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RTTP: Marvel Super Heroes (PS1), an (infinity) gem of a title

jblanco

jblanco

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,488
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I used to play this game a lot as a kid, and I had not played it since the 90s. I normally go back to Marvel vs. Capcom titles when revisiting 90s Capcom, but this time I had an itch to specifically revisit Marvel Super Heroes. So I played it and... it's actually still a pretty good game imo. Presentation, animation, color, music, and gameplay are all great. I love the artstyle in this game, it's soooo good. I loved that Marvel style and the game captures it perfectly.

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I loved Marvel comic books back then, and this game was like a dream. I'm honestly surprised at how well it has aged, I had a blast finishing Arcade mode with a couple of characters. It's only problem for today's standards is probably the lack of content, and lag in the Blackheart stage. Also, as time went on I've grown fond of Blackheart and Shuma-Gorath, but to this day I find their inclusion a really bizarre decision, specially considering the massive repertoire of Marvel villains.

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I unfortunately don't know how to capture GIFs/videos, but one of my favorite details is when a match starts both characters jump out of a tall building's window (which they break in the process) and then they fall with so much style. It's an arguably unnecessary detail, but man does it hype up the upcoming match.

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One of the most unique aspects of the game are the infinity gems which grant temporary power ups (depending on the gem) during combat. They randomly spawn during a game, and you can steal them (or lose them) when fighting. It's a bit gimmicky, but works, and most importantly it doesn't get in the way of the fast paced combat which is what makes this game so enjoyable in the first place.

The ending shots had some really nice comic book art, which imo did make playthroughs with multiple characters worth it. Some more than others for sure.
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Here are some other shots just because I re-loved the game :)
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To my surprise, it looks like the PS1 version is the inferior version. Saturn one is supposedly better, and the best is the Arcade one. I did not have access to either as a child, so I'm perfectly content with the PS1 one.

So ERA, any fond memories or comments of this game you want to share? :)

...or perhaps not so fond lol
 
Osu 16 Bit

Osu 16 Bit

QA Lead at NetherRealm Studios
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Oct 27, 2017
2,923
Chicago, IL
It's great. You nailed it, the look of the game is just fantastic. Absolutely captures that era of comics. This and X-Men: Children of the Atom are wonderful games that hold up just fine. I prefer this to any of the Versus games, since those relied too much on tag and got too wild for my tastes.

Magneto, Juggernaut, and Psylocke are weird roster choices given the storyline but make sense in the context of being a sequel to X-Men: COTA. I'm grateful though since Psylocke rules.
 
Team_Feisar

Team_Feisar

Member
Jan 16, 2018
5,352
I love MSH, played it to death in the arcade as a kid.

Also, some of the themes are grade A Bangers.



 
crpj31

crpj31

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Dec 13, 2017
560
Also... Wolverine, Spider Man and Dr. Doom's stages were beautiful with all the changes during the fight.
 

rude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,812
Isn't this the one missing animations? Or is that X-Men vs SF PS1?

but yeah it's an awesome game. I prefer all of the Marvel titles from before MvC over MvC proper.
 
skillzilla81

skillzilla81

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MSH and XvS remain my favorite marvel fighters. The look, the animations, the voice work, the soundtracks. Tops blooby.
 
Fukuzatsu

Fukuzatsu

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Oct 25, 2017
1,321
A very detailed port comparison between all three original versions (Capcom Play System 2 in the arcades, PS1, and Saturn) for anyone curious:
 
lazygecko

lazygecko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,628
Is the new ending art exclusive to the ports? I don't remember them looking like that.

But yeah, the console ports are severely compromised in scope due to the memory limitations and they had to drastically scale back the ambitions of the gameplay.
 
kamineko

kamineko

Linked the Fire
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Oct 25, 2017
6,495
Accardi-by-the-Sea
whew, i played that in the arcade back in the day. pretty fun

ot, they've certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of those infinity stones, haven't they
 
skillzilla81

skillzilla81

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10,043
Back in high school, we had an MSH machine at the 7-11. I knew how to do special moves and ground chains, but could never figure out air combos. The effect on the screen from a launcher looked like a super jump, so I always thought I had to press d,u after a launcher, but then the next hit was too slow. I just couldn't figure it out.

One night, I'm about to go to sleep and for some reason I think, "What if I just hold UP after a launcher." I went to school hella early the next day, used a couple of my very rare quarters (super poor back then), chose Spidey, did medium punch, and just held up. An entirely new game opened up after that.
 
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jblanco

jblanco

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Oct 27, 2017
1,488
Lemony1984 said:
The PS1 version? Yuck. Great game though.
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Fukuzatsu said:
A very detailed port comparison between all three original versions (Capcom Play System 2 in the arcades, PS1, and Saturn) for anyone curious:
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Awesome video :)

Yeah, the ps1 version may be inferior, but it's very serviceable, and as I said in my first post... I had no access to Saturn or Arcade version during my childhood. Saturn was not a thing at all in most of Mexico. PS1 does the job pretty well of capturing the fun fast paced gameplay imo.

Flousn said:
I love MSH, played it to death in the arcade as a kid.

Also, some of the themes are grade A Bangers.
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Amen. I would argue Cap and Spidey are the best songs in the game. Here's some other great songs I personally enjoy:


 
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fiendcode

fiendcode

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,909
Warrior of Light said:
There's not much of a difference between this and the Saturn version though. It's from before Capcom started to make good use of those RAM cartridges. They are both servicable but nowhere near perfect arcade ports.
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Saturn version still has more animation frames and faster loading and it's actually compatible with both the SNK 1MB and Capcom 4MB RAM carts to improve animation frames significantly. Cyberbots was like this too, neither game required the ram expansions but both could use them. Even the NA and PAL versions of MSH were compatible.
 
Warrior of Light

Warrior of Light

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Jan 11, 2018
9,847
fiendcode said:
Saturn version still has more animation frames and faster loading and it's actually compatible with both the SNK 1MB and Capcom 4MB RAM carts to improve animation frames significantly. Cyberbots was like this too, neither game required the ram expansions but both could use them. Even the NA and PAL versions of MSH were compatible.
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As demonstrated in the video comparison above, the RAM carts add more slowdown. Not that much for 1MB, but 4MB seems to mess too much with the game so that's really out of the question. Added animation frames aren't worth that. Point still stands, that at the end of the day the actual gameplay is about the same in both ports. It's not a night and day difference like let's say Street Fighter Alpha. Neither is arcade perfect, but both are playable. There is really no good reason to be elitist about the Saturn version in this specific case. The PS1 version will do the job just fine, and when you factor cost into things it's probably the most reasonable option for most people.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

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Oct 26, 2017
24,909
Warrior of Light said:
As demonstrated in the video comparison above, the RAM carts add more slowdown. Not that much for 1MB, but 4MB seems to mess too much with the game so that's really out of the question. Added animation frames aren't worth that. Point still stands, that at the end of the day the actual gameplay is about the same in both ports. It's not a night and day difference like let's say Street Fighter Alpha. Neither is arcade perfect, but both are playable. There is really no good reason to be elitist about the Saturn version in this specific case. The PS1 version will do the job just fine, and when you factor cost into things it's probably the most reasonable option for most people.
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I don't think the PSX version's bad at all (unlike the hacked up Vs games that followed), it's just that the Saturn version's better. I'd agree both are fine enough and were worth playing on their original hardware.

I only quoted you because the Saturn version does indeed optionally use the RAM expansions.
 
Warrior of Light

Warrior of Light

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Jan 11, 2018
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fiendcode said:
I don't think the PSX version's bad at all (unlike the hacked up Vs games that followed), it's just that the Saturn version's better. I'd agree both are fine enough and were worth playing on their original hardware.

I only quoted you because the Saturn version does indeed optionally use the RAM expansions.
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I never said it didn't, just that it was from before Capcom really started to take proper advantage of them. Since it's a fighting game, I really don't consider added slowdown a good trade-off for some restored animation frames. I really wish Capcom would re-release all these old gems though. Something similar to the SF collection, but without a ton of issues on day one.
 
fiendcode

fiendcode

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Oct 26, 2017
24,909
Warrior of Light said:
I never said it didn't, just that it was from before Capcom really started to take proper advantage of them. Since it's a fighting game, I really don't consider added slowdown a good trade-off for some restored animation frames. I really wish Capcom would re-release all these old gems though. Something similar to the SF collection, but without a ton of issues on day one.
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Marvel Vs. Capcom Legacy Collection: X-Men COTA, MSH, XMVSF, MSHVSF, MVC, MVC2. If they want go really nuts throw in The Punisher, Mutant Apocalypse and War of the Gems. Would make a nice lead in for MVC4.
 
Warrior of Light

Warrior of Light

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Jan 11, 2018
9,847
fiendcode said:
Marvel Vs. Capcom Legacy Collection: X-Men COTA, MSH, XMVSF, MSHVSF, MVC, MVC2. If they want go really nuts throw in The Punisher, Mutant Apocalypse and War of the Gems. Would make a nice lead in for MVC4.
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That would be amazing.

Maximilian said:
MVC Origins has an amazing port of MSH from Iron Galaxy. Sadly, it's gone digitally.
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Yeah, and it's a bit frustrating that they can secure the licenses for Capcom Home Arcade and those Arcade1Up cabinets, but not put these classics out on disc for posterity.

Also, congrats on being promoted to the rank of Maximillian Dad :D
 
Gelf

Gelf

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Oct 27, 2017
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It remains my favourite Marvel fighter, I don't really care for the Vs gameplay additions since.
 
2shd

2shd

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Oct 25, 2017
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One of my fav games of all time. Spider-Man in a Capcom fighter was a dream. The ports were super disappointing though, the real deal Saturn RAM cart hadn't yet arrived.
 
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jblanco

jblanco

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Oct 27, 2017
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Gotta admit some posts here make me feel like a filthy casual because I find the ps1 version fun AF.
 
Doctrine Dark

Doctrine Dark

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Nov 13, 2017
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jblanco said:
Gotta admit some posts here make me feel like a filthy casual because I find the ps1 version fun AF.
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As someone that first got into the Arcade version of MSH, I always thought the PS1 version was fine. I was young, so my eye to detail wasn't that great, but I felt like I was having just as much fun as I did with the Arcade version I was accustomed to playing. So you don't need to feel like a filthy casual. Seeing these games on a home console was a big deal to me back then.

I really love this game. It blew my mind seeing all of these Marvel characters in a fighting game. I had played X-Men COTA, but this was mindblowing.
 
Weiss

Weiss

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I'd love a new one, just Marvel Super Heroes 2. I think MvC is played out at this point (although Akuma as a guest character would be fun).
 

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jblanco said:
Gotta admit some posts here make me feel like a filthy casual because I find the ps1 version fun AF.
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There's nothing actually wrong with the PS1 version, it's a great game no matter what you're playing it on... it's just that you tend to get a lot of obnoxious Saturn posts when you so much as mention enjoying PS1 versions of certain games on here. Same thing happened in that "Best looking PS1 games" thread from a few days ago, where you had cringeworthy drivebys sneering at people for liking the visuals on games that apparently had slightly better Saturn ports.

Don't let such posts shit on your enjoyment of the game.
 
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