MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics – Review

Tie-ins with films, comics or animated series have always (or almost always) been one of the cornerstones of the video game industry. Just think of the recent games on Batman or Spider-Manor the countless titles based on anime. In the 90s, however, before the widespread diffusion of home consoles as we know them today, arcades were the masters. One development team, among all, stood out for its arcade games and especially for its tie-ins: we are talking about CAPCOMknown for the series of Street Fighter and, starting from 1993, also for the titles taken from the comics of the House of Ideas. With this premise today we can tell you in preview about the highly anticipated anthology that goes by the name of MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classicsand which collects seven of the most famous arcade titles that saw the collaboration between the Japanese studio and the very famous Marvel.

Let’s find out in this review what awaits you starting from the next one September 12thstreet date of the digital version of MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch And Steam.

I wanna take you for a ride

Despite the title, MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classicslet’s suggest a collection in which American superheroes clash with home-grown characters CAPCOMnot all seven titles in the collection are part of the “Versus” series. Starting with the 1993in fact, the beat ’em up The Punisherfor the first time on consoles, puts us in the shoes of Frank Castle and Nick Fury in an overwhelming side-scrolling adventure that will lead us to the defeat of the gigantic Kingpin. An arcade title that many of our generation remember with extreme pleasure, a perfect example of a side-scrolling beat ’em up from the nineties that has nothing to envy from its more famous cousins ​​of the same genre, as well as the title that marked the collaboration between the Japanese studio and the American giant, now part of Disney.

The remaining six titles are all classic fighting games, built along the lines of Street Fighter Alpha And Darkstalkers. X-Men: Children of the Atomreleased in 1994, rides the success of the group of mutants and their animated series of those years, putting at our disposal a dozen characters (more Akuma from Street Fighter) in a frenetic fighting game that will mark the beginning of a real saga. The next game in fact, Marvel Super Heroes of 1995, expands the roster to include other heroes of the great M and, giving up some mutants, we welcome into the roster characters of the caliber of Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk And Iron Man.

Let’s go, bub!

1996 marks the beginning of the real “clash” between the two factions with X-Men vs. Street Fighterwhich as the name itself suggests, sees the formation of the group of Professor X team up with Ryu, Cammy and other famous fighting game fighters CAPCOM. A title also famous for its porting to the first PlayStationwhich saw the debut of a mechanic that would become a cornerstone for the episodes to come, the tag team (cut off, however, in the PS1 version due to the console’s low memory, replaced by a simple partner assist). In fact, with a simple command, in the Acade version of the game it was possible to quickly switch between your character and your teammate, and obviously the opponent could do the same.

The success of the series obviously leads to a further sequel the following year, namely Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. As in the case of Marvel Super Heroesthe cast Marvel expands to make room for the members of the Avengers and their enemies. It differs from the previous title for the members of the roster as well as for the mechanic that allows you to call the ally on the field for a combined attack. More interesting is what happened the following year with Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroesthe episode that marked the birth of the definitive crossover between comic book superheroes and video game characters. In this first Marvel vs. Capcom we can find Venom, War Machine, Gambit on one side, while on the other Morrigan, Mega Man, Strider Hiryu and more. Last but certainly not least in this collection is the sequel to the latter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. One of those that are still considered among the best fighting games in history, it perfects the formula and provides a vast roster that includes most of the characters from Street Fighteras well as stars like Jill Valentine from Resident Evil and new heroes like Cable And Marrow.

Optic Blast!

The versions of the game contained in this anthology are strictly the arcade ones, but they have new features and options, as well as the possibility of using the secret characters of each game and, in the case of The Punisherto start the game from a stage of our choice or to use the first or second player to change the protagonist. In the options we find those relating to the CRT filters, illustrated frames, difficulty and version (English or Japanese), while by default the controls are mapped to have two quick commands for each of the fighting games: one to perform the special movesas well as the other for the final techniques of each character, after filling the appropriate indicator. Among the extra modes we find a rich Museumwhich allows us to enjoy splendid illustrations, preparatory drawings, as well as the soundtrack of each of the titles, as well as the mode Medalsa sort of internal trophy system that will allow us to unlock new achievements even on platforms such as Nintendo Switch.

Get a life, pinhead!

About Nintendo Switchthe platform on which we tested the game, we can say with certainty that the collection performs in a technically excellent manner both in portable mode and with the console connected to the television. Unfortunately we were not able to thoroughly test the online mode because it is still without players, but we can tell you with certainty that it is possible choose which games to make yourself available online for and wait for a new match while playing in single player. However, if the search is not successful for a certain amount of time, the title will throw us to the main menu without allowing us to continue our offline game. We hope that this will be fixed with a future update.

It is possible to quick save at any time within a game, however we would have preferred that the saves were multiple and divided by game: unfortunately there is only one slot available for all seven titles in the collection and saving a second time will overwrite the previous restore point, which is a real shame.

Who do we recommend MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics to?

MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics It is a title that will make happy all those who appreciate at least one or more of the titles available in the collection, but also all fighting game lovers who have not had the chance to play them in the past and obviously all fans of both home fighting games CAPCOMboth comic book superheroes Marvel. However, the titles may be a bit difficult compared to more recent entries in the genre and may require a fair amount of practice before they are mastered.