Playing video games in an arcade back in the 1980s and 1990s was a wonderful thing. Saving up pocket money to play the likes of Street Fighter 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and WWF Wrestlefest are memories that I’ll treasure forever.

That being said, taking that trip down memory lane can often be deceiving, with our minds altering our memories believing some retro games to be better than they actually were. Just play a beloved classic from two or three decades ago, and there’s a good chance you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Check out the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection trailer below!

Thankfully, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is as good as veteran gamers will remember. In total, this collection includes seven games from 1993 to 2000, as well as a vast library of unlocked original concept art and pixel music giving you a chance to enjoy a dive deep into gaming history.

The games included in this collection are - The Punisher (1993), X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1996), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998) and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000).

As excited as I was to jump into this collection, I still retained a level of scepticism. Would my memory play tricks on me and would I soon find out that these once joyous games have aged worse than an 80s sitcom? Thankfully, at least for the most part, every game in this collection is just how I remembered, if not better in glorious HD.

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Let’s start with The Punisher, a milestone game that was a result of the first collaboration between Marvel and Capcom when it arrived in arcades. This is the first time the arcade version of The Punisher has been ported to consoles in its purest form. There was a poorly received SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis port in 94/95, but the less said about that, the better.

Unlike the other games in this collection, The Punisher is a side-scrolling two-player beat ‘em up featuring some classic character designs. Blasting through this game was an hour (ish) of bliss, beating up hordes of bad guys leading to the inevitable battle with Kingpin. If you love games like Final Fight, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage, I have no doubts that you’ll love The Punisher too.

The rest of the titles in the collection are fighting games whether it’s 1v1 or 2v2/3v3 tag. X-Men: Children of the Atom is the only 1v1 in the collection. Instantly, even after all these years, I was impressed with its super slick gameplay with a satisfying combo system, charming visuals and its 13-playable character roster of Marvel characters including Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Storm and more. It even includes Akuma from the Street Fighter series.

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For the most part, X-Men: Children of the Atom was a lot of fun to play until you get to the final battle against Magneto. This supervillain will spam the same move over and over. You can counter this with a well-timed block and dodge, but its excessive spamming was annoying nonetheless. Thankfully, I never experienced the same level of spam in any of the other games in the collection. As for the rest of the titles, all other games are 2v2 apart from Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes which is 3v3. Each game will notably improve the more recent they get with better visuals and slight variations in gameplay.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 is the best game in the collection not only because of its huge roster of 56 playable characters from Capcom, Avengers, and X-Men, but it also offers the smoothest gameplay experience with its intense Team Hyper combo system that allows all three characters to perform a spectacular Hypo Combo at once. Out of all the games in the collection, I can see The Punisher and Marvel vs Capcom 2 being the games that I return to most.

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If you own an arcade stick, that is without a doubt the definitive way to play all of the games in Arcade Classics. Don’t get me wrong, a controller is great but an arcade stick takes it to the next level, not only in terms of responsiveness but also replicating that arcade experience in the comfort of your own home. You can also play every game online but sadly during my review, I was unable to find an opponent, due to it being pre-release. However, I can’t see that being much of an issue post-launch.

What makes every game in this collection so special (despite the best efforts of Sir Spamalot Magneto), despite some being 30 years old, give or take, they still play as good, if not better than most modern fighting games, which is testament to the talents of the developers. It doesn't matter if you were playing the original games back in the day or for the very first time right now, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics surpasses anything nostalgia has to offer and is one of the most definitive collections of fighting games that you’ll play today.

Pros: Timeless gameplay, gorgeous HD sprites, tons of replay value

Cons: AI that spams can be frustrating

For fans of: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Final Fight

Score: 8/10: Excellent

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics releases on 12 September 2024 for PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. An Xbox release is set for 2025. A review code was provided by Capcom. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.