X-Men Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Year of Release: 1992

Game Review & Impressions
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Released in 1992, X-Men is another triple-A IP license from Konami's coin-op division. Assuming the role of the one of the eponymous X-Men, up to four players do battle with the forces of Magneto in an action-packed sideways scrolling brawler. Anyone who has played one of these games before should be instantly at home; just move to the right and hit those buttons as fast as you can to unleash combo attacks that send evil doers flying, all whilst cooing and marvelling at the graphics and animation.

Except something is a little bit different about X-Men, and not in a good way. Yes, the production values are generally excellent, but if it all feels just a little bit familiar, you're not alone. Given that Konami also produced the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, it's only natural to expect the games to share DNA, but given that three years had passed since TMNT's release, I was expecting something more from X-Men. Apart from the graphics, there's nothing that I could really single out as being different - the move list and combo mechanics are practically identical, even down to the way you automatically grapple and chuck enemies around. The level layouts and enemies within them, even down to the sudden appearance of static defences and sentry guns, feel too much like cut and paste from Konami's previous games.

I suppose the ability to compare and contrast these games to such a degree is more of a modern phenomenon, but nonetheless, it's difficult to look at X-Men with the quite the same degree of fascination as TMNT. Make no mistake, it's a solid fighting game with top production values, but the lack of innovation means X-Men doesn't leave the same lasting impression as its predecessors.

Chapters
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00:00 Attract mode
01:45 Stage 1
04:35 Stage 2
08:00 Stage 3
12:30 Stage 4
18:17 Stage 5
23:30 Stage 6
28:30 Stage 7
33:50 Ending