Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a fighting game compilation published by Capcom. It is the second entry in Capcom's Fighting Collection series, following Capcom Fighting Collection in 2022, and includes seven arcade titles in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of crossover fighting games that were originally released between 1993 and 2000. It was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows in September 2024 digitally. Physical editions for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch were released in November 2024, while a digital Xbox One version was released in February 2025.
As with the previous Capcom Fighting Collection compilation, the collection features support for online multiplayer with rollback netcode, as well as support for Casual, Ranked and Tournament play on all titles, built in training and spectator modes, a quick save function, and a museum mode with viewable concept illustrations and key art, development docs, as well as an in-game music player with the full soundtracks for each game featured in the compilation.[6] Notably, certain games in the collection also introduce features new to these releases. X-Men: Children of the Atom enables the ability to play as Magneto, Juggernaut, and Street Fighter guest character Akuma for the first time in an official capacity, as does Marvel Super Heroes introduce playable versions of Doctor Doom, Thanos and Darkstalkers guest character Anita; Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter also features an officially playable depiction of Cyber Akuma and, for the first time, Norimaro in internationally-released versions of the game.[7] The fighting games in the compilation feature settings enabling the use of one-button commands for Hyper Combos in all offline and training modes, while not being available during online Ranked Matches.[8] All games also have toggles to reduce screen flashing for sensitivity purposes, and undisclosed alterations have been made to certain stages in Clash of Super Heroes.[9][10]
Development
Shuhei Matsumoto (left) and Takayuki Yoshida (right) at the Tokyo Game Show 2024
In 2016, Disney discontinued both the series and their in-house game development efforts, restructuring Marvel Games to a licensing-only model that allowed them to distribute their characters to third-party partners again such as Capcom.[13] Despite their partnership with Marvel being renewed with the development and releases of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017) and the eighth-generation console and Windows ports of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the respective re-releases of the Origins titles and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 remained the last time prior entries in the Marvel vs. Capcom series were accessible on consoles, as subsequent re-issues of the games were relegated to novelty arcade cabinets targeted at an enthusiast audience.[14][15]
The lack of accessibility for the legacy games in Capcom's Versus franchise inspired a fan campaign led by prominent fighting game streamer Maximilian Dood in August 2021, specifically advocating for re-releases of the classic Marvel vs. Capcom games onto modern consoles and PC to rejuvenate interest in the franchise, with particular attention towards Marvel vs. Capcom 2.[16][17] Mike Mika, the studio head of Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection developer Digital Eclipse, acknowledged the fan campaign by expressing interest in a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 re-release, and the studio had reportedly entered discussions with Disney and Capcom to revive the title by September 2021.[18]
In contrast with the prior remaster of the game in 2009, which was primarily modeled after the Dreamcast version, the Arcade Classics version of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is an emulation of the game's original arcade release, which applied across the collection's titles.[22][23]Marvel Games Product Development Manager Laura Hathaway discussed Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection during the first episode of The Official Marvel Podcast, citing Marvel's long-standing relationship with Capcom dating back to the 1990s, as well as a desire to surprise fans, as major reasons for greenlighting the compilation's development.[24]
In EMEA regions, the physical Nintendo Switch release of the game omits a Game Card and instead comes with a download code for the digital version, similar to other physical releases of Capcom games for the console in the aforementioned territories.[28]Arcade Classics is also the first entry in the Marvel vs. Capcom series to appear on a Nintendo platform,[29] as well as the first time the arcade entries in the franchise have been ported to Windows PCs.[30]
Pre-orders and day one editions of the game's physical release were shipped with a 32-page Marvel vs. Capcom one-shot published by Marvel Comics, with cover art by Todd Nauck.[31] Various Marvel Comics publications in December 2024 were also accompanied by variant covers based on original Marvel vs. Capcom 2 character art by Bengus.[32] An Xbox One version was later announced to be in development and was eventually released on February 4, 2025.[33][34]
Reception
Pre-release reactions
The announcement of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection was met with widespread acclaim from the fighting game community in light of the "#FreeMvC2" campaign to re-release the older Versus entries on modern platforms, along with surprise from spectators who observed the announcement took place within a presentation such as Nintendo Direct targeted at casual audiences as opposed to a fighting game-centric community venue like Evolution Championship Series.[35]
The reveal incited various reactions from significant competitive fighting game players, streamers and other alumni such as Justin Wong,[a] YipeS,[a] Steven "Dream King" Chavez, and Maximilian Dood,[a] the individual who inspired the movement advocating for the availability of the series' games on newer hardware.[37] The collection's existence rejuvenated conversations in online communities regarding a potential revival of the series with a follow-up to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017), with commentators attributing the materialization of the compilation towards Capcom's improved financial status since Infinite's original release due to consistent commercial success, a renewed relationship between Marvel and Capcom, as well as the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019. The latter event resulted in Marvel re-acquiring the film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters after a period in the company's history involving the de-emphasis on media and merchandise around those properties due to corporate disputes with prior rights holder 20th Century Fox, in favor of licenses that were fully controlled in-house.[38][39]
This development potentially allowed Capcom to negotiate for the inclusion of mutants including X-Men, and characters such as Doctor Doom and Super-Skrull in future games or re-issue past Versus titles featuring them, after those respective characters were entirely cut from Infinite to place a stronger focus around franchises appearing in internally-produced Marvel media at the time such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films.[40]
The lack of a release for Xbox consoles drew backlash from the platform's player community, with many expressing disillusionment towards the decision to omit a version for either Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S due to the prior releases of Capcom legacy content on those respective platforms, notably the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection in 2018 and the previous Capcom Fighting Collection in 2022, as well as prior Marvel vs. Capcom titles throughout the series' history.[41] The community's reaction towards the announcement caused the phrase "No Xbox" to briefly trend on Twitter in North America.[42]
Speculation arose relating the exclusion of an Xbox release to prior instances of Capcom not shipping certain remasters of their back catalogue content for the platform such as The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles collection in 2021, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection in 2023, and the Monster Hunter Stories games in 2024, with some surmising the lack of a development infrastructure for optimizing Capcom's internal MT Framework engine across last and current generation systems simultaneously explained the lack of Xbox versions for Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, among other recent re-releases from the publisher, as well as the omission of a native PlayStation 5 version despite the PlayStation 4 version being playable on the console through backwards compatibility.[43][44][45] Eventually on September 3, 2024, Capcom announced that they were working with Microsoft to release both Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection and the upcoming Capcom Fighting Collection 2 for Xbox One in 2025.[46]
Post-release
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Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic,[47][48][49] and 95% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.[50]
Upon the launch of the game, the online matchmaking system faced numerous issues, with many waiting half an hour to find a game despite the huge player count. Capcom acknowledged these issues and fixed them soon after.[64]
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was the third highest selling PlayStation 4 title in North America according to the September 2024 download charts.[65] The same month, it was the sixteenth best selling game in the United States.[66][67] From November 18 to 24, the Nintendo Switch version debuted as the ninth best selling game in Japan.[68][69] In November, it was the 20th best selling game in the United States.[70][71][72]
See also
Marvel vs. Capcom Origins - A 2012 compilation of Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Notes
^ abcAppeared in least one official video promoting the collection.[36]
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