The thrill of a Marvel fighting game, regardless of its iteration, would always come in seeing these larger than life characters translated from the page to the screen. You have Iron Man chucking beams, Doctor Doom looking magnificent and Captain America being as patriotic as he could be and with the newest fighting game entry, MARVEL Tokon Fighting Souls, new faces like Miss Marvel and Starlord joining in on the fun.
Following the last Marvel fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (MVCI), mutants particularly the X-men were excluded but Storm came back signalling a return to the greater Marvel roster. Faster combat and more also came along with the title as Arc System Works, the company behind anime fighters like Dragon Ball and Guilty Gear, handled development. For an arena fighter and anime enthusiast like myself, getting to try out Tokon at Tokyo Game Show of all places just made my first experience with the game even sweeter.
New Characters, Savage Land
For this year’s Tokyo Game Show, fans were ecstatic as MARVEL Tokon Fighting Souls brought along 2 new characters to their build in Spider-Man and Ghost Rider.
What impressed me with the characters and the current build was how unique the designs were for the current roster. You still have your Marvel mainstays like Captain America and Iron Man redesigned with Iron Man looking like he came straight out of a mecha anime. The newly released characters in Spider-Man and Ghost Rider also looked great with how they were easily recognizable even with the design adjustments for the current title.
It’s not just the characters though that deserve all the praise with the stages, like the newly released Savage Land feeling so alive. Backgrounds in fighting games add a sense of depth and world building that’s often underrated and seeing how much love and care was put into each stage makes you wonder how many easter eggs are hidden in plain sight.
Honoring a Legacy
While I may be a newcomer to Marvel fighting games in general, my peers and various members of the community would always feel a sense of nostalgia seeing gameplay for Marvel Tokon. Seeing the comparisons with other titles made that sense of nostalgia clear with the moves referenced.
Famously Doctor Doom would have this thing called “Hidden Missiles” from Marvel Vs Capcom 3 and a “butter gun” from his prior Marvel fighting game appearances and these being busted out in the middle of a combo was surprising. Other onlookers also noted how Storm looked the best she’s ever been, feeling similar to her previous incarnations.
Check out our Tokyo Game Show 2025 Gameplay
Ready for the next battle?
While my time with the game was short, and multiple of the game’s current features like the 4v4 battle system were only lightly touched on, I’m excited for how the game would develop further. There’s so much potential with how deep the Marvel character pool actually is and the years of Marvel fighting games that took place.
That confidence was further reinforced after I was fortunate enough to meet and play the game with Reed Baird, Senior Producer at PlayStation Studios XDEV, who is involved in bringing MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls to a global audience. During our session, Reed also mentioned that Star-Lord is one of his personal favorite characters, a fitting pick given the character’s flashy movement, ranged pressure, and undeniable personality within the roster. Experiencing the game alongside someone so closely tied to its international release made it clear that this project is being handled with both care and ambition.
With Arc System Works at the helm and strong collaborations behind the scenes, the game feels poised to honor its legacy while confidently carving its own identity. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is currently slated for release in 2026 on PlayStation 5 and PC, with more details expected to be revealed in the future.
