Arc System Works’ upcoming Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is the first major fighting game featuring the IP’s characters since Capcom’s Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite and general manager of Marvel Games Haluk Mentes has spoken about wanting to “reinstate Marvel as a pillar of the fighting game community.” In an interview with GameInformer, he cited Marvel’s long history in fighting games, and how Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls plays into the company’s plans moving forward.
When asked about working with Arc System Works for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Mentes noted that Marvel Games wanted to work with the developer to tap into its “unmistakable identity”, from the anime-inspired art style to tag-team fighting game mechanics.
“Working with ArcSys and PlayStation has been a dream,” said Mentes. “From inception, the goal was to reinstate Marvel as a pillar of the fighting game community, and to do it with a unique, anime-inspired art style and some of the best tag-team fighting mechanics out there. From the get-go, we collectively started pushing the envelope in terms of design to bring out that unmistakable ArcSys identity. I particularly love how Iron Man looks in the game – super unique but instantly recognizable. We’re incredibly proud of Marvel Tōkon and I think players are in for a real treat when it comes out next year.”
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was first unveiled back in June, and is currently being developed for PC and PS5. The title was announced with a trailer, which also revealed that it will be a 4-on-4 tag-team fighter featuring characters from across Marvel’s various comics, including Star Lord, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Captain America, Storm, and Dr. Doom.
More details about the fighting game were revealed through a beginner’s guide trailer that was released back in August. Fights start in a 2v2 format, while escalating over time. A player throwing their opponent or pulling off specific special moves in stages can trigger a transition, which also brings new fighters into the fray.
The core mechanics of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls revolve around several gauges that players have to keep track of – the Vital Gauge, the Assemble Gauge, and the Skill Gauge. These gauges track health, tag-team abilities, and the ability to pull off stronger versions of standard attacks, respectively.
Arc System Works has also confirmed that it has big plans for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, including the fact that it has plans to continue supporting the fighting game and making it “the best experience ever” for the next ten years.
The last Marvel-themed fighting game – Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – was released all the way back in 2017. The title was seen as a bit of a downgrade over its predecessor – Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – thanks in large part to its much smaller roster of characters that, at launch, didn’t include several iconic characters like the X-Men. The title also featured an uninteresting narrative and simplistic combat compared to other tag-team fighters.
