can't be play as such as war machine, she hulk etc.

[@jdredalert]

As someone that never played MUA2, it was a nice and funny surprise when Mr. President started taking and Metal Gear Solid's Roy Campbell voice came out of his mouth.

[@darkhawk189]

For anyone wondering about Galactus, Thor mentioned that he had prevented him from coming to Earth but didn't go into detail about how, only tells the player it's a story he will tell another time.

[@jackychang9148]

It was mentioned in the video.

[@darkhawk189]

@@jackychang9148 you commented

[@cbake76]

I've only had time to watch five minutes so far, but as someone whose name is in the credits, I look forward to checking out the rest! Loved how you showed the actual comic panels along with the onscreen actions. I actually wanted them to be more on the nose with the dialogue, but Vicarious Visions (rightly) pointed out that the changes they made were better for the purpose of actual spoken dialogue. I like your theory for why the FUSION was dropped. I can't say for sure not being at Activision, but I think they dropped it simply to simplify the title. I don't know when I'll have a chance to watch more, but I look forward to when I do.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Oh wow I wasn’t aware you had a hand in the game! I’d be very interested to hear more of your insights! I’m sure you’d be able to answer some of the “whys” to decisions that were made in the game.

[@cbake76]

I'm actually NOT sure I'll know the answers. 😀 But I'll let you know if I do (and so long as I'm not breaking an NDA).

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

@@cbake76 oh yes definitely respect the NDA! Can I ask what your role was on the game?

[@cbake76]

@@alwaysnerdyretros Finally was able to watch the rest! Great work! Not a ton to relay, but these did occur to me: 39:49: The part about Skrulls in the ticker was a direct nod to Secret Invasion, which was in the works during this game's development and is the "true" point of reconciliation in the comics. There was a brief push to get Vicarious Visions to do Secret Invasion instead of their nanite story, but it just wasn't practical for the production schedule. That reminds me: I didn't see it, but there's also a ticker nod to "the Galactus crisis" -- an indication that the tease at the end of MUA1 happened in between MUA1 and MUA2. (Totally forgot about the Thor line!) It wasn't "leaving the door open for a third game," though -- it was simply an acknowledgement that probably meant nothing unless you happened to beat and MUA1 and remember the stinger. Civil War was HOT at the time, and there was a lot of passion in adapting it. (In retrospect, it would have been cool if they had done Galactus instead of nanites, though...) For what it's worth, I don't recall ANY criticism about not being a Galactus story at the time. The reason there were fewer costumes was because the developers felt that having one costume that looks better than the three in MUA1 (which I agree they do -- sounds like you don't? 😀) was more important. It took more resources to create them. I look forward to seeing similar pieces on other games I may have worked on... 😀

[@cbake76]

Oh! Also worth noting... The Marvel Pinball table for Civil War is even more comics-accurate than MUA2, with lots of "talky" Cap/Iron Man scenes adapted word for word. Check it out sometime if you're up for it...

[@LightningCayo]

I’m sorry but during Iron Man’s ending, having Carnage by his side and saying “we heroes” got me laughing

[@GothicXlightning]

i do have respect for all the MUA despite their endless flaws but Nothing, NOTHING can ever compare with X-MEN LEGENDS 1 and 2 i play them almost every day still this date and yes it is such CRIME to humanity that Legends 3 haven't happened yet ACTIVISION showed they can do real great games back in those days

[@mattvolonte9026]

Agreed! Legends 1 has the better story-driven gameplay along with the feeling of beign a part of the X-Men. Legends 2 was super rushed but still has one of the best playable versions of Magneto and Juggernaut, along with the more replayability of the entire saga. MUA1 is really good too with lots of variety, different characters and the plot was interesting... But come on Marvel, get the mutants some love! It's ironic that in most versions of MUA it's impossible to make an "X-Men team" even when they were who started the franchise lol

[@mattvolonte9026]

@The King Channel It would be awesome! But I personally think the original creators should be involved (Raven Software), otherwise some of the quality is just not gonna be there.

[@mr.iiconic]

To me it's XML2 > MUA > XML > MUA 2 > MUA 3

[@davantebarbain3216]

I think if anything they should've kept with the original ending to how civil war ended and basically set up a series of games like literally in marvel comics we went from the disassemble era,new avengers era,civil war era,registration era,secret war era ,dark reigns era, and the new age if heros era they literally could've made ultimate alliance one of the best superhero coop game series ever

[@parrishharris3008]

Yessssssss they could've

[@qman2061]

@@parrishharris3008 But they didn't :(

[@ferghalicious1480]

31:31 Iron Man: From now on, our alliance will be forged in trust, not in fear or force. Carnage: 🙂

[@cs4215_]

I played both mua 1 and 2 with my dad as a kid, and I loved them so much, they’re what got me into marvel as a whole, mua 1 solidified moon knight as my favorite marvel character ever. So when a third was announced I was beyond excited, and even with its flaws I still enjoyed playing through and feeling the mua nostalgia. I’d definitely say the second was my favorite and I loved being venom and just chucking enemies off the map. overall definitely my favorite game series of all time

[@andrewmendez2460]

Goddamn it bothered me so much how Reed Richards gets away with causing this whole shit just cause he was part of the pro-registration side.

[@rodanandme]

yeah i remember Reed being my least favorite character in this game, he really rubbed me the wrong way

[@theitfactorjameswheezer2852]

@@rodanandme Maria hill sucked in this too

[@garyjaggernauth3188]

By far far far and away my favorite and the best “multiplayer” Marvel game

[@alexandreaparecido1343]

I would love to see a Marvel Nemesis Retrospective Review, I used to play that game so much during my childhood

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

I did the same! It definitely had some charming qualities. I think that’ll be the second retrospective I do after MUA3

[@aaronvirdee5813]

Marvel Nemesis was one of my favourite PS2 games. The finishers were brutal... "RRRRRGHHHHARRRGH!!!! RARGH!!RARGH!! RARGH!! RRRAAAAARRRGH!!!! I tried to be nice" - Wolverine

[@ruhsaanjones4750]

" Now you see me..now you don't ".

[@fertilebeef802]

The main theme of that game is forever ingrained into my mind because I played it so much.

[@dgameskidHD]

Man, I have so many fond memories of playing this game. Most of them derive from the fact that this was one of the few games I could play with my family. We didn’t play the first one nearly as much, hell I’m not even sure if we ever finished that game. But this was an interesting look at a favourite from my childhood and brought up several great memories, and now I want to play the games again. Great video man!

[@tylerlima7943]

you make some quality content my friend

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

I appreciate you saying that 😃

[@faherty87]

Hulk stood around for a press conference?... CARNAGE WAS AT THE PRESS CONDFERENCE?!

[@Rhysthewiggler]

I think the boss fight was underwhelming was because nothing was building it up. Like fury just shows up out of nowhere and then you defeat him after 1 fight. Also the game felt super short for me, I couldn’t believe it actually ended when it did because it took me about 2 afternoons

[@burnummaster]

I think it was intentionally not too long because it's assumed you'll play through both sides

[@iamyourhusband1757]

This video is perfect, as someone who played UA2 at around 10. Seeing how deep the comic relation is amazing, i loved this game and it makes me appreciate how far they went lore wise connecting all the dots and character arcs.

[@kellymccabe9154]

It baffled my mind as a kid, and I'm still blown away that they decided to adapt Civil War for this. They took a game that was entirely built on the premise of mixing and matching your favourite heroes and travelling to locations that run the depth and breadth of the Marvel Universe, and decided to focus on a story that splits the roster up and keeps them grounded in the states. We also lose out on great characters like Blade, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Silver Surfer, since they don't belong here, and get smaller characters like Penance and Songbird. The fact that the game diverges from the story of Civil War is clearly the team wanting to let you mixup all your characters. I think Civil War was just a flat out bad story for the kind of game this is. A Civil War fighting game would be awesome. Doesn't work here. (The fact that they dropped the Fusion title because it doesn't fit the story is kind of the perfect example. If you don't think 'Fusion' is a good title for your game because the heroes are split up, maybe the story doesn't suit a game called 'Ultimate Alliance') This game should have just been a story about Galactus attacking, which would force heroes and villains to work together.

[@WowSuchGaming2009]

Agree especially since at the end of marvel ultimate alliance galactus was going to get revenge

[@kellymccabe9154]

@@WowSuchGaming2009 Exactly! Was such a perfect set up to force the heroes and villains to team up. Plus, we could have gone to even more planets and alternate dimensions, looking for allies and weapons to battle Galactus. I enjoyed MUA2 well enough, cause it was still an isometric ARPG with Marvel characters. But it still feels like a letdown after the cosmic level events and story set up from 1.

[@WowSuchGaming2009]

@@kellymccabe9154 true

[@ChattGM]

@@kellymccabe9154 a reason for heroes and villains to team up? Yeah you're onto something there. They already laid the groundwork having Carnage, Green Goblin and Venom as playable characters in MUA2 so I wonder if that was the original idea during the early stages of development if Galactus was meant to stay as the main villain.

[@Guy-mx4fb]

It was the lack of costumes and lack of characters that ruined it for me. Characters in the first one were more diverse from marvel history.

[@mpthorvonericksen]

I thought the voice actors in MUA 2 were mostly poor choices (especially Thor). Meanwhile, in The Original MUA I felt like all the voices matched well with the characters.

[@RacerC45]

I'll always prefer the first Ultimate Alliance over this. At least in that game you were going on a grand adventure and fight named enemies.

[@egateqa1351]

Fun fact there are slight differences between the PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One and the Wii Version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, for starters Mac Gargen who is Venom in The PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One Version is back to Scorpian in The Wii Version. The Wii Version has Captain America being maskless, as while we never saw him without his Star Spangled Bannered Mask, we did saw him at the end of the Wii Version of Ultimate Alliance 2. And the Wii Version plays the same way as the console versions of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1. Albeit keeping the more noticable sound effects and gameplay as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1.

[@zmr3352]

Ultimate Alliance 3 would be an interesting retrospective video.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

I should probably do MUA3 to wrap up the ultimate alliance series. I’m mostly debating on if it will be next, or if I’ll have it release around the time of MUA3’s 2 year anniversary. If I do that, I might cover marvel nemesis in between

[@zmr3352]

@@alwaysnerdyretros Makes sense.

[@TheVamxie]

Marvel nemesis plz

[@Save_Train]

I'm glad that UA3 came back to the artistic look. To me, honestly, Cap doesnt look like he aged all that well

[@Save_Train]

@@TheVamxie that's a good freakin game! Gosh that felt so long ago

[@D21BeastReviews]

10:55 Huh. Venom says "my" and not "our". I thought Marvel Nemesis was the only game that didn't remember/understand how Venom's supposed to be written. I've beaten MUA2 dozens of times. But, I've never played as Venom at this point in the game. Great catch, Nerdy!

[@daking5173]

Venom in MUA1 referred to himself as a single person a lot too

[@D21BeastReviews]

@@daking5173 Aww. :(

[@markmagician2471]

That Venom in MUA2 is Mac Gargon AKA Scorpion

[@egeoktay5157]

Another banger video from Always Nerdy. Not surprised tbh. Always deliver. Top quality content 👌👌👌

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

I appreciate the support! 😃

[@ThatManiacbucket]

31:14 Stark giving a speech with god damn carnage in the background.

[@johnblack3204]

I know I'm late to commenting on this video, but great job. One of my favorite character interactions is when you replay the game and have Deadpool on your team when you fight Deadpool! When you have the Stan Lee conversation Deadpool points out how ridiculous it is that the devs let there be two Deadpool's on the screen at the same time. That moment has always stuck out to me.

[@gaelanwhite8842]

This will always be one of my favorite games. Also, I'm Anti-Reg, go Team Cap!

[@johnsantos507]

I'm neither sides.

[@theitfactorjameswheezer2852]

I’m team Spider-Man

[@Maudo214]

I remember this game way differently I don't remember most of the things only the first bit of cutscene, I played this game on the Wii so yea, also been searching for this game for years now so I'm happy I finally found it

[@TeamTowers1]

The Civil War comic wasn't insanely popular, it was almost universally despised.

[@lorenzogallegos3504]

Thank u for making video essays on my favorite games of all time 😭

[@ken0304]

i just discovered your channel and i’m obsessed!! i really love your retrospectives and i also appreciate the time you put into your videos ❤️❤️

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you so much!!!! That means a lot to me 😃

[@quitequaintq5830]

I know we got a movie already, but I wouldn't mind seeing a animated version of Civil War. So many possiblities when it comes to animation. 😄

[@roseArchr]

There wasnt a whole lot of build up for much of anything in this story. In UA1 the story was always focused on and moving toward one goal: Defeating Doom who was growing too powerful. This game just sorta jumps around even if they lead into each other. There wasnt an outlined goal you were working toward that ever lasted more than a few missions in this game.

[@AvatarTrev6]

Rip Stan Lee🙏🏽🙏🏽 that cameo is so hilarious never knew

[@jihef03]

My brother and I ended the game with Captain America doing his speech and Green Goblin and Venom by his side, that was hilarious.

[@ther0ach28]

Imagine at the end it's goblin, venom, carnage, and juggernaut. "Yeah, we're the good guys, trust me."

[@leoppyy]

Another excellent video as always. I hope you'll continue doing this kind of videos and maybe we'll have X-Men Legends analysis from you. :)

[@cesargomezy6420]

Such a fantastic video, thanks a lot! PS. The exorcist part was genius 🤣

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Hahaha thank you 😆

[@chasemcnellis6886]

This game is what got me into Marvel, I wouldn’t know half of these characters without it.

[@cjtrules1]

To me the best parts of this game was playing as villains and the fusions. I will always love battling different characters as well so I'm not sure I'd say one game is better than the other in that field. I felt there wasn't as many unique dialogue options as the 1st game and the levels definitely were inferior. I'd actually go back and play 1 more than 2... mainly because the Destroyer Armor boss fight can be used as a grinding area to just have fun with powers.

[@jessicastrike5640]

Love the video fantastic work! I really enjoyed the civil war arc but wish they did more with it, perhaps if the game would be made today it would be made to feel more epic Maybe the Spider-Man games for future retrospectives? Raimi movie tie in ones in particular

[@Super_1230]

I like the format of your reviews. I hope you eventually do X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

[@homeaccount5943]

I absolutely love everything you do, and I'm grateful for anything you do, bro.

[@alwaysnerdyretros]

Thank you!!!! I appreciate you saying that! Hoping to have the MUA3 retrospective up Monday 🤞

[@lenzino7383]

It was definitely disappointed!!! The civil war storyline just wasn’t nearly as awesome as the Masters of Evil in the first game. MUA 1 had the heroes traveling the universe and back. Felt so massive and epic. MUA 2 felt too self contained and limited.

[@IFCLeon]

Gambit was the new character and a truthful replacement for missing characters from 1 while Carnage is a DLC character in the Villains pack on Xbox 360 and PS3. In the port to PS4 and Xbox One, the DLCs were all included.

[@aguinaldoferrer6491]

After discovering your channel through the MUA retrospectives I really want to see your thoughts on the new game! One suggestion I'd offer is to discuss the story after the gameplay since it's longer and people looking to avoid spoilers can stick around for longer. Keep up the good work!

[@doom3926]

I enjoyed both of the first two Ultimate Alliance games equally for different reasons. The first game because of the amount of customization options it has in comparison to both of the later games and the second game because the combat is just so much fun, admittedly a big reason I love MUA2’s combat though is because of an exploit that may or may not have been intentional. See, you can cancel just about any action in the game with the block button, this includes at least most specials and fusion moves and this makes the combat very fun because it means you can cancel moves that normally take a bit before your character finishes the animation and then follow-up with just about anything else, it’s super fun.