With the recent news that Arcade1Up is a Marvel vs Capcom 2 arcade cabinet with seven additional games celebrates Marvel and fighting game fans getting a slice of the arcade experience in their own home. Sitting in everyone’s game room next to modern Marvel games, this is an ideal way to expand someone’s collection if they aren’t lucky enough to own a copy.
From the 90s to today, Marvel characters have been the source of some of the best arcade games of all time that every gamer should try at least once. Some may be hard to get while others have received ports to other systems. These games have helped shape the video game industry and should be remembered for their contribution.
Marvel: Contest of Champions
One of the newest fighting games with Marvel characters in recent years, Marvel Contest of Champions was loosely based on the comic book arc of the same name that brings together multiple heroes and villains from the Marvel universe. And with updates and additional characters to coincide with the latest movies and TV shows, it’s still as active as when it was released.
While many will know the game as an IOS and Android title, it was transformed into an arcade cabinet for several Dave & Buster restaurant locations to mark the release of Captain Marvel. Bringing the fighting game to arcade cabinets was an exciting undertaking, but it was a shame it wasn’t released in all locations for gamers to try.
Captain American and the Avengers
After their work on the Batman video game in 1990, Data East went on to create arcade video games and develop and release them Captain America and the Avengers. With the popularity of side-scrolling beat ’em ups in the ’90s, they focused their efforts on this gameplay where up to four people can play the Avengers to defeat the Red Skull in one of the best video game appearances featuring Captain America in the lead role.
Although this would eventually be ported to the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, the arcade game remained one of the best side-scrolling games featuring Marvel characters. It helped expand team-based multiplayer side-scrolling games and should only be played because of the historical context.
X-Men
Konami may not be the video game company it once was, but in the early ’90s, they were responsible for making some of the best side-scrolling games of all time. After working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Timethey brought Marvel’s mutant superhero team to arcades.
If gamers know anyone with a digital copy of the game on the PS3 and Xbox 360 games, or have access to the cabinet itself, they know this is a tough game to come by. But it’s one of the best games in the arcade as up to six people can fight side by side, with each hero having their own skills and powers.
Avengers In Galactic Storm
Data East returned to develop another arcade game featuring Earth’s mightiest heroes and resized the pages of the Operation: Galactic Storm comics for their next arcade game. While Captain America would again be a playable character for their game, he would be joined by the Black Knight, Crystal, and Thunderstrike, as well as some Kree characters.
While not as well liked today as compared to other Marvel video games that players have today, the developer tried to push the technology and use 3D models for their characters. It was compared to Killer instinct with how well the models were looking for fighting games at the time, making it one of the best avengers video games.
the punisher
Capcom developed one of the best side-scrolling beat ’em ups in the late ’80s, featuring Last fight released in 1989. Four years after debuting their hit series, they released the punisher for arcades and it was considered one of the best.
While the ports for The Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis were not very well received, the original arcade game was considered one of the best at the time. The combination of melee combat and shooting mechanics, the variety of combat, and the ability for a second player to control Nick Fury made it a popular slot in the arcades.
Spider-Man: The Video Game
Before Insomniac would finally make one of the best Spider Man games of all time, Sega . developed Spider-Man: The Video Game for arcades in 1991. In a year when many games from the iconic studio would become classics, Spider Man remained one of their highest-rated games of that year.
Although it wasn’t the first Spider Man game, it’s definitely one of the best and should be worth playing to see how one of the best Spider Man games from the 90s can be compared to the Spider Man games today. Unfortunately, the cabinets are difficult and expensive to find and the game has never been ported to other systems.
The marvel vs. Capcom series may not have been as strong as it once was, with the last entry becoming one of the most disappointing games of 2017, but the earlier games remain one of the greatest fighting titles of all time. And it all started with marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes when it hit the arcades in 1998.
Despite many studios transitioning to 3D for their video games at the time, Capcom continued to make some sprite-based games that kept up with the action of modern titles. It was even ported to PlayStation and Dreamcast a year later. And while it’s not quite the same experience as the arcade, it still needs to be explored to see where it all started.
X-Men: Children Of The Atom
After the success of their arcade machine on the punisherCapcom released X-Men: Children of the Atom in 1994. Featuring the cast of iconic X-Men heroes and villains, players battled it out in arenas inspired by iconic locations from the Marvel comics.
The main reason this game should be sought after is that it was the first fighting game that Capcom developed under the Marvel license. This would be the main stepping stone leading to the creation of the iconic marvel vs. Capcom series.
Marvel Superheroes Vs. street fighter
Follow-up of the X-Men vs Street Fighter game, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter saw Ryu, Akuma and Chun-Li’s iconic fighters battle it out with the likes of Captain America and Spider-Man. Released in arcades in 1997, it was finally ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in the late 1990s.
By opening up the roster of Marvel characters beyond the mutated superheroes, the game provided more variety for Marvel fans to choose their favorite heroes and villains. And it would ultimately bring Capcom one step closer to creating one of the greatest fighting game franchises of all time.
Marvel Superheroes
One of the best Marvel fighting games of all time, Marvel Superheroes was redeveloped by Capcom and was one of the best ensembles of Marvel characters in a video game. It even surpassed the MCU movies, as it broke the pages of the Infinite Glove comic book storylines.
After having success in the arcades in 1995, it was ported so often that most gamers could get their hands on it. Available on the original PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and released digitally on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it’s worth seeking out. Whether you’re a fan of Marvel or fighting games, this was a great harmony of the two that can still be enjoyed today.
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