00:00Marvel ToCon Fighting Souls is arriving at precisely the right time.
00:05With relatively recent iterations of established franchises like Street Fighter and Tekken,
00:10as well as long overdue Fatal Fury back in the ring,
00:13the return of the Tag Fighter is the next logical step.
00:17Sure, genre newcomer Riot Games has already thrown down the gauntlet with 2XKO,
00:22with more new blood on the horizon courtesy of Invincible Versus,
00:26but it's the IP that first gave birth to this sub-genre,
00:29with X-Men Vs. Street Fighter that has me the most excited.
00:33It's arguably got the most to prove,
00:34not just because the last Marvel fighting game,
00:37the heavily MCU-friendly Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite, was such a disappointment.
00:42Yet despite the release of Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection just last year,
00:47Marvel ToCon also sees the license shifting from Capcom to anime fighter aficionado Arc System Works.
00:54It's exactly the sort of shake-up needed for a revival,
00:58and it's reassuring that despite the usual focus on cinematic realism that best describes Spider-Man and the upcoming Marvel's
01:05Wolverine,
01:06Sony is learning a lesson from Marvel rivals by letting these iconic characters from Western comics be interpreted with an
01:13Eastern style and sensibility.
01:16The June 2025 state-of-play showcase had already convinced me of Arxis's approach to drawing on both American comics
01:24and Japanese shounen manga,
01:26with an announced trailer where the Japanese voices have the high energy of an anime,
01:31while Captain America trades blows with Iron Man,
01:34whose suit has a design that's closer to a Gundam than anything we've seen from Stark Industries before.
01:39But having had the chance to play Marvel ToCon across two online betas,
01:43and, even better, locally side-by-side at Evo France,
01:47it's just as fun to play as it looks.
01:50But Arxis isn't resting on its laurels by re-skinning Dragon Ball FighterZ.
01:54In fact, it ups the ante from that game's 3vv clashes,
01:57as matches turn into epic 4v4 brawls,
02:01where superheroes like Ms. Marvel can team up with supervillains like Doctor Doom,
02:05smashing each other off the edge of the screen as they go flying to another part of the stage.
02:09Yet despite the intimidating increase of numbers,
02:12it's also taking care to make this approachable and fun enough for newcomers
02:16who may not know the first thing about motion inputs or air juggles.
02:20That the control layout means you can opt to do single-button specials,
02:23or command inputs with light, medium, or heavy,
02:26without having to choose a normal or easy option also makes things more flexible.
02:31Used to roll in quarter circles, but prefer less hassle when using a super or ultimate?
02:36It's up to you.
02:38One important detail is how matches actually begin as 2v2s,
02:43where certain actions will result in another member joining the fray.
02:46A neat nod to the idea that you're having to assemble your own team.
02:49Differing again from other tag fighters is that you have just one life bar shared between the team,
02:55which means it's possible to just main one fighter and use the others as assists.
03:00While it also means matches are played as first to three,
03:03where you'll start each round with the team you've assembled,
03:05rather than having a situation where you're down to your weakest link and outnumbered.
03:09It's the assists that make Tokon such screen-filling fun,
03:13as you just tap the assemble button along with a directional input smash dial,
03:17which brings out the corresponding team member to throw a projectile,
03:21perform an anti-air, or activate a unique character action.
03:24You can even just mash light attack to also combo,
03:27which will also result in your teammates swooping in to add a few extra blows,
03:31adding insult to injury.
03:32But even more overpowered is Marvel Tokon's equivalent of Street Fighter 6's Drive Impact,
03:38where you can perform an armored overhead attack,
03:41which also calls in a teammate for follow-up damage.
03:43There's also a version of this to counter if you're feeling the pressure,
03:46but it's also not completely open to abuse,
03:50since assists also require spending bars that take time to refill,
03:54while good players will know how to bait and reflect a counter right back at you.
03:59Tokon's already garnered positive feedback from its betas so far,
04:03and with the addition of the X-Mansion in the latest beta,
04:06it's surely only a matter of time before its mutant residents make their much-awaited return.
04:11In any case, a large roster is going to be crucial,
04:15especially when 4v4s makes the prospects of mirror matches all the more annoyingly likely.
04:21Still, with the current lineup, including all-rounder Captain America,
04:25nimble Spider-Man and his awesome Spidey-Sense counter,
04:28and the Robbie Ray's incarnation of Ghost Rider,
04:31whose attacks can be powered up but also have to be managed to avoid overheating,
04:35there's a lot that Arxis is doing right with its very first Western IP.
04:40Even with Marvel's Wolverine and Marvel 1943 Rise of Hydra on the horizon,
04:45this is going to be a Marvel title that really stands out from the page.
04:49So, will you be picking up this latest entry in a rich history of Marvel fighting games?
04:55How do you think it will compare to the likes of 2XKO and Invincible Versus?
04:59Let us know, and stick with GamesRadar for the latest on the greatest games of 2026.
05:10I'm going to go over a lot.
05:11We'll be picking some estimates.
05:11We'll see you in the next tier one.
05:11The next tier one is going to be my注目.
05:11So, that's the next tier one is going to be my注目.
05:12So, I'm going to go over a lot.
05:12So, if we're going to go over a lot,
