Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter is a crossover fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to X-Men vs. Street Fighter and the second installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. The game was first released as an arcade game in 1997. It then received ports to the Sega Saturn in 1998 and the PlayStation in 1999.

The gameplay and aesthetics of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter remain similar to X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Each player selects two characters to compete in a one-on-one tag team fight, attempting to defeat the opposing team. The game replaces most of the X-Men cast from the previous installment with characters from other Marvel properties. In addition, it introduces a new gameplay mechanic known as the “Variable Assist”, which would be used in future Marvel vs. Capcom titles.

Much like its predecessor, the game received generally positive reviews for its gameplay, sprite animations, and character roster. The Sega Saturn version, utilizing the 4 MB RAM expansion cartridge, was praised for being an arcade-perfect conversion. Due to the memory limitations of the PlayStation, tag team battles were, once again, removed from its port, resulting in more mixed critical reception. A sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, was released in 1998.

Gameplay

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter is the second installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of 2D fighting games. It utilizes the same one-on-one tag team format previously employed in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. The player chooses a team of two fighters, each sporting their own life gauge; at the start of the match, the first selected character is controlled by the player, while the second character remains off-screen and acts as support. Using a combination of joystick movements and button presses, the player must execute various moves to deplete the opposing team’s life gauges. The first player to completely drain the opponent’s health is declared the winner. If the timer reaches zero, the player that possesses the most health wins.

The most notable gameplay change in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter is the addition of the “Variable Assist”.^[5] With the Variable Assist, the player can summon their off-screen character to perform a special move without changing their currently-controlled character, opening new possibilities for combos during battle and greatly expanding the role of the secondary character.^[5][6] The ability to use assists would later become a signature gameplay element used in several future installments of the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Modes

The arcade, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation versions of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter share Arcade Mode and Versus Mode. In Arcade Mode, the player fights waves of artificial intelligence-controlled teams, culminating in a penultimate battle against the boss character, Apocalypse, who previously appeared in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Upon defeating Apocalypse, the player must win against the final boss character, Cyber-Akuma. The PlayStation version includes three exclusive game modes: Training, Hero Battle, and Cross Over. Hero Battle is an endurance mode which pits the player against the characters that they did not select. In Cross Over, the player and the computer opponent fight with the same team of characters; if the player is victorious, then the computer swaps one character from both teams. The PlayStation port also features a Gallery Mode containing promotional and character artwork, which are unlocked by completing various goals.