Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has a roster full of classic mainstays and more recent favorites. Amongst them is the newest variant of one of my absolute favorite anti-heroes ever, Ghost Rider! Robbie Reyes is the newest vessel of the Spirit of Vengeance, and he’ll serve as your next step as I teach you to how to play Ghost Rider!
Ghost Rider takes notes both from his own previous fighting game appearances and Guilty Gear’s Axl Low, boasting massive normals and a unique reward for keeping up measured pressure. If you can master his Vengeance Gauge, you’ll be an absolute menace.
Ghost Rider’s Kit
Ghost Rider is all about punishing the enemy for every little thing, putting the fear of God into them until they’re unable to confidently fight back. You’ll want to start every battle playing back, prepping the rest of the team, and analyzing how the enemy prefers to approach.
Most of Ghost Rider’s special moves raise his Vengeance Gauge, shown beside his Skill Gauge. The Vengeance Gauge is separated into three sections: Zone 1, Zone 2, and the Red Zone. He starts in Zone 1, with no alterations to his abilities. In Zone 2, all of Ghost Rider’s special moves deal more damage.
Things get fun in the Red Zone, where inputting any special move will utilize an enhanced variant stronger than his Heavy version. Using one of these specials will cause the Vengeance Gauge to rise rapidly, eventually Overheating Ghost Rider.
When Overheating, Ghost Rider falls to one knee and is stunned, leaving him vulnerable. This is where his Unique actions come in. Using either of Ghost Rider’s Unique actions will drain the Vengeance Gauge, allowing him to use Red Zone specials without Overheating, if he’s fast enough.
Manipulating the Vengeance Gauge is the biggest skill ceiling Ghost Rider has to offer and will be a major factor in learning how to play Ghost Rider. Generally, stay calm and think out your moves before you make them, as the Vengeance Gauge heavily punishes overzealous mashing.
Now that you get the general quirks, let me walk you through Ghost Rider’s movelist.
Unique Button – Revelator Chain
Ghost Rider spins his chain and hook, striking the enemy repeatedly. This attack can be held down to extend the spin and can be performed in the air. Successfully landing this attack lowers the Vengeance Gauge. This attack can also be canceled into special moves.
Best Used When: You need to lower the Vengeance Gauge and the enemy is a middle distance away. Great at holding enemies in the air for assists or tags.
Unique Button + Down – Hell Throttle
Ghost Rider envelops him in flame, hitting point-blank enemies multiple times and greatly lowering the Vengeance Gauge. This is your tool mid-combo to keep enemies juggled and keep the Vengeance Gauge down, allowing you to use multiple Red Zone specials in a single sequence.
A personal favorite addition, the attack is fast enough to force enemies away in bad situations, while hitting 360 degrees around Ghost Rider to counter mix-ups. If you’re trying to learn how to play Ghost Rider, make this move a priority.
Best Used When: You’ve just used a Red Zone special or need to juggle a close range enemy.
Quartercircle Forward + Light/Medium/Heavy – Hellfire
Ghost Rider unleashes a plume of flame from his mouth straight ahead. The duration of the flame is based on the strength of the button held. The Red Zone Variant can be used to link combos or mini-launch. When used in the air, Ghost Rider fires the flame at a diagonal angle.
Best Used When: You’ve just landed Revelator Chain/need to quickly end a combo.
Forward, Down, Diagonal Forward + Light/Medium/Heavy – Penance Driver
Ghost Rider reaches out, attempting to grab the enemy directly. If successful, he summons his Hellride, smashing through them. The Light version is slower, but it has Ghost Rider leap a decent distance before grabbing. The Medium version is quick, with no leap. The Heavy Version is both quick and leaps forward.
Penance Driver raises the Vengeance Gauge on whiff and lowers it on a successful grab. Use it as a mixup tool once you’ve got the enemy panicking or too scared to meet you in the air.
Best Used When: You’re in the enemy’s head, and they’re too focused on playing defensively.
Quartercircle Back + Light/Medium/Heavy – Judgement Cradle
Ghost Rider whips his chain above his head, carving a flaming path. The duration of the swings is tied to the strength of the button held and can be used in the air. When used on the ground, Judgement Cradle can be canceled before the final swing by pressing Forward + Light/Medium/Heavy. The final hit can Break, launching enemies for stage transitions.
The Light follow-up cancels Judgement Cradle in a feint. The Medium follow-up slides forward as a low. The Heavy follows up with a leap for an overhead. These three follow-ups make Judgement Cradle highly versatile, though be careful not to Overheat while using it. At higher Zones, the attack gains hits.
Best Used When: You’re fishing for a solid hit or need to end an air combo.
Down, Down + Light/Medium/Heavy – Hell Scorcher
Ghost Rider punches the ground, summoning a carpet of flame at a set distance based on the button used in the input. The Light version summons the flame directly in front of Ghost Rider. The Medium version summons the flame a good distance out, near where the enemy starts a round. The Heavy and Red Zone versions appear directly beneath the enemy.
Hell Scorcher is great at forcing the enemy to block and punishing whiffs. It can also be used in certain strings, but the low range makes it difficult. Still a tool I’m trying to master.
Best Used When: You want the enemy to slow down/be scared of sticking to the ground.
Ghost Rider’s Assists
The effectiveness of Ghost Rider’s assists varies greatly depending on his position on a team. While some trip, others absolutely crush the competition. Let’s look at each now.
- Assemble Assist Shooter: In position 2, Ghost Rider performs a single hit of Judgement Cradle without the follow-up.
- Assemble Assist Vertical: In position 3, Ghost Rider performs the aerial version of Revelator Chain, spinning his hook and covering a solid chunk of space.
- Assemble Assist Assault: Ghost Rider performs Hell Scorcher aimed at the enemy’s current position, forcing a jump or block.
- Assemble Assist Aerial: Ghost Rider performs Hellfire while falling, maintaining the hitbox as he descends.
If you’re not running him as the point put Ghost Rider in position 3 or 4. His Vertical assist is fantastic at taking control of the air, while his Assault assist applies heavy pressure on the ground. Either is far better than his Shooter assist.
Ghost Rider’s Supers
Ghost Rider’s supers are fast, hit hard, and leave a hell of a lasting impression. Both of his non-Assemble supers have deceptively large hitboxes, catching enemies who aren’t paying attention more often than not. Using either of his non-Assemble supers will lower the Vengeance Gauge.
Quartercircle Forward + Medium + Heavy – Super Skill – Inferno Engine
Ghost Rider summons his Hellride to drive across the screen, flipping over it as it passes. This attack covers the entire bottom of the screen as the Hellride passes, allowing you to catch enemies who have committed to animations like projectiles out.
This super costs 50 Skill gauge and is used at the end of Ghost Rider’s Medium auto-combo if you have the bar.
Halfcircle Back, Forward + Medium + Heavy – Ultimate Skill – Eternal Damnation
Ghost Rider lashes out with his chains before pulling them back. Enemies can be struck by the yanking chains or caught in a grab at their maximum distance. Since the maximum distance portion of the attack is a grab, it will catch enemies attempting to block, pulling them in for the full strike from Hellride.
This Super costs 100 Skill gauge and will automatically be used at the end of the Heavy auto-combo if you have the bar.
Quartercircle Forward + Light + Assist – Tokon Assemble
Only usable with a full 150 Skill Gauge, the entire team assembled, and if you’re only one round away from losing, Ghost Rider’s Tokon Assemble starts with a wide swing of his chains. If successful, Ghost Rider’s team takes turns beating down the enemy before he traps them with his Penance Stare
A personal favorite Tokon Assemble, Ghost Rider will perform this move automatically at the end of the Light auto-combo if all the conditions above are met.
How to Play Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is a monster at holding down neutral space while working off of his own tools, and his team’s assists to punish any evildoer he finds. Ghost Rider can rapidly shift from hard zoning to a mix-up heavy gameplan at the drop of a hat, rewarding the quick to react.
His Medium and Heavy normals are fantastic tools to keep the enemy scared, dominating the screen and always threatening a hit. He can easily convert off of longer-ranged hits than most other characters, and has disgusting range on his anti-air crouching Heavy and low-hitting crouching Medium.
When holding down the neutral utilize Ghost Riders…
- Hell Scorcher, to immediately force a block from any distance.
- Judgement Cradle, to approach while putting up an offense.
- Medium/Heavy normals, to punish whiffs and keep the enemy guessing.
Hellfire and Revelator Chain can keep the enemy back when they get too close, though you shouldn’t forget about your Light normals. What they lack in range, they make up for in sheer speed. During a scramble they can save your life.
Ghost Rider is phenomenal at abusing his range advantage to sneak individual hits and find combos at distances others could only dream of. Keep an eye on the Vengeance Gauge and don’t be afraid to make the most of its gradual climb. Just be careful not to get caught Overheating.
Ghost Rider’s Best Teams
Ghost Rider’s niche makes him an incredible addition for any team, and he can make use of all kinds of assists from his team to devastating effect. I’ve been using two teams with him: the Samurai Outriders and the Vengeful Shapeshifters.
Samurai Outriders
One of the pre-built teams of Marvel Tokon and the one Ghost Rider leads, the Samurai Outriders, ironically gives Ghost Rider everything he could want in a team. Deadpool is a great second to have on hand, Blade’s Assault assist is a mix-up machine, and Loki’s Vertical assist is a phenomenal backup to have for links.
| Role | Character | Reason for Running |
| Starter/Position 1 | Ghost Rider | Robbie boasts some of the best range in the game, great damage, and a solid game plan that can change on the dot. Mastering Ghost Rider will make you the biggest pain at your local, but who can blame you for playing to win? |
| Assemble Shooter/Position 2 | Deadpool | Deadpool is a hyper-flexible hero who provides a solid projectile and a great pivot to more close affairs if need be. |
| Assemble Vertical/Position 3 | Loki | Loki’s Vertical assist both swings and launches a projectile, allowing him to snipe enemies out of the sky on approach with surprising accuracy. |
| Assemble Assault/Position 4 | Blade | Blade’s Assault assist is wild, always forcing a block into a side switch that Ghost Rider can easily abuse with his long range/command throw mix-up. |
Vengeful Shapeshifters
A lineup filled to the brim with ranged firepower, this team is all about doubling down on Ghost Rider’s biggest strengths without giving the enemy a chance to breathe. Carnage’s Shooter assist is easy as pie to combo off of or into, while Iron Man’s DP is great extra coverage.
Doom’s Merciful Strike assist is great at locking down an enemy, which Ghost Rider can easily set up or punish.
| Role | Character | Reason for Running |
| Starter/Position 1 | Ghost Rider | Robbie boasts some of the best range in the game, great damage, and a solid game plan that can change on the dot. Mastering Ghost Rider will make you the biggest pain at your local, but who can blame you for playing to win? |
| Assemble Shooter/Position 2 | Carnage | Carnage is always great to have on a team, and he uniquely can match Ghost Rider’s poke range to devastating effect. |
| Assemble Vertical/Position 3 | Iron Man | Iron Man’s anti-air is great to have, as Ghost Rider has no meterless reversal. Once Iron Man connects, though, your massive reach can easily follow up. |
| Assemble Assault/Position 4 | Doctor Doom | Doom’s Assault assist locks down the enemy all by itself, allowing for a myriad of awful to answer mix-ups. |
