A legendary collection by John Wolf
There I was, quarters in hand, standing in front of the arcade machine that seemed to have materialized from my wildest dreams. The vibrant colors of the screen illuminated my face as I read the title: “Street Fighter vs X-Men.” My heart raced. I had spent countless afternoons at this arcade, but today was different. My mom always took me to the same laundry with her and they usually had Street Fighter 2 and Ms. Pacman, but on this glorious afternoon, I laid eyes on what I thought was never possible. A cross over fighting game with at the time, my two favorite things in the whole world. Growing up and reading comics, I was a HUGE fan of Marvel and tuning in to watch X-MEN the cartoon series on FOX KIDS was something that I looked forward to every single Saturday morning. At the time, Street Fighter 2 was one of my most played games on my SNES [Super Nintendo Entertainment System].
I slid the first quarter into the slot, the metallic clink echoing my excitement. My eyeballs completely melted at the non-stop action displayed in front of me. The first two characters I selected were Wolverine and Sabretooth. Throughout the many years, Capcom released other crossover fighting games including Marvel characters and I have loved each of them. Yes, even Marvel vs Capcom Infinite.
On June 18th, 2024, something magical occurred during the Nintendo Direct. While watching suddenly, the announcer said, “We’re going to take you for a ride.” Instantly, I knew what he was referencing, and I jumped out of my chair at work as Capcom had just announced that a Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics collection would be releasing sometime in 2024.
The collection boasts seven legendary titles, including “X-Men: Children of the Atom,” “Marvel Superheroes,” and “Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.” Each game is remastered to perfection, marrying that sweet arcade nostalgia with crisp, modern visuals and gameplay. With the recent release of “X-MEN 97,” Capcom and Marvel couldn’t have picked a better time to announce this epic collection.
And of course, Street Fighter vs X-men is included in the collection, and I simply could not believe that Capcom and Marvel finally figured out a way to bring all these wonderful cross over titles together on one collection for the current generation of gamers. Locked away for some time, this collection was released for Arcade 1UP arcade fans and gamers but costs upwards of $600.00 which is a bit too steep in price and you need to have space for a whole arcade cabinet.
Fighting game fans like me know what a HUGE deal this is as many of these games have been locked away since the PS1 days, arcades, and the seventh generation of consoles. One interesting tidbit is that the collection will not be released on XBOX, but I hope that Capcom and XBOX come together to figure out whatever challenge is present so XBOX gamers and fighting game fans won’t miss this monumental release.
I simply can’t wait and will be double dipping on Steam and Nintendo Switch when this collection is released in 2024. I can’t wait to jump online and meet all of you there. Remember, I got dibs on Wolverine and Sabretooth.
