Hiya!

Well, the last couple of weeks was super busy for us gamers, hasn’t it? We had to endure the massive success of the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch. We had to talk about all the reveals of Not-E3 as well. While we did get to talk about Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Developer Direct shows, there was really one thing I wanted to talk about but I just couldn’t find the right time to discuss it until now.

Now, anyone who’s been reading my posts know I talk a lot about fighting games. So, during the recent Sony State of Play, Arc System Works snuck in a humdinger of a surprise at the end of the show. Yes, there were some really cool games shown off during the State of Play. However, it’s the last surprise which caught me and pretty much the entire fighting game community off-guard… in a very pleasant way.

That’s because at the end of the most recent Sony State of Play, they revealed their latest fighting game. That game is Marvel TOKON: Fighting Souls.

There already in the fighting game community dissecting the footage and examining every piece of information they can scrouge up regarding Arc System Works and Marvel‘s new collaboration. I’ll leave all of that in their more than capable hands. What I’d like to do instead is talk about why this is a perfect trailer. Sure, Arc System Works could’ve just slapped together the awesome gameplay footage and fans would still be excited. They didn’t do that and they really put a lot of effort into it. In fact, whether intentionally or not, I do believe Arc System Works created the perfect video game trailer.

First off, they started with not trying to surprise viewers but giving the audience the information to retroactively think about what was being shown then. The intro just shows two people talking. One is talking about fighting for justice and one is asking that person to impress them. This is a very brief introduction but it’s generic enough to be rivals talking to each other. Nothing special… for now.

It’s when the Arc System Works logo pops in where a specific type of gamer starts losing their mind. This is another aspect of the trailer that’s actually pretty smart as they know they are popular with that specific type of gamer. They don’t bother to do the “from the makers of…” whatever. Arc System Works knows they have the pedigree to be recognized by the fighting game community as they are able to put out banging fighting games. This is another aspect of the trailer I like: they’re not trying to appeal to everyone. They’re trying to appeal to their core audience: the fighting game community. So, at this moment, fighting game fans are excited as they’re about to see what Arc System Works has been cooking up behind closed doors.

Promptly after the logo, they show Captain America‘s shield. The fighting game fan is now looking intently because they just saw the Arc System Works logo and now they see one of Marvel’s most iconic weapons? Immediately, their minds turn to disbelief as does this mean Arc System Works is working on a Marvel fighting game? Don’t we already have this with Capcom‘s Marvel vs. Capcom series? This is around when we get confirmation with the Marvel Games logo pop up. There’s still some disbelief that Arc System Works, one of the best fighting game makers is working with Marvel but all of that is instantly dispelled when we see Captain America and Iron Man start duking it out! Yes, we are getting a Marvel fighting game by Arc System Works! Fans go through a multitude of emotions and thoughts in something like 30 seconds!

Even then, fighting game fans have always asked “When’s Mahvel?” and, when they say that, they’re referring to Marvel vs. Capcom. Now, fans have been clamoring for a new Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game. They love all of the crazy combos, launchers, tag attacks and all of that. Although Arc System Works have done something like that with Dragon Ball Fighterz, it wasn’t exactly like the Marvel vs. Capcom games. This trailer, however, made it immediately apparent this was going to play like Marvel vs. Capcom. They immediately showed stuff like Captain America launching Iron Man into the air, tagging in other fighters like Ms. Marvel and assist attacks. This immediately reassured longtime fans that, despite Capcom not being in the helm and this may not be Marvel vs. Capcom 4… but it’s going to play like it!

It’s around this point when the trailer starts going through a part of the roster they’re adding. Once again, in a way to reassure longtime fans, they went with a good mixture of “returning” character from the Marvel vs. Capcom series while also giving us a couple of new guys. This was a good idea as we got to see stalwarts like Doctor Doom, Spider-Man and Storm but we also see some fresh faces in Ms. Marvel and Star Lord. This mixture of old and new is great because fans will get to kind of assemble their perfect roster in their head.

While fans are still stunned at the idea of Arc System Works developing a Marvel fighting game, this is when they hit with the big news: This is going to be a 4-vs-4 fighter! You heard that right! Not 2-vs-2 or 3-vs-3 like we had in the Marvel vs. Capcom! No, Arc System Works had to one-up Capcom by making you build a 4-person team to face off against another 4-person team! While the logistics of it all are still being figured out, the idea is mind-boggling! Still, the trailer gave us a glimpse of what kind of chaos that can happen with characters from both sides rapidly swapping and assisting each other as well as Captain America’s team performing a combo involving all of his team members!

Finally, we get the splash screen and the title. This is the release for fans as this is actually real. Now, Arc System Works went the extra mile and even made a video interviewing the producers on how the deal was made. They also gave a little insider information on how Marvel wanted Arc System Works to redesign Marvel characters with their own bombastic style they’re known for. This also is great as fans did want to know how this got put together without anyone leaking it out! Oh, it was also nice to see the little stuff behind the scenes as well.

Of course, all of this was happening while the trailer was showing off some gorgeous redesigns, beautiful animation, a very distinct Arc System Works artstyle and great music playing in the background. Of course, the end result was the fighting game fandom losing their minds, especially those who were tuning into the Sony State of Play and watching it live.

As I said, I’m not sure if this perfect trailer was put together by accident. I mean, technically, this is how any trailer should be put together. Make sure it attracts your target audience. Slowly build up the action and drama. Tease enough content which shows off what makes it familiar and unique at the same time. End on the title screen. In hindsight, I do believe this was all serendipity. Still, what an awesome trailer!

Byee!

What do you think of Marvel TOKON: Fighting Souls so far? Let me know in the comments section below!