Review: Marvel vs. Capcom Collection Revives Arcade Nostalgia

The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a phenomenal compilation for fans of fighting games, especially considering recent Capcom releases. This review covers experiences across Steam Deck, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses.

Game Lineup:

The collection boasts seven titles: X-Men: Children 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 (a beat 'em up, not a fighter). All are arcade versions, ensuring complete feature sets. Both English and Japanese versions are included, a significant bonus for fans.

Fifteen hours on Steam Deck, thirteen on PS5, and four on Switch provided ample playtime. While lacking deep expertise in these classic titles (this was a first playthrough), the enjoyment, especially with MvC2, easily justifies the price. The desire to own physical copies speaks volumes.

New Features:

The interface mirrors Capcom's Fighting Collection, including its flaws (discussed later). Key additions are online and local multiplayer, Switch's local wireless, rollback netcode, a robust training mode with hitboxes and input displays, customizable game options, adjustable white flash reduction, various display settings, and wallpapers. A helpful one-button super move option caters to newcomers.

Museum and Gallery:

A comprehensive museum and gallery showcase over 200 soundtrack tracks and 500 pieces of artwork, some previously unseen. While impressive, Japanese text in sketches and documents lacks translation. The inclusion of the soundtracks is a major win, hopefully paving the way for vinyl or streaming releases.

Online Multiplayer:

Network settings allow for microphone/voice chat adjustments (PC only offers full control), input delay, and connection strength (PC and PS4; Switch lacks connection strength). Steam Deck testing (wired and wireless) showed online play comparable to Capcom Fighting Collection on Steam, a significant improvement over the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. Matchmaking supports casual, ranked matches, and leaderboards, including a High Score Challenge. The persistent cursor memory for character selection after rematches is a welcome touch.

Issues:

The single save state (per collection, not per game) is a significant drawback inherited from Capcom Fighting Collection. The lack of universal settings for visual filters and light reduction is another minor inconvenience.

Platform-Specific Notes:

• Steam Deck: Verified and runs flawlessly, supporting 720p handheld and up to 4K docked (16:9 only).
• Nintendo Switch: Visually acceptable, but suffers from noticeable load times. Local wireless is a plus, but the missing connection strength option is a downside.
• PS5: Backward compatibility means no native PS5 features like Activity Cards. Performance is excellent on a 1440p monitor, with fast loading times (SSD recommended).

Conclusion:

Despite minor issues, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a superb compilation, excelling in extras and online play (especially on Steam). The single save state remains a frustrating limitation. Steam Deck score: 4.5/5.