The Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics bundle is a dream come true for fighting game fans. Not only is each of the six fighting games being brought to modern gaming hardware, in some cases properly playable for the first time in many years, but each has a bunch of extra additions, and unique properties. Let’s break down the entire collection.
Alongside the six games, Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics contains a wealth of quality-of-life improvements and extras. For each game there are dedicated training and practice modes (complete with hitboxes, hurtboxes, startup information, input readers, and more), along with rollback netcode to let you play with friends from all over the world, display filters, and customizable difficulty and attribute (timer speed, attack power) settings.
Then, on top of that, you’ve got full move lists, marquee cards (previously shown only on arcade cabinets) and music players, as well as a museum mode full of concept art, high-definition character and game art, and tons more.
Hit Next to get into the games, themselves!
2 / 9
It’s hard to call any version of these games “grounded,” but X-Men: Children of the Atom is certainly the most grounded and straightforward of this collection. A six-button fighting game, characters have more normals and fewer specials than in other versions, letting you focus on your movement, managing your meter, and selecting the Light, Medium, or Heavy versions of your limited special moves to express yourself.
This is also one of the few games in this collection that is 1v1, meaning you don’t have to manage your tag team partner’s health, assist calls, or anything like that. Just pick your character, get used to their moves, specials, and supers, and make the most of them. On the ‘Street Fighter’ to ‘wild 3v3 nonsense’ spectrum, Children Of the Atom is as close to Street Fighter as this collection gets.
Because of that, this is the best entry if you like your fighting games simple and straightforward. While quite a few special moves can be a bit wild (particularly Omega Red, with his screen-filling tentacles), it’s still probably the best entry in the series for the classic, grounded gameplay players have come to expect from Capcom titles like Street Fighter. There’s even an ‘auto-guard’ mode, which is perfect for beginners who want to ease into things. The music is also rocking, which is always a big plus.
The coolest character is obviously Iceman (You’re fired—Ed), but some of the others include: Omega Red, Sentinel, and Wolverine.
3 / 9
Expanding beyond the X-Men, this was the first entry in the franchise to incorporate heroes and villains from the larger Marvel universe. Fan favorites like Spider-Man, Hulk, and Iron Man make an appearance, as well as some more niche villains like Shuma Gorath and Blackheart.
Marvel Super Heroes also distinguishes itself by incorporating an Infinity Gem mechanic, a theme that would return much later in Marvel VS. Capcom Infinite, even if the mechanic itself changed quite a bit.
Here you attack your enemies with special moves to knock Infinity Gems out of them, pick them up, then activate their unique effects with a special input. The effect changes based on which Gem is used, with the Soul Gem giving health back to the player, and other gems giving you increased speed, armor on your attacks, and more. When the Infinity Power gauge fills up, filled by every attack, you’ll also gain access to an Infinity Special.
This is the best entry for players who like the gameplay of X-Men: Children of the Atom, but want a bit more meat on the bone. With a more varied cast and the Infinity Gem mechanic to deal with, things aren’t as straightforward as they initially seem. This means there is a little more to dig into while staying in a 1v1 fighting game format. The ‘auto-guard’ beginner-friendly mode from Children of the Atom also returns, although this time it limits you to only three Arcade Mode battles if you select it.
Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Magneto
4 / 9
The precursor to MvC, this is when things really started to kick off. The first tag game and the first crossover game in the series, it paved the way for what would come later, although it left behind the greater universe reflected in Marvel Super Heroes, focusing on only the X-Men side.
It also made some key changes to the Capcom characters, compared to their Street Fighter counterparts. Ryu and Ken are very similar, however Ryu has larger fireballs and he can throw them horizontally in the air. If that sounds like Akuma to you, just wait, because not only did they give Akuma’s diagonal air fireball to Ken, but scrolling off the upper edge of the character select screen reveals a hidden character; Akuma himself.
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter is great if you want to experience a solid, but basic, tag fighting game. It still controls like the earlier games in the series, but this time you’ll control two characters. What makes it great as a ‘beginner’ tag game? Instead of also having to learn how to use Assist attacks from your off-screen character, all you need to do is switch your injured character out when they have taken damage, letting them heal off-screen before you switch back to them. Interestingly, this means it’s also the closest gameplay equivalent to the most recent MvC entry, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, a very fun game in its own right.
Storm, Magneto, Wolverine, Sabretooth, and (of course) hidden character Akuma.
5 / 9
This is where the Marvel Vs. Capcom formula truly takes shape for the first time, so it makes perfect sense that—especially if you want to dip your toes into the series before it demands learning three characters—Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter is a great place to start. Characters are very similar to the later MvC, but you only have two per team. This also means things are a bit less hectic and easier to keep track of.
The final missing piece of the MvC formula, added in this entry, is the Assist. Press Medium Punch and Medium Kick to summon your off-screen teammate to perform their assist attack. With a broad range of abilities, and the option to do simultaneous supers with both team members at once, this entry in the series lets players set up some of the grimy and oppressive situations the series would later become known for, even if it does tone down some things, like infinites from X-Men Vs. Street Fighter.
Sakura, Blackheart, Shuma-Gorath (and don’t forget about the six powerful hidden characters).
6 / 9
The previous game, Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter, broadened the versus series to encompass both X-Men and characters from the greater Marvel universe. With Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, it was finally time to do the same for Street Fighter and Capcom, with representation from Strider, Mega Man, Darkstalkers, and more. Even if your favorite character isn’t on the main roster, they likely appear as a Special Partner, the name for the assist mechanic in MvC1.
Strider, Captain Commando, Venom, Gambit (and the five hidden characters)
7 / 9
The classic. The gold standard for beautiful nonsense. The reason people were so excited this collection was announced. Unavailable for ages, but still a staple of fighting game get-togethers the world over, MvC2 is unhinged in the best way. Expanding player teams to three characters saw it find its glorious madness.
MvC2 is also the entry where Capcom ditched the six-button setup for a more streamlined one with two punches, two kicks, and two dedicated ‘teammate’ buttons. This entry also got rid of the dedicated ‘assist’ character list, opting to add three assists to each playable character, and letting you choose which type of assist you wanted them to use. Now you need to think about more than just withdrawing wounded characters so they can heal: You’ll need to consider which assists you’ll have backing you up if you momentarily retreat.
Sentinel, Cable, Dr. Doom, Strider (but there is tons of fun to be had with loads of characters in this game)
8 / 9
One of these things is not like the other, and this time, it’s The Punisher. Not a fighting game at all, this side-scrolling beat-em-up features Frank “The Punisher” Castle and Nick Fury as they fight criminals of every kind across the streets of the city, trying to take down the Kingpin.
Similar to games like Streets of Rage and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Punisher has punch buttons, jumping attacks, and healing items and weapons picked up from the ground. He can use everything from his fists to bats, guns, and grenades to take down basic enemies and hardier bosses. The pause menu also allows you to skip to whichever stage you want, which is a nice quality-of-life feature.
Nick Fury. (Come on, you had to see that one coming.)
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9 / 9