Highlights
- X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 is the franchise's sweet spot, with 18 different characters and natural feeling mechanics for a 2D fighting game. Gamefaqs score: 3.68/5.
- X-Men 2: Clone Wars fixed issues in the first game, added new playable characters, and had one of the best game soundtracks of its era. Gamefaqs score: 3.77/5.
- X-Men Legends changed the game by allowing players to pick a team of four X-Men and switch through each character with the press of a button. Gamefaqs score: 3.84/5.
The X-Men is arguably one of the most popular superhero teams in comic books. Their characters' powers and exploits beg to be depicted in video games, but it is surprisingly scarce to find such games nowadays to quench that itch to rip apart a Sentinel or two.
Marvel: 8 Weirdest Powers Wolverine Has Had
Considering how long Wolverine has been a part of Marvel Comics, it's no surprise that he's had some strange abilities over the years.However, there was a time when the X-Men were right alongside the popular Batman and Spider-Man games, and Marvel's mutant team's games have actually been responsible for some lasting developments in gaming. That said, here are some of the best X-Men games that showcase the team's collective powers and teamwork against varying obstacles and nefarious villains.
Updated on January 23, 2024, by Mark Sammut: The specification for every X-Men game has been added, along with their Gamefaqs scores since most of them predate Metacritic. That said, the scores are only one piece of the equation and not the sole metric behind the rankings.
Only games focusing on the X-Men team will be included; therefore, no X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Deadpool.
10 X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy
Gamefaqs: 3.07/5
The Game Gear handheld console system was Sega's 8-bit answer to Nintendo's Game Boy and featured some exclusive games that were actually pretty decent, provided that a gamer's Game Gear had enough juice left to play.
Best Game Gear Games, Ranked
Game Gear boasts some of the greatest retro gaming hits. Here are the best ones, ranked.X-Men 2: Gamesmaster's Legacy improved upon the gameplay of the first Game Gear X-Men game, and featured a story right out of the comics that introduced unique characters like Trevor Fitzroy, Sienna Blaze, and Shinobi Shaw to new fans. The game also featured both Bishop and Cable as playable characters, which makes it at the very least a memorable game for the X-Men.
9 X-Men (Genesis)
Gamefaqs: 3.36/5
X-Men (1993)
- Platform(s)
- Genesis , Game Gear
- Released
- 1993-00-00
- Developer(s)
- Western Technologies
- Genre(s)
- Action
1993 saw the release of X-Men on the Sega Genesis, which was quickly classified as one of the hardest X-Men games ever played. That's saying a lot, considering Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge exists, but it's the truth.
10 Canceled Superhero Games You Never Knew Existed
From Gotham By Gaslight to a first-person Avengers game, here are a few canceled superhero games you probably never knew existed.Players could choose Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, or Gambit to move through the difficult levels with a quickly dwindling mutant power bar. The game even featured a rare ending that required players to lightly hit the Reset button, going against years of warnings against doing that exact thing. X-Men can be difficult to revisit in this day and age due to an overabundance of difficulty spikes and stiff platforming controls that make most stages frustrating rather than challenging; however, the game has positives as well.
While sharing many similarities, the playable characters have unique moves that set them apart from the crowd, and they are brought to life well by generally solid animation. X-Men looks pretty good for its era, and that goes beyond just the heroes and villains. There are also a few neat touches that might delight fans; for instance, if a character falls off a stage, they are brought back by Jean Grey.
8 X-Men: Mutant Academy 2
Gamefaqs: 3.68/5
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2
- Platform(s)
- PS1
- Released
- September 20, 2001
- Developer(s)
- Paradox Development Studio
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
The first X-Men: Mutant Academy was a 3D fighting game for the PlayStation that was just okay, but Paradox amplified what worked about the game and fixed what didn't for the sequel. Unfortunately, the series dropped off a bit in playability for the third game, X-Men: Next Dimension, so X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 is the franchise's sweet spot.
X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 allowed players to choose from 18 different characters from either the X-Men or the Brotherhood and even Spider-Man was unlockable through the Arcade Mode. The game’s mechanics play like a typical 2D fighting game: each character has a specific moveset, special attacks, and super moves that can be chained together for cool combos. Pulling off a combo into a super feels natural, and each character had unique moves that felt like what they would do in the comic books or the movies. The first two Mutant Academy games shared a tie-in connection to the X-Men movies that included extra content like costumes and behind-the-scenes footage.
7 X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Gamefaqs: 3.69/5
X-Men Mutant Apocalypse
- Platform(s)
- nes
- Released
- November 4, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Fighting , Platformer
Capcom would have a lengthy relationship with the X-Men over the years, though most of its success would fall in the fighting game genre. However, the second game from Capcom that was based on the X-Men franchise was called X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse and was actually a 2D action platformer.
The game was fairly difficult as players had to play through the grueling levels of each member of the X-Men (Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Psylocke, and Gambit) before getting a password that would allow them to move on. Mutant Apocalypse's graphics were great, and it was actually fun to play, if not a little frustrating at times.
6 X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Gamefaqs: 3.77/5
X-Men 2: Clone Wars
- Platform(s)
- Genesis
- Released
- May 16, 1995
- Developer(s)
- Headgames
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
X-Men 2: Clone Wars was Sega's follow-up to their popular but difficult X-Men, and featured new playable characters as well as fixed a number of the glaring issues seen in the first game. The sequel added Psylocke, Beast, and an unlockable Magneto to the playable roster from the first game, though the other X-Men continued to appear throughout the game.
6 Things Marvel Can Do With The Mutants In The MCU
The MCU is set to add Mutants to the franchise, but what exactly can they do with icons like the X-Men?X-Men 2: Clone Wars loosely adapted The Phalanx Covenant storyline for the game and had one of the best game soundtracks of the era. The sequel was made infinitely more enjoyable thanks to the removal of the mutant power bar that had hindered the first game.
5 X-Men Legends
Gamefaqs: 3.84/5
X-Men Legends
- Platform(s)
- GameCube , PS2 , Xbox (Original) , N-Gage
- Released
- September 21, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Raven Software , Barking Lizards Technologies
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The X-Men are a team, yet for years players were forced to play individually as their favorite members of the X-Men (or Dazzler) instead of seeing the team work together on missions. X-Men: Legends changed all that with their four-player role-playing game that became a hit fan-favorite and still remains one of the best X-Men games that was ever released so far.
Not only did the game feature an original story set within the world of the X-Men, but players were also able to pick a team of four to play through missions with and switch through each character with the press of a button. The various members used on the team would also get players bonuses and allow for mutant power combos.
4 X-Men: Children Of The Atom
Gamefaqs: 3.93/5
X-Men: Children of the Atom
- Platform(s)
- Arcade , PS1 , Sega Saturn
- Released
- January 5, 1995
- Developer
- Capcom, Rutubo Games, Probe Entertainmen
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
The first game from Capcom to feature the X-Men characters was called X-Men: Children of the Atom, and it launched the franchise's eventual future success with games like X-Men vs. Street Fighter and the Marvel vs. Capcom series.
The game was loosely based on the Fatal Attractions storyline from the comics and featured the standard playable roster alongside villains like Omega Red, Spiral, Silver Samurai, and even a Sentinel. Capcom also included Akuma from the Street Fighter franchise as a secret character in the game. While it does not hold up quite as much as some latter Capcom fighting games featuring Marvel characters, Children of the Atom is still a landmark release that set the stage for greatness to come, all the while still being a fun time in its own right.
3 X-Men (Arcade)
Gamefaqs: 3.92/5
Early gamers got their first look at homo superior in the arcades with the release of X-Men, which allowed for up to six players. The game also featured a double screen similar to Tecmo Bowl or the Cinerama style of projection theater, a precursor to the improving arcade technology in the coming years. The arcade game was also unique in that the character designs and story were loosely based on the Pryde of the X-Men TV pilot that was never picked up. The six X-Men available to players were Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler, who were also the main cast members in the animated pilot.
Marvel: Cruelest X-Men Heroes
The X-Men and their allies may do a lot of good, but some of them go too far to achieve their goals.Konami produced plenty of great beat 'em up arcade games, and X-Men stands among the developer's better releases. While Capcom's genre offerings from this era were arguably better (particularly The Punisher), that does not take anything away from this early release.
2 X-Men Legends 2: Rise Of Apocalypse
Gamefaqs: 3.91/5
X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse
- Platform(s)
- N-Gage , GameCube , PC , PS2 , PSP , Xbox (Original)
- Released
- September 20, 2005
- Developer(s)
- Raven Software , Vicarious Visions , Beenox , Barking Lizards Technologies
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The best X-Men game ever only got better with the release of the sequel, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. The game followed the same gameplay format that Marvel would also use for the Ultimate Alliance franchise.
The sequel brought the X-Men and the Brotherhood together on a playable team to battle the forces of Apocalypse across a number of iconic comic settings. The game became a best-selling hit and is still the best representation of the X-Men in video games, though the jury's still out whether or not another X-Men title would return for the next generation of console games.
1 X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Gamefaqs: 4.16/5
Following the success of X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, Capcom eventually created X-Men vs. Street Fighter, a 2D crossover fighting game that pitted famous Capcom fighters such as Ryu, Chun-Li, and Zangief against Wolverine, Storm, and Juggernaut.
Players form a team of two characters from the X-Men and Street Fighter roster and during matches, players can tag their characters in and out. The game’s tag-team mechanic allowed players to pull off a variety of long combo strings and team combos which made each match feel different and engaging. While overshadowed by Marvel vs. Capcom, X-Men vs. Street Fighter is just as good as the first entry in that series, and an argument could be made that it is even better. The gameplay still holds up today, and the roster was impressive and serves as a fun showcase of X-Men's status in the '90s.