Six infinity gems… Ten Fighters… Unlimited fighting game action!!!
Overview
After Marvel got its first taste of the Capcom treatment with “X-Men: Children of the Atom”, fans of fighting and the comic books couldn’t wait to see what was in store between the two companies. Low and behold, Marvel Super Heroes enters the fray into the arcades! Thanos is on a mission to create a world of hell and with the infinity gems in his hands, it could very well happen. Who will go forth and disrupt the evil Thanos’ plans and secure the gems?
Graphics 8/10
The graphics Marvel Super Heroes are simply…Marvelous! Yeah, bad joke, whatever. Capcom did insanely good capturing the look and feel of what each Marvel member brought to this game. The special effect of the giant beam shooting to the berserker barraging are showcase in great bright pixel colors. The stages’ are wonderfully express and the environments really bring in some clean and fast, fluid detail from the carnival merry-go-round turning on, the wooden bridge falling into a treacherous river, and fighting on top of a speeding train passing the neon lit buildings. It really make the battles that much exciting.
Gameplay/Controls 9/10
The gem system brings an interesting twist to the fighting game scene. The battle starts with both fighters having one gem or not and from doing countering to combos, a few more gems will pop out for someone to collect it. The catch is that you can lose the gems pretty damn easily if you are not careful. There are two things you can do with these gems. By holding onto them and beating your opponent each round, you gain bonus points to your score for the amount you have kept with you. The other is what the gem are truly used for. By performing a quarter circle back motion and hitting all three punch buttons, it unleashes the ability of that gem for a limited time and then it goes away from battle. The power of these gems range from the following: gaining projectiles, strength upgrades, armored defense, filling up energy, filling up your super meter, and a speed booster.
While it gives the holder a good advantage, each Marvel fighter are to react to a pacific one of the gems in a big way. For example, if Wolverine gets a power gem, he will not only get to do more damage, but gets a shadow effect and he get to do more hits, making him more dangerous. The space gem, which help the user get an upgrade in defense, will prove an asset for Magneto or Juggernaut, which will give both invulnerability during that time! Yikes!!!
The computer AI can be a tough opponent when it wants to and is rather tricky when it does. Dr. Doom & Thanos are indeed some of harder bosses I fought in recent Capcom memory. The control setup is the same simple layout of the other 2D fighting games Capcom has made with the six buttons of different strengths assign for the punches and kicks. The air combos are cool to learn, but tough to master and the way to perform the special/super moves are a synch to remember. To be honest, I barely saw any mistakes of the game breaking ups, having glitches, and whatnot.
Sound/Music 8/10
All of the music in the game does sound like it belongs in the Marvel universe. Captain America has probably the most recognizable theme to be heard in Marvel’s history in video gaming. The sounds effects of the hitting and clashing are untouched and the voice acting is shockingly accurate, as all the voices really fits each character towards their overall attitude and for once we have an announcer who we can tolerate enough to not get under our skin.
Replay Value 8/10
The fights can be unpredictable to the core as anything can happen in the battles to favor and switch to either side, taking on the CPU or another human player. With the gems entering the fight sometimes, it will make you question whose going to win even more, so you can never be sure of yourself. The heroes and villains of Marvel provide some great selection of power and skills. The only fallback is you wish there a few more characters in this melee.
Overall 8/10
To me, Marvel Super Heroes will forever be known a sleeper hit when looking though the rest of Marvel and Capcom had offered in their teaming. No one really talks about this game as much as the others and it’s a shame. By itself, the game is the best representation of what Marvel was all about. Hell! Even the endings make some decent sense. Enjoy this game to the fullest, people!
- by Mr. Boombada
