After almost a decade of demands from fans, Capcom and Marvel finally collaborated for the first time in years to offer one of the most anticipated game collections of all time. Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (say that name five times fast) is a collection of some of the most historically significant and critically acclaimed fighting games of all time for modern platforms. It comes complete with online and never-before-seen galleries as well. But, Capcom is no stranger to re-releasing games as well all know too well and has had its fair share of flops (see Street Fighter 30th Anniversary)

So, let's see if this collection is worth the price. This review is split in two sections: One, reviewing the included games themselves; And two, reviewing the collection as a product and it's added features.

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The collection sports 7 games: 6 of them being an assortment of Marvel fighters from X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994) to Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000). The other game included is the very first collaboration of the two companies, co-op beat 'em up The Punisher (1993), which was unexpected but a nice bonus. If you're not familiar, these are widely regarded to be some of the most best fighting games of all time.

Besides their connection to the Marvel IP, all of the fighters share easy-to-comprehend "Magic Series" combo systems that make jumping in from game to game very intuitive. As the games go on, more of the focus turned to the iconic tag team mechanics the series is known for, allowing you to make a dream team of characters and link their attacks. This collection is a lab monster's dream, as you could spend hours in training mode messing around with all the combinations possible.

That's not to mention the impeccable presentation of the games, which all have iconic art direction! When I think about most Marvel characters, their likeness here—drawn by Capcom legend Bengus—is the first to come to mind. Much of the games also feature awesome music tracks with Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997) and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000) being standouts in this regard.

I will now briefly review each of the games individually with my thoughts, though I do think they are all worth playing

The Punisher (1993)	A very brief 2-player beat-em-up that was surprisingly violent for a game made in the 1993. It's not one of Capcom's absolute best in the genre, but it's a short, fun time to do with a friend if you got 15 minutes. It's also unfortunately the only appearance of Punisher, Nick Fury, or Kingpin in this collection.

X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994)	Coming off the heels of Darkstalkers, this game was one of Capcom's first experiments with the combo-heavy high-flying action we'd see in later titles. It's a bit clunky but has great animations, stages, and surprisingly lengthy arcade mode endings. Worth checking out at least for history's sake but not that fun to be play against others.

Marvel Super Heroes (1995)	Also kinda clunky like X-Men: CotA but it also comes with a really fun gimmick. In this game, the players can collect infinity stones that fall onto the stage to get unique powers throughout the fight. It's absolutely broken, unfair, and chaotic, which makes it so much fun and a fan service dream for Marvel comic book fans!

X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996)

This was a game I never really got around to playing before the collection, but now I know how much I was missing out. This game has some of the most insane combos in the entire series with almost no limitations of what you can do. Characters here are so unhinged with pretty much everyone having an infinite combo! Fun gameplay, great art direction, and a nice arcade mode. This game was a slam dunk for the first Marvel/Capcom crossover.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997)	This game is pretty much a hastily made rehash of X-Men vs. SF with many of the same assets. Though it has some of my favorite music in the series, and I like the roster more, it just doesn't have as much sauce and characters feel more limited than X-Men vs. SF. Still worth checking out for all the secret characters though.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998)	Now we're talking! This game is freaking awesome. It has my favorite presentation in the series. All the characters are oozing with references and easter eggs. And, it just really feels like a TRUE crossover more than any other game in the series. The tag team and assist mechanics in this game allow for a lot of variety and the gameplay feels super tight. Highly recommend.

Marvel vs. Capcom: New Age of Heroes (2000)

THE GREATEST FIGHTING GAME OF ALL TIME (in my opinion). You choose a team of 3 characters with 3 possible assists, leading to limitless possibilities. Everyone is back with some new additions too so you will absolutely find a team that fits you. The DHC system allows for insane creativity, leading to you having as much fun labbing out new strategies as playing against others. The jazzy soundtrack and weird stages are definitely out of place, but have a great charm to them that grows on you. This game alone makes the collection worth it in my opinion.

The only major issue with all these games is they are horribly unbalanced. That is part of the charm but that makes them kind of lame to play against random people online. The top-tiers in each game are pretty much set in stone making the games kind of repetitive and hard to get into. If you intend to buy this collection to rank up online against random players, I would not recommend it. The game is best played against friends, people at your skill level, or with people who don't care about the meta and just play for fun. I've seen a lot of people get destroyed by Justin Wong online so I just needed to drop this warning!

Don't sweat! Play for fun!

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Now let's talk about the actual collection. How are the games emulated and what features it brings to the table.

I'm happy to report that this game runs great, almost as arcade perfect as it can be, with very little input delay (though this can be affected if you choose a graphically-intensive filter). The online netcode is pretty decent, though some characters are so fast in these games that it can mess with the rollback frames. Most of the glitches from the original releases are still here but some are unfortunately missing like some X-Men vs. SF infinites and MvC2's Juggernaut damage glitch. This means that technically the Fightcade emulator is still more arcade perfect, but I think these changes are very minor.

The biggest issue directly with the games though is matchmaking, which is not very good. I would run into the same people over and over again with poor internet and this seems to be a widespread problem. Capcom has acknowledged the issue, but it's still present as of this review. Once again, not an issue that I think is a big deal because I would not recommend taking random matches to many people but it is definitely something that needs to be fixed immediately.

Besides that the rest of the features are pretty standard. I appreciate the added achievements with cheeky references and see myself trying to 100% it in the future. You also get a jukebox with all the music tracks which is great, but unfortunately no original remixes like the ones that were included in the last Capcom Fighting Collection. The only original music is for menus. Online leaderboards are included and finally there's the gallery, which is an absolute highlight.

The gallery includes so many never-before-seen artworks at such high quality. I was honestly shocked at how far in I could zoom in on these images. The gallery shows that Capcom took this game seriously as a "digital museum" that preseves the legacy of this series.

My most major complaint however is that there was a huge missed opportunity to include tutorials. The only way to learn how to play these games are either online resources or the arcade marquee cards included. Since so many people will be playing these games for the first time, it is a real shame Capcom couldn't include resources to help beginners, especially considering how good they did in Street Fighter 6 with easing newcomers. Unfortunately, this lack of tutorials may intimidate general audiences.

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With all that said, there is one major feature I have yet to mention that pushes this collection from something only for enthusiasts into something I think anyone can have fun with. (Yes, this is even though the game refuses to teach a lot of it).

The game includes simplified controls for every game that allows players to do special moves and super moves with a single button. This feature, carried over from the previous Capcom Fighting Collection is an absolute game changer and allows the games to be played not just as sweaty fighters for tryhards like myself, but also as fun party games for anyone.

I tested this feature out this past weekend, playing the game with friends who have little to know experience with fighting games and it really did work. They were able to use the one-button specials to button mash, make crazy things happen on screen, and have fun.

Despite the iffy matchmaking and lack of tutorials, the simplified controls and high-quality games has me able to recommend this collection to both enthusiasts and casual fans alike!

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• The collection allows western audiences to officially play some secret or banned characters for the first time like Cyber Akuma and Norimaru in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
• If you wanna learn to play Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Max Dood, MalekFGC, and jmcrofts have great videos on the game. You can also use SuperCombo Wiki for some specific info on characters though many pages are incomplete.
• If you're tired of seeing the same top tiers when playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2, may I recommend playing with the fanmade "Ratio" ruleset. In this ruleset, each character is given a point-value you can't exceed so you can't play all top-tiers. This format is great for encouraging exploration with the whole roster and not just the top tiers.
• With X-Men '97 and Cyclops being on the game cover of this collection, I'm happy to see my favorite Marvel hero thriving!
• If you can't or don't want to get the collection, all of these games can still be emulated through Fightcade and even played online there.

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If you enjoy:	Marvel and/or Capcom characters kicking ass fast-paced chaotic fights pushing gameplay systems to their limits flashy presentation and funky music digital preservation and art galleries	don't miss out on the enjoyment of a lifetime!

If you dislike:	lack of tutorials matchmaking issues	maybe wait for a sale