Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter would be the second game in Capcoms cross over fighting series. This game would also be what set the stage for Marvel vs Capcom! Capcom had a massive hit on their hands with X-Men vs Street Fighter and opening that up to the whole Marvel Universe was the next logical step. While it was the second game in the vs series. This would actually be the fourth game in the Marvel fighting series that started with X-Men: Children of the Atom.

A New Gang Is Here

The roster of the game is fantastic. You have all your Street Fighter favorites that you would expect such as Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, and so on, but it was with the Marvel side where Capcom went all out for Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter. The only returning characters from X-Men vs Street Fighter are Wolverine and Cyclopes, the rest are all brand new.

Hulk, Captain America, and Spider-Man are here, but you also have more obscure characters such as Blackheart and Shuma-Gorath. It was a fantastic selection and while it is not as deep as the rosters that the Marvel vs Capcom series would be known for. At the time, we had zero complaints about the characters in this game.

Two Heroes Go To War!

The game is the same idea as its predecessor. You need to pick a team of two characters and then fight a series of two on two battles. You can tag in your partner and this game introduced a new feature that was called the variable assist. This allowed your tag partner to jump on screen and do a move without tagging them in. This was a neat idea and one that the Marvel vs Capcom series would run with. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter has two awesome bosses. First is Apocalypse, but you also have to fight a really badass version of Akuma too.

What I like about the vs series of fighting games is that they are a great deal of fun. They are super flashy and over the top and anyone can jump in and have a good time with them. On the flips side of this, as is the case with all Capcom fighting games, there is a real level of depth here for those that want to master the game.

Playing At Home

The arcade version of the game is awesome, but the home ports are interesting as well. The Sega Saturn version makes use of the ram expansion and is near arcade perfect. Sadly, it was not released outside of Japan. The PlayStation version on the other hand is not able to have the tag feature so it has all the characters, but you take part in one on one fights instead. The PlayStation version, however, did add in extra game modes.

The Future Is Bright

As you would expect the game looks like a million bucks like all Capcom fighting games do. It moves at a blistering pace and the characters are all animated amazingly well. The only issue I have with the presentation is that Capcom phoned it in a little bit with the stages. Many of them return from X-Men vs Street Fighter with a few colors changed. I do feel that they could have added in more new stages. Still, when your biggest complaint about the game is the stages, you know it is good!

I think that Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter holds up very, very well. This more than X-Men vs Street Fighter set the tone for what would come with the Marvel vs Capcom series. It is a fighting game that is easy to pick up and play, but it also has a layer of depth for those that want to master it the same way they would a Street Fighter game. This is a fantastic game and one that is well worth checking out. For some reason, it also does not appear to get as much love as the game that came before it which is a shame as this is a better game.

Pros:

• The selection of Marvel characters is fantastic
• The game looks amazing
• It has some great tunes
• Anyone can pick up and play this game
• The combo system is crazy

Cons:

• A few more new stages would have been nice
• The Marvel vs Capcom series has arguably made this irrelevant

Marvel Super Heroes meet Street Fighter in this promising second crossover fighting game for the PlayStation.

Controls and Combos

As with most other Capcom 2D fighting games for the PlayStation, Marvel vs. Street Fighter features very responsive controls. The various super and special moves are a cinch to execute, and the new Cancel Combos (super moves that are chained together consecutively) make for some nasty high-hitting attacks that can easily decimate your opponent.

Heroic Option

In addition to the one-player Battle and two-player Versus games, Marvel vs. Street Fighter features PlayStation-exclusive options. The roster includes Training mode, where you can practice special moves and combos; Gallery, a selection of artwork; Hero Battle, where you fight all the Street Fighter or all the Marvel characters; and Cross Over, where you can alternate between two fighters at will during battle. (But remember, in Cross Over mode, you can only fight against the same team of two fighters that you're playing as.) The PlayStation edition even includes the hidden characters from the arcade version: U.S. Agent, Mephisto, Shadow, Armor Spider-Man, Dark Zangief, and Dark Sakura.

Comic Looks

Marvel vs. Street Fighters sounds are identical to those of the arcade version, but the graphics in this preview version needed some fine-tuning. Some characters (especially the bigger ones such as Hulk and Blackheart) have choppy animation and jerky movement. The visually splashy super and team-up moves also stutter a bit. However, even in the game's unfinished state, the graphics are much better than those of the previous PlayStation Marvel/SF fighting game, X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Hopefully the graphical bumps will be smoothed out in the final product.

First they took on the X-Men, now the Street Rghter cast mixes it up with Marvel Super Heroes-and with a tag-team mode, finally.

Street Fighting Years

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter features 17 characters--9 Street Fighters (Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li, Akuma, Zangief, M. Bison, Dhalsim, Dan, and Sakura) and 8 Marvel characters (Black-heart, Cyclops, Captain America,The Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Omega Red, and Shuma Gorath). Instead of the precise Street Fighter Alpha play engine, this game uses the combo-and juggle-heavy play mechanics of X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.

All This And Tag-Team Too!

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter retains the tag-team feature from the arcade version.. .sort of. The PlayStation version has a Cross Over mode, which allows you to switch at will between fighters during a fight--but only if your opponent selects the same two fighters (if you pick Ken and Ryu, your opponent must also pick Ken and Ryu).Your tag-team partner can then briefly enter the fray and hit your opponent once; he can also counter some attacks.

Marvel-Ous Options

In addition to the regular one-and two-player game modes, this home version throws in some extra options, including a Training mode that lets you practice super moves and combos. Another noteworthy option is Hyper Cancel, which enables you to chain multiple super moves together for some truly high-hitting combos (see sidebar, "Creative Cancel Combos").

Capcom's second "crossover" fighting game hits the PlayStation with more muscle than its dismal predecessor, X-Men vs. Street Fighter (see ProReview, May '98). Although not an arcade-perfect port Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter does enough things right to keep fighting fans satisfied.

Marvel-Ous Visuals

Marvel vs. SF has all the trademark elements: intense action, easy-to-learn controls, cool visuals, and appealing characters. The game even retains the "tag-team" feature of its arcade forefather...kind of. You can switch between two preselected characters in the middle of a fight, but only if you're fighting against the same two characters. Other features include training mode, Hero Battle (the Street Fighter team takes on the Marvel Super Heroes team), and Gallery mode.

Street fighters and super heroes are brought to life by fluid sprite visuals, while the various super and special attacks fill the screen with eye-popping efFects. The audio is straight from the arcade. Rousing music sets the tone for each battle, and the sound effects are clean and audible right down to the annoying game-show announcer.

Comic Controls

Unfortunately, due to overloaded graphics, the game's controls are stiff and unresponsive when you're performing certain special and super moves. This slowdown simply ruins your timing. Against a human opponent, it's a level playing-field; against the incredibly cheap computer A.I., it's agonizingly futile.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter still delivers enough fighting fun to make it worth the average gamer's time. Rabid Capcom fighting fans, however, should be satisfied with a weekend rental.

The next edition in Capcom's popular Vs. series is almost here. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter improves upon its predecessor X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and provides a great stop-gap before we move on to Marvel vs. Capcom (confused yet?).

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter stars Street Fighters Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Akuma, Zangief, M. Bison, Dhalsim, Sakura and Dan. The costumed hero cast consists of Cyclops, Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Omega Red, Shuma-Gorath and Black Heart. In this PlayStation version, you pick one primary fighter with a back-up teammate who only comes in during Variable Counters (where your partner knocks the opponent back while you're blocking), Variable Combinations (team super combos) and the new Variable Assists (you can call in your teammate for a quick attack, which you can use in conjunction with your own combos).

Unfortunately, these are the only circumstances where the teammate comes into play. You still can't freely switch between fighters during battle, because the PlayStation only has enough video memory to store two sets of characters' moves per loading session. To help make up for this, MSH vs. SF has a Crossover Mode, which will let you tag team. The catch? Your opponent has to use the same two characters as you.

This game will have its limitations. Slowdown, no tag teaming and other drawbacks wilt keep MSH vs. SF from being a perfect arcade experience that it should be. Still, if you're a fan of the PS versions of Marvel Super Heroes or X-Men vs. SF, rest assured, you will enjoy this game.

Well, it had to happen. The sun V has finally set on Saturn. With the recent announcement by Sega of Japan that support for its 32-Bit system will cease in 1999. the Saturn's gradual decline in the Land of the Rising Sun has finally concluded. Sad as that may be, one third-party developer has decided to end their Saturn career with an explosive bang: Capcom, with the Oct. 23 release of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, has delivered their best arcade-to-home conversion yet. Featuring all the animation of the arcade favorite (including the kaleidoscopic specials and eye-flaying background transformations) with none of the slowdown, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter comes to the Saturn with every graphic element intact, unmarred by visible load times. Although the graphics suffer from dithering (a fault of the aging CPS2 arcade hardware from which the game was ported, not the Saturn), the game is so intensely hyperkinetic that you'll never notice. In fact, the over-the-top sunbursts and full-screen splash effects make it easy to lose track of your character in the heat of battle, lending credence to the belief that the game is "spazzy." The sonic package is as excellent in execution as the graphics-like recent previous arcade-to-Saturn conversions by Capcom, all of the extensive voice is present, undamaged by the heavy compression and cuts seen in older conversions.

The character roster is quite impressive, with 18 marquee characters and five secret ones. Notables include the fan favorites Dan and Sakura, Marvel bad boys Shuma-Gorath and Blackheart, as well as the Capcom-ized rendition of a popular Japanese comedian, dubbed Norimaro. As with the arcade version, some character animation has been toned down when compared to previous Marvel titles, presumably to allow for the flashier background and splash effects.

The same combo-driven play you've come to expect from the Versus series appears in full force for this title, save for some much-needed timing changes to the air combo engine and juggles.

These changes effectively prevent the infamous "infinite" combos that made X-Men vs. Street Fighter so notorious and allow for more technical play. Fans of the series generally agree that of the three Versus titles, MSH vs. SF is probably the most balanced, play-wise. Note that all this arcade excellence comes with a price--you'll need the 4-Meg RAM Expansion (or a 4-in-i cart) if you hope to play this title. Still, if you're fan of Capcom arcade titles and have the ability to play imports, you owe it to yourself to pick up MSH vs. SF, and witness some of the best 2D performance ever seen short of Radiant Silvergun and Princess Crown. The Saturn is dead; long live the Saturn!