Marvel Tokon Revolutionizes Fighting Games with Fresh Approach

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls has been at the top of my must-play list, and thankfully, the wait is over. Courtesy of Sony, I’ve had a chance to immerse myself in both online and offline matches. My goal? Pinpoint the characters that suit my style while unraveling the unique essence of this fighting game. Normally, I dive into new games with ease, selecting a character and advancing quickly. However, this time around, I found myself at a standstill, navigating what turned out to be a more challenging initial experience.

Despite missing out on the Marvel Tokon beta tests—which would have provided earlier exposure—I embraced the fresh experience without the influence of past feedback. This untainted perspective highlighted a steeper learning curve, primarily because the game didn’t conform to my initial expectations. Once I adjusted my approach, my gameplay experience significantly improved and became more enjoyable.

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls review: 9/10

Pros

Cons

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls review: What kind of fighting game is this, anyway?

The fighting game universe is vast, leaving many to ponder where exactly Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls fits in. When I saw ArcSys in the credits, I immediately thought of Guilty Gear or BlazBlue. Despite BlazBlue being a personal favorite, I quickly realized that this game walks its own path. While there are echoes of Guilty Gear Strive in terms of movement and combat dynamics, its distinct identity sets it apart from any direct comparisons.

If you’re expecting Marvel vs. Capcom, that’s definitely not what this game is. Sure, there are assists, and you can swap characters in and out, but it’s not the same speed and action that you get in MVC2 or MVC3. I think the closest game you’re going to get to this is Dragon Ball FighterZ, but even then, it’s still not really the same. Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls is very much its own thing in the world of fighting games, and that’s to its credit.

It comes with an incredible story mode that gives you the reason for these teams coming together, even the Knights of Doom. A brief summary of the story is, it’s an anime tournament arc!

Who doesn’t love a tournament arc? It’s very anime, and also very Marvel in its presentation and format. A cosmic destroyer is on the way, and teams have to come together to do battle to prove they’re worthy of fighting the Champion.

Those who fail get wiped out, similar to Dragon Ball Super’s Beerus. Even if you’re a seasoned fighting game player, I can tell you it’s worth it to go through at least the story mode of any character/team you’re interested in. On top of that, the animated cutscenes and comic panel cutscenes are brilliant. The developers understood the assignment, when it comes to the flash and flair of the presentation.

What I think makes Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls so interesting and fun to play is that, even though it is a four vs. four game, you only have one healthbar for the round. You don’t have to whittle away at all four characters to win a match, and that speeds things up.

It’s not a crazy fast game, but it’s also not ultra slow. It exists somewhere in the middle for now, but I think, as players learn the game’s tech, it’s going to reach those Dragon Ball FighterZ speeds.

Whether you want to use specific inputs for all of your combo strings, or more beginner-friendly inputs (A, A, A, A / B, B, B, B, et cetera), that’s available for you. I appreciate that the game very much gives players of all skill levels something to enjoy.

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls review: Game Mechanics

1) Good: Accessible for newcomers

(I didn’t come out on top, but Hulk is still incredibly satisfying to play.)

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls has a lot of mechanics to get into, from dial-in combos, auto-combos, a special attack button you can use instead of special inputs, assists, swapping characters, chaining together supers, Assemble four man attacks, as well as Assemble Counters and Crossovers.

Thankfully, the tutorial is in-depth, and it’s not hard to practice the various characters to learn exactly what you’re meant to do with them and their unique mechanics. It feels like it can be a lot to learn, but it’s still very beginner friendly. However, the thing that stuck out to me is that it gave me the default to using the “one button super” in tutorials, and I don’t enjoy how it feels.

Pressing R2+Triangle+Direction for certain inputs just felt clunky when I was already in the middle of a combo. I felt so much better using normal fighting game inputs, which you can do. That might make the game feel easier to get into for you, so remember, you do have a choice.

2) Good: Offers plenty of game modes for online/offline play

There are just so many ways to play Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls, whether you want to play in a lobby, hunt for ranked matches, or play offline. There’s a compelling Story Mode, All-Star Arena (Arena courses/Survival trials), Character Lessons, Arcadia Rumble (Fun PVE/PVP mode with lobby avatars), and more.

The real meat-and-potatoes is in the online play of course, but I’m glad there are other offerings, and plenty of ways to get better. It’s far from bare bones, and while I spend the majority of my time in the lobbies and the training modes, I love that there are some casual, fun ways to play the game also.

3) Bad: The PC version

While I personally haven’t taken part in the PC version, I’d be doing readers a disservice if I didn’t mention the current state of it. The consensus is that the PC version performs poorly, bordering on unplayable. When even someone like Maximillian chooses to uninstall the PC version of a game like Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls, I think that says more than I ever could.

I haven’t experienced the PC gameplay firsthand, but I have played against several PC opponents on PS5 Pro, and it led to some incredibly laggy matches. Console matches were perfectly fine, though. This is something that I think the developers can fix, but I can only imagine how frustrating it is.

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls review: Visual and Sound quality

Honestly, this is where Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls shines like no other fighting game I can think of. It’s such a visually stunning game. The characters have recognizable designs, incredible voice work, and smooth, brilliant animations. The animated cutscenes are absolutely stunning, from the familiar characters, all the way The Promoter and The Champion.

Nobody phoned it in here. Kellen Goff as Carnage is remarkable, and naturally, Steve Blum shows his range with Wolverine and Green Goblin. Then there’s the great music. Daisuke Ishiwatari really worked well with the other composers for the game (Toma Otowa, Megmetal, and others) to create something that really gets the blood pumping. Daisuke Ishiwateri is an amazing musician full-stop, so I wasn’t surprised.

From the cute little chibi avatars, to the characters in the battles themselves, Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls is a sharp blend of anime fighting game visuals, and Western comic book action. Carnage’s goopy, sharp tentacles all the way to Ms. Marvel growing and stomping away at her opponents, it all looks brilliant.

Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls: In Conclusion

(Part of getting better is getting absolutely clobbered.)

Though the game had a very rough launch on PC, the console version appears to play flawlessly. I’ve had zero issues, no micro-stutters or other delays. While I do think the game takes a little time to really get into, in terms of finding your way and picking characters, when you do, it’s going to feel amazing. That’s not uncommon in fighting games, though.

Take the time to do the tutorial, play around with character lessons and go through the story! Find who speaks to you, and start picking a team. It’s the little things that I appreciate about Marvel Tokon, though. The order of your assists matters, because each slot has a different role, and while you can do quick inputs and auto-combos, you definitely don’t have to.

This is a fighting game that has a lot of really fun possibilities in team building and ridiculous combos. I’ve already seen players showing off some just bonkers work on and offline. It’s a game that anyone can jump into and have fun, but the sweatiest, most intense players are going to get a lot out of it too.

Edited by Jason Parker