Fans have been waiting for some time for Arc System Works’s ‘spiritual follow-up’ to the legendary Marvel vs. Capcom series. However, for anyone uninterested in PVP matches and prefers to play solo, it looks like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 6 may still offer the better bang-for-your-buck. In an interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer during EVO Japan 2026, Marvel Tokon producer Joji Yamanaka revealed details about the game’s ‘Episode Mode.’ Unfortunately, this interactive comic book mode may disappoint fighting game players hoping for a traditional story-based campaign.
“It’s difficult to directly compare the amount of content to other titles because the format is different,” Yamanaka explained. “But in Marvel Tokon, you can enjoy the story through a motion comic-style in a mode called ‘Episode Mode.'” Yamanaka added that the team hired a manga artist to create the base illustrations, then painstakingly animated individual comic panels to fit the game’s aesthetics.
The bigger surprise, however, is that players apparently won’t have to lift a finger through all of it. “Once you start Episode Mode, the story will progress even if you leave it alone. You can fast-forward by pressing a button, or pause and enjoy the illustrations at your leisure,” said Yamanaka. “It’s designed to be enjoyed in the same way as reading a comic book.”
The decision apparently ties closely into the game’s comic book roots and how the team adapts PS5’s unique haptic features. “When you think of Marvel, you think of comics, so we thought about how to make it interactively enjoyable, and that’s how the idea of making manga panels move came,” explained Yamanaka. “By adding sound and movement to motion comics, we can also make use of the PS5’s haptic feedback function.”
As for the plot, it sounds fairly by-the-book by Marvel crossover game standards. “The main storyline of Episode Mode is that a villain called The Promoter attacks, and superheroes assemble teams to fight her,” he said. Yamanaka also added that thanks to Sony’s support, ArcSys can now increase the localization effort from offering three language options to 10.
Still, despite the rather disappointing approach to solo play, Yamanaka stressed that Marvel Tokon‘s Episode Mode is anything but small. Through watching five separate teams’ adventures, he promised that the total solo content will clock in at nearly 10 hours. He also emphasized that a story mode was considered ‘essential’ from the earliest stages, especially for casual Marvel fans who may not be deeply invested in the competitive side of things.
For better or worse, this sounds very similar to Guilty Gear Strive‘s story mode. That said, ArcSys also includes a traditional Arcade Mode in its previous work. Perhaps Marvel Tokon will also come with a similar solo offering — just without any semblance of narrative ties this time.
