Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls review: "A stunning comeback for superhero fighters essential for Marvel and genre fans alike"

Every match in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls feels like it could be ripped fresh from the pages of a comic book in how it builds a tight narrative of clashing superheroes and supervillains. While it may begin as a traditional 2v2 bout, the end of a combo at the edge of a screen smashes the opponent out of one panel and across the stage when another hero suddenly joins, turning this into a 3v2, while each subsequent loss sees another hero jumping into the fray until it culminates in an epic 4v4 showdown. These are the largest teams of any tag fighter to date, and no franchise is better suited than Marvel, which gave birth to this sub-genre back in the '90s with X-Men vs. Street Fighter – which eventually morphed into the iconic Marvel vs Capcom.

The difference, however, is that this latest Marvel fighter has changed hands to another Japanese studio, and in the hands of Arc System Works, it's a much-needed course-correct following the nadir of Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite. Without the heavy hand of the Marvel Cinematic Universe influencing story and art direction, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls instead goes back to its comic book with an anime twist that naturally fits the studio behind stylish anime fighters like Guilty Gear Strive and Dragon Ball FighterZ like an Infinity Gauntlet.

Living comics

Every frame of animation in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is just gorgeous to behold. You're so convinced that it's 2D animation of the highest caliber until you launch an opponent or execute a screen-filling super skill that shows these character models from a different camera angle. It's a style that Arc System Works has already perfected with its past titles, but also one that it wisely doesn't overly rely on.

To Sony and Marvel's credit, there's no attempt to shoehorn in a half-baked cinematic story mode with the existing assets. Instead, it leans into its origins by literally having episodes that unfold as comic books. And I don't mean the basic, visual novel-style bookends of Street Fighter 6's arcade mode.

These episodes are penned by acclaimed comic book author Kieron Gillen, each having its own visual flair and flavor thanks to a variety of artists – including Marvel veterans as well as renowned manga artists like Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima

Episodes have a dynamic presentation as comic panels tease out in a scene, changing in size and order around the page for emphasis, further bolstered by expressive voice acting and a surprising amount of DualSense haptics. It's certainly more lively than having character models standing around talking at each other with an endless amount of shot-reverse-shot (not naming any names).

The central plot of a worlds-threatening invasion that contrives a reason for our superheroes to fight one another is boilerplate stuff for a fighting game (though even the antagonists are actually deep cuts from Marvel history). But, what makes these episodes so memorable is that they are anchored in more tangible human drama, be it the fangirling Ms Marvel wanting to prove herself to reluctant mentor Spider-Man, or Storm's crisis of confidence as she tries to lead a beaten-down but still unbreakable X-Men against a backdrop of mutant prejudices at its peak.

In other words, real care has gone into the composition of each official fighting team, making for a diverse roster that strikes a balance between classic favorites and cult classics, with the addition of Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider, Blade, and Magik almost feeling like a shout-out to the sorely underrated Marvel's Midnight Suns.

Balancing act

Of course, outside of the story mode, you're free to pick your team of four as you see fit. Yet, as intimidating as the idea of a 4v4 fighter might seem on paper, ArcSys makes it accessible through a lot of smart choices. As mentioned before, you're eased in with a traditional 2v2, as you 'assemble' the full team over the course of the match. Having another team member automatically joining the player who's lost a round feels like gaining reinforcements, always teasing the possibility of an exciting comeback rather than getting swept away in your opponent's momentum.

In the same way, you can only unleash the show-stopping, maximum-meter-draining Tokon Assemble that uses all four fighters as a last-ditch ultimate when your opponent is on match point. Having the team sharing one health bar means it avoids the prolonged bouts in other tag fighters, such as Dragon Ball FighterZ, when you swap out low-health fighters, while also making it feasible for new players to just focus on mastering one fighter and using the rest as assists.

In usual Arc System Works style, Marvel Tokon is a four-button fighter at heart, though this entry emphasizes the simplicity of control that can bring. Pared back to a light, medium, and heavy attack rather than separate punches and kicks as Street Fighter has, the final button is an assist that can call in allies to supplement a beatdown.

With gatling combos, basic chains always respect inputs so you don't have to sweat strict timing outside of really fancy chains, while each fighter's core command inputs are identical (pour one out for fans of charging fighters). Having both simpler commands for specials – one direction with a squeeze of the trigger – and traditional motion inputs – say, a quarter circle and two buttons – available at all times allows for flexibility, be it if you struggle with the traditional Shoryuken motion, or your chain of moves just makes it easier to tap one input rather than the other.

More importantly, even with these shared inputs, each fighter's playstyle feels distinct, from the projectile-based Doom to the combination of tech-powered tankiness of Peni Parker and her mech SP//dr, as are their moves. So, while Cap and Iron Man perform an anti-air with the Shoryuken input, the same move for Spidey is a stylish counter, while Ms Marvel's is a grab.

This might be Arc System Works' most successful attempt at a simple to grasp fighting system yet, but it still has plenty of depth veterans of the genre will enjoy. As fast and fun as Marvel Tokon feels to play, it's going to be for nothing if your only recourse is eating humble pie against seasoned tag fighter players who know how to exploit its mechanics to a high level. Easy combos can be blocked, assist attacks batted away, and before you know it, your opponent's knocked you across the stage multiple times and has their full team criss-crossing to keep you locked into a juggling pile-on you can barely cry, "Stop, I'm already dead."

There are fortunately a range of modes to keep you occupied, including a very robust training mode breaking down every mechanic and character moveset, with combo trials that reveal plenty of depth even with simpler inputs. While the branching arcade mode in All Star Arena is a no-brainer, the most compelling is a roguelike-ish survival mode where your team gets buffs from Soul cards that you can also upgrade if you draw a duplicate card or change out for a different buff, while also encountering regular boss fights in the form of a mega-buffed opponent.

Time will tell whether it will be as beloved as Marvel vs Capcom 3, but after the dire mis-step of Infinite threatened to undo Marvel's long fighting game heritage, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a fantastic comeback that packs both style and substance, reminding the new wave of tag fighters like 2XKO and Invincible VS just who is the genre's champion.

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