The X-Men games that are actually good - Polygon

It’s a good time to be an X-Men fan. The stellar first season of X-Men ‘97 just wrapped up, Insomniac Games is working on a Wolverine game for PlayStation 5, and the mutants are (someday) coming to the MCU.

But it’s been a while since there have been good options for X-Men fans who want to game in that universe. Gone are the days of multiple X-Men arcade games and fighting games to choose from, or movie tie-ins. There have been a lot of disappointing X-Men games (looking at you, X-Men: Destiny), but what about the good ones?

The Polygon staff has collected the X-Men games that are actually good, from the dawn of ~~the mutant age~~ gaming to even a few recent releases that revive X-Men gaming. Most are not available to play anymore, but they live on in our hearts nonetheless.

X-Men (1992)

Ideally, you’ll be playing X-Men on an original arcade cabinet alongside three strangers, the four of you thrown together into a makeshift family as you step into the shoes of Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Colossus, Nightcrawler or Dazzler. It won’t take long to beat — maybe 30-45 minutes, like a great episode of television — and you’ll walk away victorious, having destroyed Sentinels and other classic baddies until you reach Magneto, who has kidnapped Xavier for some reason (although if you’ve seen X-Men ‘97, you might be able to imagine some good reasons).

This game is an all-time classic for a reason; each character has different special abilities, just like the characters they’re based on, and as simplistic as the beat-em-up mechanics may be, it’s still one of the most accurate and fun adaptations that the X-Men have ever had across video games. Oddly enough, this version of the team was actually based on the failed 1989 cartoon X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men that got one pilot episode and no more, but the X-Men have such distinctive visual designs that this part never really mattered. —Maddy Myers

X-Men 2: Clone Wars

This may shock you, but there are few better-looking Genesis games than X-Men 2: Clone Wars. It is shocking how richly detailed its 16-bit graphics are, and how finely-tuned its action feels. Headgames’ side-scrolling platformer has a number of flourishes uncommon in licensed games at the time, from a cold open that drops you into the game as a random character the moment you start it to a surprisingly involved story ripped from the recently-wrapped “Phalanx Covenant” comics arc. What’s more, Clone Wars beat X2 to one of its big twists — midway through the game, Magneto joins the team, and he looks freaking sick. —Joshua Rivera

X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

Character select screen in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, featuring Wolverine, Magneto, Storm, and Bishop.

Both X-Men Legends games were squad-based action role-playing games that fully leaned into the team nature of the X-Men, allowing you to bring four of the mutants into missions at once. Both games’ combat were simple but evocative, and successfully leaned on the varied abilities of the different X-Men. The roster was pretty deep, too — the first game had 14 playable characters (plus Professor X on specific missions), and the sequel added some from Magneto’s Brotherhood of mutants as well.

The main reason these games feel so fitting for the X-Men franchise to me is the team-based nature, an essential part of the X-Men’s whole deal. And they were even more fun co-op — I have many fond memories of playing and replaying these games (or even just the Danger Room missions) with my brother growing up.

Additional shoutout to the also quite fun Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, the successor to these games from Raven Software and Activision, expanding the scope to the broader Marvel universe. —Pete Volk

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

For most of video games’ short history, a licensed game based on a good movie was rarely very good. A licensed game based on a terrible one? A fool’s errand. As the kids say, X-Men Origins: Wolverine had no business going this hard. In an unusual move, Raven Software’s flagship PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Wolverine was an M-rated game significantly more violent than the film it was based on, resulting in a God of War-inspired bloody hack-and-slash adventure, blending the movie’s storyline with an expanded original plot. The result was a brutally satisfying video game, and sadly the end of Raven’s excellent tenure on Marvel titles that kicked off with X-Men Legends. In a few short years, the studio would be altogether done developing its own games as well, shifting into a new role as a Call of Duty support studio. —JR

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

Starting with X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996) and landing with a thud on Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite (2017), the X-Men/Capcom crossover fighting game series has had its ups and downs, and even as I write this blurb, I’m second-guessing my own attempt to select the best of the entire run. Several entries have strong points in their favor (we need not speak of Infinite). But you can’t not vote for Rogue’s iconic divekick, which she first performs in X-Men vs. Street Fighter and which features its final appearance in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It’s a move so beloved that it got a nod in X-Men ‘97. If you want to not only see but be Rogue when she’s punching people’s lights out — and who doesn’t? — you cannot do better than Marvel vs. Capcom 2. —MM

X-Men: Children of the Atom

Simply put: Children of the Atom walked so Marvel vs. Capcom could run. The developer’s first entry into what would be a wildly popular series of Marvel fighting games is barebones compared to the 3v3 spectacle later games would be known for, but those bones are solid: It’s effectively a maximalist version of Street Fighter circa 1994, with longer combos, super jumps, and new movesets that would continue to be refined as its characters appeared in subsequent Marvel fighting games. But its most significant achievement might be in its character design: Faithful yet idiosyncratic, the X-Men as rendered in Children of the Atom are unmistakably Capcom designs, with just a hint of Street Fighter: Alpha’s anime inflection, but also pitch-perfect tributes to X-Men artist Jim Lee. The proof was in the pudding: Arcade players could fight Street Fighter villain Akuma as a secret character, and console players could play as him themselves — and he fit right in. —JR

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

The Hunter, flanked by Wolvering, Iron Man, Blade and others, strides into the frame. Behind them, what looks like a kind of stargate.

I know what you’re thinking: “Is this an X-Men game?” Wolverine, Magik, and Storm are in it — plus Deadpool, who at least works with the X-Men often enough, and Scarlet Witch, who is sometimes a mutant depending on the canon — so we’re letting this one in. Perhaps more importantly, Marvel’s Midnight Suns has the vibe of the best X-Men stories. This is a team-up strategy game, with super-powered characters all thrown unwittingly together in a strange mansion. In battle, they’ll trade barbs and one-liners; back at home, they’ll romance each other and bicker. If that’s not quintessential X-Men, what is? —MM

X-Men Cartoon Maker

X-Men Cartoon Maker is not so much a game as it is a sandbox for creating your very own episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series using character models, sound effects, and background images from the original show, plus a sound library of funky ‘90s instrumental tracks that mostly seem fitting as backing tracks for fight scenes and dramatic standoffs (for which the show was known, of course). Composing scenes and using the rudimentary cartooning tools does feel clunky, but the end results can be uniquely hilarious. Check out this high-effort piece of art uploaded to YouTube by one diligent X-Men Cartoon Maker fan for an example of what you can pull off. —MM

X-Men (1993)

Some may argue with my inclusion of this 1993 Sega Genesis exclusive based on its grueling difficulty, but I’d like to make my case based on the attention to detail for each of the four playable characters and its truly infamous end-game stunt. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Gambit are all present, and each come with unique, character-appropriate powers. Cyclops does his laser blasts, Nightcrawler teleports, Wolverine snickety snicks, and Gambit throws playing cards (I’m sorry Gambit fans, it’s always been weird).

You play as these four X-Men, trapped in the Danger Room, and your “lives” are simply the four playable characters. Since each has unique abilities, successfully finishing this action platformer meant carefully budgeting your approach to each level and boss. Which makes the late-game stunt all the more wild: In order to end the Danger Room simulation, you need to “reset the computer” which you’d think would accomplished by pressing a button on the controller, presumably “press F to pay respects” style, right?

Nope! You tap the actual “Reset” button on the Sega Genesis! And if you press it too long, it actually resets the Genesis and you lose all your progress. This was 1993! I applaud the absolute sickos who made this game the stuff of schoolyard lore, and my apologies to everyone retraumatized by this memory. —Chris Grant

Marvel United: X-Men

While many will know CMON for its action-packed cooperative board game, Zombicide, the tabletop publisher has a much newer series called Marvel United. The original game earned more than $2.8 million on Kickstarter in 2020, only to be followed by Marvel United: X-Men with nearly $6 million in funding.

This card-driven action game puts players in the role of X-Men mutants like Wolverine, Jean Grey, Storm, and Cyclops as they go up against Magneto, Juggernaut and more. The big draw here are the adorable, chibi-style miniature characters. The big-headed heroes are an absolute joy to paint, and at $34.99 the game is extremely affordable. —Charlie Hall

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2024-05-19 15:00:00Z
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