X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse

Last updated
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
XmenSNES boxart.JPG
North American cover art
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Producer(s) Tokuro Fujiwara
Composer(s) Setsuo Yamamoto
Series X-Men
Platform(s) Super NES
Release
  • NA: November 1994
  • JP: January 3, 1995
  • EU: 1995
Genre(s) Platform, beat-'em-up
Mode(s) Single-player

X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. The game is based on the X-Men comic book franchise from Marvel Comics. It was the first game Capcom released based on the franchise, released a month before the fighting game titled X-Men: Children of the Atom , also released in 1994.

Contents

In Mutant Apocalypse, players control five of the X-Men: Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Psylocke, and Wolverine. After guiding each of them through their own dedicated levels, players can then select which level to complete next as well as the team member to complete it with. The end goal is to defeat Magneto on his Avalon space station. The game was well received by critics.

Gameplay

Psylocke's first stage X-Men Mutant Apocalypse gameplay.png
Psylocke's first stage

The player takes control of five X-Men who each have their own objectives, and different moves and capabilities activated by certain control combinations. The player has a limited number of lives that count for all five X-Men and not one individually.

The levels may be played in any order. At the end of each level, a boss must be battled and defeated. The next three levels are linear and require each boss level to be defeated. This is followed by two straightforward boss battles in the Danger Room. Finally only one of the X-Men can be selected, each one going through a different end level.

After beating the first five stages, a password can be acquired. The game has health pickups, as well as extra lives in the form of collecting three "X" icons hidden throughout each stage.

Characters

Plot

Charles Xavier sends five of his X-Men to sabotage various operations and structures on the Genosha island complex to liberate mutants in captivity. Further investigation reveals Queen Brood and Tusk involved in this matter and headed by Apocalypse.

After defeating all evil forces on Genosha. Xavier finds out that Magneto intends to destroy Genosha from his space station Avalon. To prepare for the confrontation, Xavier tests the five X-Men in the Danger Room to defeat holograms of Omega Red and Juggernaut. After passing the tests, the X-Men go their separate paths inside Avalon facing and defeating Exodus and then battling Magneto and thwarting his plans.

Reception

Three of Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers declared it to be by far the best video game based on the X-Men to date, citing the large levels and demanding difficulty. [3] Though they remarked that it "may become repetitive after a while", GamePro concluded that the game is "a solid hit," particularly praising the graphics, the high difficulty, and the Street Fighter II stylistics. [11] Next Generation stated that "While it would've been nice to see more X-people, this game plays great. Nothing revolutionary, but fun." [7]

In a 2011 retrospective, GamePro listed the game's "strong soundtrack, unlimited powers and a focus on combat rather than platforming," as well as the fact that the levels can be beaten in any order, among its strong features, but criticised a "fairly limited" moveset of the characters. [12] According to a GameFan retrospective, "fans of the franchise and of the genre it represents here will be equally impressed with what is on offer." They specified the impressive visuals, tight gameplay, and perfectly balanced difficulty. [13]

In 2013, Nerdist included X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse among the top ten most iconic Marvel video games, calling it "extraordinary for its time, with beautiful visuals and far more accessible game play than its Sega Genesis counterpart." [14] That same year, this "pretty damn good" side-scrolling action game was also ranked as the 20th best Marvel video game by Geek Magazine. [15] IGN ranked the game 78th on their "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time". [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professor X</span> Comic book character

Professor X is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1. The character is depicted as the founder and occasional leader of the X-Men.

Genosha is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe and a prominent place in the X-Men chronology. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South African apartheid before becoming a mutant homeland and subsequently a disaster zone. The island is located off the Southeastern African coast northwest from Seychelles and northeast of Madagascar. Its capital city was Hammer Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-Men</span> Comic book superhero team

The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of the most recognizable and successful franchises of Marvel Comics. They have appeared in numerous books, television shows, the Disney's 20th Century Studios X-Men films, and video games. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise including various solo titles and team books such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brotherhood of Mutants</span> Fictional team by Marvel Comics

The Brotherhood of Mutants is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. They are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excalibur (comics)</span> Marvel Comics superhero group

Excalibur is a fictional superhero group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as an offshoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, they first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1987), also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn. Stories involving this team have featured elements of both the X-Men and Captain Britain franchises, frequently involving cross-dimensional travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magneto (Marvel Comics)</span> Fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics publications and related media

Magneto is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1 as an adversary of the X-Men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polaris (Marvel Comics)</span> Fictional character from Marvel Comics

Polaris is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Jim Steranko, the character first appeared in The X-Men #49. Lorna Dane belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. She can control magnetism in a manner similar to her father Magneto. The character has been known as Polaris, Malice, and Pestilence at various points in her history. Dane has also been a member of the X-Men and the X-Factor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Braddock</span> Comic book character

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Captain Britain and the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe in 1976, she first appeared in the Marvel UK series Captain Britain.

<i>Ultimate X-Men</i> Comic book series

Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate X-Men exist alongside other revamped Marvel characters in Ultimate Marvel titles including Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates.

<i>X-Men: Children of the Atom</i> (video game) 1994 video game

X-Men: Children of the Atom is an arcade game that was produced by Capcom and released on the CP System II arcade hardware in 1994 in Japan and in 1995 in North America and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exodus (comics)</span> Comics character

Exodus is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Joe Quesada, he first appeared in X-Factor #92. His real name was initially given as Paris Bennett, but this was uncovered as an alias when he was revealed to have been born in 12th-century France under the name of Bennet Du Paris.

<i>X-Men: Next Dimension</i> 2002 video game

X-Men: Next Dimension is a fighting game, released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube video game consoles. It is the third installment in the X-Men: Mutant Academy fighting game series, following X-Men: Mutant Academy and X-Men: Mutant Academy 2.

<i>X-Men: Mutant Academy 2</i> 2001 video game

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 is a 2.5D fighting game for the PlayStation video game console. It was developed by Paradox Development and published by Activision on September 18, 2001. It is the sequel to X-Men: Mutant Academy and predecessor to X-Men: Next Dimension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-Men: Eve of Destruction</span>

"Eve of Destruction" is an X-Men crossover storyline in the fictional Marvel Comics Universe. The storyline was written by Scott Lobdell and features artwork from Leinil Francis Yu, Salvador Larroca, and Tom Raney.

<i>X-Men 2: Clone Wars</i> 1995 video game

X-Men 2: Clone Wars is a 1995 platform game developed by Headgames and released by Sega of America for the Mega Drive/Genesis as a sequel to the 1993's X-Men. The game is based on the adventures of the Marvel Comics superhero team, the X-Men. A sequel, titled X-Women, was cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juggernaut (character)</span> Marvel Comics character

Juggernaut is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #12 as an adversary of the eponymous superhero team. Since then, he has come into conflict with other heroes, primarily Spider-Man and the Hulk.

Magneto, a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, has been included in almost every media adaptation of the X-Men franchise, including films, television series and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-Men in other media</span> Overview of X-Men in other media

The X-Men are a fictional superhero team created by Marvel Comics that appear in comic books and other forms of media.

<i>X-Men</i> (1994 video game) 1994 video game

X-Men is a video game that was released in 1994 for the Sega Game Gear featuring the X-Men superhero team. In the game, most of the X-Men have been captured by Magneto; only Wolverine and Cyclops escaped the initial assault on X-Men headquarters and are available for play at the start of the game. Players rescue the other X-Men and use them and their abilities to defeat Magneto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Braddock in other media</span> Adaptations of Betsy Braddock in other media

The Marvel Comics character Betsy Braddock has made many appearances in media other than comic books, including television, films, and video games. She has been voiced by Grey DeLisle, Heather Doerksen, and Tasha Simm in animation, and by Laura Bailey, Kimberly Brooks, Catherine Disher, Melissa Disney, Kim Mai Guest, Erica Lindbeck, Jane Luk, Masasa Moyo, and April Stewart in video games. In the X-Men film series, she was portrayed by Meiling Melançon and Olivia Munn.

References

  1. "X-Men Apocalypse for SNES". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  2. Kanarick, Mark (2010-10-03). "X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse - Review". allgame. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  3. 1 2 "Review Crew: X-Men". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 66. Sendai Publishing. January 1995. p. 38.
  4. "X-Men:Mutant Apocalypse" . Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  5. "Import : Super Famicom : Image" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org (in French). Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  6. "MegaFun Magazine (February 1995)". Archive.org. February 1995. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  7. 1 2 "Finals". Next Generation . No. 1. Imagine Media. January 1995. p. 104.
  8. Josse; Atko (March 1995). "X-Men". Total! . No. 39. p. 56. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. "Video Games The Ultimate Gaming Magazine Issue 72 January 1995". Archive.org. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  10. "SNES : X-Men Mutant Apocalypse : Image" (JPG). Total.bee-ware.ch. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  11. Doctor Zombie (February 1995). "X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse". GamePro . No. 77. IDG. pp. 28–29.
  12. "The Good, the Bad, and the Juggernaut, Bitch: A Look at X-Men Games, page 6, Feature Story from GamePro". 2011-10-15. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  13. Reive, Neil (June 16, 2011). "Best Bits: X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse". GameFan. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013.
  14. "Top Ten Most Iconic Marvel Video Games". Nerdist.com. 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  15. Jones, Elton (2013-10-22). "Marvel Comics' 25 Best Video Games - Geek Magazine". Geekexchange.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  16. Top 100 SNES Games of All Time - IGN.com , retrieved 2022-01-30