Marvel Super Heroes(マーヴルスーパーヒーローズ) is a fighting game developed by Capcom. Originally released in the arcade in 1995 on the CPS-2 arcade system, it was later ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in late 1997. It features many superheroes and supervillains from the Marvel Comics line, including Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, and the Hulk.
The game is loosely based on the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, with the heroes and villains battling each other for the Infinity Gems. The final boss is Thanos, who steals whatever Gems the player had collected (at that point, all but the sixth gem, Mind) and uses them against the player, but with each gem having a strange, new effect when used by Thanos.
The game played similar to Capcom's previous Marvel-licensed fighting game, X-Men: Children of the Atom, but with a more simplified use of the super combo gauge, and the addition of the Infinity Gems. Each Gem could be activated in battle, giving the user a different power for a few seconds. In addition, each character had a Gem that they had a special affinity for, and would get additional abilities whenever they activated it.
This game was dedicated to the memory of Jack Kirby, with character artwork based on his old designs.
Gems
In order to win a gem from the opponent, a player must hit him/her with a special attack.
- Power
- Gives the character increased attack strength and greatly enhances grabs and throws. Special users are Spider-Man (creates a duplicate on the opposite side of the opponent), Captain America (alters his special attacks into attacks that would be super-attacks in later games in the series), Wolverine (causes trails to follow him and multiply his hits), and Psylocke (creates a duplicate in front and behind her. The duplicates can deal damage but are invulnerable).
- Time
- Speeds up the character's movements. Special users are Hulk (allows him to rapid-fire his strongest attacks) and Shuma-Gorath (normal attacks turn opponents into stone).
- Space
- Gives the character increased defense. Special users are Juggernaut (makes him immune to all attacks, similar to how he was in X-Men: Children of the Atom) and Magneto (gives him his magnetic shield, making him immune to all attacks, again similar to his boss version's move in X-Men: Children of the Atom).
- Reality
- Causes elemental attacks such as flames, icicles, and lightning bolts to accompany the character's regular attacks. Special user is Blackheart (turns invisible, in addition to the gem's normal effects).
- Soul
- Causes the character to regenerate health. Special user is Iron Man (adds extra electric damage to his normal attacks which drains super energy)
- Mind
- Causes the character to regenerate their super attack gauge. In single-player gameplay, you will not be able to use it until the final battle, as Thanos alone holds this gem. To obtain it, you will have to beat it (and the other five) out of him with Super Combos.
Thanos super-attacks are named after each gem he uses for the attack.
- Power
- Creates a miniature sun and hurls it at the opponent
- Time
- Slows his opponent to half-speed
- Space
- Opens up a rift in space and drops asteroid fragments on the opponent
- Reality
- Creates two stone walls that crush the opponent between them
- Soul
- Shoots an energy pulse that absorbs the opponent's energy into his own life bar
- Mind
- Causes the opponent's controls to be reversed for a short period of time.
In reality, Thanos doesn't have to have the gem to use the corresponding super-attack, but his attacks are still named for them, and the CPU won't use the attack without the corresponding gem, though a player-controlled Thanos can.
Infinite combos
Enterprising players have found a few characters in Marvel Super Heroes who are able to perform infinite combos (i.e. combos that can be sustained until a foes lifebar is depleted) that are mostly unblockable or unavoidable when hit. For instance, Wolverine is able to attack a regular-sized foe with a 5-6 hit combo before launching them into the air for an aerial combo, continue with a 3-4 hit combo that ends with a strong punch/kick that brings aerial foes down to the ground. The instance before hitting the ground, he is able to hit grounded foes and launch them again to continue the barrage, thus starting the infinite combo system. Spider-Man also has an infinite combo move utilizing the Spider Sting. The infinite combo routine is also present in the sequel, X-Men vs. Street Fighter and has become a feature that has returned in future installments like Marvel vs Capcom 2. By that game however, safeguards reduced their lethality using things like Damage buffering to reduce infinites to little or no damage and "Dizzy Outs" which popped a character free if the same chain was used for over 50 hits.