It’s safe to say that we’re very much in a Marvel video game renaissance. While DC and other comic companies are releasing great adaptations here and there, we’ve had nothing but quality from Marvel Games ever since the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018. In such an unprecedented golden age, it’s hard not to think of the 90s era of Marvel video games, which couldn’t have been more different.
Instead of a constant array of mostly open-world action games, the 90s were characterized by beat-em-ups based on every major comic book character. These included everyone from Spider-Man to the X-Men. Even now, the legacy of these games has stuck around, influencing other entries in the genre and even leading to the creation of spiritual successors. Yet the original games themselves have been lost to time, as they’re either locked behind decades-old platforms or in the rare few classic arcades left. That is, until Limited Run Games announced the MARVEL MaXimum Collection.
The Marvel MaXimum Collection features every single version of X-Men: The Arcade Game, Captain America and The Avengers, Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage, Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety, Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, and Silver Surfer. It also boasts archival material such as high-resolution cover art, manuals, and music, as well as several accessibility options. Has this collection maintained these classic experiences and successfully brought them over to the modern day? For the most part, the Marvel MaXimum Collection is a fantastic time capsule, save for a few issues here and there.
A Collection of Classics
Much like other titles from Limited Run Games, Marvel MaXimum Collection focuses on restoring the original games, rather than trying to improve upon them. As such, all of the games in the collection have been untouched with very few new features or quality-of-life updates, save for a few examples here and there. This both works to its advantage and disadvantage.
For starters, the sheer amount of content featured in Marvel MaXimum Collection is staggering. Not only does it feature all of the games mentioned above, but it also features every version of them. For example, you can play the SNES version Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, as well as the Game Gear, Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, and Game Boy versions. As someone who never played the original games, it was a treat to be able to re-experience them in every possible format.
When it comes to the included games themselves, I am more than happy with the lineup. Several of these classic beat-em-ups have been lost to time for decades, so to see them available to a brand new audience is fantastic. Yet, after playing every single game in the collection, I realized that some of them have aged very well, while others have aged like milk.
For example, X-Men: The Arcade Game was the first game I tried in the collection. Unlike the others, it’s one that I had actually played before at my local arcade. This is easily one of the best inclusions in the MaXimum Collection, as the combat still feels deeply satisfying even after all these years. Each of the characters controls smoothly, with attacks that feel powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the team’s most infamous villains.
There are a few mistranslations, but they only add to the charm. One such example is Magneto’s iconic line: “X-Men, welcome to die!” which unlocks an achievement. For the most part, though, this game has still stood the test of time even after all these years. Overall, this was a great, short, and sweet beat-em-up, and easily my favorite inclusion in the collection.
Yet, a huge majority of the games included have several issues that make them a nightmare to play in the modern day. Take Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage. Maximum Carnage is easily one of the more well-known games in the collection, yet it suffers from the same problems as a lot of older beat-em-ups. Namely, enemies can often catch you in a stunlock, knocking your health down within moments.
Another example of a game that hasn’t stood the test of time is the aforementioned Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge. I went into it expecting some form of beat-em-up, but in reality, it’s more like a platformer. The swinging controls as Spider-Man are rough, and most of the time, I felt like I had no control over where I was going. There were also a few severe instances of input delay. The same goes for Captain America, The Avengers, and Separation Anxiety.
That is the conundrum at the heart of Marvel MaXimum Collection. While there are one or two games that are still fun after almost thirty years, most have major issues that make them near impossible to approach with a modern perspective. On the one hand, I’m glad that these games were brought back at all and left relatively unchanged. On the other hand, I do wish there were a few more accessibility options in place to make these experiences more streamlined.
However, it is worth noting that there are still a few new quality-of-life additions and features that help to assuage some of these problems. While in some cases they are enough to make these issues null and void, in other cases, they’re rather limited in the grand scheme of things.
A Hint of New Polish
Part of the selling point for Marvel MaXimum Collection isn’t just the addition of classic beat-em-ups and shoot-em-ups, but also the new bonus features and updates. Once you boot up the game, you’ll immediately notice an option in the menu dedicated to the Archives. Here, you can find high-quality box art, design documents, and even music from each of the games.
As a huge fan of the development process behind games and Marvel comics, I adored the bonus additions. The high-resolution key art, in particular, was a treat, as it allowed me to see a high-definition version of one of the most iconic pieces of art depicting Carnage ever. Same with the design documents, which fully detail each scenario for the game and how it came to life. It’s a great piece of history, and I’m glad to see it immortalized in such a format.
Arguably, the best inclusion to the bonus features is the music player. While some of the tracks in the collection are ear-piercing, a lot of them still sound incredible in the modern day. In particular, the Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge and Silver Surfer soundtracks are fantastic. Both are composed by the duo of Tim Follin and Geoff Follin, who managed to make deeply impressive OSTs considering the hardware they were created for. Being able to hear these tracks in such a great resolution is much appreciated, though I do wish the music player had built-in credits.
These aren’t the only new features in the collection, however. There are also a few additions that focus on trying to make the gameplay a little bit easier, without interfering with the overall experience. The first one you’re bound to notice is the fact that there are now save states and the ability to rewind during gameplay in case you make a mistake. The former is much appreciated and gives you a way to pick up where you left off if you need to take a break or if you run out of lives and are sent back to the beginning of the game.
As for the rewind function, it was an absolute lifesaver with certain games. It allowed me to beat one of the more unfair games in the collection: Silver Surfer. Silver Surfer has a bizarre quality in that, if you even touch a wall, you will instantly die. Thanks to the rewind, though, I was able to beat Silver Surfer in one sitting. In spite of its fair share of issues, I still managed to find enjoyment in the experience.
The other addition that you may miss is the cheats. If you find yourself struggling, you can turn on a cheat to enable either infinite lives or infinite health. Furthermore, X-Men: The Arcade Game supports online multiplayer with up to 6 players with rollback netcode. You can even change the aspect ratio, filters, and borders for each game. These options are a great way to ward off some of the more major issues of each game in the collection.
Yet, they still don’t fix every issue. It still doesn’t solve the instances of input delay, the dated design of each game, and while a lot of the new options are appreciated, there are some that are strangely absent. For example, a lot of X-Men: The Arcade Game‘s voicelines are extremely bitcrushed, making it really hard to hear some of the voicelines of each character. As such, I wish there were some form of subtitles to be able to parse through their dialogue, but alas, there isn’t any such option.
However, you may be able to power through these problems thanks to some of the aforementioned accessibility features. It all depends on your willingness to trudge through the frustrating aspects of each game. This collection won’t be for everyone, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a reality that you’ll need to keep in mind before you purchase it.
A Flawed Blast From the Past
For the last few years, with the increased focus on preservation in the gaming industry, there has been a question of how much of the original game should be preserved. Is it worth compromising the original vision in order to make it more accessible to general audiences? Whatever the developer chooses, someone will inevitably be disappointed and alienated by the finished product. In the case of Marvel MaXimum Collection, Limited Run Games clearly chose to maintain that vision, and while the new features are appreciated, this choice has vividly illuminated the problems of each game present within.
Every game within the MaXimum Collection has some major issue that you need to work your way around. Sometimes it’s an absurd difficulty spike, or it may be something as severe as input delay. Yes, the addition of cheats, a rewind function, and a save state is appreciated, but they still won’t remove the frustration you’re bound to feel as you try to complete a game like Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage, for example. This collection isn’t for everyone; however, the fact that it exists at all is a miracle.
X-Men: The Arcade Game, Captain America and The Avengers, Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage, Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety, Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, and Silver Surfer have been lost to time for decades. The fact that they’re here at all in a collection that only costs $24.99, with new additions to make gameplay feel smoother and the inclusion of bonus features, makes this a must-buy for fans of beat-em-ups and Marvel.
Whether or not you will enjoy this game depends on how familiar you are with the games featured in the collection. If you’re like me and you grew up hearing about X-Men: The Arcade Game or Maximum Carnage, then this is the experience for you. However, if your response to the game’s announcement was sheer bafflement at the identity of the 6 games within, then you likely aren’t the intended audience for this experience. In the end, despite my frustrations with the experience, I can’t wait to go back and watch Magneto welcome me to die once again.
Disclaimer: Limited Run Games provided a PlayStation 5 copy of Marvel MaXimum Collection for review purposes.
