With about 30 movies and several interconnected series, the scope of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is staggering, but for video game fans bored with the MCU, there are fortunately decades of game options that predate Marvel’s modern cinematic vision. The MCU’s 14 years of content is impressive, but video games based on Marvel Comics characters have a 40-year history. The quality of these titles varies, as most licensed games from early gaming generations were low-effort cash-in products, but veteran game fans will remember those that rose above that trend as timeless classics. It’s unlikely that even the most diehard Marvelites will defend games like the horrendous Iron Man and X-Manowar in Heavy Metal crossover game. True believers still have reason to say Make Mine Marvel when they think of the polished arcade brawlers, fighting games, and action RPGs that all had a distinctly different feel to the modern, homogenized MCU.
Arcade-style fans beat ’em ups in the form of Double dragon and Last fight have the longest history of Marvel games that largely hold up well today. Games like Data East’s Captain America and the Avengers and Sega’s 1991 Spider Man arcade game proved that the side-scrolling brawler was a perfect fit for most Marvel licenses. The rosters of playable characters in these games tended to be more diverse, as they weren’t limited to promoting characters already established in the MCU. The Spider Man brawler featured Black Cat and Sub-Mariner as player options, and Capcom’s the punisher game included both Frank Castle and Nick Fury. The modern Yakuza games owed River City Ransom for their fighting roots as much as Shenmuebut the entire history of Marvel video games probably owes just as much to the genre.
Due to licensing issues, the X-Men remained separate from the MCU for the first decade, but the mutant team is easily one of Marvel’s most popular franchises. There were many attempts to X-Men to the video game format, and it went most horribly, including the NES X-Men overhead action game considered to be one of the worst games in that console’s vast library. That sad game was based on the 1989 animated movie X-Men pilot Pryde of the X-Menbut the failed pilot would also form the basis for the most iconic Marvel brawler of all time, the 1992 X-Men arcade game from Konami. This arcade game has beautifully translated the animated designs to the game format, with its huge sprites and impressive special attack animations for mutant powers. the arcade X-Men deserves the Shredder’s Revenge treatment, sure, if X-Men and the 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games are among the best-remembered multiplayer arcade brawlers of all time, along with The Simpsons arcade game.
Marvel is synonymous with quality fighting games and fighting games, but only for fans who selectively ignore the games not produced by Capcom. The substandard fighting games, like Avengers in Galactic Storm and Marvel Nemesisare largely forgotten, and all the more competent X-Men: Mutant Academy series also did not make a lasting impression. Capcom managed to redefine Marvel fighting games with its series that started with X-Men: Children of the Atom. This game took the core battles of darkstalkers and added elements such as Super Jumps and extended aerial combos and juggling. The same formula and anime-style graphics would extend to the Marvel environment in general with Marvel Superheroesin which many of the X-Men of Children of the atom alongside Captain America and Doctor Doom.
Many fans agree Marvel vs Capcom 2′Its iconic designs outshine all other Marvel games, and it’s largely considered the pinnacle of Capcom’s work on the franchise, and the last 2D entry produced. Children of the atom recommended street fighter’s Akuma as a hidden character, and the sequel to Marvel Superheroes built on this with a full crossover in X-Men vs Street Fighter. This marked the beginning of a new franchise, which was continued in Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighterfollowed by Marvel vs Capcom. Marvel vs Capcom 2 delivered the most ambitious game in the series, with an unparalleled character selection. The third MvC‘s transition to 3D was somewhat rocky, and the fourth and most recent entry, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, was considered mediocre at best.
The X-Men Legends series is another highlight for Marvel games and a marked departure from the MCU. Raven Software’s X-Men Legends rethinking the idea of an overhead X-Men brawler, but it made up for the disastrous NES X-Men game with its multiplayer action RPG format. X-Men Legends perfectly introduced Marvel’s mutants, with a diverse character selection and enough building complexity to satisfy RPG fans. X-Men Legends 2 continued to polish the formula and has been considered the pinnacle of the series as an action RPG since its follow-up, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, removed most RPG elements. It did make for a solid multiplayer brawler though, and it, along with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and its long belated third entry, The Black Orderare all highly regarded by Marvel gaming fans.
Many Spider-Man video games have unconventional stories outside the MCU template
Like the X-Men, Spider Man is a signature Marvel character that was absent during the early years of the MCU due to licensing issues. Outside of some entertaining fighters, like Sega’s arcade Spider Manor console beat ’em ups like Maximum carnage and Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety, most early attempts to translate the character into the video game medium fell flat. Fans debate which one? Spider Man game has the best web swinging, mechanic unsuitable for traditional fighter’s methodical advancement. Neversoft’s 2000 Spider Man game, which was released on PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, made good use of 3D gameplay to deliver what many consider to be the first real Spider Man video game experience. The PlayStation-exclusive sequel, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electrofailed to reach the same heights but made for another entertaining Spider Man adventure that endures today.
These first 3D successes with Spider Man would usher in a series of game changes of varying quality. The games based on the Sam Rami trilogy have been well received, but those looking to distance themselves from the MCU may prefer more adventurous stories about the character, especially since those movies were added retroactively to the MCU multiverse. Ultimate Spider Man is a standout in terms of quality, and games like Friend or enemy, web of shadowsand shattered dimensions contained less predictable stories than most. Spider Man: Edge of Time is an underrated, if flawed, gem, and arguably the last notable game featuring the character prior to Insomniac’s take on the hero with Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4.
Marvel Comics fans who are tired of the MCU’s disciplined take on the setting will love these standout video games. Before movie licensing issues started to affect which characters to showcase, game makers took more freedom to draw on the rich history of the larger Marvel world. The Punisher could team up with Nick Fury in Capcom’s brawler, or Sub-Mariner could lend Spider-Man a hand, without worrying that it would conflict with the portrayal of these characters in the films. Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro featured the X-Men’s Danger Room, and Spider-Man interacting with Rogue and Professor X. The X-Men Legends series featured numerous deep-cut Marvel characters, and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions featured Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Man Noir working alongside more traditional versions of the character to restore balance to the multiverse.
High-quality Marvel games can provide the perfect cure for MCU fatigue
True MCU-based video games have largely evaporated and have largely moved on to mobile games and VR experiences. Many games that use their own unique continuities, such as Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series and the 2021 Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, still stick too closely to the version of the characters presented in the MCU movies, unlike the earlier video games that told more distinctive stories. Lucky for fans who suffer from Marvel Cinematic Universe fatigue, there are dozens of polished Marvel Comics games that can remind them why they loved Marvel in the first place.
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