Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is arriving at precisely the right time. With new iterations of established franchises like Street Fighter and Tekken, as well as a long overdue Fatal Fury back in the ring, the return of the tag fighter is the next logical step. Sure, genre newcomer Riot Games has already thrown down the gauntlet with 2XKO in early access, with more new blood is coming courtesy of Invincible VS, but it's the IP that first gave birth to this sub-genre with X-Men Vs Street Fighter that has me the most excited.
It's arguably also got the most to prove, not just because the last Marvel fighting game, the heavily MCU-friendly Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, was such a disappointment. Yet despite the release of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection just last year, Marvel Tokon also sees the license shifting from Capcom to anime fighter aficionado Arc System Works. It's exactly the sort of shake-up needed for a revival, and it's reassuring that despite the usual focus on cinematic realism that best describe Spider-Man and the upcoming Marvel's Wolverine, Sony is learning a lesson from Marvel Rivals by letting these iconic characters from Western comics be interpreted with an Eastern style and sensibility.
