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

The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a fantastic compilation for fans of the series, and a great entry point for newcomers. This review covers experiences across Steam Deck, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses.

Game Selection:

The collection boasts seven classic 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 based on arcade versions, ensuring complete feature sets. Both English and Japanese versions are included, a welcome addition for fans of regional variations like Norimaro in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.

The reviewer's 32 hours of playtime across platforms demonstrates the sheer amount of content. While lacking experience with the games prior to this collection, the reviewer found MvC2 particularly enjoyable, justifying the purchase price.

New Features & Enhancements:

The collection shares a similar interface to Capcom's Fighting Collection, including online and local multiplayer, Switch wireless support, rollback netcode, a training mode with hitboxes and input displays, customizable game options, adjustable screen settings (crucially including a white flash reduction), and various wallpapers. A helpful one-button super move option caters to newcomers.

Museum & Gallery:

A comprehensive museum and gallery feature over 200 soundtrack tracks and 500 pieces of artwork, some previously unreleased. While a valuable inclusion for fans, Japanese text in sketches and documents remains untranslated. The reviewer hopes this is a precursor to future vinyl or streaming soundtrack releases.

Online Multiplayer:

Online play utilizes rollback netcode and offers casual and ranked matches, leaderboards, and a High Score Challenge mode. Network settings allow for microphone/voice chat adjustments (PC only offers more granular control than Switch), input delay, and connection strength (absent on Switch). Testing on Steam Deck (wired and wireless) demonstrated smooth online play comparable to Capcom Fighting Collection and a significant improvement over the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. The convenient retention of character selections between rematches is a noteworthy detail.

Issues:

The collection's most significant drawback is the single, global save state, impacting convenience. The lack of universal settings for visual filters and light reduction also proves inconvenient.

Platform-Specific Notes:

• Steam Deck: Verified and runs flawlessly, supporting 720p handheld and up to 4K docked (16:9 only).
• Nintendo Switch: Visually acceptable, but suffers from noticeable load times. The lack of a connection strength option is also noted. Local wireless is a plus.
• PS5: Runs via backward compatibility; looks excellent but lacks PS5 Activity Card integration. Load times are fast.

Conclusion:

Despite minor flaws (primarily the single save state), Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a highly recommended compilation. The excellent online experience, extensive extras, and the opportunity to experience these classic titles make it a worthwhile purchase.

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