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MARVEL SUPER HEROES vs. STREET FIGHTER
T-1239G
Copyright © 1998 Capcom
Marvel Names and Characters Copyright © 1998 Marvel Entertainment
Sega Saturn (Import)
1 or 2 players
Fighting
¥ 5800
—by Charles McCarter
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One of the things Capcom knows how to do is milk a franchise. (How many
incarnations of STREET FIGHTER II were there?) So it
should come as no surprise that after the explosive popularity of X-MEN VS. STREET FIGHTER that a sequel was soon underway.
MARVEL SUPER HEROES VS. STREET FIGHTER is now available
as an import for the Sega Saturn. This is reportedly the last game that Capcom
will release for this defunct system, but at least it went out with a bang.
Game play is essentially the same as with X-MEN VS
SF, with the usual rounds of special moves, super moves, counters, and the
tag-team feature all intact. Now, however, there is one additional move, the
"Variable Assist," where players can have their partner come in for a quick move to
give you some breathing room. Other than that, there really is no
difference in play.
The sound is improved a bit, and the characters speak more now, although
some would argue that their dialog is more annoying. The backgrounds are
something of a disappointment, though, as they are quite often just
recycled and slightly modified versions of backgrounds from previous games.
The Street Fighter roster boasts no new additions except for Sakura and
Dan. The Marvel side consists of, of course, Cyclops and Wolverine, as well as
Spidey, Captain America, and the Hulk. How many Ryu clones do you need?
There are four now—Cyclops, Captain America, Ken, and Ryu! Where did
all the female Marvel characters go? The bad guy representation, with the
exception of Omega Red, is totally B-list though. Shuma Gorath and
Blackheart again? They could have included at least one new Marvel
character.
But arguably, they did. Norimaro is the new character on the block,
although he's not likely to win a lot of fans (or players, for that
matter). Designed by one of the members of the smash comedy team Tunnels,
Kinishi Noritake, Norimaro is essentially a fightin' fanboy. He wears a
school uniform and has lots of weird and silly attacks. He adds a degree of
humor to the game, but all in all, he's not a character that you want to
play long term.
He's also the subject of some legal controversy as well. Capcom recently
released a letter to import gaming houses demanding a cease and desist of
sales of this title. This is in relation to the agreement that they made
with Marvel. Apparently Marvel doesn't want Norimaro associated with their
name in the U.S. (which explains why he does not appear in the domestic
arcade release). However, I have to wonder about all this. After all, the
chances of this game coming out domestically are nonexistent since the U.S.
Saturn is dead. And as an aside, doesn't Marvel really have enough other
problems (like bankruptcy) to deal with? Is this really doing them any
good? While I don't particularly enjoy playing Norimaro, it's not like I'm
going to hate Marvel forever for putting him in there.
While the game is not terribly original in terms of game play, characters,
or graphics, it is still a great deal of fun, even if my favorite
characters didn't get carried over from X-MEN VS SF. It's good, but as a
sequel, it's not great. If I was stuck on a deserted island and could only
have one of the VERSUS games with me, I'd have to pick X-MEN VS. STREET
FIGHTER. After all, the X-Men can kick Captain America's butt
any day. 
Rating: *** out of 4 |
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