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Spider Man on System 32; and the best superhero games from back in the day

VGEsoterica

Member
Sure TODAY Marvel is bigger than basically any other franchise / property around...and we have a glut of modern 3D games to play and enjoy...but back in the 90s Marvel was NOT the juggernaut it is today and sometimes we got great games based on characters from Marvel...and other times they were garbage (couch couch Spiderman on 32X)

But Spider-Man: The Video Game from Sega on the System 32 arcade board? Just one of the most iconic beat em up games Sega ever made based on a licensed property. I still fondly remember finding this cabinet in my local arcade and just absolutely falling in love with it. Its just pure 3D goodness from the super scaler era of Sega art direction and hardware design.

Plus since it was never ported home to any arcade platform I bet some people who WERENT playing games in the 90s may have 100% missed this one. Which would be a HUGE bummer if you never got a chance to play it because its a straight up banger of a beat em up if you DONT care about Spider Man and its even better if you are a fan of Spider Man and Marvel in general.

But GAF...what are the best superhero games of all time? Because I admit I am not a HUGE Marvel fan...but I know a GREAT Sega game when I play it lol

 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
Sega Spider-Man on the genesis was the only good one besides a few beaten ups.

Worst, possibly arcade’s revenge 👎
 

VGEsoterica

Member
jltarJ5.jpg


the opposite end of the quality spectrum lolol
 

A.Romero

Member
Oh wow, haven't thought about this game for a long time. As a spidey fan since I was a kid this one was one of my favourite games from the Arcade. I was never able to finish it or probably never got past the 2nd stage but it still gives me a lot of nostalgia feels. That scaling work really set it apart from others back in the day.
 

VGEsoterica

Member
Oh wow, haven't thought about this game for a long time. As a spidey fan since I was a kid this one was one of my favourite games from the Arcade. I was never able to finish it or probably never got past the 2nd stage but it still gives me a lot of nostalgia feels. That scaling work really set it apart from others back in the day.
Happy to have brought it back into your consciousness :)
 
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Soltype

Member
Think our skating rink had it back in the day, game looked phenomenal but it was weird to me. Back then probably the best superhero game was X-Men arcade, there was always a line of people trying to play that game and when it was put in it was the loudest machine on the floor. On home consoles it's Batman and Robin on the Genesis, the SNES game was a bore.
 

VGEsoterica

Member
Think our skating rink had it back in the day, game looked phenomenal but it was weird to me. Back then probably the best superhero game was X-Men arcade, there was always a line of people trying to play that game and when it was put in it was the loudest machine on the floor. On home consoles it's Batman and Robin on the Genesis, the SNES game was a bore.
The Genesis game was fun. The Sega CD Batman was always a fun time as well
 

Soodanim

Gold Member
I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but I enjoyed the "Couch couch Spiderman" typo. Makes me think of a lazy fat Spidey that uses his web to avoid getting up
 

sol_bad

Member
I did get to play that Spider-Man game back in the day but it was at some random fish and chip shop in the middle of no where. Similar to y experiences with Hailey's Comet and that crazy bootleg Street Fighter 2 arcade game, at random fish and chip shops in the middle of no where.

I remember loving the following games as well.

X-Men - Mega Drive
As per normal back in the 16-bit days, the game was tough as nails, not the best hot detection. Also, I never passed the reset the console part as I never figured it out in my early teens.



Spider-Man vs Kingpin - Mega Drive
I don't think it would hold up today but I remember loving this, also very tough. Took me forever just to pass the first section and I felt like a moron when I worked it out.



The Adventures of Batman & Robin - Mega Drive
Another kick arse game that, you guessed it, kicked your arse. Great soundtrack and gameplay that still holds up today.



The Punisher - Arcade
Loved thee absolute shit out of this game and played it a tonne back in the day. Nice little beat'em up.
 
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dave_d

Member
jltarJ5.jpg


the opposite end of the quality spectrum lolol
I think I've mentioned this more than once but I had it and sold it for $80 because I figure how much could it climb in price in the collectors market, it's terrible. (Not my best financial decision but the game is still terrible.)
 

VGEsoterica

Member
I think I've mentioned this more than once but I had it and sold it for $80 because I figure how much could it climb in price in the collectors market, it's terrible. (Not my best financial decision but the game is still terrible.)
a definite example of value NOT equaling quality!
 

wondermega

Member
I remember playing Spidey on 2600 as a little kid (yep I am pretty old), it wasn't much but for those days when EVERY character in a game was a stick figure (if you were lucky), having anything resembling a super hero felt like a treat and a half. And compared to the Superman game, this actually felt kinda fun for what it was (you could shoot webs, you could climb up a building...)

I was pretty excited to get my hands on Genesis Spidey as the mags were clamoring that it "looked to be similar to a Strider-type game" which sounded like a dream come true (still does, actually). Well, it definitely fell a far bit short of those lofty expectations - it wasn't half the game that Strider was, and Strider itself wasn't the end-all-be-all either, while we are at it (but still pretty kickass, don't get me wrong) - but yeah Genesis Spider-Man was still a pretty fun ride while it lasted. It was one of those "I wish it had been a Japanese game because they would have made it more fun," but for what it was they captured a lot of the feel of his powers (crawling and swinging felt pretty cool, they had a decent bit of his rogue's gallery in there, the picture-taking mechanic wasn't a terrible idea, etc). Not bad.

Arcade Spidey looked impressive, I don't think I ever saw it until booting it up in MAME a bunch of years later. Great look and feel, if a little one-note (but then, beat 'em ups were kinda the rage at the time). I kinda wouldn't mind to give it a second look.

Honorable mention goes to Rare's Gameboy Spider-Man game, it really doesn't hold up too well in 2022 but for it's day it was a nice little surprise, and really at home as a quick-pick-up action game to pass the time, perfect during those super-early GB years.
 
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