The Amazing Spider-Man (1990 video game)
A 1990 platformer featuring Spider-Man rescuing Mary Jane from Mysterio.
The Amazing Spider-Man is a platform game based on the Marvel Comics character, released in 1990. It was developed by Oxford Digital Enterprises and initially launched for the Commodore 64 and Amiga, with later ports to IBM PC compatibles, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST. Paragon Software handled North American publishing, while Empire Software published it in Europe.
In the story, Spider-Man’s wife, Mary Jane, is kidnapped by Mysterio. To rescue her, the player guides Spider-Man through a series of environments and puzzles arranged into acts, each reflecting Mysterio’s film-themed obsession. Many rooms parody different movie genres.
During development, as reported in the December 1990 issue of *The One*, Oxford Digital’s Rick Yapp noted that platforming was not part of the original design. It was added later because it complemented the web-swinging mechanic, and the team felt a straightforward beat 'em up would be too dull for a character of Peter Parker’s intelligence. Yapp also explained that Spider-Man’s sprite was made smaller to allow for a larger animation set—256 frames total—covering actions like walking on ceilings and crawling up walls. The movie studio setting was partly inspired by the team’s desire to include film references. The game’s music was not based on previous Spider-Man media. The MS-DOS version supports AdLib sound cards and includes a manual speed setting for faster computers. All versions allow the player to save the game to RAM in specific rooms, rather than to a hard disk.
Quick Facts
- Title
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Developer
- Oxford Digital Enterprises
- Publisher
- NA · Paragon Software · EU · Empire Software
- Programmer
- Kevin Ayre, John Wood
- Artist
- Kevin Ayre, Colin Swinbourne
- Composer
- Steven W. Green
- Platform
- Commodore 64, Amiga, IBM PC, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST
- Released
- 1990
- Genre
- Platform
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The plot involves Spider-Man's wife, Mary Jane, being kidnapped by Mysterio. To save her, Spider-Man must navigate through various environments and puzzles divided into separate acts, representing Mysterio's obsession with film. The various rooms are often parodies of film genres.
In the December 1990 issue of British gaming magazine The One, Rick Yapp from Oxford Digital Enterprises explained that platforming was added during development and was not in the original design: 'The platform idea wasn't part of the original brief. It just seemed to fit in quite nicely with the ability to swing on webs properly. And we thought a straight beat 'em up was a bit boring for someone of Peter Parker's intelligence.' Yapp also noted that Spider-Man's sprite was downscaled to allow for more animations, including 256 frames of animation for the Spider-Man sprite alone.
The movie studio setting was partially concepted due to the team wanting to incorporate movie references. The music is stated to be 'not really' based upon music from previous Spider-Man media. The MS-DOS version supports AdLib sound cards and enables manual speed setting for faster computers. All ports have a feature where, in specific rooms, the player may save the game to RAM as opposed to the hard disk.
Reader's Guide
The Amazing Spider-Man (1990) is notable as an early platform game featuring the iconic Marvel character, developed by Oxford Digital Enterprises. Its development, as detailed in a December 1990 interview with Rick Yapp in The One, reveals that platforming elements were added late in design to complement web-swinging mechanics, and the sprite was downscaled to accommodate 256 frames of animation. The game's movie-studio setting and film-genre parodies reflect the team's desire to incorporate cinematic references. While not a landmark title, it represents a transitional period in Spider-Man video games, moving from simple beat 'em ups to more varied gameplay. The inclusion of RAM saving in specific rooms and AdLib support for MS-DOS shows attention to technical features of the era. Its legacy lies in being one of the earlier Spider-Man games to emphasize puzzle-solving and environmental navigation over pure combat.
Did You Know?
- Platforming was not part of the original design; it was added during development to fit web-swinging mechanics.
- All ports allow saving to RAM in specific rooms, rather than to the hard disk.
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