MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics PS4 Review. Rising like a phoenix out of what must have been a labyrinth of licensing agreements, Capcom has seemingly done the impossible and brought the back catalogue of Marvel games that it has developed over the course of years back to modern platforms to great excitement and reception. There was a time when this collection sounded closer to a pipe dream than something actually doable – especially with the less than stellar reception of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite in 2017.
Luckily, that pipe dream is well and truly here in a collection that brings these classics back in great form, with some updated features for the headliner fighting games in the package – as well as some deep cuts that will be a sure surprise for people who pick this compilation up.
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review (PS4) – It’s Gonna Take You For A Ride
Star-Studded Catalogue
It really bears repeating that this release is somewhat of a miracle in its own right. With Marvel becoming evermore picky about how their narratives are told and the types of material that is produced, games like this felt simply unfeasible with newer and stricter mandates. That makes the experience of seeing these two media titans coming together all the more exciting to explore and experience, for both IPs.
As far as crossovers go, Capcom and Marvel still feel like one that comes out of left field. And it’s precisely because of this surprising combination that so many people hold these games to such a high standard. Across all seven included titles, each one represents a different aspect of Capcom’s involvement with Marvel in creating games, ranging from the simpler Marvel fighting games to the crossover titles that people know and love.
There’s a clear timeline and you can see the uniqueness of this crossover develop over the course of the six major fighting games included here. From Capcom’s development fingerprints in X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, to the crossovers with Street Fighter, to the greater Capcom universe, there’s a journey there in of itself, all the way up until Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes – that solidified the prestige of this crossover for future games.
The seventh game in this collection breaks away from the fighting and moves straight to beat-’em-ups with The Punisher making its console debut for the first time since the Genesis. By no means was this a game that many were hankering for, but its inclusion helps to round out the collection and to truly preserve Capcom’s legacy with Marvel in its entirety.
High Octane Presentation
There’s an aura of pride that runs through this entire compilation and it’s apparent from the second that you boot the game up. Brilliant art and a blood-pumping soundtrack set you up to jump into any of the games on offer and explore the various options on show. This care and detail extend to the games themselves as each has been carefully preserved to maintain the detailed pixel art and animations of their original versions while making them stand out on modern displays in their full glory.
There’s no awkward pixel smoothing to be found here, everything is preserved as it always was on the original arcade versions. As someone who hadn’t played some of the older games in this collection, I was staggered by just how well these animations and visuals have aged across the board – with some relatively low-detailed 3D models in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is the rare exception to the rule – and still looking perfectly fine by today’s standards.
Compared to the relatively lukewarm and strangely generic environments that I came across in a game like Capcom vs. SNK SVC CHAOS, each stage across every game felt bursting with personality and engaging visuals to make for some especially memorable battles. From the set of a talk show to a carnival full of odd-looking inflatables, there’s no shortage of memorable locales to duke it out in whichever game you decide to spend time in.
While I wasn’t able to pour hours into every game in this compilation, my brief time with all seven shows a dedication to preserving the once-in-a-generation appeal of these Capcom-developed games to a level that can only be admired, even if you aren’t necessarily nostalgic for all of the games in this collection. It’s exhaustive, to say the least.
Jumping into the Ring
The games in the collection take mere seconds to boot into a character select screen, ready for you to embark on an arcade progression system of your own. These are the arcade versions of the game through and through. Players who might be interested in hopping into these games from more modern games should be aware that there are certain things that just weren’t a done deal back when these titles were originally released.
While there are bespoke training modes for the fighting games in this collection, there aren’t tailor-made combo trials or character guides that have become staples in modern fighting games. As a result, newcomers might find there to be a higher entry requirement than something like Capcom’s own Street Fighter 6. On the one hand, this might scare off those newcomers from trying these acclaimed legacy titles, but on the other, it thrusts new players straight into the community-driven hubs that are there to teach and celebrate new players and help them improve.
Moreso than any other type of game – getting good at one of these brawlers demands patience, time and some swallowing of your pride to talk to others and see where to go next, which is one of the greatest pleasures of the fighting game genre as a whole. There are certain considerations like one button special moves but there’s a real reward to learning how to steadily use a cool character and their entire moveset.
This collection also embraces some of the more absurd aspects of arcade history that are sometimes left to the wayside in modern competitive environments. In local play, you have free access to a suite of hidden characters across each game, that far exceed the potential of others in the cast. While these are restricted in online play, they’re great callbacks to an era of fighting games that have fallen out of fashion – with a focus on a more competitive environment – both are catered to here.
The online play in question brings robust rollback netcode to these classic games that ensure a smooth experience from beginning to end, on par with games released this year. Seeing these arcade classics being remastered and opened to an entirely new crowd is really heartening and speaks to a passion that Capcom shares with its audience. This isn’t a collection by halves, in any aspect.
Bonuses Abound
While I’m sure most will be picking up this collection with the hopes of reinvigorating the online scene of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, this release continues the trend of preserving a frankly exhaustive catalogue of bonus materials from the development of each game and helps to preserve the original arcade experience in some regard.
Even down to pausing the game and looking for a guide on mechanics and controls, this release preserves the original Marquee Cards that could be found that explain the controls and mechanics at a glance, alongside a more comprehensive move list for each character. Game manuals are a lost art in the age of the digital release and so this inclusion is charming for newcomers, if a novelty for experienced players.
Beyond this, a dedicated gallery mode showcases never-before-seen development materials and character sheets to explore for each of the seven included games. Initial character illustrations, key art, and concept art for stages are here and accounted for.
This is an aspect of most game compilations that’s becoming thankfully consistent; rereleases used to feel like obligations rather than celebrations and more than most. MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics feels like a triumphant celebration of one of the most bizarre crossovers of all time, and one that defied the odds and broke out of what must have been a licensing nightmare to return to a fighting game scene with open arms.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is due out on September 11, 2024 for PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Review code kindly provided by publisher.