Arc System Works is making a new Marvel fighting game
46sRevealing the unexpected developer behind a Marvel vs. Capcom successor sparks curiosity and debate.
▶ Play Clip"Delivers a dense, well-structured overview that matches the title's promise without fluff or filler."
This video provides a comprehensive rundown of Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, an upcoming 4v4 tag fighting game developed by Arc System Works. It covers the game's development history, roster, combat mechanics, stages, story mode, and release details.
Developed by Arc System Works, known for Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, with a focus on tag fighting games.
PlayStation pitched a Marvel fighting game after the success of Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, building on Marvel vs. Capcom and Insomniac Spider-Man collaborations.
Takeshi Yamanaka hesitated when PlayStation approached, but studio president Minoru Kidooka pushed to take on the project to expand fighting games' western appeal.
Marvel encouraged Arc System Works to use its own anime-inspired style instead of the initially planned western comic aesthetic.
Arc System Works chose a 4v4 system over 1v1 or 3v3 to showcase more Marvel characters on screen together.
20 characters launch across five teams: Amazing Guardians, Fighting Avengers, Knights of Doom, Samurai Outriders, and Unbreakable X-Men.
Players can mix any four characters; the team shares one health bar, starting with one primary and one assist, with two more slots unlocking mid-match.
Assists can be used offensively for combos or character swaps, and defensively via Assemble Counter or Crossover interruptions.
Each character has light, medium, heavy attacks and unique skills; traditional inputs deal more damage and fill the skill gauge faster than one-button presses.
The skill gauge powers EX skills and link attacks; when full, players can unleash Tokon Assemble, a massive four-character attack.
Six stages launch (Asgard, Wakanda, Savage Land, X-Mansion, Nowhere, New York) with multiple districts and wall breaks similar to Guilty Gear Strive.
Written by Kieron Gillen, the story mode follows the five teams against the Champion and Promoter, lasting about 10 hours.
The game releases August 6th on PC and PS5 at $60; deluxe editions add cosmetics, a year one pass with 4 characters and a stage, or alternate outfits.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a 4v4 tag fighting game from Arc System Works launching August 6th on PC and PS5, with a 20-character roster, deep tag mechanics, and a 10-hour story mode, positioning it as a major new Marvel fighting experience.
Which studio is developing Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls?
Arc System Works.
00:18
What tag format does Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls use?
4v4.
02:03
How many characters are available at launch?
20.
02:19
Name all five launch teams.
Amazing Guardians, Fighting Avengers, Knights of Doom, Samurai Outriders, and Unbreakable X-Men.
02:19
How does the health system work for a team?
All four characters share a single health bar.
03:02
Who wrote the Episode Mode?
Kieron Gillen.
04:59
What does the $85 digital deluxe edition include?
Lobby cosmetics and a year one pass with four additional characters and an additional stage.
05:34
What is a 'wall break' in this game?
A mechanic where a specific attack like a throw sends the opponent through a barrier into the next district, similar to Guilty Gear Strive.
04:29
How do traditional skill inputs differ from single-button presses?
Traditional inputs deal slightly more damage and fill the skill gauge more.
03:32
4v4 Design Choice
The decision to use 4v4 instead of 1v1 or 3v3 was made specifically to showcase more Marvel characters, showing how the IP shaped gameplay design.
02:03Art Direction Pivot
Marvel encouraged Arc System Works to keep its signature style rather than mimic western comics, a key creative decision for fan acceptance.
01:46Shared Health Mechanic
All four characters share one health bar with slots unlocking during a match, a unique twist on tag games that affects strategy.
03:02Acclaimed Writer on Story Mode
Kieron Gillen, a notable comic book writer, authored Episode Mode, adding credibility to the game's narrative.
04:59Release and Pricing Structure
The game launches August 6 on PC/PS5 at $60 with deluxe/ultimate tiers of $85/$100, clarifying the monetization for players.
05:34[00:02] interesting roster of characters, here's everything to know about Marvel Token everything to know about Marvel Token Fighting Souls.
[00:18] developed by legendary fighting game studio Arc System Works, the team behind the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series and many more. More specifically with a focus on tag fighting games, where players swap characters out mid-battle.
[00:33] PlayStation was interested in publishing its own new fighting game after the successes of Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8. PlayStation then went to Marvel to pitch what would become Token Fighting Souls. Thanks to the comic publisher's
[00:48] previous experience with the Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game series and the two companies' experience working together on the Insomniac Spider-Man titles, the project was greenlit. PlayStation then reached out to Arc System Works to see
[01:03] if it was interested in being the game's developer. Takeshi Yamanaka, a producer at the studio, was initially apprehensive to take on such a massive IP, even after the team's success with Dragon Ball Fighter Z, and was surprised
[01:19] that the offer wasn't being made to Capcom. However, it was studio president Minoru Kidooka who was eager to take on the project, particularly as he had been looking for the studio to be more aggressive with acquiring projects that
[01:32] used third-party IP, specifically ones with appeal in the west, in an effort to expand the appeal of fighting games. Originally, the game was meant to look more like a western comic book aesthetically, but Marvel actually
[01:46] encouraged the studio to lean into its own design sensibilities, resulting in a title that looks more in line with its previous work.
[02:03] v 4 tag fighter. Initially, Arc System Works was considering a traditional 1 v 1 system or the more common 3 v 3 for a tag framework, but the studio went with 4 v 4 in order to lean into the IP and showcase more of the characters working
[02:19] together at once. The game will launch with 20 characters spread across five teams. There's the amazing Guardians featuring Penny Parker, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, and Star-Lord. The Fighting Avengers are Black Panther, Captain
[02:34] America, Hulk, and Iron Man. The Knights of Doom with Doctor Doom, Green Goblin, Carnage, and Magneto. The Samurai Outriders composed of Blade, Deadpool, Loki, and Ghost Rider. And finally, the Unbreakable X-Men featuring Wolverine,
[02:48] Storm, Danger, and Magik. More characters will be coming post-launch as DLC, the first one announced being Phoenix Cyclops. Players can mix and match any four characters they want when competing. They aren't limited to their
[03:02] respective teams. All team members share a single health bar with each player starting out with just their primary character and a single assist character with the additional two slots unlocking as a match progresses. Players can call
[03:18] in their additional characters to assist in combos or can swap to said characters if they so choose instead. Assist characters can also be called in when defending either with an assemble counter where the additional character
[03:32] assists with a successful counter or with a crossover where said character jumps in to interrupt the opponent's attack. Each character has light, medium, and heavy attacks as well as skills that are unique to each of them.
[03:45] These skills can be triggered with traditional attack inputs or from a single button press. Although performing them with former does slightly more damage and fills up the player's skill gauge more. That skill gauge allows
[03:58] players to perform more powerful EX skills, which can either be triggered manually or come at the end of a link attack. A beginner-friendly option where players press the same attack button repeatedly. When the skill gauge is
[04:13] full, the player can pull off a Tokon Assemble move where all four characters deal a massive amount of damage. There are six stages in the game at launch. Asgard, Wakanda, Savage Land, X-Mansion, Nowhere, [music] and New York. Each
[04:29] stage has multiple districts where players can move from one to the other by activating a wall break, similar to in Arc System Works Guilty Gear Strive. This is where the player executes a specific attack like a throw against
[04:43] their opponent while they're backed up against one edge of the screen, resulting in them breaking past the barrier and crashing into the next barrier and crashing into the next district.
[04:59] campaign called Episode Mode written by acclaimed comic book writer Kieron Gillen with a different artist on each episode. Each episode revolves around each of the five teams as they face off against the Champion, an ancient cosmic
[05:15] being that is in search of worthy opponents as well as the Promoter, the Champion's assistant tasked with assembling the various heroes. According to Yamanaka, Episode Mode should take players around 10 hours to complete.
[05:34] >> Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls will release on August 6th for PC and PS5 at $60. An $85 digital deluxe edition includes lobby cosmetics as well as the year one
[05:48] pass, which will introduce four additional characters and an additional stage. A $100 ultimate edition includes alternate outfits for several of the characters. Pre-ordering any version of the game will net players additional
[06:03] lobby cosmetics, which are included with the digital deluxe and ultimate editions as well, even without a pre-order. And that's everything you need to know about Marvel token on fighting souls. For more on the game including our eventual
[06:19] on the game including our eventual review, stay right here on GameSpot.
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