X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Five X-Men battle through Genosha and Avalon to stop Magneto.
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It was the first Capcom game based on the X-Men comic book franchise, released a month before the fighting game X-Men: Children of the Atom. The game was well received by critics and later re-released on an Arcade1Up cabinet alongside several other Capcom X-Men titles.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Capcom
- Series
- X-Men
- Producer
- Tokuro Fujiwara
- Composer
- Setsuo Yamamoto
- Released
- November 1994 (NA)
- January 3, 1995 (JP)
- 1995 (EU)
- Genre
- Platform, beat-'em-up
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Super NES
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player controls five X-Men, each with unique moves activated by control combinations. A shared pool of lives applies to all characters. The first five levels can be played in any order, each ending with a boss. After these, three linear levels require prior boss defeats, followed by two Danger Room boss battles. Finally, one X-Men is chosen for a unique end level. Passwords are earned after the first five stages. Health pickups and extra lives (three hidden X icons per stage) are available.
Characters
Beast has superhuman strength and agility with an ape-like appearance. Cyclops emits powerful concussive force beams from his eyes, requiring a visor. Gambit manipulates kinetic energy, charges objects, and uses card-throwing, hand-to-hand, and staff combat. Psylocke wields a psychic knife and is an expert martial artist with the most techniques. Wolverine has superhuman senses, enhanced abilities, adamantium-coated bones and claws, and regenerative powers.
Plot
Charles Xavier sends five X-Men to sabotage operations on Genosha to free captive mutants. They discover Queen Brood and Tusk are involved, led by Apocalypse. After defeating these forces, Xavier learns Magneto plans to destroy Genosha from his Avalon space station. The X-Men train in the Danger Room against holograms of Omega Red and Juggernaut, then split up inside Avalon to defeat Exodus and finally Magneto, thwarting his plans.
Reception
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse received generally favorable reviews. Three of Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers called it the best X-Men video game to date, praising the large levels and demanding difficulty. GamePro called it a solid hit, highlighting graphics, difficulty, and Street Fighter II stylistics, though noting it may become repetitive. Next Generation said it played great but was nothing revolutionary. A 2011 GamePro retrospective praised the strong soundtrack, unlimited powers, combat focus, and non-linear levels, but criticized limited movesets. GameFan found fans and genre enthusiasts equally impressed by visuals, tight gameplay, and balanced difficulty. In 2013, Nerdist ranked it among the top ten most iconic Marvel video games, calling it extraordinary for its time with beautiful visuals and accessible gameplay. Geek Magazine ranked it 20th best Marvel video game, and IGN placed it 78th on their Top 100 SNES Games of All Time.
More in Capcom Games of the 1990s
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