When Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls was first revealed, it had a lot of pomp and circumstance behind it as the “one more thing” during the June 2025 PlayStation State of Play. And now I get why.
Combining the fighting game geniuses at ARC SYSTEM WORKS with an IP chock-full of beloved and fantastic characters like Marvel was a no-brainer, and it created something truly special.
A Marvelous mash-up
When it comes to anime-style fighting games, ARC SYSTEM WORKS is one of the best in the business. I’ve always been a spectator of titles like Guilty Gear Strive and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, so I knew of their pedigree, but Tokon is my first hands-on experience.
As a Marvel fan, I’m delighted by the game’s presentation. The characters have awesome Japanese-inspired designs, including Iron Man’s Sentai-like suit, and they all bring their own unique flair to the table while staying true to the IP in an utterly gorgeous anime aesthetic.
A four-vs-four tag fighter, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ Episode mode is its version of the story, and it’s told in five different manga-style books as teams of four heroes and/or villains come together to take part in a tournament by the invading Champion (a deep-cut character from 80s comics), setting the stage for battles at hand.
Episode mode is an amazing way to tell the game’s stories (written by comic book author Kieron Gillen and animated by several talented comic artists) with a few very well-made cutscenes in between the flipping pages.
The roster is a good mix of must-haves (Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, etc.) and some welcome additions from the universe (Green Goblin, Magik, Danger, Peni Parker) to form a representative starting 20 that will be expanded upon over time (Phoenix Cyclops is the first of several DLC characters planned). All characters feel unique and fun to play, with varying difficulty between them.
But the tag-team nature of Tokon makes selecting your team of four one of the most important factors. You begin with two of your four team members and can add the rest to your playable team throughout the match by meeting certain parameters, and once you have all four, you can really begin to express skill using tag attacks to extend combos and juggle your opponent like a circus professional.
It’s a unique spin on the tag team fighter, and it adds a sense of urgency to battles as you need to either lose a round or knock an enemy through the stage’s walls to unlock teammates. But because of this and the fact that your team shares one HP bar, at times it feels like a fourth character is pointless, unlike in a game like Marvel vs. Capcom where everyone on the team must be defeated to end the fight.
Deciding on a team means picking your “point” character to lead off with and selecting a secondary hero to swap in or use as your main assist and combo enabler is fun, and worth testing out in practice modes until you find the right combination for your play style.
Accessible, punishable
As an aging gamer myself, I sure don’t have the hand-eye coordination I used to when I avidly played online fighters like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or Mortal Kombat 9. Thankfully, Tokon is accessible for players of all skill levels, at least to start out.
The game features something of an auto-combo where you can get by in introductory battles by mashing buttons, but you will need to practice and learn in order to compete online, where sweaty FGC players are waiting to absolutely tax you (I’ve been juggled for several combos of 80 percent damage or more in the week of launch).
But if online play isn’t your thing, Episode mode is supplemented by several Arcade options, like Arcadia Rumble. In this experience (also available in multiplayer), you run around an explorable lobby as an avatar attacking other NPCs (or players) to gather stars while picking up upgrades to help in ensuing fights. All-Star Arena is more akin to a classic arcade mode, but it offers a Survival variant where you can fight dozens upon dozens of enemies to knock them out to unlock cosmetics.
In the end, Tokon shines as a competitive fighter. This will likely scare away a lot of casual players, as dedication to the craft and battling online is where you’ll find the most value for your money. This game will likely be a mainstay on the EVO stage for years to come, and it will be interesting to see ARC SYSTEM WORKS balance the title to avoid stale metas where certain characters reign supreme (there are several at launch who feel a bit overtuned or underpowered compared to the rest of the roster).
Even if you’re not the biggest fighting game player, Tokon is worth it as a Marvel fan. The game oozes with Marvel charm, including numerous references and characters to spot in stage backgrounds. And when it comes to those references, Deadpool really hammers the fourth wall-breaking with a ton of winks and nods to fighting game moves, poses, and tropes. It’s hilarious.
Despite my dwindling skill, I’m still having a lot of fun with Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. It’s clear that this game was crafted with expertise. I’d expect it to become a mainstay in the FGC for years to come, especially as ARC SYSTEM WORKS adds new characters over time to keep things fresh and fun.
