The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a fantastic compilation for fans and newcomers alike. 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). All are arcade versions, ensuring complete features. Both English and Japanese versions are included, a delightful touch for fans.
This review reflects approximately 32 hours of gameplay across platforms. While lacking deep expertise in these classic titles (this was my first experience), the sheer enjoyment, especially with MvC2, easily justifies the purchase price.
New Features:
The interface mirrors Capcom's Fighting Collection, including its minor flaws (discussed later). Key additions include online and local multiplayer, Switch's local wireless, rollback netcode, a robust training mode with hitboxes and input displays, customizable game options, a crucial white flash reduction setting, various display options, 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 unreleased. While impressive, Japanese text in sketches and documents remains untranslated. The inclusion of the soundtracks is a major win, hopefully paving the way for future vinyl or streaming releases.
Online Multiplayer:
The online experience, tested extensively on Steam Deck (wired and wireless), is comparable to Capcom Fighting Collection on Steam, a significant improvement over the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. Options include adjustable input delay, cross-region matchmaking, casual/ranked matches, and leaderboards. The persistent cursor memory for character selection after rematches is a welcome detail.
Issues:
The most significant drawback is the single, collection-wide save state. This limitation, inherited from Capcom Fighting Collection, is disappointing. Another minor issue is the lack of universal settings for visual filters and light reduction; per-game adjustments are cumbersome.
Platform-Specific Notes:
- Steam Deck: Perfectly functional, Steam Deck Verified, runs at 720p handheld, supports 4K docked. 16:9 aspect ratio only.
- Nintendo Switch: Visually acceptable but suffers from noticeable load times. Local wireless is a plus, but the missing connection strength option is a drawback.
- PS5: Backward compatibility performance is excellent, loading quickly even from an external drive. The lack of native PS5 support and Activity Card integration is missed.
Overall:
Despite minor flaws, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics stands as one of Capcom's best compilations. The excellent extras and online play (particularly on Steam) make it a highly recommended purchase. The single save state remains the most significant area for improvement.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Steam Deck Review Score: 4.5/5
