Marvel Tokon’s Anime Style Is Great, but Its Lack of Fashion Stinks
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the new anime-styled fighting game from Arc System Works, showcases several strengths that caught players’ attention. The game features engaging 4v4 tag-based combat mechanics and an impressive story mode enhanced with motion comics. Initial technical challenges on PC have been resolved, allowing players to experience the game without major performance hurdles.
Despite these positives, the game has a notable weakness: severely limited costume variety. Arc System Works deserves credit for successfully implementing an anime aesthetic throughout the character roster, creating visually striking redesigns of Marvel’s iconic heroes. Characters like Iron Man—rendered as a Gundam-inspired suit—look impressive with their anime flair blended into their classic designs, making them stand out dramatically. These new looks were particularly well-received when the game was revealed.
However, this single aesthetic direction comes at the cost of costume diversity. For a fighting game featuring beloved Marvel characters, the lack of alternative costumes and fashion options is a significant oversight. Cosmetic variety is traditionally an important feature in fighting games, offering players ways to personalize their favorites and deepening engagement. The game’s strong mechanics and narrative content are ultimately hampered by this limitation in customization options.