The ten best classic superhero games

#8. X-Men: The Arcade Game (Arcade)

A different developer (Konami), but the same basic template as Data East’s Captain America and The Avengers, X-Men: The Arcade Game took the arcade multiplayer brawler to the next level. There were way better voices! It had a wide array of mostly popular characters (except Dazzler. Did anybody ever like Dazzler? Ever?). The characters were gorgeous large sprites that looked great! And, if you were very, very lucky, your local arcade had one of the machines that allowed a whopping six people to play. This arguably gave it an edge even over Konami’s own arcade classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles released a few years earlier.

The one big point against X-Men: The Arcade Game is it that is inarguably a very poor interpretation of the characters as far as their powers go. Each character had limited special attacks that did reflect their comic book abilities, but beyond that, they were virtually identical fighters. Colossus was no stronger than Nightcrawler when it came to hitting enemies or taking damage. But that doesn’t stop X-Men: The Arcade Game from being one of the most beloved arcade games of all time. And rightfully so.