Marvel vs. Capcom fans mourn Japan-exclusive character’s likely absence from upcoming remaster

On June 18, Capcom announced that they will be releasing Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics this year across multiple platforms. The compilation features seven 1990s arcade games developed by Capcom featuring Marvel superheroes- with numerous QoL improvements and additions, including online play and new difficulty settings. However, Japanese fans have been wondering whether or not an exclusive Japan-only playable character will show up in the new release in light of complicated rights issues.  

The Japan-exclusive character in question is Norimaro, who appeared in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, the 1997 game which featured two-on-two tag team matches between characters from the Marvel universe and Street Fighter. However, Norimaro was absent from the international release of the game (although he is still in the game files, so it’s apparently possible to cheat your way to using him). 

So, who is Norimaro and why was he only in the Japanese version of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter?  Norimaro was an original character created and voiced by Japanese comedian Noritake Kinashi, who is a member of the Tunnels comedy duo. Norimaro is a caricature of a nerdy teenaged schoolboy who is obsessed with Marvel characters (he even has a taunt where he can ask for an autograph). His moves include using his shoulder bag as a weapon and throwing various objects out of his bag at opponents including bananas, a set square and a teddy bear. Noritake Kinashi also played the character in real life in promotions for the game and on a variety program on Nippon TV (NTV) at the time. 

It is unclear at this stage whether or not Norimaro will be in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics – as the official list of changes does not mention him- adding to the confusion among Japanese fans of the game on X. However, most of the evidence points towards his absence (including the new poster in the tweet above, where he is replaced by Dhalsim). Norimaro is not present in the list of playable characters on the official website. He is also noticeably absent from the character select screen- the game’s title logo takes up the square where his character portrait was in the original Japanese release.  

Furthermore, the original release contained copyright notices for NTV and Noritake Kinashi’s agency at the time, however, these are not included in the licensing notices for the new release, as seen in the trailer below. According to the official website, Cyber Akuma has been added as a playable character, so it is possible that he is the replacement for Norimaro.  

Yoshiki Okamato was the Head of Development at Capcom at the time of the original game’s release and was responsible for the collaboration that brought Norimaro to the Japanese version. According to his detailed video on the character’s creation, a separate royalty payment was made for Norimaro. In addition, he explained that Marvel did not want the character to be included in the game. Due to this complicated rights situation- it seems likely that Norimaro will be cut from the game. 

Interestingly this is not the only time that a Japanese comedian’s character has appeared as a playable fighter in a Capcom game- Street Fighter 2 Pocky Edition recently featured a brand new character based on comedian Eiko Kano.

MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is scheduled to be released on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch and PS4 in 2024. The Nintendo Switch and PS4 editions will receive physical releases too.

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-06-19 08:25 JST)