I\u2019m a big fan of the Marvel vs Capcom fighting game series, but it\u2019s been almost a decade since the last title, Infinite, was released. So, it\u2019s not hard to see why Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls caught my eyes when it was first announced last June.<\/p>\n
Made by the folks at Arc System Works, the Japanese studio behind Guilty Gear Strive, BlazBlue and Dragon Ball FighterZ, the surprise is that Tokon does not simply feel like Marvel vs Capcom (MvC) with an anime makeover. There are similarities, for sure, but Arc System Works has come up with its own wild idea of what a Marvel fighting game should be.<\/p>\n
Making it 4v4<\/h2>\n\n
Image: Marvel \/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The big difference between MvC and Tokon is that fights are now 4v4 with the latter. If picking three characters in MvC seems complicated, adding another seemed confusing at first. Tokon gets around this by not giving you the team at the start of a match. Each match begins with your leader and teammate number two, while the remaining two become available after a stage transition or when you lose a round. The fight therefore starts almost like a conventional one-on-one encounter before gradually becoming more chaotic.<\/p>\n
There is a lot happening once all four start jumping onto the screen. Teammates can appear for assists, continue a combo or replace your active character, sometimes within the space of a few seconds. It\u2019s literally everything, everywhere, all at once \u2013 and it looked awesome. This is probably the easiest Arc System Works fighting game to appear competent in, even when you are not.<\/p>\n\n
Image: Marvel \/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
That is partly because the controls have been kept relatively simple. Light, medium and heavy attacks are joined by a dedicated button for special abilities, and basic combinations can be performed without having to remember complicated directional inputs. You can launch an opponent into the air, call in a teammate and end with a Super Skill without having to memorise his or her move list. Initially though, I did wonder if the developers had simplified things too much, especially when the automatic combos seemed to do much of the work for me. Then it dawned on me while playing against live opponents; knowing when to block, counter and use assists, rather than using flashy moves, are key.<\/p>\n
One clever decision is giving the entire team a shared health bar. Characters are not individually knocked out, so you will not suddenly lose the one fighter you know how to use and be left fumbling around with the other three. I could spend most of a match controlling Spider-Man, for example, while calling on Iron Man, Wolverine and Doctor Doom whenever I needed help. This removes some of the pressure when experimenting with a new team. Once I became more comfortable, I started switching characters during combos and paying more attention to how their attacks complemented one another. That was when the 4v4 system began to make sense.<\/p>\n
All the Avengers assembled<\/h2>\n\n
Image: Marvel \/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
At launch, 20 characters are available in the roster. It may seem like it\u2019s not especially generous for a game that allows you to pick four of them in a match. However, that\u2019s far from the truth because the current meta is pretty well thought out. For example, Spider-Man is great for players who like to close the distance, Wolverine is a fantastic close-combat character and Iron Man or Doctor Doom are projectile-based fighters. Then there\u2019s the lumbering hard-hitting brawler in the Hulk. Each are very distinctive in their own ways and picking three as your secondary or backup players require strategies.<\/p>\n
Some obvious favourites are missing, though. There is no Deadpool, Thor or Rocket Raccoon at launch, and I suspect both Arc System Works and Sony already know how many additional character passes or DLC are prepared in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n
Image: Marvel \/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Visually, Tokon is a treat. Arc System Works has reinterpreted the characters with a strong Japanese anime influence and they look gorgeous \u2013 Iron Man\u2019s armoured samurai design is by far my favourite. The animation gives attacks a wonderful sense of movement, and Super Skills briefly turn fights into scenes you would have expected from a very expensive animated Marvel series.<\/p>\n
It can become visually overwhelming, especially once several assists and effects appear simultaneously, but the game is at its most entertaining when it looks as though a comic-book crossover has gone completely out of control. Knocking an opponent through a wall can send both teams into another part of the stage, with the background and music changing along with it. That said, there are only six main stages, which feels a little thin in my opinion. But then again, expect future DLCs to expand on this.<\/p>\n
Apart from the standard online matches, Tokons\u2019 Episode Mode (aka story mode) turned out to be far more entertaining than I expected. Its five chapters follow the different teams as they enter a tournament while dealing with a new threat to Earth, and while the plot is hardly Marvel at its most complicated, the character interactions are fun.<\/p>\n
Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n
Image: Marvel \/ Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
What surprised me most about Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is how easy it is to get a hang of its potentially confusing 4v4 setup. It looks chaotic \u2013 and frequently is \u2013 but the shared health bar, staggered team assembly and simplified controls prevent it from becoming overwhelming. More importantly, the accessibility does not come at the expense of depth. It did not take long for me to perform something impressive but knowing when to call an assist or switch fighters is not a short learning curve.<\/p>\n
However, there are areas where Tokon feels slightly lean at launch. Twenty fighters are not a lot when every match involves eight of them, while six main stages will probably start to feel repetitive after a while. Episode Mode is entertaining, but the game\u2019s lasting appeal will still depend largely on whether you enjoy fighting with other players. And yes, the roster and stage selection already look suspiciously ready to be expanded through DLC.<\/p>\n
Still, none of that stopped me from wanting another match. Arc System Works has not tried to recreate another Marvel vs Capcom, and Tokon is better for it. It is flashy, slightly excessive and occasionally difficult to follow, but that to me is also part of the fun.<\/p>\n
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is now available on PlayStation 5 and PC. <\/i>Click here to buy<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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