15 Best X-Men Video Games, Ranked
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.
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 September 14, 2023, by Jonathan Rodriguez: The X-Men is one of Marvel Comics’ most recognizable superhero groups. They have seen their fair share of videogame titles throughout the decades: from the Commodore and Amiga Systems to the Xbox and PlayStation consoles of the early to mid-2000s. Most of the titles the team is featured in see them battling all manner of villains in either side-scrolling, platforming action, or putting up their dukes in 2D and 3D fighting games. These titles allow each member to unleash their powers at the players’ command. But as game developers become more ambitious and creative with designing superhero games, it begs the question: what is in store for Professor Xavier’s gifted individuals in the coming years? Luckily, here are some amazing titles from previous years that depict what fans love about this group of powerful mutants—their release dates, developers, publishers, and respective platforms included.
15 X-Men: The Ravages Of Apocalypse
Release Date
December 5, 1997
Developer
Zero Gravity Entertainment
Publisher
WizardWorks, MacSoft
Platform
Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, DOS
Fans might remember seeing many of these games advertised in the pages of X-Men comics, though X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse was an interesting game to see included in the comics as it was basically an official PC expansion of the fan-favorite Quake game, so it required players to already own Quake to play this title.
Players moved through levels fighting evil cyborg versions of the X-Men, complete with their special abilities. Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Bishop, Psylocke, Archangel, and Storm were just a few of the X-Men players encountered in the game.
14 X-Men: Madness In Murderworld
Release Date
1989
Developer
Paragon Software
Publisher
Paragon Software
Platform
DOS, Commodore 64, Amiga, MS-DOS, AmigaOS
X-Men: Madness in Murderworld is a side-scrolling action game for the Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS systems. The game is set in Arcade’s Murderworld amusement park, and it is up to the X-Men to rescue Professor X and stop Arcade and Magneto.
Players can choose between Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler to beat up Sentinels and use their powers to solve some puzzles in order to advance to subsequent stages.
13 X-Men 2: Gamesmaster’s Legacy
Release Date
February 16, 1995
Developer
Sega
Publisher
Sega
Platform
Game Gear
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.
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.
12 Spider-Man And The X-Men In Arcade’s Revenge
Release Date
Super NES: November 1992 Mega Drive/Genesis: November 1993 Game Gear: March 1994 Game Boy: 1994
Developer
Software Creations, Unexpected Development
Publisher
Acclaim Entertainment
Platform
Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
A standard 2D platformer for the SNES and Sega Genesis, Spider-Man, and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge saw players control the famous mutants along with the friendly neighborhood webhead across various stages to confront and defeat the nefarious Arcade.
Players control Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, and Gambit at their own respective levels. Each level has a specific goal that needs to be accomplished, culminating in a boss fight near the end. The X-Men and Spider-Man were all animated and played pretty well and their powers were dutifully translated well in this fun platformer.
11 X-Men (Arcade)
Release Date
Arcade: March 1992 PSN: December 14, 2010 XBLA: December 15, 2010
Developer
Konami
Publisher
Konami
Platform
Arcade, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS, Android
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.
10 X-Men (Genesis)
Release Date
March 8, 1993
Developer
Western Technologies Inc
Publisher
Sega
Platform
Sega Genesis
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.
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.
9 X-Men: Mutant Academy
Release Date
July 14, 2000
Developer
Paradox Development, Crawfish Interactive (GBC)
Publisher
Activision
Platform
PlayStation, Game Boy Color
X-Men Mutant Academy is a 3D fighting game that was published by Activision back in 2000 as a tie-in to the live-action movie. Most of the characters in the movie are playable and can choose between their corresponding movie costumes along with their classic comic book look.
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.
8 X-Men: Mutant Academy 2
Release Date
September 18, 2001
Developer
Paradox Development
Publisher
Activision
Platform
PlayStation
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 2allowed 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 first twoMutant Academygames 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
Release Date
November 1994
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom
Platform
Super NES
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: Next Dimension
Release Date
PS2, GC: October 22, 2002 Xbox: October 29, 2002
Developer
Paradox Development, Exakt Entertainment (GC)
Publisher
Activision
Platform
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
X-Men: Next Dimension, or X-Men Mutant Academy 3, is the third 3D fighting game that was published by Activision back in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube.
Players can choose between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: some of them need to be unlocked in the Story Mode. The game refines the mechanics from X-Men Mutant Academy 2 and adds 3D stages with unique layouts. This leads to fights going from one location to another, similar to the Dead or Alive games.
5 X-Men: Children Of The Atom
Release Date
Arcade: January 5, 1995 Sega Saturn: April 3, 1996 PC: May 31, 1997 PlayStation: February 1998
Developer
Capcom, Probe Entertainment (PlayStation and PC versions), Rutubo Games (Sega Saturn)
Publisher
Capcom, Acclaim Entertainment (Western home console versions)
Platform
Arcade, Sega Saturn, MS-DOS, PlayStation
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.
4 X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Release Date
May 15, 1995
Developer
Headgames
Publisher
Sega
Platform
Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
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.
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.
3 X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Release Date
Arcade: 1996 Sega Saturn (JP): November 27, 1997 PlayStation: June 11, 1998
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom
Platform
Arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
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 andStreet Fighterroster 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.
2 X-Men Legends
Release Date
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox: September 21, 2004 N-Gage: February 7, 2005
Developer
Raven Software, Barking Lizards (N-Gage)
Publisher
Activision
Platform
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, N-Gage
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.
1 X-Men Legends 2: Rise Of Apocalypse
Release Date
PlayStation 2, Game Cube, PC, Xbox: September 20, 2005 PlayStation Portable: October 19, 2005 N-Gage: October 31, 2005 Mobile: December 19, 2005
Developer
Raven Software
Publisher
Activision
Platform
PlayStation 2, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, N-Gage, mobile phone
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.
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