Long before the MCU, there was another Marvel Universe that dominated arcades across the world in the form of Marvel Vs Capcom, a franchise that swallowed up many tokens at the arcades and had a steady queue of gamers eager to test their mettle against some of Marvel and Capcom’s most iconic heroes and villains. Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a compilation set to save your arcade tokens and queue time by bringing 7 Marvel Vs Capcom titles to the Switch in a comprehensive collection. What’s It Like? Put your tokens away, bust out the arcade stick, and wooimmabouttomakeanameformyselfhere as we review Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Nintendo Switch.
Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a jam-packed compilation of some of the 90’s and 00’s best arcade games. The package includes The Punisher, X-Men Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men Vs Street Fighter, Marvel Superheroes Vs Street Fighter, Marvel Vs Capcom, and Marvel Vs Capcom 2. With the exception of The Punisher, the titles follow the Street Fighter style of game, pitting characters and teams against each other with a round-robin style progression. The Punisher’s inclusion is because it was the first partnership between Marvel Vs Capcom and was an incredibly popular brawler in a similar vein to Streets of Rage or Final Fight, and follows the Punisher and Nick Fury as they team up to take down Kingpin across a variety of action-packed stages. This game was in nearly every cinema and arcade growing up, and from memory, I think it made a Sega Mega Drive Debut as well. The Punisher is a fantastic beat-em-up that took the Double Dragon formula to the next level, with shootouts, crazy enemies, and some amazing set pieces.
The collection showcases the timeline between the early collaborations between Marvel and Capcom from the CSP1 and CPS2 arcade systems to Marvel Vs Capcom 2 Sega NAOMI Platform which allowed home console cross-save compatibility and 2D/3D Hybrid technology. The collection features both online and offline play, something that was only previously available in Japanese Arcades thanks to Capcom’s dial-up internet integration (now I’m showing my age.) Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes were simply Capcoms take on “Marvel Street Fighter” so to speak, and are amazing games in their own right. Children of the Atom focuses solely on the X-Men franchise and has set levels to battle through before you get to the end boss. It was the series and fan-favorite debut of Wolverine who proved so popular, that he appears in every single game with the exception of The Punisher.
Marvel Super Heroes started to branch out a bit featuring more iconic heroes like Captain America and Spiderman. Iron Man also featured in this game but wasn’t really given the royal treatment as he didn’t quite hit the heights of his star power (or should I say Stark power) until Iron Man would unofficially kick start the MCU around 2008. It’s actually quite amazing to see the original character designs of Iron Man, Thanos, and the like and also baffles me how the Gambit movie never came to be considering his popularity. That’s a different conversation for a different channel though.
The rest of the collection is where when Capcom and Marvel joined forces and produced some of the most intense fighting games of our times. Fluid combos, over-the-top specials, and a lot of fan services all poured into Marvel Superheroes Vs Street Fighter, Marvel Vs Capcom, and Marvel Vs Capcom 2, with each iteration going bigger and better in its own way. Despite these advances in gameplay as the series progressed, surprisingly, each title holds up and is fun to play on its own. I found myself gravitating a lot to Marvel Vs Capcom 1, mainly because it was the title I sunk the most tokens into, but each game has its own qualities offering a balanced selection of gameplay. While it would have been easy to slap these games together in a simple emulated fashion, each game has been meticulously ported across with love and attention with customizable marquees, filter settings, button remapping, and doesn’t seem to have the CPS2 engine slowdown issues that other arcade ports seem to have. Performance is locked in at a smooth framerate and everything runs exceptionally well. The games feature the classic Street Fighter visuals with gorgeous sprite artwork, detailed settings, and fantastic effects that give that bombastic Capcom razzle-dazzle while duking it out. Combos, specials, support characters, and easter eggs look amazing in action and the ability to change filters adds to the already amazing visual art style. You can add different Marquues when in the original aspect mode, and can even go full screen if you want to use every inch of your TV or Switch screen’s real estate.
Capcom also saw fit to add a museum into this collection for each title, offering gorgeous artwork, instruction manuals, cabinet art, design drawings, and marquee art, which is an amazing addition, especially for game preservation purposes. I actually got lost looking through this collection, following the design process, and seeing how it translated into the games. It’s simply amazing fan service. On top of the artwork, each game also has a playable jukebox, allowing you to go through tracks and listen to any song featured in the franchise.
The game also features achievements in the form of Challenge Coins. Rather than having simple goals to achieve, Capcom added some tricky ones for completionists to achieve. Coins start off simple like playing and finishing a title, then move into more challenging territory like absorbing a particular power with Rogue and finishing them off with said power. It’s a really nice touch. Players can also go into “training mode” for every title except for The Punisher, which shows off hitboxes, spacing, and button inputs, and really allows you to fine-tune your game.
This is NOT a paid promotion, merely for gamers wanting to take the game further… I went out and picked up an 8-bitdo Arcade stick that works perfectly with the collection and adds another level of immersion into the game. Despite being classified as an entry-level stick, the 8-bitdo Arcade stick made me feel like I was back at the arcade with no input lag, or precision inputs and saved my thumbs a bit on the Power A D-pad. If you really enjoy Marvel Vs Capcom, or arcade and fighting games in general, I thoroughly recommend the 8-bitdo Arcade Stick to compliment this amazing collection.
For my Street Fighters looking into accessibility options, players can lower difficulties, fully remap controls, and turn off grainy CRT filters to offer a clearer picture. There are frequent flashes and special effects that can’t be turned off, so Fighters with photosensitivity need to exercise caution here.
Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is an excellent package lovingly assembled for the fans. There’s a myriad of additional features and content to sink your teeth into, online play to test your skills, and incredible customisation options to play your way. At $70 AUD, Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics provides great value for money at just under $10 per game in the package, and each title has something to bring to the table and illustrates the evolution of the Marvel Vs Capcom series across its timeline. If you’re a fan of fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is THE must-have collection for your Switch.
So, What’s It Like? Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is like Streetfighter, mixed in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection is a What’s It Like Certified Exceptional game.
