Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’re mulling over. Today, Jim shines a light on an already brilliant Live drop…
It took me a few hours to get down after June’s Nintendo Direct. Display cabinets were stacked on top of each other. At the moment, it feels like Nintendo is bringing out its biggest guns, hitting us fanboys in the face with every announcement we could possibly want.
A few hours later, I returned Full list of notifications with a level head. Calmer and wearing sensitive goggles, I expected things to be a little different. I’m wrong. It still slaps.
The intensity of notifications is exactly what the Switch needs in a year that previously seemed sleepy, but that’s a double-edged sword. Giants of one New Mario RPGOne 2D Zelda game, Just Jump 2025 Metroid Prime 4and even daring Remake of Donkey Kong may have restored my faith in the Switch, but their towering height means that almost any other reveal will inevitably be overshadowed.
And so, I thought it was only right to shine a light on one of the not-so-little guys who, in any other presentation, might have played the lead role. Correct, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is the unsung hero of June Direct.
I’ve been yearning for an official and accessible way to play the iconic Marvel warriors for years. Year. Many. Yes, there’s always competition, but I’m after something a little cleaner looking (what would Steve Rogers do?), so just spend a little money to install a cabinet in the room my guest, my playing time is quite short.
The small southern England village I grew up in was hardly a hotbed for video games. I was never lucky enough to own a Sega Saturn or Dreamcast, and my PlayStation habits were mostly limited to polygonal animals with hair-tugging camera controls. All of this is to say that whenever I get a chance to work on a ‘Marvel vs.’ visit a pop-up or novelty bar (when I was a little older, of course), I was locked out.
Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter devoured more tokens than I care to admit NQ64 (a UK bar chain) last year. What can I do? Are not try each character one by one? And after discovery Marvel vs Capcom 2: The Age of New Heroes at a retro game convention in the late 2000s, my brother and I poured our hearts into the Xbox 360 version until even that terrible soundtrack started to sound a little good.
In the years since, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not good at fighting games. My reaction times were sloppy, I couldn’t be bothered with memorizing combos, and the discussions around hitboxes and frame analysis gave me a headache. But I’m one of the last supporters of all things Marvel, so my memories of these fighting games aren’t a series of failures but instead are filled with joy seeing Spidey, Cyclops, and Thanos (before he was cool) duke it out with some of the best pixel art in block. Ah, simpler times.
Appearances straight from the Marvel vs. Capcom has me ready for those simpler times to return. Once again I can force my friends and family to play Age of New Heroes! I wouldn’t spend £20 just to try the full list! I can finally see if Who punished scratching that very specific Marvel itch I’ve had since episode four of X-Men ’97 – and not, Marvel Ultimate Alliance did not enough bills.
