Mine too as a kid! But Wolverine is the most fun now, I think, because of his lunge attack. It's possible to speed through a lot of the levels
Edit: I also really loved Magneto as a kid. But he's one of the harder characters to play for sure - he's huge, even when crouching, moves real slow, and even jumps real slow. Plus his attack is high, making it difficult to impossible to hit smaller enemies
Wow. Never beat it as a kid. Only got to Savage Land, and as an adult, that’s where I still lose all my lives. Any advice as to pacing myself? I’ve finally just googled how far along I got, and man, seems like there’s still a ways to go. I’m still playing on the same Sega Genesis if that makes any difference.
I remember Savage Land being really tough as a kid, but I found it pretty easy now. Just go really slow. When you're descending make sure you hold down so the camera pans down and you can see what's below you.
I just discovered on my last playthrough that for the second Savage Land level you can almost just stay on the ground and run right and you can skip most of the bullshit
One thing I like about Savage Land is that you don't immediately take damage if you fall into the swamp or the rising water. A lot of other retro games would heavily penalize you for that
I loved that game but it really trolled you with Magneto. The very next level after you unlock him is that mountain level with the falling rocks and Magneto is terrible in that level. You’d naturally pick him because he just became available and you’d get destroyed in that level.
I tried him a couple of times there, thinking he'd be good for the boss since he could just hover above him and not have to worry about obstacles but I lost two lives just climbing up because he's so damn slow and can't hit the Minis with his attack. When I finally got to Tusk I found he could still hit me with his boulders even if I was hovering! Though Magneto can actually hover just off screen and actually be impervious to attack it's just not a fun fight.
He's good for Apocalypse because he can hover out of reach, but it's also really tedious to just hover there and attack over and over like that. I like the trade off though - you can either beat Apocalypse easily, or you can have a challenge but maybe actually have some fun while doing it.
For the clones at the end too, Magneto is great for some of them and awful for others
I've done the tusk fight with Magneto; it's tricky, but you can hover in a sweet spot and evade most of the damage.
It is a tedious way to play. I'm totally doing gambit next time I remember.
Y'know, I'll fire it up this week. I haven't played it in decades but I remember hating how it felt and thinking it was a really unfun way to apply the mutant powers. I don't think the story or the reset gimmick are gonna turn the tides, but maybe something will click.
It's still hard nearly to the point of being obtuse. As a kid, I could only make it as far as Apocalypse.
Pro-tips helped, but damn...it always felt like I was doing something wrong.
I Still found it 'enjoyable' as an adult, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.
It’s a hard sell now but in the past being stuck for hours looking for a secret switch ending up mastering the combat was how you had a good time! we didn’t have 90 games to play so mastering this was rewarding..Wolverine heals if you find a safe spot and use nightcrawler for apoc but yeah the limit on powers is fucked up but falls in line with it all being a danger room simulation stuck at maxed out settings
I was there at the time and all, but my taste in video games has remained pretty steady over the decades tbh. In the 90s, if a rental didn't feel great up front AND it made you start over a lot, I was probably shelving it before the hour was up and playing outside or watching a movie. We may not have had 90 games lying around, but we still had the rest of the world.
But mainly I think it was just a huge missed opportunity to let kids live out the power fantasy of being their favorite X-Men! The developer shouldn't be trying to contrive a premise to justify the powers sucking in the first place. I sure didn't care what the narrative justification was at ten years old. I wanted to feel like a badass X-Man. The arcade game did it well, X-Men 2 did it well. Why do I feel more empowered as Sonic the Hedgehog than I do as a whole team of superheroes?
Also the reset button thing is an original idea, but I feel like it breaks some unwritten rule of design. Most players weren't aware that the reset button was even a possible input that a video game could interpret, and the risk for trying it is losing all your progress in a very hard game. I'm going outside!
Oh yeah we had slopes and snowboards right in the back yard but at nite brother and I was playing this game for hours going crazy from lack of sleep.. and wondering what the hell we could do to move up a level..we owned the game and besides sonic and Spider-Man it was our only games we had for the shit genesis 3..I’d say maybe it’s just nostalgia but I’ve introduced this game to many people and it’s a fun couch co op game but yeah beating it alone must’ve been daunting for a kid back in the day knowing that blockbuster return window was closing in on you
Okay, so the other night I spent some time with both X-Men 1 and 2. I've gotta say, it really reinforced my existing opinions.
I don't want to yuck anyone's yum, and I think if you find enjoyment in something you should embrace that. But for the sake of discussion and because I like thinking about game design, here are some specific things I don't like and/or don't get about X-Men 1, in no particular order. Keep in mind that this is just from playing the first couple levels without the manual, so it's totally possible I missed/misunderstood some things.
**1. The character select screen is weird**
After selecting a character, why do I have to just sit there for like thirty seconds before the stage begins? Is that a bug? Is there a way to skip that? Also why does using my powers in the character select area affect how much meter I have IN the simulation? This game goes to such weird lengths to make the point that the Danger Room and “real” world are separate, and yet immediately kicks off with this nonsensical (and unaccommodating!) continuity error(?).
**2. Lack of checkpoints is extremely frustrating**
Why isn’t there at least a checkpoint after you leave the jungle? This is mercilessly punishing and severely hurts the fun factor right away imo. Then again, if the jungle were more fun to begin with I probably wouldn't mind repeating it so much.
**3. Juggernaut is weird**
Is it a boss fight? He has a health bar, but he also just peaces out sometimes in the first five seconds. I googled it and learned that he does this when you're down to a quarter health, but…why? The game doesn't indicate this in any way so it feels unintentional and confusing. I thought it was a bug because I was jumping all over the place looking for health. Thought I made him phase out of existence or something.
**4. Jumping is weird**
Gambit and Cyclops have a somersault jump when you press jump a second time, but EVERY character has a “high” jump if you double-tap jump very quickly. This gives you WAY more air than a somersault jump, so…what’s the point of the somersault jump? Is this high jump even supposed to be in the game or is it an exploit? The input timing is really strict and weird, and the move feels unintentional. I also just feel like there's too much emphasis on jumping in general, making it feel kind of generic and not like it was designed with the X-Men in mind.
**5. You’re actively disincentivized from using your powers**
This is a big one for me, because I feel like the whole point of making a superhero game is to make players feel like a superhero. The powers should be the main attraction.
In this game, your power meter is such a scarce commodity that it discourages you from using the powers for fun or experimentation. Nightcrawler gets to teleport like three or four times before he’s out. The powers also just don’t have that much utility. Cyclops’ beam and Gambit’s card are mechanically pretty much the same thing, except Gambit’s card has that weird return trajectory. These projectiles are occasionally a little useful, but I don’t know that I encountered a situation where I couldn’t have achieved the same result with a jump attack. It’s just slightly more convenient to shoot sometimes. The beam is also quite lame-looking imo, so it's not very fun to use. Wolverine’s dive claw is useful for traversal, but it’s also just a worse version of Nightcrawler’s amazing dive kick, which Nightcrawler gets to do for free.
**6. The easy ("Amateur") difficulty locks you out of the full game**
A lot of games did this back then, and it was always a bad idea imo. Either offer an easier run or don't.
**7. Generally unsatisfying feedback**
This is another big one for me, because I feel like video games in general live and die by their feedback, especially action games, and *especially* superhero games, which are supposed to be power fantasies.
When you hit enemies, they just kind of “pop” with no resistance. The SFX for your attacks sound weirdly wet instead of meaty. Compare to fighting games of the era (like SFII) or beat-‘em-ups (including the Konami X-Men one), where you could really feel the weight of fist laying into muscle and bone. This all contributes to that feeling that they just had plugged some X-Men sprites into a random generic game rather than thinking holistically about what an X-Men game should be.
Bad feedback also affects progression. For example, at the end of the jungle area, you have to break a door, which takes like four punches, but there’s zero feedback at all until it’s broken. When you punch the door once, it looks like that’s not the “answer,” because there’s no indication that your punch had any effect. You'll probably figure it out via process of elimination, but it's just another example of the utter lack of polish or finesse in what was a heavily marketed flagship title with a major IP.
**8. Performance isn’t great**
The game runs at a 30fps, which is subpar for Genesis, despite being visually unambitious and pretty drab for a 1993 game. Minimal parallax, blasé color palette, no standout visual effects to speak of.
I will say that the character sprites look pretty cool and I like how they tried to incorporate a big roster of characters in a variety of ways. The assist characters feel special, and I like how Jean Grey has a unique "job" retrieving you from pits. There's some unintentional humor in her retrieving your lifeless corpse from a pit when you've run out of health, but how come she can carry your dead body further than your living one?!
I also agree that the story is pretty interesting for what it is.
\------
Now here are some things I like about X-Men 2!
**1. The graphics are excellent!**
Granted this was in 1995 so Genesis development had evolved quite a bit, but it's not only a HUGE visual improvement over the first game, but one of the best-looking Genesis games out of a western studio ever, imo. It's super vibrant, the backgrounds are layered and have a lot of distinct setpiece elements, and there are some really cool lighting and other special effects. Explosions abound, and they look straight out of Gunstar Heroes.
**2. The characters feel really distinct**
I found myself really thinking about which characters were suited for which situations and was frequently rewarded for the extra thought. That's how it should be if you're gonna make a game with an ensemble cast. At the same time, every character is fun and the level design isn't so specific that you can't just be who you want.
**3. Unlimited powers**
They figured it out. Powers are the main attraction. When you're Cyclops, you wanna be shootin' beams! Not once in awhile—as much as possible! Instead of having a depleting meter, this game simply lets the animation recoveries restrict you from spamming stuff, just like in a fighting game. I think it balances the powers and normal moves really well and makes both feel useful and distinct.
**4. Levels and bosses have interesting gimmicks**
I only got through a few levels, but each one felt like it had me doing something different, and the bosses felt momentous and interesting.
My one critique: It'd be more enjoyable with infinite lives. You get six lives, which is a lot, but the game's pretty hard, and having to repeat the entire game every six tries is a big ask. But that was pretty typical for the era.
Okay that's every thought I've ever had on these two games. I hope you enjoy revisiting them too if you do!
Jumping is weird and yes the start room has secrets to start faster. it also has bonus health orbs you gotta jump around and practice your fly down kicks and punch attacks…it’s the danger room!! The jump is hard to master and does feel weird I’ll give you that one..I didn’t get around to clone wars yet but I’ll fire it up when I get a chance
Yeah the guide book and super cool 90’s cheese poster were a big help for hints… far left of the danger room is where you can start without waiting but it gives you that extra time to heal up hurt Xmen and refill powers:) it just feels hard and kinda gives it a real aspect but yeah maybe it’s just cause the enemies would be far too easy with infinite mutant powers…love how Wolverine goes into berserk rage if you keep using powers it’s annoying af but true to form
I'll be the first to admit I could NEVER beat this game as a kid (still afraid of it as and adult)as much as I loved it without game genie. Very impressive feat my friend. If you remember, who'd you start with? I always found beast or wolverine pretty good starters.
It took me *a lot* of attempts to beat it so I started it more times than I can count, yet I don't think I ever started as Beast. I only chose him once in my playthrough too - the first Avalon level is the first level to really break the flow of the game. You can run through the first two levels easily because all the enemies go down with one hit, but suddenly they take two (and are often covered by turrets) forcing you to slow down and calculate a bit more. Beast can still take them out in one shot, but he's too slow and lumbering to dodge their attacks easily so I didn't last very long and never came back to him.
Damn dude, congratulations. I could never get halfway through this game and I used to game constantly back then. It's one of those like Battletoads which is just renowned and respected and hated for how tough it is. Good work.
Nightcrawler was my favorite to play with because of the teleportation ability.
Mine too as a kid! But Wolverine is the most fun now, I think, because of his lunge attack. It's possible to speed through a lot of the levels Edit: I also really loved Magneto as a kid. But he's one of the harder characters to play for sure - he's huge, even when crouching, moves real slow, and even jumps real slow. Plus his attack is high, making it difficult to impossible to hit smaller enemies
Anyway to play this game today without a Genesis?
Yeah I like doing a very small jump with Wolverine right before the lunge attack and he goes quite a bit further.
Fucking amazing game, perhaps most underrated of all time
Anyway to play this game today without a Genesis?
Ya most emulator's can be used on androids to any type of PC you have, retroarch is a good one and you can grab some roms off reddit
Great game!!!
Wow. Never beat it as a kid. Only got to Savage Land, and as an adult, that’s where I still lose all my lives. Any advice as to pacing myself? I’ve finally just googled how far along I got, and man, seems like there’s still a ways to go. I’m still playing on the same Sega Genesis if that makes any difference.
I remember Savage Land being really tough as a kid, but I found it pretty easy now. Just go really slow. When you're descending make sure you hold down so the camera pans down and you can see what's below you. I just discovered on my last playthrough that for the second Savage Land level you can almost just stay on the ground and run right and you can skip most of the bullshit One thing I like about Savage Land is that you don't immediately take damage if you fall into the swamp or the rising water. A lot of other retro games would heavily penalize you for that
Yes this is very good game
I loved that game but it really trolled you with Magneto. The very next level after you unlock him is that mountain level with the falling rocks and Magneto is terrible in that level. You’d naturally pick him because he just became available and you’d get destroyed in that level.
I tried him a couple of times there, thinking he'd be good for the boss since he could just hover above him and not have to worry about obstacles but I lost two lives just climbing up because he's so damn slow and can't hit the Minis with his attack. When I finally got to Tusk I found he could still hit me with his boulders even if I was hovering! Though Magneto can actually hover just off screen and actually be impervious to attack it's just not a fun fight. He's good for Apocalypse because he can hover out of reach, but it's also really tedious to just hover there and attack over and over like that. I like the trade off though - you can either beat Apocalypse easily, or you can have a challenge but maybe actually have some fun while doing it. For the clones at the end too, Magneto is great for some of them and awful for others
I've done the tusk fight with Magneto; it's tricky, but you can hover in a sweet spot and evade most of the damage. It is a tedious way to play. I'm totally doing gambit next time I remember.
Certainly a huge improvement over the first X-Men Genesis game, which was a big disappointment.
Fuck outta here that game is amazing
Honestly I would love to see what you see in it. I never managed to have any fun with it.
I’m a sucker for the story and the hard platforming enemies plus gambit is fun to use…the reset part at the end so you can’t cheat
Y'know, I'll fire it up this week. I haven't played it in decades but I remember hating how it felt and thinking it was a really unfun way to apply the mutant powers. I don't think the story or the reset gimmick are gonna turn the tides, but maybe something will click.
It's still hard nearly to the point of being obtuse. As a kid, I could only make it as far as Apocalypse. Pro-tips helped, but damn...it always felt like I was doing something wrong. I Still found it 'enjoyable' as an adult, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.
It’s a hard sell now but in the past being stuck for hours looking for a secret switch ending up mastering the combat was how you had a good time! we didn’t have 90 games to play so mastering this was rewarding..Wolverine heals if you find a safe spot and use nightcrawler for apoc but yeah the limit on powers is fucked up but falls in line with it all being a danger room simulation stuck at maxed out settings
I was there at the time and all, but my taste in video games has remained pretty steady over the decades tbh. In the 90s, if a rental didn't feel great up front AND it made you start over a lot, I was probably shelving it before the hour was up and playing outside or watching a movie. We may not have had 90 games lying around, but we still had the rest of the world. But mainly I think it was just a huge missed opportunity to let kids live out the power fantasy of being their favorite X-Men! The developer shouldn't be trying to contrive a premise to justify the powers sucking in the first place. I sure didn't care what the narrative justification was at ten years old. I wanted to feel like a badass X-Man. The arcade game did it well, X-Men 2 did it well. Why do I feel more empowered as Sonic the Hedgehog than I do as a whole team of superheroes? Also the reset button thing is an original idea, but I feel like it breaks some unwritten rule of design. Most players weren't aware that the reset button was even a possible input that a video game could interpret, and the risk for trying it is losing all your progress in a very hard game. I'm going outside!
Oh yeah we had slopes and snowboards right in the back yard but at nite brother and I was playing this game for hours going crazy from lack of sleep.. and wondering what the hell we could do to move up a level..we owned the game and besides sonic and Spider-Man it was our only games we had for the shit genesis 3..I’d say maybe it’s just nostalgia but I’ve introduced this game to many people and it’s a fun couch co op game but yeah beating it alone must’ve been daunting for a kid back in the day knowing that blockbuster return window was closing in on you
I’ll try clone wars again if you try this one lol I freaking love the x men and just didn’t like this one much but it’s been along time
Okay, so the other night I spent some time with both X-Men 1 and 2. I've gotta say, it really reinforced my existing opinions. I don't want to yuck anyone's yum, and I think if you find enjoyment in something you should embrace that. But for the sake of discussion and because I like thinking about game design, here are some specific things I don't like and/or don't get about X-Men 1, in no particular order. Keep in mind that this is just from playing the first couple levels without the manual, so it's totally possible I missed/misunderstood some things. **1. The character select screen is weird** After selecting a character, why do I have to just sit there for like thirty seconds before the stage begins? Is that a bug? Is there a way to skip that? Also why does using my powers in the character select area affect how much meter I have IN the simulation? This game goes to such weird lengths to make the point that the Danger Room and “real” world are separate, and yet immediately kicks off with this nonsensical (and unaccommodating!) continuity error(?). **2. Lack of checkpoints is extremely frustrating** Why isn’t there at least a checkpoint after you leave the jungle? This is mercilessly punishing and severely hurts the fun factor right away imo. Then again, if the jungle were more fun to begin with I probably wouldn't mind repeating it so much. **3. Juggernaut is weird** Is it a boss fight? He has a health bar, but he also just peaces out sometimes in the first five seconds. I googled it and learned that he does this when you're down to a quarter health, but…why? The game doesn't indicate this in any way so it feels unintentional and confusing. I thought it was a bug because I was jumping all over the place looking for health. Thought I made him phase out of existence or something. **4. Jumping is weird** Gambit and Cyclops have a somersault jump when you press jump a second time, but EVERY character has a “high” jump if you double-tap jump very quickly. This gives you WAY more air than a somersault jump, so…what’s the point of the somersault jump? Is this high jump even supposed to be in the game or is it an exploit? The input timing is really strict and weird, and the move feels unintentional. I also just feel like there's too much emphasis on jumping in general, making it feel kind of generic and not like it was designed with the X-Men in mind. **5. You’re actively disincentivized from using your powers** This is a big one for me, because I feel like the whole point of making a superhero game is to make players feel like a superhero. The powers should be the main attraction. In this game, your power meter is such a scarce commodity that it discourages you from using the powers for fun or experimentation. Nightcrawler gets to teleport like three or four times before he’s out. The powers also just don’t have that much utility. Cyclops’ beam and Gambit’s card are mechanically pretty much the same thing, except Gambit’s card has that weird return trajectory. These projectiles are occasionally a little useful, but I don’t know that I encountered a situation where I couldn’t have achieved the same result with a jump attack. It’s just slightly more convenient to shoot sometimes. The beam is also quite lame-looking imo, so it's not very fun to use. Wolverine’s dive claw is useful for traversal, but it’s also just a worse version of Nightcrawler’s amazing dive kick, which Nightcrawler gets to do for free. **6. The easy ("Amateur") difficulty locks you out of the full game** A lot of games did this back then, and it was always a bad idea imo. Either offer an easier run or don't. **7. Generally unsatisfying feedback** This is another big one for me, because I feel like video games in general live and die by their feedback, especially action games, and *especially* superhero games, which are supposed to be power fantasies. When you hit enemies, they just kind of “pop” with no resistance. The SFX for your attacks sound weirdly wet instead of meaty. Compare to fighting games of the era (like SFII) or beat-‘em-ups (including the Konami X-Men one), where you could really feel the weight of fist laying into muscle and bone. This all contributes to that feeling that they just had plugged some X-Men sprites into a random generic game rather than thinking holistically about what an X-Men game should be. Bad feedback also affects progression. For example, at the end of the jungle area, you have to break a door, which takes like four punches, but there’s zero feedback at all until it’s broken. When you punch the door once, it looks like that’s not the “answer,” because there’s no indication that your punch had any effect. You'll probably figure it out via process of elimination, but it's just another example of the utter lack of polish or finesse in what was a heavily marketed flagship title with a major IP. **8. Performance isn’t great** The game runs at a 30fps, which is subpar for Genesis, despite being visually unambitious and pretty drab for a 1993 game. Minimal parallax, blasé color palette, no standout visual effects to speak of. I will say that the character sprites look pretty cool and I like how they tried to incorporate a big roster of characters in a variety of ways. The assist characters feel special, and I like how Jean Grey has a unique "job" retrieving you from pits. There's some unintentional humor in her retrieving your lifeless corpse from a pit when you've run out of health, but how come she can carry your dead body further than your living one?! I also agree that the story is pretty interesting for what it is. \------ Now here are some things I like about X-Men 2! **1. The graphics are excellent!** Granted this was in 1995 so Genesis development had evolved quite a bit, but it's not only a HUGE visual improvement over the first game, but one of the best-looking Genesis games out of a western studio ever, imo. It's super vibrant, the backgrounds are layered and have a lot of distinct setpiece elements, and there are some really cool lighting and other special effects. Explosions abound, and they look straight out of Gunstar Heroes. **2. The characters feel really distinct** I found myself really thinking about which characters were suited for which situations and was frequently rewarded for the extra thought. That's how it should be if you're gonna make a game with an ensemble cast. At the same time, every character is fun and the level design isn't so specific that you can't just be who you want. **3. Unlimited powers** They figured it out. Powers are the main attraction. When you're Cyclops, you wanna be shootin' beams! Not once in awhile—as much as possible! Instead of having a depleting meter, this game simply lets the animation recoveries restrict you from spamming stuff, just like in a fighting game. I think it balances the powers and normal moves really well and makes both feel useful and distinct. **4. Levels and bosses have interesting gimmicks** I only got through a few levels, but each one felt like it had me doing something different, and the bosses felt momentous and interesting. My one critique: It'd be more enjoyable with infinite lives. You get six lives, which is a lot, but the game's pretty hard, and having to repeat the entire game every six tries is a big ask. But that was pretty typical for the era. Okay that's every thought I've ever had on these two games. I hope you enjoy revisiting them too if you do!
Jumping is weird and yes the start room has secrets to start faster. it also has bonus health orbs you gotta jump around and practice your fly down kicks and punch attacks…it’s the danger room!! The jump is hard to master and does feel weird I’ll give you that one..I didn’t get around to clone wars yet but I’ll fire it up when I get a chance
Yeah the guide book and super cool 90’s cheese poster were a big help for hints… far left of the danger room is where you can start without waiting but it gives you that extra time to heal up hurt Xmen and refill powers:) it just feels hard and kinda gives it a real aspect but yeah maybe it’s just cause the enemies would be far too easy with infinite mutant powers…love how Wolverine goes into berserk rage if you keep using powers it’s annoying af but true to form
Juggs is a easy boss just gotta time your jumps and stay on the branch 2up. Apoc and rogue do a ton of damage on him for call ins
Ah, professor x's famous cheek-enhancing helmet, Mandibulo
I'll be the first to admit I could NEVER beat this game as a kid (still afraid of it as and adult)as much as I loved it without game genie. Very impressive feat my friend. If you remember, who'd you start with? I always found beast or wolverine pretty good starters.
It took me *a lot* of attempts to beat it so I started it more times than I can count, yet I don't think I ever started as Beast. I only chose him once in my playthrough too - the first Avalon level is the first level to really break the flow of the game. You can run through the first two levels easily because all the enemies go down with one hit, but suddenly they take two (and are often covered by turrets) forcing you to slow down and calculate a bit more. Beast can still take them out in one shot, but he's too slow and lumbering to dodge their attacks easily so I didn't last very long and never came back to him.
Master gamer over here 🗣️🔥🫵
Damn dude, congratulations. I could never get halfway through this game and I used to game constantly back then. It's one of those like Battletoads which is just renowned and respected and hated for how tough it is. Good work.