If you grew up in the 90s or even the early 2000s, you will surely have come across one of these titles. I grew up near an Intencity arcade (shout out to those who remember) at my local shopping centre, and spent many weekends and birthday parties slamming my parent’s gold coins into that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 machine.
I get giddy thinking about it. While these games have been around in some shape or form over the past two decades, it’s lovely to see Capcom dishing out another collection with a list of games that feels relatively on point.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics combines seven titles, including X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes and finally, The Punisher.
Pick ‘Em, Play ‘Em
For the sake of this review, we’ll quickly run through each of the seven titles, with some brief thoughts. While we would love to talk about each of these titles in more detail, we feel they are worthy of a review of their own. The broader review will focus more so on the features of the collection as a whole, which expands upon and modernises each of these titles.
Originally released in 1994, X-Men: Children of the Atom served as one of the first dedicated Marvel fighting games and the first fighting game developed and published by Capcom. It feels a little dated by today’s standards, given everything that follows, even in this very collection, but I feel it paved the way for fighting games of this nature.
Originally released in 1995, Marvel Super Heroes expanded the roster and based its selections loosely on the Infinity Gauntlet comic book storyline. It’s probably the game I spent the least amount of time with and around growing up, but I can appreciate its willingness to include more nuanced features like added combos and special attacks.
Originally released in 1996, X-Men vs. Street Fighter got the ball rolling in terms of what we have come to expect of this fighting franchise. It felt more like Street Fighter than ever, and it’s the first game to incorporate tag-team combat. It’s serviceable, but I feel like it’s still ultimately overshadowed by the titles that followed.
Originally released in 1997, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter holds up. It feels like the standard Street Fighter 2 as opposed to Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes being compared to Street Fighter 2: Turbo or Championship Edition. It also expanded beyond the traditional Street Fighter roster, which adds to the variety, although I feel it’s a little more toned down than I remember.
Originally released in 1998, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes probably felt like the most refined title at the time. It’s still really good. From the again expanded roster to the newer tag-team Variable Cross attack system, its influence would hang around from this point forward.
Originally released in 2000, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes still stands as one of my favourite fighting games, and boldly, one of the best fighting games ever made. The sprites and character models look fantastic, while everything else is brimming with colour and energy. Choosing from a roster that has been once again expanded on both sides, players can now pick up to three characters on their side as they aim to plough through the other team. I can’t say anything that hasn’t been said already, and I’m sure everyone has their eye on this title specifically.
Finally, we have The Punisher. Released way back in 1993, this title serves as a beat ’em up more so than a traditional fighting game, but it’s incredibly underrated. It’s a game I had never played growing up, and probably spent the most time playing this as I became hooked.
It’s a brawler akin to something out of Streets of Rage or Final Fight, but it’s incredibly satisfying to play, not to mention you can team up with Nick Fury to double the amount of justice being dealt to the streets.
For the Better
Now that we’ve run through the list, I do want to highlight just how accessible this feels to modern audiences, thanks to all the features that have been added to this particular collection. While it makes the overall package a more enjoyable one, it also feels like a well-crafted love letter to the Capcom Fighting Hall of Fame and one that feels like the most robust and cohesive collection you can find today.
Firstly, players now can take the fight online. Either via cooperative or head-to-head play depending on the title, players can compete in ranked or casual matches and even create private lobbies for friends, which makes matchmaking a little easier.
I had to wait a few days before this was released to be able to play online with friends, and the experience was relatively smooth. Hiccups are inevitable, but rarely enough to ruin the experience. You can even spectate matches as two of your mates duke it out.
The only real downside here is that the collection across the board does not allow for cross-play, so make sure everyone is okay with getting this on the same platform. That being said, a more traditional High Score Challenge is also available for those who want to climb the online leaderboards, but it’s unfortunately unclear as to which platforms are contributing to these high scores.
Each of the games also allows players to access a bunch of customisable features and controls for hardcore and casual fans alike. While hardcore fans are probably going to want a dedicated arcade stick of sorts, beginners can take heart in the fact that controls and combinations can be tailored and customised.
Choosing between difficulty levels feels par for the course, but the ability to essentially assign macro combos and roll a laundry list of buttons into a single command makes things much easier, should you want to get straight into the action.
The game also manages to pack in heaps to look at, listen to and even try out. You’ll be able to check out over 500 pieces of both concept and development artwork and listen to over 200 tracks from all seven titles if the actual games weren’t enough. You can even choose between the English and Japanese versions of each title, each with its unique differences.
I’m sure many will prefer the English version (which is most likely the U.S. version) of Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes as opposed to the Japanese version, as all characters are unlocked from the start.
Finally, there’s even a dedicated achievement section that allows you to unlock awards across each of the seven games for tackling certain tasks and challenges, for all those completionsists out there.
Look the Part
These arcade ports look and play well, but the attention to detail makes all the difference. There are video filters you can pop over the screen, even if some of them look a little aggressive and take away from the cleaner raw visuals. But the fact that most of these games, and primarily the later ones, still hold up is just a delight.
While there are plenty of menus to navigate, everything is presented with such energy, like a walk through a museum of greatest hits that knows what you came here for. Selecting games shows off each specific cover artwork, while even changing the game version from English to Japanese changes the artwork on the fly.
It’s not something you might notice, but as people collect these games on their original consoles and platforms for the differences in artwork, it’s a nice touch.
Final Thoughts
While I wish the online portion of the package was cross-play compatible, there’s no doubting what an impressive feat this is. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics combines not only a bunch of great games but presents them in such a way that it feels like it was made with the fans in mind.
While newer fans can take advantage of the various difficulty settings and customisable controls, the crazy amount of additional artwork, tracks and achievements piled on here, makes this a worthy collection for any fighting game fan.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Fantastic selection of games that still hold up; Plenty of additional artwork and music to unpack; Online play works well
Lowlights: No cross-play online
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 (via backwards compatibility) with a code provided by the publisher.
