Miracle Tokon looks set to be the next big fighting game

Marvel Tokon: Battle Soul It is one of the biggest surprises of the summer competition season. With a roster of famous characters from Marvel Comics, publications from ARC System “Gight Game Development Orwess” and Sony Interactive Entertainment might power it, it's easy to see how Tokon quickly became one of the most anticipated fighting games.

Nothing compares to EVO 2025where Tokon made its public debut. Throughout the three-day event, the line trial game stretched around the ARC system works exhibition booth, and many eagerly waited for hours to conduct a brief Tokon experiment. So when Sony and Arc System work gave me a special hands-on lesson to try out Marvel Tokon's superhero melee, I jumped out. What I found was a striking, high-profile fighter that felt like it was successful.

The ARC System’s lineage of work among fighting game fans requires little introduction: it won fans with its keen visuals and the keen visuals and in-depth gameplay of the Criminal Gear series, and entered the HD era as Blazblue, since then became well known for its game’s signature anime style, incredibly detailed graphics and high glue, a technically convenient comb, and is well known for its game’s signature anime style. It partnered with IPS from other companies to create champions like Persona 4 Arena, Dragon Ball Fighterz and Granblue Fantasy instead of having a huge success.

Although Marvel Tokon marks Arc's first processing of US IP, it seems that it has gained a lot of artistic freedom. The visuals are presented in the company's beloved 3D anime style, with characters such as Captain America, Iron Man, Storm and Ms. Marvel thriving from ARC's art design team, distinguishing them from character descriptions in other media. The character animation is smooth and full of detail, and while there is only one background for combat in the show demo, it is full of detail without overly dispersing the battle on the screen.

Players can't use their own controllers for demonstrations, so I chose a double attitude instead of my custom joystick, but gave Tokon spin. The game's control scheme is perfect for layout: the face buttons are mapped to light, medium and heavy attacks, and the Bottommost One acts as a dedicated auxiliary call (“assembly” button). While combat games such as Street Fighter VI strive to attract new newbies by providing classic and simplified control schemes, Tokon also provides players with the same simultaneous: enter special actions through traditional fighting game commands, or hold down the Quick Skill button (map to one of the shoulder buttons) and enter the direction. Unlike Arc's earlier Granblue Fantasy, unlike the skill cooldown that uses these simplified inputs, Tokon does not perform special attacks in this way. Another dedicated button, unique – a unique feature mapped to the shoulders during the demonstration – activates the unique skills of a particular character waving. Other buttons provide easy access to dashes and throws. Although I couldn't use my own controller, I quickly adapted to the feel of the game controls as the layout optimized for PAD playback. (Of course, you can swap buttons at will in the last game.)

From the outset, Marvel Tokon distinguishes itself from other tag-based fighting games by changing two core game mechanics: Team and Lifestay. Before you start the battle, you can select four characters and assign each character to use projectiles, air defense, or professional assisted attacks. However, the battle is based on the circle and you start fighting with two members of the team. To use the other two fighters, you need to unlock them by fighting: use a special throw attack, blow up your opponent through the “wall” and cause a background transition, or – unfortunately, whether you are on the receiver side of the defeated-failed turn. The staff explained to me that the purpose was to make you feel like you were assembling a team in the competition, and I think the elements separate Tokon from peers.

Another big change is the life-saving hall. Many tag-based games have a separate lifebuoy for each team member, and the exchange will allow them to recover over time. Marvel Tokon, instead, has shared lifeguards and manages assists through special gauges. This means that since they are koko and without using critical auxiliary characters, you will not be left behind – although you still have to manage the meter, thus limiting the frequency of using them. (Yes, you can still do extra damage by hitting the character at the same time as the points and assisting the character.

Despite the limited lineup of the demo, the choice of characters is excellent, as each member of the actor is very different in the battle. Captain America offers players a standard Dragon Punch- and projectile-style special move that many are familiar with, but can change everything by throwing the shield at a funky angle or using it to defend and fight back. Storms can control spacing and apply pressure, limiting opponents' movement while strengthening themselves. Both Iron Man and Star Lord offer projectiles and air movement, Iron Man provides incredible air mobility, and Star Lord offers interesting twists to change the elemental properties of his unique projectile attack (and thus effects). Ms. Marvel's physical stretching ability allowed her to navigate on the screen and added some scope to her normal strike. Finally, Doctor Doom's series of projectiles and ranged attacks – including a barrier to space control – prompted him to be relatively lacking in speed.

I also found that some of the introductions introduced by Tokon, the general mechanics, made it easy to jump in and start playing the character. Except for the quick button – squeeze car – Auto-Bombos (a common feature in ARC's recent fighting game), all characters can access the universal air launcher with presses and major attacks. This isn't the only way to start the air combo (even the best), but it's really a solid spring plate for learning the glitz-air combo common for label-based fighters. Make the marking in the character in the middle match also easy by allowing you to press the label button to switch the characters that just called the point position. Crossover is an anti-type skill performed by pressing light attacks and assembly, allowing you to call up assists for a destructive counterattack. But if you can predict when your opponent will cross over, you can actually fight back with one of your own – if you have the right time, you can disable its auxiliary characters as a short window.

There is more to the fight, including special moves and some incredible super super, as well as team-driven assembly tips, but if I'm too deep here, I think I'll ruin some fun with fun. Thankfully, you will have the opportunity to do this as soon as possible: Registration for closed testing in early September has been launched. I encourage anyone interested to apply because part of what makes fighting games so exciting is your own journey of learning, discovery and improvement. While the last game still has a way to go – the current release date is a vague “2026”, Marvel Tokon is ready to be a top contender.