There is something slightly intimidating about the idea of taking four Marvel characters into a fighting game and expecting the whole thing not to descend into complete chaos. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls does indeed throw plenty of heroes and villains onto the screen, but Arc System Works has found a surprisingly elegant way of making its 4v4 formula work. Rather than simply revisiting the old Marvel vs. Capcom formula with a fresh coat of paint, Tōkon gives its tag-team battles their own rhythm, with a shared health bar and team members gradually becoming available as the fight progresses. That makes it possible to concentrate on a single favorite character if you want to keep things simple, while also providing plenty of incentive to learn how the other members of your team can complement one another. It takes a little while before all of this clicks, but once it does, the result is an unusually energetic fighting game that feels distinctly like its own thing.
The premise behind the single-player Episodes is similarly straightforward. The Champion arrives on Earth looking for the strongest fighters, with the fate of the planet hanging on the outcome, and five different teams get their own interpretation of that confrontation. The comic-book presentation is an excellent fit for Marvel, with each episode given its own visual identity and plenty of character-specific banter, while the interactions between teammates do a good job of showing that these aren’t simply interchangeable fighting-game avatars. Deadpool being Deadpool certainly helps, but there is genuine personality throughout the cast. The only problem is that the five stories ultimately follow a very similar structure, meaning the novelty wears off considerably by the time we reach the later episodes. The campaign is entertaining rather than substantial, and the absence of a more elaborate narrative or a proper difficulty selection makes it feel more like an extended introduction to the roster than a fully developed story mode.
Fortunately, the fighting itself is where Tōkon really comes alive. We start with only part of our team available, gradually unlocking additional fighters through the course of a match, and that simple idea gives the battles a natural sense of escalation. Because everyone shares one health bar, switching characters isn’t about keeping individual fighters alive so much as choosing the right tool for the situation. Hulk may be devastating at close range but struggles to chase a faster opponent, while someone like Spider-Man can completely change the pace of an encounter. Meanwhile, assists can be used to extend combos, interrupt pressure or control particular areas of the screen. Building a team therefore becomes much more meaningful than simply picking four characters we happen to like.
The accessibility of the combat is one of Tōkon’s greatest strengths, although it is also where we can see one of its most contentious design decisions. Simplified inputs, quick special moves and auto-combos mean that newcomers can immediately produce spectacular attacks without spending hours in training mode first. There is nothing wrong with that approach, and it makes Tōkon considerably more welcoming than many traditional fighters. At the same time, the auto-combo system can occasionally feel as though it is playing slightly too much of the game for us. Repeated button presses can automatically carry a sequence into a Super, sometimes resulting in an attack we didn’t actually intend to perform. More experienced players can work around this and the deeper systems are certainly there, but giving us a clearer option to disable or customise the auto-combo behaviour would have provided greater control. The sheer number of mechanics, meanwhile, means that the learning curve eventually becomes much steeper than those first few matches suggest.
That complexity is ultimately justified by how much room there is to experiment. Every character has their own distinctive tools and several of them have mechanics that fundamentally change how they should be played, while the different assist positions give each team member a specific purpose. Once we start combining assists, character switches, counters, special attacks and the various Super options, Tōkon becomes considerably more sophisticated than its easy-to-use controls initially imply. The Tōkon Assemble is the obvious showpiece, bringing the entire team into the action for a spectacular finishing sequence, but its appeal goes beyond simply looking impressive: getting the resources and conditions together at the right moment gives us another layer of strategy to consider. It is this contrast between immediate accessibility and long-term experimentation that makes the combat so satisfying.
The presentation is arguably just as impressive. Arc System Works’ anime-inspired interpretation of Marvel’s heroes and villains gives the game a strong visual identity without sacrificing the recognisable traits that make characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Ghost Rider, Storm and Doctor Doom so distinctive. The animation is excellent, the attacks have considerable impact and the stages are packed with little details and Marvel references. Interactive transitions between sections of certain arenas add some extra spectacle, although the number of available stages feels a little modest considering how much effort has gone into making them. On PS5, the technical presentation is also reassuringly solid, with a smooth 60fps experience and no significant performance problems getting in the way of the action.
The audio presentation keeps pace with the visuals, particularly where the character performances are concerned. The voice work gives the cast plenty of personality and the contextual exchanges between teammates are a particularly nice touch, making the characters feel like members of actual teams rather than four fighters selected from a menu. The soundtrack is suitably energetic and complements the arcade-like pace of the battles, although it doesn’t always leave the same impression as the visuals, with the opening theme standing out more strongly than much of what follows. There is also excellent use of the DualSense on PS5, helping the impact of heavy attacks and environmental transitions come through in a way that makes the combat feel appropriately physical.
Beyond the Episodes, Tōkon offers the expected Versus and Training options alongside All-Star Arena, Survival, character lessons and combo challenges, giving solo players plenty of ways to learn the systems and experiment with the roster. Arcadia Rumble is the odd one out, offering a more lightweight chibi-flavored diversion that feels considerably less convincing than the core fighting experience. Online play is naturally where the game has the greatest potential, with ranked and casual matches, rooms and a large shared lobby providing the foundation for long-term competition.
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls therefore arrives in a stronger position than its familiar premise might initially suggest. The relatively compact launch roster and limited number of stages leave us wanting more, while the repetitive structure of the Episodes and the occasionally overbearing auto-combos prevent the package from being quite as polished as its spectacular presentation would have us believe. Even so, Arc System Works has succeeded at the most important task: Tōkon doesn’t feel like a Marvel-themed imitation of one of the studio’s previous fighters. It has a distinctive 4v4 structure, meaningful team-building, approachable controls and enough mechanical depth to keep us experimenting long after the initial novelty has worn off. For Marvel fans who have been waiting for a modern fighting game that treats its characters with genuine care, and for fighting-game newcomers who might otherwise be intimidated by the genre, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls makes a very convincing case for stepping into the ring.
Score: 8.7/10