First of all, this is an expensive pack, so be sure to know what you're getting. Games included here are:
X-Men: Children of the Atom
Marvel Super Heroes
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Vs. Capcom 1
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
The Punisher (beat'em up)
Every game is an emulated arcade ROM with very little to no improvement, which is a good or a bad thing depending on who you are.
All games -except The Punisher- let you play their original arcade version, an implemented versus mode and a kind of unpolished training mode.
Also, of course: online, with full rollback netcode. Very simple and easy to launch. Nonetheless, finding opponents will always be a lottery, especially in games that are not Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.
There's a number of general options and for each game. Among those: selecting the version you want to launch, screen filters (mediocre, though), a couple borders for the 4:3 aspect ratio, and more.
Outside of the games, there's extra content like high quality images and music, which I personally love! Nonetheless, I finished my time with them in less time than I expected.
Now, I'm gonna talk about the FIGHTING GAMES of this collection, which are its main attraction:
My BIGGEST problem with them is that the AI was not improved in any way.
If you just want to play arcade modes and see your favorite characters' endings, you're gonna have to deal with ridiculously cheap AI.
Anything other than 0 starts of difficulty gets really hard (even 1 star). You have to be a REALLY good player to get through without losing a lot. I guess that's why they added the save state option, but using that just makes the experience not that fun either.
I wish they reworked the AI and gave the option to select the old quarter-eating one or the reworked better one.
Now, let's go game by game:
X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM
Looks AMAZING, but it has very few characters. Fortunately, iconic ones like Cyclops, Wolverine, and Psylocke are here.
The game plays really nice! It's very easy to get the hang of.
Every character (except for secret ones) has a cool, long ending, acted by their sprite (no artworks). Sadly, dialogue boxes go way too fast, becoming hard to read. The credits roll can't be skipped either, so be ready for that.
MARVEL SUPER HEROES
It looks as good as COTA, but, again, it has very few characters... and the saddest part: Cyclops and Psylocke are nowhere to be found.
The game controls very similar to COTA and the new gem system is really fun!
All characters, including secret ones, have endings that consist in simple yet charming artworks with some dialogue (which are correctly timed now). That said, Thanos' ending has the wrong subtitles, which is a silly oversight.
X-MEN VS. STREET FIGHTER
This one has the best presentation yet! And it has a timer/countdown at the character selection screen, which no other game in this collection has (WHY?).
Sprites from Street Fighter can look a bit too "short" compared to X-Men's, but all of them look similar enough to fit comfortably into the same game.
Some stages have transitions, which are super cool to find and see! Also, special mention to the cutouts that now show up when performing supers!
Music is also CRAZY good.
I believe it's HERE where these games found their footing. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter feels very nice to play and the tagging system is simple yet super effective.
Fighting the final boss can feel cheap, but not even close to later game's bosses. After beating the final boss, you fight against your partner you were not using when the last hit landed. There can be only one of you for the ending and that's really cool.
All characters -even secret ones- have nice endings with little artworks and dialogue that feel very satisfying to watch. And now you can at least fast forward the credits roll.
This is my favorite of the collection... even though I can't forgive Psylocke is absent.
MARVEL SUPER HEROES VS. STREET FIGHTER
So, they removed the timer/countdown at the character selection screen for some reason. Bummer.
This is a very nice game, but I feel it's a little of a downgrade overall.
Dialogue boxes go too fast again and they don't even have any indicators of who is talking...?
Endings are decent, being short conversations between your selected characters.
Not a lot more I have to say about this one. It's the one I spend the least time with.
MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 1
This one looks and plays great! It has gorgeous art, beautiful backgrounds, and a very easy to read HUD!
Sprites are a funny mixture, but at least all of them keep their full quality. Morrigan is the one that looks the most "out of place", but she still fits somehow.
The support attack system is easy and fun! But... WHAT A WEAK ROSTER! Some of the most interesting characters are relegated to support roles now, which is really disappointing.
The final boss feels very cheap and has an ANNOYING 2nd stage, so be ready for that.
And well, endings are "fine", consisting in dialogue between characters' sprites. No artwork to see here.
MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2
Everyone's favorite! And sadly the worst looking of the collection. :-(
No timer/countdown at the character selection screen (again), no character animation here either... everything looks very "static" here. Artworks are great, though.
Now about those sprites: they look terrible. They had to compress them and delete some frames to make them all fit into the same game, a sacrifice that for many is well worth it because you now have the BIGGEST roster of the collection (and one of the biggest in fighting games in general).
Backgrounds are 3D and they don't look very good. If you compare these 3D backgrounds to the ones of the PS2 version of KOF 2002 UM, for example, the difference in quality is evident.
The best part of this game is obviously its GAMEPLAY. Gameplay is KING; simpler (only 4 buttons for hits) and faster, making combos feel insanely good to chain!
Unfortunately, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 has the CHEAPEST FINAL BOSS EVER, with 3 stages that get worse and worse. The last one is simply outrageous.
Edit: I forgot to mention this game's music, which is easily the best!
And that's it. Hopefully this helps someone to decide whether this collection IS or IS NOT for them. That said, if you're an X-Men, Street Fighter or overall Marvel/Capcom fan, this is an obvious buy... and if you're a multiplayer, double that.
