I’ve played fighting games for 35 years — and Marvel Tōkon is now one of my all-time favorites

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a game that feels specifically made for me. This is the same sentiment I had when I first played X-Men vs. Street Fighter 20 years ago. Like that classic Capcom title, Marvel Tōkon combines my two biggest passions—video games and comic books—and delivers a thoroughly satisfying fighting game experience. If you’re like me, you’re in for a Galactus-sized treat.

Beyond the superheroic cast of Marvel characters, the main draw of Tōkon is that it’s a 4v4 tag fighter. While that sounds overwhelming, you’re really playing as one character because the team shares a single health bar. The characters are spectacular, representing both iconic and lesser-known heroes and villains from Marvel’s pantheon. Arc System Works’ renowned visual flair brings it all together, drawing you into this comic-book-inspired world.

While Marvel Tōkon has a great deal of mechanical depth for veteran fighting game players, newcomers won’t be stranded in the Negative Zone thanks to the simple-to-pick-up gameplay and helpful tutorials. It’s still too early to tell if Tōkon will become as legendary as the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, but right now, it’s the best current fighting game after Street Fighter 6. Find out why in my full review!

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls: The basics

• What is it? Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a 4v4 tag fighting game featuring a core roster of 20 Marvel Comics heroes and villains.
• Who is it for? It’s for fighting game enthusiasts and fans of Marvel Comics characters.
• What’s the price? Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is available for PS5 and PC and costs $59 at Amazon. The $99 Ultimate Edition contains the base game and all the Year 1 content.
• What other games has the developer made? Arc System Works has developed other notable fighting games like Guilty Gear: Strive, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
• What games is it similar to? Marvel Tōkon visually resembles the Marvel vs. Capcom games, but its mechanics are closer to Arc System Works titles like those mentioned above.

Contest of Champions

Marvel Tōkon has a dedicated story mode featuring episodes focused on the five main teams: Unbreakable X-Men, Amazing Guardians, Fighting Avengers, Knights of Doom, and Samurai Outriders. All are brought together to fight a cosmic being known as The Champion, who will destroy Earth if one of the teams can’t defeat him in battle. Given how The Champion has already destroyed several worlds across the galaxy, the heroes are in for a tough fight.

The story, written by comic book writer Kieron Gillen, won’t win awards, but it does an admirable job of showcasing each character's unique personality and motivations. Even if some of them come off as one-note or over-the-top, they feel like the characters you know from the comics and the MCU. This aspect also comes across during gameplay, as characters will quip with one another.

You’re free to skip the story mode if you’re just here for the fighting, but if you’re brand-new to Marvel, it’s a cool introduction to the characters. And if you’re a comic book fan, you’ll appreciate how this story is basically a video game version of the classic Contest of Champions event from the early ‘80s.

Assemble

Marvel Tōkon’s most distinctive feature is its 4v4 fighting gameplay, which is a first of its kind. But don’t think it's just Marvel vs. Capcom 2 with an extra fighter on your team, as it offers a unique spin on the tag-fighter formula that is both in-depth and easy to grasp.

Each best-of-five match starts with only your point character and an assist character. You’ll unlock the rest of your team by triggering stage transitions or wall breaks, connecting specific auto combos, or when the next round starts. This creates a sense of momentum as matches ramp up in intensity and resources.

Unlike Marvel vs. Capcom, all team members share a single health bar instead of having their own. That means you can’t bench a character to regain health. This part took me a while to grasp since it’s such a departure from even newer tag fighters like Invincible Vs, but it’s a great way to make matches less hectic since you’re really dealing with two main combatants and their respective assists.

The Assemble Gauge and assist system are at the heart of team play. Each character is assigned to a slot that determines their assist type, such as Shooter, Vertical, and Assault. For instance, Iron Man fires his repulsor beam from afar, while Wolverine gets up close and personal. You can also use assists to extend combos. There are defensive and armored options, and you can briefly take control of an assist character. Learning to manage the Assemble Gauge is crucial to victory.

Outside the Assemble Gauge, there’s the Skill Gauge, which, when full, lets you unleash a character’s super moves, powered-up normal moves, and cinematic Ultimate Skills. Naturally, you can chain team super moves in a delayed hyper combo style. The most devastating and impressive-looking attack is Tōkon Assemble, which uses both the Assemble and Skill Gauges for an all-out attack involving your entire team. This is one you’ll want to bust out if you need a serious comeback.

Marvel Tōkon features traditional motion inputs like Street Fighter, but it also includes simplified “Quick Skill” options and easy chain/auto combos. These let newer players compete more effectively with high-level players, though, naturally, they’ll make things even easier for the latter. I tend to mix both, depending on which will deal more damage or if I just want to do something awesome fast.

Danger Room

Online is as robust as you’d expect for a modern fighting game, and it’s where the majority of diehard players will spend most of their time battling each other. I tested the online modes on my PS5 Pro (Ranked, Casual, and private Room matches) and had no issues finding matches, and those matches always ran without problems. I know this hasn’t been the case for PC players, who’ve encountered many issues, but if you’re on PS5, it should be smooth sailing.

There’s a large Open Lobby that can hold up to 64 players and serves as a social hub with arcade cabinets, customizable avatars, emotes, and chat. If you’re familiar with the online lobby for Dragon Ball FighterZ, you’ll know what to expect here. You’re free to skip this lobby and jump straight into matches from the main online menu, but I find this hub a nice place to visit between battles.

The game has full cross-play between PS5 and PC, so you and your friends can play on your preferred platforms. And as expected from a modern fighting game, there’s also rollback netcode to ensure matches feel smooth and responsive. Marvel Tōkon’s online might not be revolutionary, but it works (at least on PS5).

Battle World

Beyond the story and online, there are other modes to sink your adamantium claws into.

Arcadia Rumble is a wild party mode for up to 8 players that involves collecting buffs and using “Fighter Souls” to power them in a last-man-standing style rumble. This one is interesting because you’re mostly using your little avatar to run around the lobby collecting buffs and trying to hit other players. When time runs out, you’re tossed into a proper versus match against another player. Whoever scores the most wins the Arcadia Rumble. This isn’t a mode I’ll come back to often, but it’s a unique diversion, to be sure.

If you want to hone your skills, there’s a tutorial and battle guides for each character. The battle guides are especially useful for getting a clear sense of how your main character works. I especially like the dedicated combo challenges here. The tutorial is also very good because it doesn’t overwhelm players with too much information.

Lastly, there’s a local versus mode for when you have friends over. I didn’t get to play this as intended since I live alone like Uatu the Watcher, but if you have company over, you can quickly get into matches this way.

Dazzler

Marvel Tōkon features the same stunning graphics and overall presentation you’d expect from an Arc System Works game. Instead of a more traditional hand-drawn comic book art style, the game looks like a straight-up anime, which still works extremely well for the Marvel characters. The characters’ updated designs are both iconic and fresh.

The smooth and expressive animations are another highlight. Each attack, super move, and wall smash feels impactful and looks like something out of a battle anime. I especially like the character animations, which do a nice job of showing off their personalities. The stages are also impressive, featuring locales like Wakanda, New York City, and the Savage Land, to name a few. The fact that each stage has several locales incentivizes you to initiate a stage transition to see the full thing.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Arc System Works game without a roaring rock soundtrack. Though I find Guilty Gear’s music more memorable, the tracks here have the bombast and drama you’d expect in a cinematic superhero battle. The voice work sounds as good as the music, with all the voice actors doing their best to bring the characters to life.

Marvel Tōkon review: Verdict

I’ve been excited for Marvel Tōkon ever since its announcement, and I’m happy to say that it has far exceeded my expectations. Instead of trying to be a Marvel vs. Capcom clone, it combines the best aspects of Arc System Works games to deliver the most distinctive tag fighter ever. The fact that experts and newbies can both have a great time is a testament to the game’s excellent mix of depth and accessibility.

Naturally, this is just the start for Marvel Tōkon, as Year 1 will feature four new characters and an additional stage. I’m here for the long haul and can’t wait to see how the game expands and improves over the years. We’ll see if it can become an FGC staple at tournaments, but based on its solid foundation, there’s no reason why it can’t. Make mine, Marvel!

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