Two of the biggest companies ever are going to take gamers for a ride once again, and it’s been a partnership that fans have been requesting for and have seemingly given up all hope for… Until now.
During last week’s latest Nintendo Direct presentation, the video game world was taken completely by surprise when Capcom dropped a bombshell and revealed “Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics” – bringing together several titles that have not seen release for decades. Collecting together for the very first time the entire Marvel and Capcom selection of 2D fighting games plus the arcade superhero beat ‘em up classic The Punisher, this marks the very first time that 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 the Superheroes, and Marvel Vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes will be released together in an official capacity. The collection will come to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam later this year, and it’s a forgone conclusion that every fighting game fan collectively lost their minds when this announcement was made.
As one of the greatest video game crossovers and collaborations ever made, the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection is a VERY IMPORTANT chapter in the modern history of gaming. With the landscape of entertainment and media constantly changing, licensing issues and expired agreements have kept these games from seeing the light of day again on systems and consoles for years outside of Fightcade for the PC and special commemorative releases such as Arcade 1Up’s home arcade cabinet release of Marvel Vs Capcom 2. The last time Capcom was able to release the games in an official capacity was way back in 2009 with an HD digital release of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That rerelease actually set gamers up for the arrival of Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds in 2011 for those systems, and a year later in 2012 Capcom dove further into the nostalgia rabbit hole and release Marvel Vs Capcom Origins – a compilation that only featured Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel Vs Capcom: Clash of the Superheroes.
As the popularity of Marvel grew thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe of films as well as Disney buying out the House of Ideas, licensing agreements changed and it was clear interest in these games weren’t a priority to those outside of the fighting game community or dedicated fans. The then ongoing legal battle between Disney and 20th Century Fox was problematic, as the latter company held the rights to characters from the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. Because of that problem, Marvel and Disney subtly removed any trace of the mutants or their first superhero family from their projects. This was pretty evident in the next Marvel Vs Capcom game in Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite – where classic mainstay characters such as Wolverine, Storm, or Magneto were omitted and instead replaced by the likes of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Nova. Longtime fans were not pleased with the changes, and the game’s development process, controversies, and eventual release and performance didn’t help matters at all. While playable and a decent game on its own right, MvC:I didn’t meet expectations and underperformed commercially – leading to a hiatus for the series and fans wondering if this was indeed the end of one of the greatest video game crossover franchises ever made.
In the years after the game’s release and during the midst of the pandemic, some hardcore MvC fans held on to that spark of hope that Marvel and Capcom would collaborate again someday. To that end, support for the older games was still going strong in the fighting game community – with top FGC players such as Justin Wong, Yipes, and more showing their support by continuing to play and talk about the game plus supporting and acting as commentary for Marvel Vs Capcom games that are featured in tournaments.
However, one of the most dedicated voices in the fighting game community has to be Maximillian Dood – one of the biggest YouTubers and Twitch streamers who lives for fighting games and absolutely loves the Marvel Vs Capcom series. To that end, he started a movement a few years ago called “#FreeMvC2” – which was a hashtag used in Twitter and Social Media that aimed to get the word out to Marvel and Capcom to rerelease Marvel Vs Capcom 2 for modern video game systems and platforms and make it available to not just fans but the new generation of gamers who have yet to experience the series.
Fast forward to today, and Marvel and Capcom have finally made the dream a reality – Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was announced and the modern world will finally get to experience one of the greatest collaborations between video games and the world of superheroes all over again. Fans have already started placing the collection on their wishlist for their respective platforms, and people genuinely freaked out after the announcement was made – myself included. It is no secret that I love the MvC franchise and have waited for the day to own all of the games together in a modern system like the PS5/ PS4 and Switch – and now we’re finally getting our chance and it’s coming later this year!
With the release of Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, is this a sign that a Marvel Vs Capcom 4 may be in development? Time will tell, but for now support this game and everything these two companies do to get the ball rolling so we can be taken for a ride again!