Capcom Fighters #01: Marvel vs. Capcom, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
The first batch of the Capcom fighters series on Substack
With Capcom Fighting Collection 2 being on the horizon, here’s the first Capcom fighters post on Substack!
The first order of business is Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, a 1998 crossover fighter and the third installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, which features characters from Capcom's video game franchises and characters from Marvel Comics. The game was later released for the Sega Dreamcast in 1999 and the Sony PlayStation in 2000. I had this game on the Sega Dreamcast. The game also includes Mega Man (“Rockman” in the Japanese version) from the Rockman/Mega Man franchise, Jin Saotome from Cyberbots (which the game and his origin saw limited distribution in arcades outside Japan), and Captain Commando from the titular arcade game (Captain Commando). Many of us have watched the X-Men, Spider-Man, and The Incredible Hulk cartoons during the 1990s (all available on Disney+!).
Next up is a 2000 crossover fighter initially released for the arcades before being ported to the Sega Dreamcast (2000), PlayStation 2, and the Xbox (2002/2003). Nothing special, but I burned the game for the Sega Dreamcast on an old Windows laptop before many ROM sites were shut down. It also brings back our favorites, such as Sakura Kasugano (originally from Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 2) and features Jill Valentine from the Biohazard/Resident Evil franchise. We call it Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, and I didn’t have the game originally before I had to burn it for the Sega Dreamcast. In the game’s ending credits, the characters’ voice actors/actresses are labeled as “secret”.
The next one up is the first installment of the Marvel vs. Capcom series. As the title suggests, the game includes characters from Marvel’s X-Men franchise and the cast from Capcom’s Street Fighter series. Originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1996, it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1997 (Japan only) and the PlayStation in 1998. Did I had this game on the PlayStation with my cousins? Yes. They call it X-Men vs. Street Fighter because… that is its name.
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was released in 1997 for the arcades before being ported to the Sega Saturn in 1998 and the PlayStation in 1999. The Japanese arcade and console versions include an exclusive character named Norimaro, an original character created and owned by Japanese comedian Noritake Kinashi, who represents neither Marvel nor Capcom. Due to licensing issues from Marvel, as they were against the character fighting their heroes, Norimaro is not available in the international releases or most later ports of the game before he was restored for the Fighting Collection re-release of the game, making him playable outside of Japan for the first time.
That’s the first set of Capcom Fighters. As of today, Disney has owned the Marvel Entertainment IP and trademarks since 2009. Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter (it’s free).