The 90s were wild, for fighting games. While fighting games by today’s standards more closely follow an orthodox ruleset then tweak those as they desire for flavor, the early days of the fighting game genre were much more intense as they figured out what could work.
While many credit Darkstalkers as being the origin of the hyper fighter/anime fighter, a lot of its more important details would be fleshed out in Capcom’s VS series. We got to check out an early preview of Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, which is a really fascinating look into just how wild the pioneers of some of the flashiest games could be.
X-Men Children of the Atom
Due to the popularity of Marvel Vs Capcom, it’s easy to forget just how influential Children of the Atom is. I mean, even by the game’s own admission it’s Darkstalkers++, taking the hyper fighter fundamentals laid down by the creatures of Dark Stalkers and ramping them up with an X-Men je na sais quox.
Just look at the floor- some stages in X-Men Children of the Atom let you break the floor from under you, changing how you view offense entirely. You can’t always get oki if you’re suddenly in free fall, which means that your opponent has a little bit of breathing room to get away and rethink their plans.
X-Men Vs Street Fighter
Arguably the proto Marvel vs Capcom by being the first tag fighter to have both these characters in it, X-Men Vs Street Fighter sees Cyclops’ posse of misfits fighting the world warriors and more. If you’re worried about the hyper-intense blitz later versus games became, you’ll see the subgenre boiled down to its essentials in X-Men vs Street Fighter: manage your two characters, remembering to tag them in either to extend your combos or even help you out when your point character’s been knocked down.
Better yet, you get to do all this against the dynamic backgrounds of X-Men Vs Street Fighter. It’s cool watching oil refineries catch fire after the loss of one character, and is part of a certain unique charm that largely stayed with this era of fighting games.
Marvel Vs Capcom 2: Age of New Heroes
Arguably the shining jewel of the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is the platonic ideal of what fighting games are. Expanding on X-Men Vs Street Fighter by going from 2v2 to 3v3. Adding assists over tagging, delayed Hyper Combos and a roster ranging from classic Marvel and Capcom characters to even new faces like Amingo and Ruby Heart, this game massively expands on the comparatively demure rosters from the titles before it.
Even better yet, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 sets these gorgeous 2D sprites against 3D backgrounds, as you witness the bold fluidity of characters like Venom snaking their tendrils against iconic stages like the circus.
Keep The Rhythm Up
These are just some of the games coming in Marvel Vs Capcom Arcade Fighting Collection. While it’s true that these older games are to the more difficult side compared to their modern counterparts, that’s not to say there’s no concessions made for newer players- the Fighting Collection includes new features like One-Button Specials, as well as training modes with viewable hitboxes so you can well and truly learn to do an infinite.
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