One of DC Comics’ most popular characters, Flash, has appeared as a playable character in multiple video games over the years. These appearances come in many forms, mainly because of the many iterations of Flash itself. Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West have all played in various video games over the years to demonstrate their powers as Speedsters. Whether in DC fighting games like injusticeMMOs like DC Universe Onlineor platformers, these characters have all been given the opportunity to showcase their Speedster skills in various genres in the medium of video games.
While DC games tended to focus on the company’s two biggest heroes – Batman and Superman – other figures occasionally came into the limelight. As one of the original seven members of the Justice League, it should come as no surprise that Flash has been able to capture repeated appearances in the game medium. His powers were sometimes difficult to translate, but when a game manages to convey that sense of speed, he can often become the pinnacle of the game he appeared in.
Despite this, Flash has never had a major AAA video game to call his own. There was a canceled open world Flash game project from the mid-2000s, but otherwise it seems like no other attempts have been made to give the Scarlet Speedster its own solo title. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the hero has made many playable appearances in other DC video games, though. From team ups like a few Justice League Heroes games to fighting game confrontations like in the injustice series, here is every DC video game with Flash as a playable character.
Wally West is a playable flash in three Justice League games
While Barry Allen may be the more popular modern Flash, before Allen there was Wally West. West appeared in three different Justice League titles before Barry would take the mantle as the more popular Flash. The first of these was Justice League Task Forcea fighting game for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. task force was a poorly received game that players won’t find in Nintendo Switch Online’s Sega Genesis collection, largely due to the game’s poor controls, ugly animation, and generic presentation.
On the other hand, Justice League Heroes is a 2006 game for Xbox and PlayStation 2. Instead of a fighting game, Justice League Heroes was instead an action RPG, allowing players to take control of a cast of 15 Justice League characters, including Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna. As with most licensed games from the 2000s, the game’s combat is simple beat ’em up, with the occasional opportunity to make cool use of heroes’ powers. It’s essentially the DC version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
Justice League Heroes: The Flash followed the Flash’s perspective during the events of Justice League Heroes while other heroes were on other missions. Unlike the main Justice League Heroes game, which received mixed reviews, the Wally West spin-off did well with critics, likely thanks to developers WayForward, a team responsible for many well-received licensed games from the 2000s, as well as the Shantae series. While it may not rank among the best Game Boy Advance games, it’s a minor havoc worth checking out for fans of the Scarlet Speedster.
Infinite Crisis with a playable flash
Barry Allen was the playable version of Flash in WB Games’ own MOBA, Infinite Crisis. Infinite Crisis was released in 2015 for Windows PC. The game featured a number of different maps for different modes, such as Gotham Heights and Coast City, as well as a host of other interesting playable characters besides Flash, such as Katana, Sinestro, Starro the Conqueror, and even Krypto the Superdog. Although it shared a title with the comic book event of the same name, Infinite Crisis had its own story and unique multiverse premise.
The MOBA gameplay loop is very successful for franchises with large casts of established characters to choose from playable champions. Pokemon UNITE is a MOBA success that proves that point. Infinite Crisishowever, was an exception to the rule. The game was discontinued in August 2015, less than six months after its March 26 launch date.
DC Legends includes a few iterations of the flash
DC Legends is a mobile game that revolves around collecting equipment and upgrading heroes. The game features numerous DC characters, including Jay Garrick and Barry Allen’s versions of Flash. DC Legends is a live service game that continues to receive updates, with new heroes, gear, and powers for players to collect and earn.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe turns Flash into a good fighting game
Midway Games’ latest project, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was seen as a return to form for the Mortal Kombat series and returns to its roots in this game for Xbox 360 and PS3. The game even featured some of Mortal Kombat‘s signature fatalities, but these usually had to be toned down and censored due to the inclusion of DC characters in the game. While Mortal Kombat now mainly uses horror movie villains for its non-MK characters, DC heroes could instead get their own fighting game series.
Injustice: Gods Among Us & Injustice 2 Give Flash a Major Role
The first injustice game, Injustice: gods among us released in 2013. Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the game focused on the conflict between two new groups of heroes: the Regime, led by a now villainous Superman, and the Insurgency, led by Batman. The Flash played quite a prominent role in the game’s story, starting out as a member of the Regime before moving on to the Insurgency later in the events of the game’s story. His style of play was focused on speed, with an ability that allowed him to always slow down around him.
Released in 2017, injustice 2 gave Flash another super move and a key role in the story. He had a lot more of his own villains to fight this time around, with Reverse Flash and Captain Cold as two villains from his gallery of villains who made it into the fighting game sequel. General, injustice 2The story mode was even more ambitious than the first, with impressive cutscenes and even two different endings.
LEGO games feature iterations of the flash from DC’s multiverse
The Flash has appeared in three LEGO DC games: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gothamand LEGO DC Super Villains. These games are known for the sheer size of their playable cast. LEGO Batman 3 in particular has over 200 characters from across the DC Multiverse. These include several iterations of the Flash, including Barry Allen and Wally West versions in the villain-oriented LEGO DC super villains, as well as a version of Kid Flash. Flash also makes a non-playable appearance in the toy-to-life game LEGO Dimensions.
While he never starred in his own big AAA game, Flash has appeared in many DC games over time. He doesn’t have as many playable games as a hero like Batman, but with his popularity always rising, the Scarlet Speedster may soon be lining up for his own game. Hopefully, someday, Flash can go beyond LEGO and injustice games and get a real AAA game to call his own.
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