On January 26, 2017, we ran a piece wherein I praised the first X-men game for the Sega Genesis. I had just played it for the first time last year, and I really enjoyed the set-up, the character selection, and overall gameplay, even if it felt impossible to beat.
In that article I referenced another cartridge featuring the beloved brawling family from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youth, a Super Nintendo cartridge entitled X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse. I loved this game. The 1994 Capcom release was the second outing for the X-Men on SNES, following Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, a title released to the console in 1992 (and no, I won’t be covering that in one of these articles). It’s amazing how much gaming can advance in 2 years (and in the hands of other creative folks).
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Who could ask for a better team?
Who could ask for a better team?
Like most Capcom titles, the game is inventive and wonderfully rendered. The colors are vibrant and reminiscent of the X-Men animated series of the era. In many ways, the game is a straightforward top-notch side-scroller with different enemies, obstacles, and, of course, hit combinations.
What is unique about the game is the structure. Like many games of its type, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse allows players to choose from multiple characters: Psylocke, Beast, Gambit, Wolverine, and my personal favorite X-man, Cyclops. Unlike most side-scrolling brawlers, however, (including the Sega game), Mutant Apocalypse begins with a story wherein each X-man has a specific mission at a specific location, meaning that the player was required to use each of the characters for at least a portion of the game——so even if you just couldn’t stand Gambit, you were forced to use him in order to complete his piece of the puzzle.
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Like Mega Man, players can pick which area to visit first in X-Men Mutant Apocalypse.
Like Mega Man, players can pick which area to visit first in X-Men Mutant Apocalypse.
While this may be seen as a shortcoming, I always loved it. On a subconscious level, it felt as if the levels were specific “one-shots” (a term in comics for a single self-contained issue focused on a specific character rather than a full team), and the whole of these one-shots made for not only a versatile gaming experience but an epic story. In the cutscenes prior to play, Professor X actually takes the time to break down the plan, so that the player feels that each and every level is a vital part of an integrated whole and not just a beat ‘em romp with a beloved Super Hero (though it is that, also). Plus the levels can be played in any sequence the player chooses, so you get a sense that all 5 take place concurrently (another cool aspect that gives the game a unique feel). After this initial set of 5 stages, the game includes a linear sequence before entering a similar “mission specific” final phase that I won’t spoil. Overall, the game feels like a flesh-out story featuring some of the most popular mutants in the Marvel canon; it’s almost like a digital graphic novel.