Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review - CLASSIC SMASH!
As many of you know, gaming in the ’90s was very different to what we see today. The home console market was making leaps and bounds, bringing games into people’s homes worldwide. For those who didn’t have a console at home, the local Timezone was the place to find and play the best video games. It was utterly unlike the offerings of today, where aside from a few linked racing machines, are full of gimmicky carnie-style machines to suck $50 worth of credit out of a parent for their child to win enough tickets to take home a slinky and an eraser. No, no, no. Back in the ‘90s, Timezone was the place to kill some time. Yeah, it would cost you some coin, but the length of time on a machine came down to the player’s skill and not a countdown timer.
And one of the mainstays of this time was the Marvel vs Capcom fighting games.
Combining the stylings of Street Fighter 2 with the X-Men, who were prominent in the public consciousness due to the success of the animated series, X-Men: Children of the Atom became the first of six different fighting games that made use of Marvel characters, in later games introducing fighters from Street Fighter and many other Capcom video game properties, such as Megaman, Morrigan and Captain Commando. How they all came together from their various worlds does not matter, because with each iteration the gameplay evolved, eventually introducing tag-team battles and three-on-three team battles in the final instalment.
With the release of the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, you can now enjoy these groundbreaking arcade fighting games from the comfort of your lounge room, where changing between the different games is as easy as a few simple button presses. But this isn’t just a straight port of the games either. Online multiplayer has been implemented in each of the fighting games, allowing you to go up against opponents around the world in both competitive and casual battles. If you feel like you may not quite be ready to take on real-world opponents you can always spend time in the new training modes honing your skills. Of course, there is a contingent of people who would just like to have fun, either by themselves or schooling their children/nieces/nephews/and their friends in these classic arcade fighters. With options to allow one-button super and special moves, the game is hugely accessible to even the most novice button mashers out there.
Of course, it must be remembered that these arcade fighting games are designed to keep players inserting coins with significant difficulty spikes. I must admit, when I was first playing through the games, in each one I would only make it to the third round before I found myself being walloped by the A.I.-controlled characters. Is this because I am the stereotypical button masher whose strategy consists of all-out offence? Yes, most definitely, however, you have the option to make adjustments to the game to allow you to increase your chances of survivability, at least until you ‘git gud’. Whether it is decreasing the overall difficulty (which results in you taking less damage from attacks), increasing the power of your attacks or adjusting the clock speed, you can tinker with the game to ensure you have the opportunity to see all the games have to offer. Players just need to be aware that to make these changes you have to do it from the game select menu before launching one of the games.
Not only does the collection contain the six Marvel fighting games, but also included is The Punisher, the first game that Marvel and Capcom partnered to make. Unlike the other games, this is a side-scrolling beat-em-up in the vein of Final Fight. However, there are times when Frank Castle is filling thugs with bullets and can even be played in co-op, with player 2 taking control of Nick Fury, the original version who is the father of the current Samuel L. Jackson styled current Nick Fury Jr.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is currently available digitally for Steam, Nintendo Switch and PS4 (which will work on a PS5), with physical copies available for Switch and PS4 from November 22nd. The game is coming to Xbox but at this stage, that version is coming sometime next year. For this review, I played the collection on the Switch and the game ran smoothly, with no frame rate drops or any visible problems. This is a fully functioning port of a series of classic games that runs as it should as soon as you fire it up.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code kindly provided by Capcom
