Marvel Super Heroes

"This is my favorite 2D fighter!"

Capcom's Street Fighter games have had a huge fan following in the past. Street Fighter II in the arcade really helped spur the fighting game genre on to prominence in the video game world. Unfortunately, I have never really considered myself a devoted fan. I do like the games and have played and owned my fair share of them, but I have never found myself addicted to them. However, I have always found Capcom's Marvel games very fun and are among my favorite fighting games ever released, including the one which is, in my opinion, the best, Marvel Super Heroes.

Graphics:
The 2D graphics in Marvel Super Heroes are just impressive. The Saturn does a wonderful job handling this game. Of course, the Saturn is a magical 2D console. The backgrounds are very cool and well-animated, and the characters are all very detailed. The art style in the game is a cross between Marvel Comics and anime, resulting in a great-looking game. Animations of moves and attacks are also beautifully rendered. Overall, Capcom manages to work its 2D magic once again with Sega's wonderful console.

Score: 10/10

Sound:
The sound in MSH is sort of mixed. The sounds of the actual battling is very nice and impressive, but the music is somewhat annoying. The ending themes are fairly memorable, but the character themes are hit or miss. It's not the worst thing I've ever heard, but there could have been a better job done here.

Score: 8/10

Gameplay:
This is where Marvel Super Heroes really endears itself to me. The gameplay in the Street Fighter series is noted for being smooth, but it can also be very complex. Even X-Men: Children of the Atom was noted for being difficult. Surprisingly, Capcom went in a different direction with MSH and made the gameplay very accessible to all gamers. I don't mind playing fighters which have complicated fighting systems, but mostly, I just like to pick up a fighter and go to work on it. This is what makes MSH so great. All the moves are very easy to pull off, elminating a frustration factor which can be present when playing these games. As far as characters go, you have ten initially-selectable characters, and another two available via codes (three in the Japanese version). The roster is very nice and varied, with several heroes and villains to choose from. The storyline is just typical; the superheroes are out to stop the villain (in this case, Thanos), and the villains are out to use this power for their own evil gains. Nothing spectacular, but it gets the job done. Overall, this is one of the most fun fighters around.

Score: 10/10

Replayability:
Capcom did make one big mistake with this game, and that was skimping on the modes. There are arcade and two-player modes, but that's pretty much it. There's not even a training mode. Of course, if you have plenty of friends, the replay here is almost infinite. I love this game, so I can play it even in single-player for hours on end, but others might not feel the same. Still, this is not a game you will play through once and then bury on the shelf.

Score: 7/10

Overall impressions:
Despite its faults, Marvel Super Heroes is still my favorite Capcom fighter. There is just something about it that is so addictive. I guess growing up reading the comics made it very cool for me to actually be able to use these characters in a game. You should be able to find a copy of this game for a good price now, so you should definitely grab a copy when you see one. You will be getting a fantastic fighter for a great price.

Overall score (not an average): 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/02, Updated 10/10/02