Things Confirmed About Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls

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Summary

  • Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is set to revolutionize the fighting game genre with 4v4 battles.
  • The game features altered hero costumes, level transitions in stages, and flashy character specials.
  • The decision to use Japanese audio for the game’s announcement may indicate a dual audio option for fans.

2024 saw the highly anticipated release of Marvel Rivals, a game that created quite a stir and surpassed even the high expectations set by Marvel and its developer NetEase Games. However, it wasn’t the epic fighting game fans had been eagerly anticipating, as the last new Marvel fighting game had been Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite in 2017, which garnered a mix of positive and negative reviews.

Fans won’t have to wait too long longer, as the new game Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has just been announced. Instead of Capcom who have been creating Marvel-themed fighting games since the 90s, this one will be developed by Arc System Works. We already know many gameplay elements and characters, so let’s delve deeper into some confirmed details thus far.

6. Production, Development, & Expected Release

Diving Deep Into Development

For enthusiasts of battle games, or even those just starting out, it’s likely they’ve come across Arc System Works. However, for those who haven’t, let me fill you in. Their most notable intellectual properties are the action-packed series Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. These are two popular fighting game franchises. Over time, they have contributed to a variety of other IPs, such as developing Dragon Ball FighterZ for Bandai Namco and Persona 4 Arena for Atlus.

The most high-profile fighting game they’ve developed is “BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle,” a crossover title featuring characters from “BlazBlue,” “Persona 4 Arena,” “Under Night In-Birth,” and “RWBY.” This game even received additional characters through DLC. Given this, Arc System Works demonstrates their expertise in creating fighting games. Sony will be releasing “Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls” while Marvel will oversee the project, similar to how they managed Sony’s “Spider-Man” games. The game is slated for release in 2026 on both PS5 and Steam platforms.

5. 4v4 Battles

Take That, Marvel vs Capcom!

Many team-based fighting games typically focus on three or two characters per team. For instance, Marvel Vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes featured 3 versus 3 battles, while Arc System Works’ previous major crossover game, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, only allowed for 2 versus 2 matchups.

The fresh title, “Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls”, introduces a novel twist to the fighting game category by enabling 4-versus-4 battles. To illustrate this, Arc System Works displayed eight characters, with four on each team. It’s likely that more characters will be available at launch, although the specific number is yet to be revealed.

4. The Known Heroes

From Captain America To Storm

To ensure a diverse lineup for online play and avoid repetition, Arc System Works may need to expand their character roster significantly, potentially doubling or even tripling the current count. So far, Captain America, Dr. Doom, Ghost Rider, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and Storm have been confirmed as fighters in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. However, it’s likely that we’ll see more than just one villain join the roster.

In this rendition, these heroes aren’t your typical versions; instead, they’ve been reimagined along the lines of the characters seen in Marvel Rivals. For instance, Iron Man continues to don a red and yellow armor suit, but his helmet now bears a samurai-esque motif. Captain America is sporting a jacket and contemporary clothing. Arc System Works might opt for bolder fashion statements, given their penchant for such choices in fighting games. Essentially, the unique style seen in Marvel Rivals could be one of the reasons behind its success.

3. The Stages

Blasting Between Areas

In the trailer, we only get a glimpse of one extended scene, but this single sequence is set across three distinct locations. The primary setting is a city backdrop where Captain America and Iron Man engage in combat. As more Marvel heroes enter the battlefield, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel make their appearance. However, things become interesting when Spider-Man pushes Ms. Marvel out of the frame, causing the scene to change locations. The fight then continues in a park, a transition that isn’t just for dramatic effect but is actually part of the gameplay mechanics.

In the park, Ghost Rider eventually shoves Star-Lord into a secluded passageway, where their battle continues. The Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls game won’t be the first to introduce level transitions in fighting games, as this concept has been around since the 90s, notably with the Mortal Kombat series. Although it’s not novel, it’s exciting to witness a fighting game revive this popular feature.

2. Characters Have Specials

From Dr. Doom Clones To Ghost Rider’s Car

The rapid movements of the eight characters in the trailer make it challenging to follow their actions, but this is actually a positive aspect because no one desires a slow-paced fighting game. Interestingly, each Marvel character appears to have a unique special move, reminiscent of the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

In the trailer, it’s not clear how these spectacular moves are triggered since there’s no user interface shown. It might be a power-up system where the meter fills after attacks, or something else entirely. Nevertheless, some breathtaking special moves were displayed. For instance, Dr. Doom conjures a swarm of drones or duplicates himself and releases them. In another scene, Ghost Rider rams a flaming car into Star-Lord. It’s exciting to see Arc System Works having fun crafting such thrilling actions with these moves.

1. Supports Japanese Audio

Will English Be Added Too?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) kicked off in 2008 with the debut of Iron Man, and ever since then, audiences have grown accustomed to hearing these superheroes primarily in English. It’s fantastic, therefore, to catch Japanese voices emanating from our beloved characters, such as Spider-Man explaining his “Spider-Sense” and Star-Lord uttering “Baby,” reminiscent of Dante from Devil May Cry.

Initially, they opted to premiere “Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls” with Japanese dialogue rather than English, stirring up ongoing discussions about whether subtitles or dubbed versions are superior in the Western world. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the final edition of the game offers both audio options, so fans won’t have to import a copy just to enjoy the Japanese audio. Regardless, the creation of this game is nothing short of serious business, with Marvel, Arc System Works, and Sony putting in their utmost effort to make it one of the top-notch Marvel-themed fighting games ever made.

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2025-06-06 21:06