Your favourite superhero Super Nintendo games

[Hyrule Chicken]

I'm a huge fan of superheroes (I buy a lot of comics every week) so I've always been interested in video games based on my favourite superheroes.

Back in 1993, DC Comics released a story line where Superman dies while saving Metropolis at the hands of the monster known as Doomsday. The follow up story line was called Reign of the Supermen, where four 'Supermen' suddenly show up in Metropolis, all claiming to be the one true Superman. I won't get into too many specifics (unless someone is really interested) but the death and return of Superman was made into a game on the Super Nintendo called... The Death and Return of Superman. It's actually pretty true to the story in the comics, and it's a really fun beat 'em up video game.

Anyways, here it is (even that box cover is freakin' art awesome):

Now, to be fair, Marvel has also released some pretty fun side-scrolling beat 'em ups on the Super NES. My favourite is, without a doubt, Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage. First of all, it came as a red cartridge which is really cool. It's the game mechanics are similar to the Superman game above (and was actually released before it), except it's Marvel heroes and villains (you get to play both as Spider-Man and Venom). Here's the awesome cover art for that game:

It's funny that it says "Special Limited Edition Red Cartridge" when ALL of them were made red. I suppose there is a total limited amount of them, so it's not exactly wrong... Just gimmicky

What about you? Do you remember playing these games? Did I miss a totally awesome superhero Super Nintendo game? Let me know!

 

[Damien Lee]

Yes, there were some great superhero games back in the day. While I've never been a big fan of Superman, I've always enjoyed the darker archetypes within the superhero comic genre such as Batman, The Punisher and Judge Dredd from the 2000 AD comics anthology.

As far as SNES games with superheroes is concerned, The Adventure of Batman & Robin by Konami is excellent. Another game that I enjoyed is The Punisher on the Sega Genesis, it's a side-scrolling beat 'em-up. I was hoping that it would also get ported over to the SNES as it would have benefited from the system's larger color palette. Unfortunately, Capcom didn't pursue this but released Captain Commando instead which has very similar gameplay.

 

[aboleth_lich]

My answer today is the same as it was during my youth in the bad old 1990s: Spider-Man & Venom in Maximum Carnage on the SNES! There are arguably other Spider-Man games that make you feel more like Spider-Man, but Maximum Carnage was just an absolutely fantastic street brawler that really pushed the capabilities of the SNES--especially with respect to Green Jelly's rocking soundtrack! (Unfortunately, it's sequel, Spider-Man & Venom in Separation Anxiety was fairly disappointing though. Spider-Man: The Animated Series also can't hold up against Maximum Carnage, although it does at least feature a wider cast of classic Spider-Man villains.)

I must also give props to The Adventures of Batman & Robin. It might not hold a candle to the modern Batman: Arkham series that truly makes the player feel like Batman to an extent that older Batman games could not (actual detective work, stealth, tactical take downs, etc): but The Adventures of Batman & Robin is still a great game unto itself and especially for its time! It's certainly better than the Batman Returns and Batman Forever SNES games too!

Finally, I must also give props to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time! Another immensely fun street brawler that revitalized the series with its time travel theme! (Some might question whether or not the Turtles count as superheros, but I would say that they're as much superheros as Batman or The Punisher are! Especially given that the original source material is Laird and Eastman's comic book parody of Frank Miller's work on Daredevil and Ronin too!)

I must confess that there are several superhero-themed SNES games that I never got around to playing that I really should visit at some point though--most notably The Death and Return of Superman, Marvel Superheroes: War of the Gems, Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcarde's Revenge, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, and Wolverine: Adamantium Rage. (I'm not sure why I never got around to those games, I like all of characters involved in each!)

 

[Shiftrex]

Don't forget about Spiderman and the Sinister Six. Though Maximum Carnage is probably the best and most challenging Spidey game that they released.

 

[aboleth_lich]

Maximum Carnage (and the later Rare games) is almost something of a redemption for LJN, after releasing a myriad of truly, infamously terrible games earlier in their career! (Including truly terrible superhero games like the NES' X-Men!)

One of my absolute favourite moments from any Angry Video Game Nerd video is when the Nerd discovers that there's not only a great-let-alone-good Spider-Man game but that said game was moreover created by his hated nemesis!

At long last, there was actually gold under LJN's rainbow!

 

[martinearletara]

Maximum Carnage is by far one of my favorite super hero games since it was one of the first games where I felt like I was directing a super hero movie. I don't know if I just had a really big imagination but I was hooked on that game for a very long time.

 

[RetroZoid]

I loved one of the multiplayer ones - Ninja Turtles or (don't shoot me) Power Rangers.
I can't remember which ninja turtle game it was but it could be played as a side scroller like streets of rage or like a one on one beat-em-up like street fighter.
Power Rangers had the standard characters and the big megazord (I think that's the name of the combined zoid?).
Because playing games on the Snes usually involved a few of us we always preferred the multiplayer ones

 

[Shane]

^ Ah, I remember Power Rangers. Pretty good memories...

 

[RetroZoid]

@Shane I thought I was going to get the p!ss taken out of me for that one!
Thanks for the support