As a longtime fan of the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, I must say that this collection has brought back a flood of nostalgic memories, much like a time capsule unearthed from my teenage years. The games themselves, some of which I spent countless hours mastering, have been lovingly preserved and presented in all their pixelated glory.
Back in its prime, the Marvel vs. Capcom crossover fighting series was ubiquitous. Almost every arcade, an antique reminder of a distant era, was adorned with Marvel vs. Capcom machines, and each one was buzzing with players feeding coins into X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and more. Now, it’s an era that has passed, and for a while, fans feared that their cherished crossover franchise had been swallowed by time, just like the old arcades.
The Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection gathers together all six groundbreaking fighting games from that era, including the pioneering brawler that forged the partnership between Marvel and Capcom. Fortunately, this collection offers each game in a manner that honors its rich history while also incorporating modern enhancements, resulting in a package perfect for reintroducing these classics to a new generation of gamers.
The essence of this assembly lies in the combat games. You won’t find any console adaptations here; instead, each of the half dozen combat games is the original arcade version. It’s a wise decision, as these titles embody their original form, operating largely as designed in the 1990s, with only occasional frame-rate hiccups. However, it also highlights which games are starting to show their age and which can still hold their ground against contemporary fighting games of today.
The star attraction of this collection, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, remains as exciting today as it was when it debuted 24 years ago, thanks to its thrilling three-versus-three battles and a roster of 56 characters. The strategy of combining teams, searching for big combos, and witnessing all three fighters unleash their super moves simultaneously still keeps players captivated. In contrast, X-Men: Children of the Atom has a more sedate pace, offers only 10 characters, and adheres to a traditional one-on-one, best-of-two-rounds format. While it may not be fair to compare games released seven years apart, it’s worth noting that X-Men: Children of the Atom is the most fundamental fighter in the collection. The significant gap between it and other games in the set makes X-Men: Children of the Atom slightly less appealing compared to the others.
The remaining games may not surpass Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in terms of main attraction, but they certainly provide their own share of enjoyment. The Infinity Stone mechanism in Marvel Super Heroes adds a unique twist to the one-on-one gameplay by amplifying attacks, restoring health over time, or adding projectiles to every basic punch and kick. X-Men vs. Street Fighter lays the groundwork for Capcom’s style of tag-team fighters, although its roster is smaller compared to other games in this compilation.
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and the original Marvel vs. Capcom each provide an exclusive feature that even MvC2 doesn’t have – secret characters. Both games include hidden choices on their character selection screens, similar to X-Men vs. Street Fighter, but it’s Akuma who appears in other titles; these two games offer fighters not found in any other game.
In simpler terms, the games MSHvSF (Marvel vs. Street Fighter) and MvC (Marvel vs. Capcom) feature new characters that are alternate versions of familiar ones like Charlie Nash, Captain America, and Blackheart. For instance, Shadow is an alternative to Charlie Nash, U.S. Agent stands in for Captain America, and Mephisto replaces Blackheart. Moreover, these games also present powerful variations of well-known figures such as Venom, War Machine, Hulk, and others. Although these characters could potentially disrupt the gameplay experience, they provide a reason to revisit these games every now and then.
One notable exception is The Punisher, an old side-scrolling fighting game from 1993 that I mentioned earlier. It leans more towards Final Fight than Street Fighter, offering a delightful but brief beat-em-up experience. This was the first game produced in collaboration between Marvel and Capcom. It includes some excessively violent scenes – the death of the initial boss is particularly startling – but the fighting action remains enjoyable, whether you’re playing solo or with a friend via cooperative mode. Historically speaking, it’s an interesting artifact, but it doesn’t significantly enhance the collection in other aspects.
These contemporary games come with a majority of benefits, yet some minor inconveniences have cropped up as well. The quick-save feature reminiscent of other Capcom collections reappears, enabling you to preserve your progress at any moment; however, the issue lies in the fact that there is only a single quick-save slot across all seven games within this collection.
In simpler terms, if you switch between different games in the collection instead of saving each game individually, it becomes problematic as a useful modern feature – quick-save – becomes inconvenient due to needing to choose which game to save when quick-saving. For instance, making progress in The Punisher’s final boss fight could be lost if you continue a Marvel vs Capcom run past Onslaught because of this confusing limitation that doesn’t allow separate saves for each game.
Undeniably, the most impressive contemporary upgrade across all seven games is the rollback netcode. The integration of rollback has significantly boosted the fighting-game genre’s performance, and this Marvel vs. Capcom Collection particularly profits from enhanced online functionality. Most online matches ran smoothly with minimal lag issues, although it’s worth noting that these tests were conducted during a review period without the full consumer base, so some caution is advised. Despite this, online battles felt as if my opponent was seated right beside me.
Beyond the collection, additional perks take you on a nostalgic journey through the Museum, featuring art galleries and design docs for each game, as well as a jukebox to enjoy every game’s complete soundtrack. For dedicated Marvel vs. Capcom enthusiasts, there are intriguing tidbits like the difference between the Japanese and US versions of X-Men: Children Of The Atom, where the Japanese version showcased Cyclops and other heroes, while the US version displayed them as silhouettes. While these features don’t enhance the gameplay itself, the historical insights are still valued by fans.
For over a decade, it had been since any of these games in this collection were officially published: Marvel Vs. Capcom Origins bundle came out on September 25, 2012. As time went by – including a new release that sparked much frustration, to use a playful expression – fans wondered when these games would be liberated from their prolonged silence. Now, Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection has arrived, gathering them into a contemporary collection that deserves recognition. Although some of the games aren’t as well-preserved as others, just having them all together is an impressive act of preservation that deserves applause.
No matter if you were a fan of these games initially or have only recently started playing them, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection offers an exceptional platform to enjoy them. In simpler terms, it promises an exciting journey!
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2024-09-09 18:39