Summary
Thanks to the 1990s comic book boom, superheroes populated numerous pieces of media.Movies and cartoons basedon spandex-clad crime fighters took center stage more than they ever had, but one medium that the icons of Marvel and DC felt most at home in was video games. It’s safe to say that the superhero games of the 90s were among the best ever seen, as characters like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men saw some excellent releases.
If there’s one thing more exciting than 90s video games, it’s compilation releases of classic games. Some of these superhero games are still fantastic, and would be great candidates for the HD collection treatment that is so popular these days. Packaging these classic superhero titles together would be great for game preservation, and would allow new players to experience these outstanding comic book games for the first time.
Classic Beat ‘Em Up Games In One Package
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
Only one maniacal madman can force Spider-Man to unite with his sinister, arch-nemesis Venom: CARNAGE! His deadly rampage is tearing New York City apart! Only wild web-slinging maneuvers, crushing combat moves and Super Hero allies can save the city from total obliteration. It’s maximum mayhem! It’s Maximum Carnage! Paint the town red!
Superheroes tend to adapt well to the beat ‘em up genre, as they are used to spending their time beating up villains. And in the 1990s, Marvel took this to heart with some stellar side-scrolling beat ‘em up games. In the arcades, gamers hadX-Men, a terrific brawler with gorgeous sprite art and classic one-liners. Meanwhile,Captain America and The Avengersbrought the World’s Greatest Heroes together in another epic arcade beat ‘em up.
On the home consoles,Spider-Man was doing hispart in the form ofMaximum Carnagein 1994, followed bySeparation Anxietyin 1995. The massive team-up gameMarvel Super Heroes in War of the Gemswas another excellent title that could be thrown into a collection of beat ‘em ups. These brilliant titles were packed with slick art direction and killer music. Packaging these games together is a no-brainer, as beat ‘em up collections are more popular than ever thanks to Capcom. These fantastic games deserve to be remembered, and bundling them into one title is the perfect way.
Beginning in earnest withX-Men vs. Street Fighterin 1996,Marvel vs. Capcomhas become a staple of the industry and one of the most popular games on the market. The exciting prospect of the heroes and villains of Marvel Comics clashing with iconic Capcom characters has led to the creation of some truly remarkable fighting games. The Japanese developer’s expertise in the genre made those titles even better.
A less-than-impressive collection launched for the PS3 and Xbox Live Arcade in 2012, featuring only two games and lacking reverencefor the long-running series. A proper collection would bring together all the 2D entries, as these first four titles are still some of the best fighting games available in a crowded genre. Recent entries have been middling at best, so a collection that reminds everyone just how excellent this series used to be is sorely needed.
Beginning with a 2D side-scroller based onBatman Returns, The Dark Knight started a run of games that still rank with some of the best superhero games ever. Handheld and console adaptations of the beloved animated show starring Kevin Conroy soon followed, with designs and music pulled straight from the iconic series.
After that, arcade and home versions ofBatman Foreverused digitized sprites akin toMortal Kombatto createa hectic beat ‘em up. It was a fantastic run, featuring some incredible action-platformers and a few fabulous beat ‘em up games. Put them together and slap ‘The Dark Knight Collection’ on the cover, and the result would be a surefire winner.
Although modern attempts at bringingSuperman into the worldof video games have stalled, the Man of Steel was a centerpiece of three excellent games from the 1990s. The first was simply known asSuperman, a simple but fun 2D action game featuring Brainiac as the main antagonist and great use of the Last Son of Krypton’s vast array of powers. Following that, Superman would star inThe Death and Return of Superman, based on the hugely popular story featuring the Man of Steel in a battle with Doomsday.
Superman was also the central focus ofJustice League: Task Force, a fighting game that saw the Man of Steel team up with the JLA to fend off Darkseid. This trio of games would be a perfect fit together, as Superman acts as the leading force in all of them. Games likeThe Death and Return of Supermanare largely forgotten, but along with the self-titled 1992 game, they were among the first to showcase the iconic DC hero in a game with his powers at the player’s disposal. They would be great in a collection together.
2Spider-Man’s Greatest Adventures
Bring Spidey’s Best Games Together
There may not have been a more popular comic book character in the 1990s than Spider-Man. His books were consistent top sellers, and he was being primed for a big-screen adaptation. But in video games, the web-head was an even more dominant force. Starting with a fantastic arcade beat ‘em up in 1991 known simply asSpider-Man, the wall-crawling sensation went on to star in some pretty incredible games.
From a platformer based on the beloved animated series to a series of excellent handheld adventures, Spider-Man was firing on all cylinders in the video game scene. This all culminated withThe Amazing Spider-Man: Web of Fire, a 32X masterpiece that used digitized sprites created on Silicon Graphics workstations to create the most fluid and realistic Spidey game to date. From the SNES days, all the way through to the Genesis peak, Spider-Man’s outstanding runof 2D action gamesis worthy of a compilation release.
Thanks to the runaway success of Jim Lee’s X-Men run that started in 1991, the team of superpowered mutants were more popular than ever and started to find themselves at the center of media adaptations. While a successful feature film series was looming on the horizon,the X-Men starred insome of the finest superhero video games ever made during this time period.
Starting withX-Menfor the Sega Genesis in 1993, the mutants went on to feature in some stone-cold classics, includingClone Warsin 1995. The vast array of platform and action games is still impressive, and this terrific run ended up producing some incredible games as a result. Packaging this historic collection of titles together would be a perfect way to usher the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
