Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review – Switch, Steam Deck, and PS5 Covered

The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a phenomenal compilation for fans and newcomers alike, offering a comprehensive retrospective of classic Capcom fighting games. 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 feature sets. Both English and Japanese versions are included, a significant plus for fans.

Extensive playtime across multiple platforms reveals a highly enjoyable experience, particularly with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, justifying the purchase price many times over. While lacking expertise in these titles prior to this collection, the fun factor is undeniable.

New Features:

The user interface mirrors Capcom's Capcom Fighting Collection, inheriting both its strengths and some shortcomings (discussed later). Key additions include online and local multiplayer, Switch-specific local wireless, rollback netcode, a comprehensive training mode with hitbox displays, customizable game options, adjustable white flash reduction, various display options, and several wallpaper choices. A helpful one-button super move option caters to newcomers.

Museum and Gallery:

A rich museum and gallery showcase over 200 soundtrack tracks and 500 pieces of artwork, some previously unreleased. While a fantastic addition, Japanese text within sketches and documents remains untranslated. The inclusion of the soundtracks is a welcome addition, hopefully paving the way for future vinyl or streaming releases.

Online Multiplayer:

The online experience, tested extensively on Steam Deck (wired and wireless), is a significant improvement over previous Capcom collections. Rollback netcode delivers smooth gameplay, even across distances. Options include adjustable input delay and cross-region matchmaking. The inclusion of casual and ranked matches, leaderboards, and a High Score Challenge mode adds further depth. Smart rematch functionality retains cursor positions, enhancing usability.

Issues:

The collection's most significant drawback is the single, global save state. This affects the entire collection, not individual games, a carryover from a previous Capcom compilation. Another minor inconvenience is the lack of universal settings for visual filters and light reduction; adjustments must be made per game.

Platform-Specific Notes:

• Steam Deck: Fully verified, running smoothly at 720p (handheld) and supporting 4K docked. 16:9 aspect ratio only.

• Nintendo Switch: Visually acceptable, but suffers from noticeable load times compared to other platforms. Local wireless is a plus, but the lack of a connection strength option is a drawback.

• PS5: Runs via backward compatibility; native PS5 support would have been preferable for features like Activity Cards. Loads quickly, even from an external drive.

Conclusion:

Despite minor shortcomings, the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a superb compilation, offering excellent extras and impressive online play (especially on Steam). The single save state remains a significant frustration, but the overall experience is highly enjoyable and recommended.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Steam Deck Review Score: 4.5/5