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The Marvel Comics fandom has enjoyed several great games over the years, but at long last, Arc System Works is stepping into the ring to deliver a brand-new fighting game experience in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. There’s some interesting stuff that Arc System Works is doing to make this game stand out–like adopting a 4v4 team format for matches and offering simplified controls–but at the end of the day, it’s the roster that’ll serve as the main draw for a project like this. Fortunately, the studio has a rich library of characters to draw upon, and it’s also looking to put its spin on fan-favorite heroes and villains like Captain America, Spider-Man, and Doctor Doom.
“There are so many amazing Marvel characters that it was quite a struggle to choose our roster, but we did have some criteria for the selection process,” producer Takeshi Yamanaka said in a PS Blog post. “First and foremost, we wanted to include characters who we feel to be the ‘face’ of Marvel. At the same time, we also needed to select characters that would give us a balance of battle types and styles. Lastly, we wanted to sprinkle in a few surprises and leave room for characters who have never been playable in a fighting game before.”
Naturally, characters like Captain America and Iron Man were a lock, but there are also a few surprises so far in the form of Ms. Marvel and Robbie Reyes, the Ghost Rider. At the time of writing, the Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has eight confirmed characters, and we’re expecting to see the roster grow as it gets closer to launch and with DLC additions to the cast.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Marvel fighting game–although we’d really like to forget Marvel: Rise of the Imperfects–but Arc System Works has built a name for itself in this genre with its work on franchises like Guilty Gear, Blazblue, and various licensed brawlers. If this isn’t enough Marvel content for you, you can also check out our feature on every upcoming superhero game, as Blade, Iron Man, and other mystery projects are currently in development.