For many people who have been following Capcom’s fighting games over the years, the release of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Series: Arcade Classic is incredible given recent events and the reception of the last Marvel vs Capcom game. As someone who has only played Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, I’ve always wanted to play the earlier games because some of them were well received by both competitive and casual players. I’d be lying if I said I was excited to officially hear the Marvel vs Capcom 2 music, because it’s that good. A few months after its release, “Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics” is now available on Steam, Switch and PlayStation, and will be launched on Xbox in 2025.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Featuring Arcade Classics
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics includes seven games. They are: “X-Men Sons of the Atom”, “Marvel Super Heroes”, “X-Men VS. Street Fighter”, “MARVEL SUPER HEROES vs. Street Fighter”, “MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Clash of Super Heroes” , “MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 2 New Age of Heroes” and “THE PUNISHER” (this is not a fighting game, but a beat ’em up game). These are based on the arcade version, so you don’t have to worry about missing features, like some of the older console ports here. These include both English and Japanese versions, so yes, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter does include Norimaro in this set when you choose the Japanese version of the game.
This review is based on me playing Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for about 15 hours on the Steam Deck (LCD and OLED), 13 hours on the PS5 (via backwards compatibility), and about 15 hours on the Nintendo Switch 4 hours. I’m not qualified enough to talk about the ins and outs of the games included here, as this collection is my first time playing them, but I will say that the fun I had with the pre-release version of Marvel vs Capcom 2 more than proves it The asking price is so reasonable that I want to buy two physical versions of the console just to own a physical version of it.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classic New Features
If you’ve played Capcom Fighting Collection, the interface and front-end of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics will feel familiar. In fact, it even has the same problem as Collection, but I’ll get to that later. Marvel vs Capcom Fighter Collection: Arcade Classic includes online and local multiplayer support, local wireless support on Switch, rollback network code for online play, training mode, customizable options for the game, reduced per-game Important options for white flash or light flash, various display options and some wallpaper options.
Outside of the game, there’s also a training mode (which you can access every game) that includes hitboxes, displayed inputs, and other options to make it more beginner-friendly. Speaking of newcomers, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics has a new one-click super option that you can enable or disable when playing online and searching for other players.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Series: Arcade Classics Museum and Gallery
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics also includes a robust museum and gallery containing all of the game’s soundtracks (over 200 tracks) and over 500 artworks. After playing Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics online with a friend who is also covering Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, he let me know that a lot of the artwork in the series has never been seen before. This is new to me, but I think it’s worth noting for long-time fans. It’s worth noting that things like sketches or design documents don’t have any translations of the Japanese text.
As for the music, I’m glad we finally have an official way to listen to these soundtracks in 2024, but I’m hoping this is the first step toward getting a vinyl or streaming release.
How is your experience with the backtracking network code for online multiplayer in “Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics”?
Before entering the online experience, the options menu has its own network settings that let you enable or disable the microphone, voice chat volume, input latency, and connection strength on your PC. On Switch, you can only adjust input lag. The PS4 version lets you adjust input lag and connection strength, but there’s no voice chat option. I’m assuming people will be using the PS5 and PS4 native voice chat options here, rather than the in-game voice chat options. Disappointingly, my Switch version lacked connection strength options.
Before release, I only tested online on the Steam Deck via wired and wireless methods with another player who was also on Steam. In our experience, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Online is similar to Capcom Fighting Collection on Steam, but is a vast improvement over Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Edition. You can also adjust input lag and cross-region matching. We tested most of the game and did some collaboration on Punisher. It works despite the distance between us.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics offers matchmaking support for casual matches, ranked matches, and leaderboards (including high-score challenge mode).
I also want to point out that when you rematch while playing online, the cursor remains correct, so you can select the character you’re playing like you used to in games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 without having to manually move the cursor each time to choose your team. It’s little things like this that add up to make this series feel like a lot of love has been put into making sure players, including those learning the game for the first time, have the best experience possible.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classic Issue
My biggest complaint about Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classic is that there is only one save state for the entire collection (quick save). This is not a save state for each game, but a save state for the entire set. I was hoping this issue with Capcom Fighter Collection wouldn’t continue, but here we are. Another minor complaint and settings aren’t versatile or easy to apply or toggle light reduction or adjust visual filters instantly. It’s nice to have the option for each game, but I wish I could just enable light reduction and turn off the filter immediately for each game.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classic on Steam Deck – Verified
I tried Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on the Steam Deck for the first time, and it worked really well out of the box. I shouldn’t be surprised given that it’s Steam Deck verified, but you’ll never be able to tell a new game unless you try it yourself. When played on the Deck, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics runs at 720p, with 4K support when docked. I mostly played 1440p on the dock and 800p on the handheld. Although there is no 16:10 support, it is still 16:9.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics PC graphics options are located under the PC Settings menu in Options. These allow you to adjust resolution, display mode (full screen, borderless, windowed) and toggle vertical sync.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: An Arcade Classic for Nintendo Switch
While Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics looks great on Switch, the biggest downgrade compared to other platforms is load times. Getting in and out of the game on Steam and PS5 is nearly instantaneous, and the Switch version loads basically everything. This adds up, and since I played it on all three platforms simultaneously, it’s pretty compelling. I hope a connection strength option will eventually be added as well, since both PlayStation and PC have it. The Switch version does support local wireless, while the other versions don’t.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: An Arcade Classic on PS5
I wish Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics could run natively on PS5 rather than through backwards compatibility, as it would be great to have PS5 activity card support for entering and exiting different games from the dashboard. Other than that, it looks great on my 1440p monitor and loads quickly even when playing on an external hard drive. You can move it to an SSD for faster loading. I have no complaints about the PS4 version on PS5.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is one of Capcom’s best collections yet, covering everything, not just fighting games or arcade games. It offers top-notch extras and great online games on Steam that are a joy to play for the first time. I just want the entire collection’s save state to have multiple save slots.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Steam Deck Review Rating: 4.5/5
