Yes, I’m one of the people that screamed when Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection was announced. The Marvel Vs Capcom series holds a very special place in my heart- it’s responsible for me liking Deadpool and Vergil, and was the first step in the long spiral staircase of my descent into fighting games.
More importantly, it also marks the triumphant return of MVC2- the last of the 2D Marvel Vs Capcom games. Collected alongside everything from X-Men Children of the Atom to Marvel Super Heroes, there’s a lot to love here. But nostalgia aside I think one interesting thing here is just how different it feels to play an arcade-based fighter vs the modern fighting game.
Title: Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classics
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Today We’re Going To Learn To Do A [Redacted] Infinite
There’s no doubt about it- a game like MVC2 is a complex, technical beast. From timing your assists to the hilariously extreme balancing decisions, following top players make the game sound like the equivalent of solving a rubik’s cube with a gun to your head and the threat of having to watch an Asmongold react video if there’s no solid red face by the end of the ad.
And yet, you remember that these games needed to hook you in immediately. The core parts of MV2’s gameplay loop- flashy air combos and stylish assists- are all available easily. True, there’s a lack of universality between characters like MVC3- but pick your favorite characters and mess around with them a bit in a match and you’ll figure out some semblance of a game plan.
I mean, that’s basically what I did- I’d never touched MVC2 a day in my life prior to the release of Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection but by day 1 I had a simple if not ineffective Venom combo.
By day 2 I’d learned how to do juggles with Doctor Doom. Will I win EVO? I can’t even win Casual matches for as long as Justin Wong doesn’t choose to spend more time with his family. And yet, the games give such good feedback in how every attack hits and feels that it’s hard to not get sucked into the urge to just keep practicing until you hit that flashy combo you really wanted.
Of course, it’s not just MVC2 either: X-Men Children of the Atom is an incredibly flashy game for its time. I mean, for God’s sake you can throw your opponent through the floor, something that would later become more associated with 3D fighters like Dead or Alive and Tekken.
To me, the sheer volume of games on display here is an excellent way of showing just how experimental the 90s were for fighting games. From the floor attacks in Children of the Atom to the Infinity stones in Marvel Super Heroes every game has its own unique twist to set it apart from the others.
Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection Is History Manifest
With Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, it’s especially interesting because all of these games feel like extrapolations of Street Fighter’s Alpha series. I mean, just look how much play Charlie Nash gets in these games.
To me, even if you have no interest in vanquishing The Wazzler or being remembered by him for as long as he lives, what you get by marathoning the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection is a walk through an important part of Capcom history- specifically, where they decided what was too wild for simple 1v1 fighters.
I’ll admit the price of Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection is a bit to the premium side- it’s orders of magnitude higher than Capcom Fighting Collection 1. But if you’ve any interest in a valuable chunk of Capcom history this is a must-have.
At the end of the day Capcom’s re-releases of their arcade catalogue is, at the very least, an educational experience- you get to see what a much wilder era of fighting games look like, and how much of the modern genre landscape was born of it. To put it bluntly, it’s gonna take you for a ride.
Final score: 9/10
Game reviewed on PS5 running the PS4 version. Review copy provided by Capcom
