Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

"It's still not exactly the same as the arcade... but who cares?"

"Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter" is the second, and in my opinion best, of the three "VS." tag-team fighting series created by those clever folks at Capcom. The PSX port of this game's predecessor, "X-Men vs Street Fighter", was a semi-success; while providing all of the characters, moves and what-not of the arcade version, it only allowed one-on-one fights, with the second character only for counter moves and team supers. The same applies for "MSH vs. SF". However, the game has been sped up, and several new modes have been added for your gaming pleasure.

Besides the Capcom staple options; "Battle" (just like the arcade setup), "Versus" (exactly like Battle, only two-player), and "Training" (where you can now actually train against a computer-controlled opponent- sweet.); "MSH vs. SF" also includes "Hero Mode", where the Marvel Super Heroes take on the Street Fighters in an elimination battle, with a final boss for both sides. It is advised you never attempt playing as the Marvels in this mode, for you will find all of your guys the victims of a SORE ass-whoopin' by an incredibly cheap boss I will tell you more about later. "Cross Over" is for the people who REALLY REALLY WANT tag team action- this mode uses exactly the same engine as the arcade, but with a catch- you always have to fight a carbon-copy of your team. Each match, the characters switch, and you get the next in the rotation. If last match your team was Cyclops and Ryu, next match your team will be Ryu and Captian America. Get it now?

Three more details to go into.

One- "MSH vs. SF" gives you the best of both fighting worlds. For the skilled, you have long, complicated, and DEVASTATING combo moves, that if perfected, can be very helpful. For the green, you have the Super moves. These aren't just your ordinary super-moves either. Think GIGANTIC ENERGY BEAMS OF DEATH. That help? What's even more impressive is the team Super, where two fighters each perform one of these HUEUEUEUEUGE moves at the same time. See- Cyclops and Ryu's "Shinkuu Optic Blast" or "Mega Optic Hadouken". Ouch.

Two- Hidden characters. Some, like U.S. Agent and Mephisto, are just exact copies of existing characters. Others, like Dark Sakura, Armored Spider-Man and the invulnerable Mech-Zangief are improvements of their characters. A few, Shadow and Norimaro, are completely original. (SF fans will remember Shadow as none other than Charlie Nash, from the Alpha series.)

Three- this relatively easy game loses one significant poit for one MAJOR flaw. The final boss is Cyber-Akuma. Like fighting three Akumas at once. This master of cheapness can take you out in one second. Over and over again. You want to beat him? Don't hold your breath. I've never seen it done anywhere above Difficulty level 1.

Now let's get into the basic details.
GAMEPLAY- a bit rough at first, but Capcom allows you to fully customize button commands, even ones for 3x-Punch and 3x-Kicks, which makes pulling off those HUEUEUEUEUEUGE Supers all the easier. An easy game to get the hang of, especially for Capcom fans.

STORY- The VS. series has no continuity whatsoever, and doesn't try to have any either. it's just a crossover, it really doesn't need to make sense to be fun.

AUDIO- Music is peppy when it needs to be, dark when it needs to be, and heroic when it needs to be. Theme songs are attatched to characters, not stages, which adds to the charm. The sound effects work, especially voices. It's just so satisfying when you hear Cyclops yell "Behold! Optic blast!" before he fries his opponent into next Tuesday.

VIDEO- Nicely-animated characters, with almost all frames lifted right out of previous games (The SF Alpha series, Marvel Super Heroes). Backgrounds are nicely done, and fit the comic-book environment very well.

REPLAYABILITY- Despite Cyber-Akuma, I find myself going back to this game over and over again. Very fun, a great two-player game.

TO BUY OR TO RENT?- Capcom fans- Buy. Now. The rest- rent furst, see if you like one of Capcom's better console achievements. then buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99