Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos, Features

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is Capcom’s latest massive compilation of games and, arguably, by far, the most anticipated by fans.

The collection, following 2022’s Capcom Fighting Collection, loops together ports of seven beloved titles, some returning from a multi-console-generation hiatus:

• X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994)

• Marvel Super Heroes (1995)

• X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996)

• Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997)

• Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998)

• Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000)

Not only are the titles faithfully restored, but smart modernization to the feature suites and online play also offer a chance to curate and greatly expand competitive communities and otherwise around each of the titles.

Impressively boasting every single arcade offering in the crossover Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, the collection’s ability to similarly nail modern improvements again could lead to massive success.

Seeing some of these games on modern consoles, televisions and monitors is a treat.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, for example, hasn’t been seen since a compilation from 2012, while Marvel vs. Capcom 2 hasn’t been seen on consoles since a remaster in 2009.

They look, in a word, fantastic. All of that fun, colorful visual flair with fittingly retro sound effects and voiceovers returns with a boom. The fun, deep-feeling background stages and the hard-hitting, flashy attacks and watching combo meters and super gauges build—it’s just a nostalgia-button puncher that also speaks to how and why the series has been so revered for so long.

One of the fun points on the presentation front is the sleek, all-encompassing user interface (UI) that connects all of the titles from different eras together into one cohesive package.

There is, of course, a lot of overlap between the gameplay across all the titles. Each one does manage to bring some distinct flairs at the same time, though,

But those overlaps are a big deal, whether it’s a game with a smaller roster or that New Age of Heroes that boasts 50-plus characters—there is pick-up-and-play potential for the newest of players, yet enough depth to carve out some of the deepest competitive scenes we’ve ever seen in the fighting space.

Perhaps more important is how the games feel after the transition here. And they remain responsive and quick, enabling the depth and skill gaps that define the higher ends of the games.

When Capcom Fighting Collection launched in 2022, one of the biggest talking points and areas of praise was the rollback netcode.

That will wind up the same here, with that rollback net code guaranteeing crisp gameplay and fair matches online across a handful of different modes found throughout the games.

And the collection isn’t a port-and-forget situation, either.

Online, there are casual, ranked and tournament modes for players to test their skills in title of choice. And fitting these modern trappings, training and spectator modes are exactly what they sound like. Ditto for the refreshing presence of a quick save feature.

Notably, background happenings at Marvel over the years (movie rights, a surge of the MCU, etc.), localization differences and other factors potentially played a role in what characters were available in certain games. Now, there are new playable character additions in some of these titles, such as Marvel Super Heroes getting Doctor Doom.

Like the similar collection from two years ago, this one gets a museum feature just littered with goodies for fans. We’re talking concept art, a music player, full soundtracks and even a sneak peek at behind-the-scenes stuff via development documents.

There are droves of interesting options in the menus, too, including most notably, a one-button Hyper Combo useable everywhere but ranked play. Other accessibility features and some of the visual settings will be things players should want to comb over, too.

Also important to mention is sheer performance. While the focus is on netcode, it also seems that the game runs crisply on the Nintendo Switch and otherwise. That’s a huge point—being able to take these games on the go via the Switch is a wild development.

That said, the lack of crossplay is one of those modern things that some will ding the game for and frankly, understandably so. The Switch offsets this a bit, though, and it is hard to imagine any of the console versions have problems establishing healthy playerbases.

Make no mistake, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection faced serious expectations, considering fans have waited more than a decade for it in some form.

Also, one even slight mishandling of the collection would have doomed it, such as whiffing on proper net code or a suite of features to give it long legs. What’s a little longer wait, right?

But the wait was worth it. This is a downright stellar, deep collection of games faithfully brought to modern consoles. More importantly, the structure around the games and all of the little extras packed into it make it feel like a fitting ode from the creators.

This collection, beyond likely being able to hold its own for the next decade if necessary, should also create confidence in whatever fighting collection Capcom elects to take up next.