Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Review (PS5 & PC)

It feels almost inevitable that Japanese studio Arc System Works would eventually bring its fighting-game expertise to the Marvel universe. After Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and Dragon Ball FighterZ, the studio is now taking on Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. And I recently learned that “Tokon” means “fighting spirit” in Japanese, which immediately got me excited about how Arc System Works would blend its fighting-game roots with Marvel’s larger-than-life universe.

Happy to report, Arc System still wisely chose to stick with their signature anime aesthetics, transferred beautifully to the new fighting game. Capcom already does a fantastic job on the Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting game series. But now, the graphics are more elegant, despite their anime roots. Elegant and stylish, with just as beautifully rendered animations. It honestly takes the experience to the next level, which is pretty commendable for graphics alone to do.

Of course, there are more peak points during my experience establishing my dominance in the Marvel universe. The mechanics are pretty deep, a factor that you find out soon after wrapping your head around the 4v4 tag system. Yup, you can control a whopping four characters at a time, which definitely can be a lot. However, Arc System initiates you into its fighting styles gently and warmly, before things pick up. You’ll have the space to freshen up and practice before you compete against your friends and some pretty good fighting game beasts online. The year is just about winding up. So, I’m nearly certain there will be a few other fighting games that will match up to what I’ve experienced and enjoyed so far. My thoughts are all summed up in my Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls review below.

Through the Looking Glass

Who knew a 4v4 tag system could work so beautifully, though it better be the limits that Marvel hits. Or who knows, perhaps they can go even higher. Still, controlling a team of four superheroes and villains was immediately intimidating for me, until I realized just how intuitive Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ fighting style is. A light, medium, and heavy attack, strung together, can do some pretty decent damage. And for a beat, it served me well, figuring out how to match the face buttons to the rhythm of my own drum. But then, it gets more complex when you build it up to special and super moves. The effects can definitely be stylish and flashy, as they should be. No way I’m saving the city without style. And that style has been so well executed by Arc System Works.

That’s the other strong point during battles. How elegant the character designs and details are. They honor the superheroes and villains we’ve come to love to a T, including capturing their aura and quirks about them. Deadpool will always be my personal favorite, and this time, North Nolan voices me. Utter mind-blowing, fourth-wall-breaking stuff right there. Other characters aren’t too bad at being funny, either, in that uncanny way that leaves a smile plastered across your face. Some are here to fool around, except when they unleash their mid-air combos and screen-wide attacks, they put it across very vividly that they don’t intend to mess around. 

So, pick your poison. Unlock new characters over time to fill up your four-Marvel-A-team. Whether you want to put the Avengers back together again or live for the Unbreakable X-Men, the 20+ playable roster of both popular and not-so-popular superheroes and villains from across the Marvel universe should get you well-covered.

Story Time

Fighting games and their stories have struggled to hit the spot regardless of the franchise. And well, some like Mortal Kombat can leave you jaw-dropped at the cinematic quality of the cutscenes, but seldom a compelling enough story to leave your brain forever engraved with strong memories. I will commend the enjoyable story in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, even when it follows a predictable path. It’s a tournament you have to prep for against the potentially world-destroying Champion of the Universe villain. I guess Marvel stories, except for franchises like Spiderman, may not necessarily have the strongest character arcs. It’s about the build-up toward the climactic finale. And if you have your Avengers team with you, or whatever alternate pick, X-Men, it feels pretty good to be ready for a battle you’ve been preparing for across a roughly five-or-so-hour playthrough, and to actually be badass at it.

Good enough story mode, which then ushers you into other single-player modes you can jump into for fun. The All-Star Arena with head-to-head battles against specific CPU-controlled fighters, an actual Arcade Mode, a roguelike Survival Mode, some space to hone your skills in Combo Trials, and Training Mode. So, you should have everything you need to keep busy on the lonesome. Plus, a thorough way to learn all the specific character moves and combo strings you need to dismantle online competition. It’ll take a minute, with the tutorial showing you the inputs for basic moves, and then allowing you as much time as you need to practice all you’ve learned, committing go-to combos to memory. You’ll need strong muscle memory for what comes next.

Be Humble

Local competition, and even more so online multiplayer, is where you can really test your mettle against other players. And also where you’ll enjoy yourself a great deal. You can duke it out with a friend next to you in the Local Versus Mode. The Arcadia Rumble is an eight-player mode and features minigames, which I didn’t care much for. It’s in the online mode that I met hardcore fighting game players. You know, staunch players who may not need as much practice to be pulling off slick moves in only a few days post-launch. The ranked matches are insane, but even more so the 64-player open lobbies where I can almost guarantee a match. Of course, the hope is that the momentum keeps rising, slow and steady. So far, so good, and it looks like Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is here to stay.

Alternatively, try out the Private Matches or the Casual ones. Either way, you should have no problems logging into a new game, with fast load times and almost no input lag at all. The rollback netcode really makes stress free work of connecting with potential buddies worldwide. On the PS5, the performance runs smoothly without a glitch. I experienced no stuttering or frame rate drops. But when it came to matching with PC players, the connection issues started to glare up. It’s no fault of the PC platform itself, just some optimization issues that Arc System Works has apparently ironed out. The Steam rating was really concerning. But I trust Arc System Works has got this with the upcoming updates, including a Year One DLC package that will add new characters and stages. At nine stages, I’m down for many more exciting Marvel universes to knock opponents through. 

I Had Some Help

Before I wrap it up, I want to touch a bit on the tag-system itself. It’s pretty intuitive, as much as it seems intimidating. You do have to consider the order that you slot in your fighters, since the first slot is dedicated to the leader, the second is ranged projectiles, and so on. It matters where you slot your fighters, essentially. And it makes sense, so that when you call them in for assists, it’s easier to strategize your next move. Mind you, the more popular use case for tag teams of extending combos is still very hot and heavy in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. It does take a minute to know how to mix and match fighters, so they optimize your offense and defense strategy, and extend combos enough to grab you wins, but the point is that it can be done in a fair and fun manner. 

Verdict

There’s not a single con that I find in playing Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, at least on the PS5. The PC version remains a cautious recommendation for you. Perhaps wait for confirmation of a patch fix. Otherwise, dare I say that the game is flawless? From the story mode to the local versus shenanigans with friends and the steamier online match-ups, everything is smooth and runs perfectly fine. I love that the graphics surprise you with how slick they are. The anime theme is spot-on for a comic book-style 2.5D fighting game. Yet, even then, Arc System Works has focused on ensuring every character detail and animation is elegant, as are the stages they fight in. From the performance to the actual mechanics, which can be pretty deep and strategic when toggling your tags, this right here marks one of the best fighting games this year.