Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was the game that truly ignited the Marvel vs. Capcom crossover franchise, and this 1997 soundtrack captures Capcom's CPS-2 arcade hardware at its absolute peak. The character themes are pure adrenaline, with "Theme of Wolverine" delivering that aggressive, claws-out intensity while "Theme of Spider-Man" bounces with the kind of upbeat heroism that defined the web-slinger's fighting game persona for years to come.
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The arrange tracks included here give these arcade originals a fuller, richer treatment that rewards headphone listening. What makes this soundtrack special is how it handles the collision of two very different musical worlds.
The Street Fighter characters bring their established identities, with "Theme of Ryu" carrying that stoic martial arts determination and "Theme of Chun Li" maintaining her iconic energy. But then you get oddball entries like "Norimaro Toujou," the theme for the Japan-exclusive joke character created by comedian Noritake Kinashi, which is as bizarre and comedic as the character himself.
"Theme of Dan" similarly leans into comedy, perfectly scoring everyone's favorite joke fighter. The album also includes some deep cuts for the Marvel faithful. "Theme of Shuma-Gorath" is wonderfully unsettling, fitting for an eldritch tentacle monster from the pages of Doctor Strange.
The ending themes provide surprisingly emotional bookends to each character's arcade mode journey, with "Captain America Ending" and "Hulk Ending" standing out as particularly satisfying conclusions. This is the soundtrack that proved Marvel characters and fighting game music were a match made in heaven, paving the way for everything that came after.