The Punisher
The odd game out in this collection is The Punisher, a 1994 beat ‘em up with 2-player local and online co-op. Co-Optimus alum Marc Allie looked at the game in our Co-op Classics column a while back, and now it’s time for a fresh look.
The introduction depicts the murder of Frank Castle’s family in a park, a crime that leads Castle to become the murderous antihero, the Punisher. As for the game’s premise, Punisher and Nick Fury (the somewhat less morally gray head of SHIELD) team up to take down a crime syndicate that is led by Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Between levels, the two protagonists have brief text-based conversations in which Fury chastises Castle for his overly brutal methods. These simple cinematics lend the game some personality, but the way the text is displayed can make it hard to tell who’s talking.
On an actual arcade cabinet, the first player controls the Punisher and the second player controls Nick Fury. Things work the same way here, so if a solo player wants to be Nick Fury, they have to set the "Player" option to P2 in the game settings before launching the game. In an online game, the host has to be Punisher and the guest has to be Nick Fury. The addition of a character select screen (which has been added to the arcade games in Konami’s TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection) would’ve been nice. It’s not a major issue, however, since both characters play identically.
Combat closely resembles that of Capcom’s Final Fight, which debuted in 1989. Our heroes have a basic array of punches, grabs, health-draining special moves, and jumping maneuvers that inspire fast, simple play. The Punisher features a wider variety of weapons, though, including swords, knives, flame throwers, and even a Ghosts N’ Goblins-style lance. Additionally, whenever a gun-wielding enemy joins the fight, the heroes get to fight with pistols for a limited time. These shooting sections offer a fun change of pace to the standard brawling. The heroes also have a limited number of grenades that can be thrown by pressing Attack plus Jump or the newly added special move button while in the air.
While The Punisher looks great for its era and plays well, it doesn’t feel as authentic and/or larger-than-life as the other Marvel games in this collection. The only recognizable Punisher villains are Bruno Costa (who appears as a gangster but not in his later demonic form), Bushwacker, and Kingpin, the final boss. Jigsaw is nowhere to be seen, nor are heroic allies like Daredevil and Black Widow. Punisher's pal, Microchip, only shows up on the continue screen. Besides regular gangsters and ninjas, the enemies also consist of robots and the cybernetic Reavers – goofy characters who are more commonly pitted against the X-Men. Overall, it seems like Capcom’s designers understood the Punisher’s brutality but not his limited rogues’ gallery or place in the Marvel universe.
Like most beat 'em ups, the best way to enjoy The Punisher is in co-op. Local co-op is simple enough, but online co-op has an unexpected wrinkle. Only the fighting games in this collection have matchmaking. To play The Punisher online, players must select Custom Match and then use room codes or the console or PC's invite system to join up with another player. The lack of matchmaking for The Punisher is disappointing, especially given that the collection already has a matchmaking system for every other title.
Despite its scarce Marvel connections, The Punisher is still a cult classic beat ‘em up that enjoys a loyal following. The game was ported to the Sega Genesis, but the arcade version has only ever been offered at home on an Arcade1Up cabinet. The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection marks the first time that the arcade Punisher has been legally available on consoles and PC. With online play, the choice of US or Japanese versions, and an impressive gallery of artwork and music, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a fantastic way to experience Frank Castle and Nick Fury’s team-up beat ‘em up. Gamers will most likely buy the collection for its amazing lineup of fighting games, but The Punisher can offer a welcome co-op diversion between the bouts of competitive fighting.
Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics sells for $49.99 on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. It will be released on Xbox in 2025. The Steam version is Steam Deck compatible.
A Steam download code was provided by the publisher for this review.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: The Punisher allows for a second player to join and help you defeat Kingpin.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.