MARVEL
GAMES
Spider-Man 2 on Steam Deck
It pushed my Steam Deck to the limit. The story feels like recycled stuff from the canceled Amazing Spider-Man movies. The gliding is a step too far in knocking off the Arkham games. The set pieces are epic but it's mostly just walking sim missions with embarrassing dialogue.
Release: Jan 30, 2025
Marvel Rivals (Seasons 0-1.5) on Xbox Series X
I never played Overwatch and now likely never will. The art style is exactly what games need, the deep cut character/costume choices just ooze love for the modern comics and the gameplay is deep and engaging. All that and Adam Warlock is playable for the first time!
Release: Dec 6, 2024
Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on Nintendo Switch
Forget the overpriced Arcade1Up, this is by far the best way to play the best fighting games of the '90s! The presentation is flawless, with art galleries and secret characters. It launched with a few bugs but is already getting patched. Now bring on Marvel Vs. Capcom 4!
Release: Sep 11, 2024
Midnight Suns on Xbox Series X
An accessible and addictive Tactical RPG from the XCOM team, marred by bugs. Relationship building would be fun if it wasn't all through your offensively bland avatar. It really needed a strong gothic art style. The core gameplay is great though and I welcome DLC.
Release: Dec 2, 2022
Fortnite Season 31: Absolute Doom on Nintendo Switch
This was my first time really getting into Fortnite. I hate military propaganda shooters and excessive respawning, so this was pretty refreshing. It runs well enough on Switch if you don't mind skins loading in late occasionally. I regret missing the Galactus event now.
Release: Aug 16, 2024
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Arcade1Up
These are overpriced and they knew exactly what they were doing releasing this collection after us die hards already bought the others. It released with bugs that mostly got patched out, but it's not powerful enough for rollback netcode apparently. This will be my last one.
Release: Oct 24, 2022
X-Men Arcade1Up
Compromises were made in cramming the X-Men beat 'em up into standard dimensions. Six players are reduced to four and the controls are uncomfortably close. Both complaints would be fixed by a deluxe two screen model. The Data East Avengers games are a nice addition.
Release: Nov 30, 2021
Guardians of the Galaxy on Xbox Series X
I find gameplay and storytelling to always be at odds and this is no differnent unfortunately. Some good but underdeveloped gameplay ideas are buried under a mountain of walking and dialog trees. Its polished but has bothersome video-gamey over baked character designs.
Release: Oct 26, 2021
Spider-Man for Tiger Electronics
You know the retro gaming market has gone too far when they start remaking Tiger Electronics handhelds. This replica of the 1988 release has you scaling 99 identical floors, but you can just mash to scroll your way right to the Hobgoblin boss fight before the hazards even load.
Release: May 1, 2021
X-Men for Tiger Electronics
As far as Tiger Electronics go, this actually isn't bad. It's a boss rush where you play as Cyclops running and basting his way through battles with Apocalypse and Juggernaut. You can't just cheese your way through this one like you can with the Spider-Man version at least.
Release: May 1, 2021
Marvel Vs. Capcom Arcade1Up
This Arcade1Up’s best looking cabinet yet. Vibrant art covers the side panels separating Marvel and Capcom’s rosters. The light up marquee and retro metallic tread really complete the ‘90s look. War of the Gems is nice but should be on the Marvel Super Heroes cabinet.
Release: Dec 04, 2020
Spider-Man: Miles Morales on Steam Deck
The pacing is much stronger with much less civilian missions and braindead mini games getting in the way. Spider-Verse left some big Jordans to fill and this Miles Morales just feels like a knockoff right down to his adidas. It has snappy gameplay and UI, but weak bosses drag it down.
Release: Nov 12, 2020
Spider-Man Remastered on Steam Deck
They took what worked, added needed polish, then smothered it with terrible civilian missions. Batman's Arkham combat is welcome, but his gadgets aren't. The characterization is off across the board. The new face is actually an improvement. It has the best use of costumes yet.
Release: Nov 12, 2020
Avengers on Xbox Series X
The format fits the property but the execution is incredibly disappointing. It offers a typical PlayStation style story from the perspective of Ms. Marvel. The heroes play great and are all unique, but the enemies lack variety and the environments are so bland they feel procedurally generated.
Release: Sep 4, 2020
Marvel Super Heroes Arcade1Up
Arcade1Up makes dreams come true with a practical sized modern home arcade cabinet with perfect ports of two of the best '90s fighters, Marvel Super Heroes and X-Men Children of the Atom, plus The Punisher for Sega Genesis. Outside the price tag, it seems too good to be true!
Release: Nov 11, 2019
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order for Nintendo Switch
The series largest cast of playable characters and boss fights from all corners of the Marvel Universe with the endlessly addictive replayability you would expect from Team Ninja. The sheer amount of content and comfortable gameplay makes this a contender for the best Marvel game.
Release: Jul 19, 2019
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series on Xbox Series X
Story focused games light on gameplay just aren't my thing. This story is cliché, the animation is janky and the only real choices are in platitudes. Chapter 3 had a glitch that locked me out of seeing all paths. It very hard for me to get through and would have made a better cartoon.
Release: Apr 18, 2017
Deadpool on Xbox One
A straight forward action game with serviceable gameplay both as a hack and slash and shooter. It looks and runs about as well as it needs to. What's impressive is the commitment to the comics, specifically the 2008 run. Plus, Gambit DJ's an X-Men pool party.
Release: Nov 17, 2015
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Xbox One
Two handed web-swinging returns and it makes a big difference. The added depth keeps traversal engaging. The Cletus Kasady serial killer plot was interesting. The costumes have unique stats and level up and they even included the elusive Spider-Carnage.
Release: May 12, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Nintendo 3DS
The last of the classic 2D games. Thats over 20 years of these behind them to reference and no progress is shown. Its the same barebones combat, repetitive padded levels and weak bosses, but this time they force a pointless web-swinging mini-game between each level.
Release: Apr 29, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Edition on Nintendo Wii U
Beenox expands to an open world, but shallow web swinging mechanics, a choppy frame rate and terrible screen tear completely botch the experience on Wii-U. That said, you can play as Stan Lee and it's still the only one with a Man-Spider costume, which I appreciate.
Release: Mar 5, 2013
The Amazing Spider-Man on Nintendo DS
It features a Kirby's Dreamland style hub world offering short repetitive missions. It has some great hand drawn sprite animation with a dynamic camera zooming in and out of the action. It's a good format for a rushed movie tie-in, it just needed a lot more variety to fully land.
Release: Jun 26, 2012
Spider-Man: Edge of Time on Xbox 360
A rushed Spider-Man 2099 focused sequel to Shattered Dimensions that strips down the art style and bafflingly sets all the action indoors at Alchemax. Peter David pens an authentic story with a great cast, including an under-utilized Val Kilmer as the villain Dr. Walker Sloan.
Release: Oct 4, 2011
Spider-Man: Edge of Time on Nintendo DS
This has gotta be the worst Metroidvania I have ever played. The map is completely broken. You just gain generic abilities that open different coloured barriers. The boss fights have about two frames of animation to them. I do respect the inclusion of Big Wheel 2099 though.
Release: Oct 4, 2011
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions on Xbox 360
A proto-Spider-Verse bringing back classic cartoon voice actors that plays like a modern sequel to Spider-Man: Enter Electro, right down to the cozy Stan Lee narration. Top tier presentation. The long levels centred around fun villain boss fights makes each feel its own one-shot comic.
Release: Sep 7, 2010
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions on Nintendo DS
A Spider-Verse style plot with playable Spider-Man 2099 and Noir variants. It doubles down on Web of Shadows' Metroid influences, even adding Shinespark puzzles. Spider-Man and Metroidvania is truly the perfect fit and it's a shame they got here so late. I want more like this!
Release: Sep 7, 2010
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on Xbox 360
It takes the graphics and story over gameplay route, alienating fans of the first game. They follow the Civil War comics closely before ruining it with their own lame ending. The greatly cutback RPG elements leave just a mindless brawler with little reason to replay. It looks better at least.
Release: Sep 15, 2009
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on Xbox 360
Theres a Venom pandemic and it's up to you to either save New York City or be a complete psychopath for some reason. It nails the feeling of a comic event as the city gradually falls into chaos and heroes like Wolverine and Moon Knight show up. The frame rate drops in the third act.
Release: Oct 21, 2008
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows | Amazing Allies Edition for Sony PSP
A 2.5D side scroller on PSP should be a sure thing but this misses the mark big time. It's super small and simple but still runs poorly somehow, often completely freezing during action segments. The terrible awkward dialogue feels like it was written by Bevis and Butthead.
Release: Oct 21, 2008
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows on Nintendo DS
It’s like Metroid II but you’re Spider-Man and every time you lose an Energy Tank you have to play a terrible touchscreen mini-game. It even has a timed emergency escape sequence at the end. All the low polygon enemies look like reused assets from some other generic game.
Release: Oct 21, 2008
Spider-Man 3 on Sony PSP
Its impressive they fit the PS2 version's Manhattan sandbox on PSP, but it came at the cost of the frame rate and load times. It has exclusive boss fights with Morbius and an unrecognizable Shriek. It's short and has really clunky combat, leaving very little reason to explore.
Release: Oct 16, 2007
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe on Xbox 360
A simple dumb fun beat 'em up by Nintendo developer Next Level Games sporting more polish than your usual movie tie-in. The enemy variety is quite poor, but it has a pretty rewarding little gameplay loop of beating classic villain bosses to unlock then upgrade them.
Release: Oct 2, 2007
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe on Sony PSP
A stripped-down version of a simple beat 'em up totally ruined by poor hit detection. It ditches four playable characters for exclusives Electro and Carnage, but the latter only unlocks if you beat it in co-op, and good luck finding a friend with a copy and working PSP.
Release: Oct 2, 2007
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe on Nintendo DS
This version is a welcome surprise with charming low-poly graphics that spread the action across two screens, tracking the rooftops and streets as you hop between them. They had to cut the playable cast back to the just the Sam Raimi movie villains, plus Black Cat and Blade.
Release: Oct 2, 2007
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on Xbox 360
It was developed by the 2K sports team and looks like a basketball game thanks to the detailed character models, realistic lighting and the oddly court-like flat ground throughout. The comic inspired levels are somewhat passable, but the movie stuff just feels tacked on last minute.
Release: Jun 15, 2007
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on Nintendo DS
The side-scrolling levels are so short they are essentially worthless and the touchscreen mini-game boss fights are tedious slop. That said, the Silver Surfer vs. Galactus top-down shooter last boss is exactly what I always wanted out of the classic Silver Surfer on the NES.
Release: Jun 15, 2007
Spider-Man 3 on Xbox 360
The City looks great but the models are terrible. It expands the scale with tons of indoor areas including a massive subway. A mission uncomfortably forces you to abuse Mary Jane. The web-swinging is simplified, the combat lacks polish and it really overdoes the use of quicktime events.
Release: May 4, 2007
Spider-Man 3 on Nintendo DS
It takes cues from the great Ultimate Spider-Man on DS with touchscreen controls and comic panel cut scenes, but the cut scenes use muddy console screenshots and the half-baked gameplay is obscured by an annoying cursor. Even the boss fights are lacking.
Release: May 4, 2007
Spider-Man 3 on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
It sticks to what works from years of Spider-Man side scrollers, with smooth movement and combat for taking out crooks and saving civilians. The beat 'em up car chases are great a great use of web swinging and the boss fights are clever and can be pretty challenging.
Release: May 4, 2007
Spider-Man: Battle for New York on Nintendo DS
A prequel rushed out to cash in on Ultimate Spider-Man's success. Ron Lim illustrates the fun motion comic cutscenes, but even they don't stack up. It bafflingly ditches the innovative Venom controls for a playable Ultimate Green Goblin no one wanted. It's repetitive and janky.
Release: Nov 14, 2006
Spider-Man: Battle for New York on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
I don't think anyone has ever wanted to play as Ultimate Green Goblin. It has clunky controls and runs poorly. The levels are dragged out in the beginning, then suddenly rushed, clearly as the deadline approached. It's really disappointing after Ultimate Spider-Man.
Release: Nov 14, 2006
Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Xbox 360
The followup to X-Men Legends II. A Diablo like dungeon crawler across the Marvel Universe. Stunning cinematic videos set the epic tone. Unlockable characters, upgrades, costumes and secret missions keep you coming back. It's perfect for casual couch co-op with buddies.
Release: Oct 24, 2006
Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Sony PSP
It's a scaled back port of the PS2 version with exclusives Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ronin and best of all, the classic Captain Mar-vell complete with a Genis-Vell costume. Unfortunately, Silver Surfer isn't playable in this version, dashing my hopes for a full-on cosmic team.
Release: Oct 24, 2006
Fantastic Four: Flame On for Nintendo Game Boy Advance
This is the second game based on the movie released in 2005 from the same development team. It's no wonder this Human Torch side scroller was criminally under looked. The graphics and gameplay are surprisingly good and it has decent boss fights with Galactus and Terrax.
Release: Nov 8, 2005
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse on Sony PlayStation
They masterfully refined the formula, addressing nearly all of my complaints. Managing the plethora of items is still a pain though. The loads of swappable specials vastly deepen the RPG elements and Deadpool Director Tim Miller's CGI cutscenes really round out the package.
Release: Sep 20, 2005
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse on Sony PSP
Stick to the PS2 version. The load times really throw off the pacing of an already slow game. It also loses the charming cell shaded character models. The exclusive characters X-Man, Cable, Dark Phoenix and Cannonball feel unfinished and half of them are redundant.
Release: Sep 20, 2005
Ultimate Spider-Man on Nintendo GameCube
This is second only to Spider-Man 2 with it's canon story told with innovative editing and rendered in a timeless comic art cell shading. The gameplay is toned down a bit for accessibility, but they made up for it with the violent playable Venom and strong mission variety.
Release: Sep 19, 2005
Ultimate Spider-Man on Nintendo DS
This is my favourite Spider-Man side-scroller. It has incredible cinematic cut scenes based on Bagley's art, a story in continuity with the comics written by Bendis, stylish cell-shaded graphics and impressive innovative touchscreen Venom gameplay. It felt like magic on DS.
Release: Sep 19, 2005
Ultimate Spider-Man on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
A side scroller swapping between classic Spider-Man gameplay and a Venom that needs to feed to stave off constant draining health from starvation. It feels a little rushed toward the end. They remarkably achieved cell shaded models with smooth animation on Game Boy Advance.
Release: Sep 19, 2005
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction on Xbox
They perfected the momentum, making leaping over buildings and smashing the military-industrial complex feel truly exhilarating. Ron Perlman plays Abomination. It still rivals Spider-Man 2 and Batman: Arkham City for the title of best comic book game of all time.
Release: Aug 23, 2005
Fantastic Four on PlayStation 2
It's part X-Men Legends, part classic God Of War. The Thing even has quick time event executions. The models are decent and its packed with classic villains like Annihilus and Diablo. The cast reprise their rolls and Jessica Alba gives Tobey Maguire a run for his money.
Release: Jun 27, 2005
Fantastic Four on Game Boy Advance
I'm a sucker for isometric GBA takes on 3D console games. Those Tony Hawk ports were incredible. This isn't nearly as impressive but has a charm to it. It's a little short and is way too easy, but racing through the story and checking out the classic bosses is a good time.
Release: Jun 27, 2005
X-Men Legends on Nintendo GameCube
The humble beginnings of one of Marvel's best game series. X-Men really is perfect for an Action RPG. The levels can be long with sparse checkpoints and the lack of a New Game Plus gets in the way of the obsessive grind. That said, it laid an incredibly solid foundation.
Release: Sep 21, 2004
Spider-Man 2 on Xbox
Treyarch 100% nails the open-world format on the first try. Spider-Man for PS4 really only improved over the graphics and story. The thrilling gameplay is all here fourteen years prior and the web-swinging is still untopped. It has endless challenges and an epic endgame arena.
Release: Jun 28, 2004
Spider-Man 2 on Sony PSP
Treyarch reuses the format and assets of the first movie game for this incredibly rushed sequel. It even has the same Shocker and Vulture boss fights basically untouched. Theres no costumes, no Bruce Campbell and no budget. At least they finally upgraded the camera.
Release: Jun 28, 2004
Spider-Man 2 on Nintendo DS
It has the framework for a great 3D take on the retro side scroller Spider-Man format but botches it with a few bad mechanics. It's maddening to not have a map in these labyrinthine levels with anxiety inducing timers, especially on a system that comes with two screens.
Release: Jun 28, 2004
Spider-Man 2 on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Everything from the first game is expanded upon, including those pesky fetch quests. The 3D free roaming hub world hilariously overreaches the GBA's capabilities, but it's all in good fun. It has the Lizard and exclusive Puma boss fights that get cut from the console version.
Release: Jun 28, 2004
Tony Hawk's Underground on Nintendo GameCube
They ditched the timeless arcade format for a free roam story campaign that you need to be a die hard skater to get any appreciation from. Its mostly just fetch quests and driving clunky cars. Still, the soundtrack features R.A. The Rugged Man and the playable Iron Man is pretty fun.
Release: Oct 27, 2003
Hulk on Nintendo GameCube
Simple beat 'em up fun with some stealth sections, elevated by the vivid cell shaded graphics. The story plays as a sequel to the film. It includes an unlockable Grey Hulk who quips, mostly about his shoe size, and obscure bosses like Halflife, Ravage and Madman.
Release: May 28, 2003
The Incredible Hulk for Nintendo Game Boy Advance
It's based on the '60s comics instead of the movie. Has a strong presentation with some fun original art cut scenes connecting decent isometric dungeon crawling levels. The only real bosses are The Executioner and Abomination and they both uncharacteristically shoot lasers.
Release: May 28, 2003
X2: Wolverine's Revenge on Nintendo GameCube
The graphics, presentation and story are all impressive. Wolverine is voiced by Mark Hamill. It's primarily a stealth game and is hard as hell without checkpoints. The healing factor ironically makes you feel weak because it keeps you in hiding which really slows down the pace.
Release: Apr 15, 2003
X2: Wolverine's Revenge on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
This is easily the best 2D Wolverine game. They found the perfect balance for his healing factor, your slashes hitboxes are huge, the unlockable powers open up the levels for some replayability and the bosses are pretty tough. Play on hard for a secret Weapon X Phoenix last boss.
Release: Apr 15, 2003
The Invincible Iron Man for Nintendo Game Boy Advance
The animation is great but his cartoony walk is right out of Felix The Cat. It really could have used a boss fight after each level to break up the gameplay a bit, but the few it has are pretty good. His repulsors sound like he's verbalizing them which gets annoying after the thousandth time.
Release: Dec 20, 2002
X-Men: Next Dimension on Nintendo GameCube
I guess they graduated from the Mutant Academy. The new story mode is a sequel to Operation: Zero Tolerance with cutscenes voiced by Patrick Stewart. Too bad Professor X isn't playable this time. It's the best in the series and really just needed a little polish to truly shine.
Release: Oct 22, 2002
Blade II on Sony PlayStation 2
They replaced the first game's weak combat with an innovative system using the right stick to attack in any direction, a precursor to Arkham Asylum's combat focused on crowd control. It can be clunky but helps give the game a unique personality. Blade really only has good games.
Release: Sep 3, 2002
Spider-Man on Xbox
Treyarch builds off their Dreamcast port, even bringing the janky camera along. The exclusive Kraven level is worthwhile. The unlockable playable Green Goblin would be $25 DLC today. Toby Maguire and Willem Dafoe's voice acting is nice to have, but Bruce Campbell steals the show.
Release: Apr 16, 2002
Spider-Man on Nintendo Game Boy Advance
The snappy controls and animation are bogged down by a flat art style and bland level design that frustratingly has you scavenger hunting under a time limit. An overpowered special move breaks the boss fights and the Mode-7 web swinging gimmick is neat but completely vapid.
Release: Apr 16, 2002
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 on Nintendo GameCube
The series peaked here. You get more control and the points scale like crazy. It has the best levels and unlockables by far, including X-Men's Wolverine and Darth Maul from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Thats three games in as many years, each better than the last!
Release: Oct 30, 2001
Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro for Sony PlayStation
A strong sequel offering more of the same while expanding on the bonuses like the Stan Lee narration and costumes, this time with swappable powers. Alas, it's stuck on the inadequate PS1 and suffers from muddy graphics and a bad frame rate. I would have killed for a Dreamcast version.
Release: Oct 19, 2001
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse for Nintendo Game Boy Advance
A beat 'em up in the vein of the classic Konami X-Men Arcade, minus the production values. It has an impressive collection of bosses with some great sprite work. Just stick to Wolverine and put all the stats in to strength. The other options are much more tedious.
Release: Sep 25, 2001
Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace for Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Vicarious Visions returns for a strong finish to their handheld Spider-Man trilogy. It really captures the 3D games art style in 2D sprite form. It has a Nintendo style hub world allowing levels to be played out of order. They even rolled out my man Big Wheel for an epic boss fight!
Release: Sep 19, 2001
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 for Sony PlayStation
They fleshed out the last game big time with some impressive new combos, even adding the Marvel Vs. Capcom ability to follow up launches with air combos. The secrets are next level with Spider-Man, Professor X and Pool Party Mode referencing the swimsuit pin-ups.
Release: Sep 18, 2001
Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six for Nintendo Game Boy Color
They ditch the light RPG elements for a more refined but formulaic experience. It controls well enough with fair but basic bosses. What really stands out is the relatively high production values and detailed levels that even include some weather effects for a touch of atmosphere.
Release: May 30, 2001
X-Men: Wolverine's Rage for Nintendo Game Boy Color
The presentation is impressive. The cut scene art is unique and the sprite animation is surprisingly fluid, looking almost hand drawn. The praise ends there though. It has terrible hit detection, limited options and short timer based levels that really makes the healing factor useless.
Release: May 18, 2001
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on Sega Dreamcast
Pro Skater turned '90s gamers into poseurs overnight. The sequel stuck the landing by adding manuals to greatly open up combos, a character creator and the unprecedented unlockable guest skater Spider-Man, complete with his four best costumes and epic special moves.
Release: Apr 19, 2001
Spider-Man on Sega Dreamcast
Spidey hits his stride swinging into 3D, thanks to Tony Hawk's engine. Webbing and crawling feel way better in three dimensions. The collectable costumes with different powers and Stan Lee's narration really underline the commitment to quality. Dreamcast offers a big graphical upgrade.
Release: Apr 19, 2001
Blade on Sony PlayStation
This is an interesting one. It's a tank control lock-on shooter where you must preserve ammo and switch weapons, saving your silver for Vampires. There's an alternate last boss if you collect all the secret weapon parts. It even looks good for a PS1 game. It just needs some checkpoints.
Release: Nov 21, 2000
Blade on Nintendo Game Boy Color
This went overlooked but it is quite impressive for a movie tie-in. It's developed by HAL Laboratory of Kirby fame. The gameplay swaps between shooter, beat 'em up and katana boss fights to help keep it feeling fresh. Hidden items unlock secret paths for some extra replayability.
Release: Nov 21, 2000
X-Men: Mutant Wars for Nintendo Game Boy Color
Beat 'em up as Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit, Storm and Iceman, swapping between them on the fly to match their strengths to the different bosses. Enemies spawn endlessly so just book it to the end of the level. It's pretty easy, until you get to the glitched out Magneto boss fight.
Release: Nov 8, 2000
Spider-Man on Nintendo Game Boy Color
From Vicarious Visions, known for their great Tony Hawk handheld ports. It's an in-depth sandbox style adventure with light RPG elements. It has great graphics, cut scenes and animation. The passwords and infinite continues keep grinding and finding collectables pretty enjoyable.
Release: Sep 1, 2000
X-Men: Mutant Academy on Sony PlayStation
It was easily overlooked, dropping only five months after Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. It doesn't come close to Capcom's offerings but is a pretty decent time with a buddy. The unlockable costumes and hilariously outdated FMVs help. The power bar shuffling mechanic is decent too.
Release: Jul 14, 2000
X-Men: Mutant Academy on Nintendo Game Boy Color
Game Boy fighting games just never worked out. They would always come out broken and this is no exception. Urban Champion had more depth than this. You can just mash low attack to victory. It has exclusives Pyro and Apocalypse playable for the first time at least.
Release: Jul 14, 2000
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes for Arcades
It's in competition for the best fighting game of all time. They literally put everything they had into it, right down to the last sprite. It's broken as hell with tons of infinites and unbalanced characters, but somehow it all just adds to the hype. That soundtrack is completely unhinged.
Release: Feb 24, 2000
Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes for Arcades
The most refined of the classic series. There are only two new Marvel fighters and War Machine is just a pallet swap, but Venom's mind blowing sprite animation more than makes up for it. Onslaught is the series best giant boss fight. It's still hype after all these years.
Release: Jan 23, 1998
Fantastic Four for PlayStation
This could have gotten some love if it was sprite based instead of this halfway 3D garbled mess. There are some nice touches, like bonus levels and a versus mode. It gets cheaper and more rushed as it goes. The bosses that you need throw stuff at are just a terrible experience.
Release: Aug 1997
Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter for Arcades
The same classic gameplay but this is where reusing sprites started feeling a little lazy. They even brought back the weak giant Apocalypse boss but replaced the cool duel finale with the much less interesting Cyber-Akuma secret boss fight, the only real "new" content of note.
Release: Jun 25, 1997
The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga for Sony PlayStation
PS1's janky graphics just aggravate me unfortunately. If they can't properly do 3D they should have stuck to awesome sprites. The platforming is terrible thanks to loose controls, but it breaks up the bland combat. Hey, at least boss fights with the U-Foes and Maestro are fun to see.
Release: Apr 10, 1997
Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal on Sony PlayStation
A Marvel / Valiant crossover video game released alongside a tie-in comic. Its a two-player side-scroller shoot 'em up with stacking power-ups akin to Contra. It's cheap as hell, especially when you die and start losing all those precious power-ups. It's on PS1 so you know it looks bad.
Release: Nov 14, 1996
Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal on Nintendo Game Boy
They almost crammed the whole console experience into a fat-free handheld port. It can be slow and some enemies have way too much health, but it mostly just works. They even pull off varied level design, which was pretty tough thanks to the limitations of the Game Boy.
Release: Nov 14, 1996
Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems for Super Nintendo
Adorable downscaled Marvel Vs. Capcom sprites in an epic beat 'em up platformer adapting Infinity War and Infinity Gauntlet, in that order. It has the permadeath of X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse but its kept pretty manageable thanks to an inventory of Gems and revives.
Release: Oct 18, 1996
X-Men: Mojo World for Sega Game Gear
It's a pretty big step down from the highs of X-Men: Gamemaster's Legacy. The levels are plain boring with uninteresting bosses and the presentation is just slightly worse. I'm glad they continued mixing up the roster at least because Havok and Shard were a nice surprise.
Release: Sep 27, 1996
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter for Arcades
The first Marvel and Capcom crossover remixes old sprites while adding quality newcomers Rogue, Gambit and Sabretooth. The giant Apocalypse boss is deceptively underwhelming, but the gimmick where your team duels to the death at the end more than makes up for it.
Release: Sep 25, 1996
Venom / Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety on Super Nintendo
A rushed cash grab sequel to Maximum Carnage with much easier bosses and the welcomed inclusion of co-op. It mostly follows The Lethal Protector comics. A repetitive format with limited enemy variety, but it can be a mindless good time with a friend. We need a Spider-Man Arcade1Up.
Release: Nov, 1995
Marvel Super Heroes for Arcades
The second in the Marvel Vs. Capcom series brings in the Avengers and Spider-Man as it adapts the Infinity Gauntlet event. Collect the Infinity Gems as you battle toward an epic boss fight with Thanos. They even included shockingly epic deep cuts Shuma-Gorath and Blackheart.
Release: Oct 24, 1995
Avengers in Galactic Storm for Arcades
A Killer Instinct style fighter strictly adapting the comics to the point of only offering Captain America and a bunch of C-listers no one has heard of. Big names like Iron Man and Thor are saved for the innovative assist system that would later be adopted by Marvel Vs. Capcom.
Release: 1995
X-Men: Gamemaster's Legacy for Sega Game Gear
It has a bit of a Mega Man thing going on where you benefit from using the right mutant for each level. Bishop is easily the MVP, absorbing projectile damage to refill his ammo. The better graphics and expanded level design really rounds out the whole package for a decent upgrade.
Release: Feb 16, 1995
Spider-Man on Super Nintendo
It's based on the '90s cartoon with bosses like Chameleon, Hammerhead and Hydroman but includes some comic classics like The Owl, Beetle and Jack-O-Lantern. The inclusion of difficulty settings keeps it beatable but it's easy to get stuck maneuvering between the two planes.
Release: Feb 13, 1995
X-Men 2: Clone Wars for Sega Genesis
The last of the retro X-Men games is the best of the bunch. It offers an amazing first impression, jumping into a mission with impressive snow storm effects even before the opening credits and title card. Again Nightcrawler is the MVP even though his teleport is essentially useless.
Release: Feb, 1995
X-Men: Children of the Atom for Arcades
The fist of the iconic Marvel Vs. Capcom series features the X-Men during the height of their popularity, setting the standard for fast-paced action and detailed, smooth sprite work. It features a diverse cast of heroes and villains with a punishing Magneto last boss fight.
Release: Dec 8, 1994
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse for Super Nintendo
It's Capcom's first crack at the Marvel IP and they nailed it. Each playable mutant has unique gameplay and levels, maximizing replayability. The levels are brisk with a lot of variety, but it runs out of steam, devolving mostly into a boss rush in the end. That last level was brutal.
Release: Nov, 1994
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage on Super Nintendo
The best Spidey game at the time. A challenging beat 'em up made fair by tons of fun secrets packed with extra lives and hero cameo attacks. It was a premium package for a change, boasting impressive cutscenes recreating the comics and an eye catching red cartridge.
Release: Sep 16, 1994
Wolverine: Adamantium Rage on Sega Genesis
It has an impressive presentation with detailed sprites and controls well with a wide variety of attacks. You heal and can pop claws without penalty, which you can't take for granted in these old games. The catch? When the relentless timer runs out a little girl suicide bombs you.
Release: 1994
Wolverine: Adamantium Rage on Super Nintendo
This version is new to me. Usually I put in the work to beat these old games but I had to bail halfway. It was just tortuous. It has terrible hit detection and everyone takes damage for days. It's a shame cause it's got good looking bosses that will just have to go unseen, for now at least.
Release: 1994
The Incredible Hulk on Super Nintendo
It has pretty impressive graphics and uniquely authentic gameplay with the use of Bruce Banner. The boss fights with Rhino, Absorbing Man, Tyrannus and Abomination are all great and will have you riding high until you reach the brutally cheap last level against The Leader.
Release: Jun, 1994
X-Men for Sega Game Gear
They did a decent job condensing the Genesis formula to fit a handheld. The permadeath plus recruiting mutants after levels helps keep it interesting. The powers are well represented. Wolverine actually heals and Storm can fly over swaths of the labyrinthine levels.
Release: Jan, 1994
Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers for Nintendo Game Boy
Alistair Smythe and the HR Giger Xenopmorph knockoff Spider-Slayer MK X are hunting Spider-man. Developer Bits returns with a more standard action game experience but the clunky controls and randomized enemies make scaling the vertical levels incredibly painful.
Release: 1993
X-Men for Sega Genesis
This is hard as hell but back then that just meant it never ended. Nightcrawler is the MVP again for BAMFing through whole swaths of levels. You even have to solve another abstruse puzzle to access the ending. I used level select for practice to finally beat it.
Release: Mar 8, 1993
Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six for Nintendo Entertainment System
The second Spider-Man game developed by Bits Studios in one year. The 8bit graphics, while a step down, give it an endearing quaintness. Includes Vulture for the first time. It follows a strict structure but mixes it up with the rare fetch quest. It's relatively fair and very playable.
Release: Oct, 1992
Spider-Man 2 for Nintendo Game Boy
Bits Studios takes over and THWIPS together two games in one year. In a plot to torment children they focused the direction on arcane fetch quest puzzles. The bosses include Carnage and, for some reason, Graviton. There are a few good ideas but its mostly just a bad time.
Release: Aug, 1992
X-Men for Arcades
The classic '90s beat 'em up is still a joy thanks to the vibrant art style, hyperactive effects, simple but addictive gameplay and amusing translation. It continues the story from the failed Pryde of the X-Men pilot. It originally had a version with six players on two screens.
Release: Jan 31, 1992
Spider-Man Vs. The Kingpin for Sega Genesis
Kingpin framed Spidey, armed a nuke, had Venom kidnap MJ and hired villains including Lizard, Electro and Hobgoblin. The graphics are impressive and it has an innovative photo mechanic. It plays surprisingly well but the bosses are janky the ending is incredibly cheap.
Release: 1991
Captain America and the Avengers for Arcades
It's a quality beat 'em up with a few brief shoot 'em up segments. You can play as Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Vision against bosses like Ultron and Red Skull. The sprites are a little small but it works for scale during the shooter levels with giant boss fights.
Release: Oct, 1991
Wolverine for Nintendo Entertainment System
This is more like it. They have the obscure detail that his claws hurt to use but somehow left out his healing factor. It's hard as hell so it would have really helped. I looked it up and this predates his claws hurting him in the comics. Was Larry Hama a fan of this game?
Release: Oct, 1991
Silver Surfer for Nintendo Entertainment System
It's crazy we got this before a Fantastic Four game. One-hit kills and unpredictable reused asset enemies make it hard as hell. The infinite continues password is a must. Mephisto and Firelord appear as bosses, but I have no idea what was going on with that last boss fight.
Release: Nov, 1990
The Amazing Spider-Man for Nintendo Game Boy
It's a surprisingly passable old school beat 'em up developed by Rare of Goldeneye and Banjo Kazooie fame. It's challenging but beatable. The story is laughable in a good way. Mysterio, Green Goblin, Scorpion, Rhino, Doctor Octopus and Venom are the bosses.
Release: Jul, 1990
(Uncanny) X-Men for Nintendo Entertainment System
It's a permadeath shoot 'em up, but half the cast can't shoot. If you use Nightcrawler to walk through walls it's manageable, but you need a secret code to play the last level. Apparently, no one knows who developed this. In the words of Bruce Campbell, it didn't release, it escaped!
Release: Dec, 1989
