There have been a number of Marvel videogames over the years, some of them much more successful than others. In the earliest days of console wars, having a big name superhero property on a system was a great way to get sales. However, the hardware on home systems never really seemed to be able to replicate the excitement seen on the comic page.
Arcade machines were a different story. They had increased power compared to home consoles, and allowed for multiple players much more easily. The arcade could turn up the speed, sound, color, and control of games. All of this brought the comic page bounding onto screens in a way never seen before.
10 X-Men (1992)
Konami's X-Men arcade reigns supreme not just a great Marvel game, but one of the greatest arcade games of all time. In addition, it is regularly listed among the best side-scrolling beat 'em ups, from a time period that produced a lot of good ones.
Based on the short-lived animated series Pryde Of The X-Men, the game features the same roster as the pilot TV show. This includes stalwarts such as Cyclops and Wolverine, along with the rarely seen Dazzler. Not only was it a great game, but the cabinet also came in a whopping two-screen, six-player version so the entire squad could be played at once in one of the all-time great co-op gaming experiences.
9 Captain America And The Avengers
Another fantastic beat-em-up of the era was Captain America and The Avengers from Data East, known for one of the pioneering games of the genre, Bad Dudes. The game allowed you to choose between Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Vision. The action was split between platforming, fighting, and shoot 'em up levels.
The game itself featured cameos from a literal who's who of Avengers characters. Powerups could get you assistance from the Wasp and Quicksilver, with enemies including Living Laser, Whirlwind, and Grim Reaper. The side art on the cabinet had some of the most striking graphics ever to grace an arcade machine.
8 X-Men: Children Of The Atom
During the height of their arcade powers— thanks to the unfathomably successful Street Fighter II— Capcom had gained the license to produce games featuring Marvel characters, and by 1993 they had created the excellent and underrated beat-em-up The Punisher. But with the success of Street Fighter II and other fighting games taking center stage over beat-em-ups, they decided to go that route instead for their first X-Men arcade game.
That game was Children Of The Atom. Each cast member followed a similar pattern to a Street Fighter character, with Cyclops taking the place of Ryu, Colossus for Zangief, and so forth. This meant it had some fairly obscure characters, including Spiral and Silver Samurai. Stages were replaced with a number of X-Men locales. They included the Savage Land, on the Blackbird Jet, and of course, in the the Danger Room.
7 X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
Once Children Of The Atom had been released, it was only a matter of time before a Capcom and Marvel crossover occurred. This first came in the form of X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, and it was everything fans could have hoped for.
The characters from the previous games had their sprites ported into the new game. New characters from the X-Men included Rogue, Gambit, and Sabretooth. The voices used were the actual actors from the X-Men animated series. For the Street Fighter roster, characters from Street Fighter Alpha 2 joined the fight. To level the playing field, many of them had their moves enhanced to mutant levels of power.
6 The Punisher (1993)
The Punisher was Capcom's first attempt at a Marvel arcade game, and it was a roaring success. It was a side-scrolling beat-em-up, in which you could play as Frank Castle or Nick Fury. It stayed true to the original character by adding lashings of blood and violence.
With such a success story, you would have imagined the home port would be just as much of a fan favorite. However, the hardware was not up to scratch and the violence was toned down considerably. This made the game a commercial flop. Due to its scarcity, it is now one of the rarest Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games for collectors to get their hands on.
5 Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash Of Superheroes
This game was the third installment in the "Vs" crossover series in which Marvel faced off against Capcom characters after the half-step that was Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter. However, it was no longer confined to the Street Fighter universe. Characters from other Capcom properties such as Darkstalkers, Strider, and Mega Man now joined the fight.
From the Marvel universe, gone were the obscure demons from the previous games. Instead, Venom was added with one of the best fighting sprites of the era, along with War Machine and Gambit. With the inclusion of assistance characters, it ran the length of both universes and was a triumph for fans of both properties.
4 Spiderman: The Video Game (1991)
Sega's Spiderman: The Video Game arcade title was a relatively nice game for many years. This was until emulation allowed it to reach a new audience seeking retro games. It was originally released on Sega's System 32 arcade hardware. It featured a breathtaking cabinet and four-person playability. Despite being a great game with major properties, it never got a console port.
It follows Spider-Man and a ragtag bunch including Black Cat, Hawkeye, and Namor who round out the other three playable characters The premise of the game is a street-level battle to finish off the Kingpin and his henchmen. However, get deep enough into the game and you find a hidden twist whereby Doctor Doom was the real protagonist all along.
3 Marvel Super Heroes
Marvel Superheroes was a natural progression after Children Of The Atom. It included characters from the wider Marvel universe and was based loosely on the Infinity Gauntlet saga. This gave it a unique spin for a fighting game. Completing certain tasks or attacks released the gems from your opponent. These could power up characters during the one-on-one, 2D battles.
The roster included popular characters from previous games such as Wolverine and Psylocke. It also added a host of fan favorites like Hulk, Spider-Man, and Iron Man. For the unlockable boss characters, two despots in the form of Doctor Doom and Thanos were chosen.
2 Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter
Once the X-Men had taken their turn, it fell to the rest of the Marvel Universe to take on Street Fighter's world warriors. Unfortunately, this game fell short and lacked the dynamism of previous installments.
The Street Fighter side provided heavyweights such as Ryu, Chun Li, and Bison. However, the Marvel offering was a little lackluster. Characters such as Shuma Gorath and Blackheart took up space that could have been used by more popular characters. On an already slim roster, Thor, Iron Man, and Storm would have been more welcome. It begs the question of whether their were licensing issues at play that prevented the use of bigger characters, issues that were obviously ironed out for Marvel Vs. Capcom.
1 Avengers: Galactic Storm
At a time when Capcom was dominating the superhero fighting game market with 2D sprite-based graphics, Data East went in a different direction. They took the 3D-rendered look of Killer Instinct and applied it to the Avengers roster.
Based on the comic arc of the same name, Galactic Storm, the roster is made up of Avengers and Kree Imperial Guard. This meant the only fan-favorite, playable character was Captain America. Strangely, the game was one of the first to allow assist characters. Many of these were more popular than the ones on the main roster. So while Crystal and Shatterax took up main slots, Iron Man, Thor and Ronan were unplayable.
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