Retro Hits: The superhero games that paved the way for the Arkham series -.

To say that there is a before and after Batman: Arkham Asylum for superhero games is certainly no exaggeration. Rocksteady has completely rewritten the book for what it needed to be and offers a meaty, full adventure with excellent gameplay and plenty of variety alongside a well-written story.

Not only was it a brilliant superhero game that changed the concept forever, it was a damn good game and a ridiculously comprehensive superhero product that surpassed most films of the genre at the time. But. That doesn’t mean that all superhero games for the time were bad. Of course, there were plenty of great titles, even if they were usually quite one-dimensional in their approach and were mostly about punching people in the face or shooting them.

But of course that can also be fun, and with that in mind I’ve now rummaged through my game collection looking for the gems and picked out ten really great superhero games that were made before the bar was raised much higher with Rocksteady.

Batman: The Video Game (NES – 1989)

Despite being “only” a licensed game based on Tim Burton’s beloved film, Sunsoft delivered a sleek, stylish and dark action platform game that still holds up today. It was very expensive, but fortunately my brother happened to have a birthday when it was released, so he got it as a gift. The game’s controls were perfect, the battles were exciting and the platforming was a brilliant addition that made the game feel really real. Add to that a dark, pumping soundtrack and we had an 8-bit experience that was among the best available for the NES. As a side note, I also wanted to include Batman for Commodore 64 as the first (and oldest) game on this list, but it ended up just missing the cut.

Batman returns (Super Nintendo – 1992)

These were, in a sense, the Arkham -games two decades before they were released. Instead of messing around, Konami went for a clean, brutal beat ’em up in the classic Final Fight vein, complete with beautiful graphics and where throwing enemies against walls was as satisfying as it sounds. There was also a game of the same name for the Mega Drive developed by Malibu Interactive, but it was a different title (it wasn’t that unusual at the time to have separate games rather than marginally different versions). There was much debate at the time about which was better, but Super Nintendo won that battle.

X-Men (Arcade – 1992)

It may have been released over 30 years ago, but it wasn’t actually until 2010 that we finally got to play it at home, on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This would have been one of the greatest classics of the beat ’em up genre, but like I said, it didn’t come to home consoles and there was no way to play with six people anyway, which is one of the main draws. Finally, here, up to six people each wore an X-Men character to collectively deliver blows and defeat bosses in colorful graphics. Each character had their own unique powers, giving the game great momentum and stimulating teamwork. A timeless gem that captured the essence of the X-Men better than most other games.

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (Mega Drive/Super Nintendo – 1994)

I was following Spider-Man and had heard about the incredible Maximum Carnage -series, and it proved to live up to the hype. When the game arrived, I immediately bought the Super Nintendo version and enjoyed my time with the cool and explosive action adventure. The graphics were extremely colorful and sparkled with a 90s aesthetic, and the soundtrack offered a hard-hitting collection of songs. The gameplay was actually quite simple, but there was a clear idea and this really is a true 16-bit classic.

The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Mega Drive/Super Nintendo – 1995)

This adventure delivered a dark and action-packed experience with a series of creative bosses and fast-paced gameplay that did the TV series justice. Each level was filled with explosive action and cozy art deco designs, with Batman using his gadgets and fists to fight enemies. It was a particularly technically impressive action adventure for its time, combining great combat systems with platforming elements, and it feels sadly forgotten. I think it could be re-released and find an audience even today.

The Punisher (Mega Drive – 1995)

The Punisher was one of the most intense beat ’em up games of the era and was developed by Capcom on the same premise as Final Fight. It contributed greatly to the feeling that Sega had more mature and cooler action games than Nintendo offered, and Frank Castle was on top form with plenty of weapons, explosions and gritty violence. The colorful and beautiful pixels contributed to the feeling that this was something special, and I have rarely felt as cool playing a game as I did in this case.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Dreamcast – 2000)

I wasn’t actually a fan of this game at all, preferring the predecessor where four people could play tag battles together. It wasn’t until I met an older (in the present he was younger then) Swedish fighting legend that the game opened up with all its insane possibilities. It was the first game that let me study videos on the Internet (with a modem) to understand how to abuse Cable and Mega Man to the max. The game was actually completely unbalanced, but everyone knew it and acted accordingly and the result was magical.

Spider-Man 2 (Gamecube/PS2/Xbox – 2004)

Perhaps the foundation of what would later become the Arkham -series. Spider-Man 2 really set the standard for superhero games with its open world and revolutionary web-swinging in New York. The game world also felt alive and managed to combine freedom with an engaging story, where you could experience the lives of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. A groundbreaking game that truly captured the essence of Spider-Man.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2/Xbox – 2006)

Nowadays Raven Software mostly makes Call of Duty, but they actually had a period with superheroes and really shined. These they delivered include. An action role-playing game where you assemble your own superhero team from an insanely large selection of characters that you and up to three friends can then have fun with. The game offered both great co-op and intense action, complete with a fun Marvel story created exclusively for this adventure. A real treat for both avid comic book fans and hardcore gamers who really should get another sequel.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – 2009)

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this. Raven Software had done it again. Not only was it a licensed game, but it was based on a movie, which at the time amounted to poor quality. But X-Men Origins: Wolverine was brutal, violent and gave us complete freedom to step into the shoes of the immortal mutant we all dreamed of becoming. In addition to a physically intense experience of slaughtering enemies, Wolverine’s regenerative abilities made the battles feel strategic and chaotic at the same time, and while the movie of the same name is just fine at the best of times, this game is actually much better. Sure, it didn’t stand a chance against Batman: Arkham Asylum, but it was still released less than six months earlier and can be seen as the highlight of the era preceding Rocksteady’s trilogy.

What are your favorite superhero games, both classic and more modern?