Here is the official announcement as provided by Reed Baird Senior Producer, XDEV, PlayStation Studios over at the PlayStation Blog.
Official Announcement:
PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works (Arc), and Marvel
Games have joined forces to realize the latest in tag team fighters,
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Experience the Marvel Universe like never
before with reimagined characters and stages, a heart-pounding
soundtrack, intuitive gameplay mechanics, and jaw-dropping visuals that
will keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether this is your first
fighting game or you are a veteran of the genre, Arc has incorporated
gameplay controls and mechanics that are easy to pick up and play, and
yet still offer the depth and versatility for high level competition.
“From the beginning, we aimed to make MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting
Souls a title that could be enjoyed by a wide variety of players,”
explains Game Director and Lead Battle Designer, Kazuto Sekine.
”Generally,
a team VS fighting game requires the player to learn multiple
characters, but for MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, you only need to
master one character in order to play the game. We have designed the
mechanics in such a way that you can perform a variety of actions with
either traditional fighting game inputs or simple inputs. With the press
of a few buttons, multiple characters can appear on screen to provide
backup or attack together – creating a new and exciting team VS battle
experience.”
“Since day one, our long-time and trusted collaborators at
PlayStation and the team at Arc System Works have poured incredible
amounts of talent and passion into reimagining the Marvel Universe in a
way that only they can,” said Michael Francisco, Senior Product
Development Manager, Marvel Games. “MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
demonstrates that they are absolute masters of their craft and are true
Marvel fans at heart. Players are in for a wild ride.”
Characters
Enter the fray with iconic Marvel heroes and villains such
as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Storm, Ms.
Marvel, Star-Lord, and Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) – each with Arc’s
unique twist on their character designs and gameplay styles.
Arc Producer, Takeshi Yamanaka, states, “There are so many
amazing Marvel characters that it was quite a struggle to choose our
roster, but we did have some criteria for the selection process. First
and foremost, we wanted to include characters who we feel to be the
‘face’ of Marvel. At the same time, we also needed to select characters
that would give us a balance of battle types and styles. Lastly, we
wanted to sprinkle in a few surprises and leave room for characters who
have never been playable in a fighting game before.”
Yamanaka-san continues, “Early on in the project, we
experimented with a shader to recreate a more western comic-book visual
style, but the Marvel team expressed a desire for us to lean into
something more Arc-like. It was then that we switched our approach to
the game’s visuals and began to lean more into the Japanimation style
Arc is known for.”
Gameplay mechanics
From short-ranged jabs to the cinematic Ultimate Skills,
each character features a bespoke set of Normal, Special, and Unique
attacks inspired by their abilities and powers in Marvel lore. Arc have
gone to great lengths to ensure that gameplay style, movement, and feel
of these legendary characters is fresh, new, and wholly unique to MARVEL
Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
But it’s not just the individual gameplay of the characters
that has been enhanced; significant dedication has gone into reimagining
and redefining what it means to be a tag team fighter.
“Team VS fighting games have a long tradition of 2v2 or 3v3
team formats, so this is something we discussed in-depth within the
development team. We went back and forth many times, from thinking we
might be better off making a 1v1 game or sticking to the established 3v3
format.”
Sekine-san continues, “At its core, we felt that the appeal
of team VS fighting games is the intensity of battles with multiple
characters on screen at once. Additionally, one of the appeals of Marvel
comics is seeing the vast cast of characters coming together to create
all kinds of unique team-ups.”
“With these two ideas in mind, we concluded that creating a
4v4 team VS system would be the best way to not only create those
over-the-top moments, but to further evolve the tag fighting genre.”
Stages
The stages come to life in MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls,
filled with easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to find. Most stages also
feature multiple areas. These transitions between areas are not just
action-packed and stunning to witness, but they also play a strategic
role. Check out the screenshots from Marvel’s New York City to see what
you can find.
More to come
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of our journey.
From characters and stages to gameplay modes and the online experience.
There’s so much more we can’t wait to share with you!
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