Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Review - A Deep Dive into the Tag Fighter's Unique Mechanics
The fighting game community is abuzz with the release of Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a 4v4 tag fighter with a unique twist on traditional tag fighting mechanics. The game's innovative approach to character swapping and assist calls adds a layer of complexity and strategy that sets it apart from other fighting games. In this review, we'll take a deep dive into the game's mechanics, exploring its strengths and weaknesses, and examining why it's a must-play for fighting game enthusiasts.
A Fresh Take on Tag Fighting
At its core, Tokon is a 4v4 tag fighter, but it takes a unique approach to character swapping and assist calls. Instead of traditional tag fighting mechanics, where each character on a team has their own lifebar, Tokon shares a single lifebar among all characters on a team. This change allows for a cleaner UI and avoids the pitfall of 4v4 matches running too long. It also removes the need to learn multiple characters to have a competitive team, making it more accessible to newcomers.
What's fascinating about Tokon is that while you can be a strong player by knowing how to play just one character, there's still a ton of value in crafting a well-synergized team and swapping between them. For example, if you know that your main struggles in a particular match-up, you can have a better option waiting in the wings. This system allows you to add new elements to your gameplan piece-by-piece, rather than feeling like you need to have everything on lock right from the start.
Assist Calls and Active Tag System
One of the most intriguing aspects of Tokon is its assist calls and active tag system. Every match starts with just two of the characters on each team available, with the remaining fighters needing to be unlocked by landing a light auto-combo, hitting the opponent with a move near the corner, connecting with a throw, or losing a round. Unlocking these characters adds another bar to your Assemble meter, which governs the ability to call assists during specific moments.
Tokon has a lot of hyper-specific rules surrounding its assists, which can be overwhelming for newcomers. Before a match begins, you place your four characters into various positions: Leader, Shooter, Vertical, and Assault. These placements determine what kind of assist is used when you call them out in neutral. However, the active tag system, which allows you to switch control to your assist character for a brief period, feels awkward and unintuitive on the offensive side of things.
Character Design and Authenticity
Despite the complexities of its mechanics, Tokon shines when it comes to character design and authenticity. Every character oozes style, with unique abilities and moves that pay homage to their comic book counterparts. For example, Spider-Man can zip all across the stage, baiting anti-airs by hanging and then jumping off his webs. Storm can manipulate the weather to push and pull objects and enemies, while Magneto fills the screen with literal metallic garbage that he can utilize as a weapon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is a must-play for fighting game enthusiasts. Its unique approach to character swapping and assist calls adds a layer of complexity and strategy that sets it apart from other fighting games. While the game's mechanics may be overwhelming at first, the character design and authenticity make it a blast to play. I highly recommend giving it a try and exploring the depths of its mechanics.
As an editorial producer at IGN, Mitchell Saltzman is an expert in the fighting game genre, and his insights into Tokon's mechanics and character design provide a valuable perspective for players looking to master the game.
