Marvel Super Heroes

"Not all the 2d fighters are dead"

The wave of 2d fighters has been coming along at high tide for a long time. I figured, in this day and age, where 3d fighters with interactive backgrounds, camera scrolling and panning, and immense detail are the run of the mill norm, it was time to switch back a little, and review one of the 2d fighters that stood out in the bunch.

-Storyline 9/10-

Anyone who has read comic books, will recognize the characters that are portrayed in this game from some of the most prominant comics in the industry today, Spider Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Psylocke, Captain America, and super villians such as Magneto, Omega Red, and Juggernaut. The storyline of the game is based loosely on the Infinity Gauntlet series by Marvel Comics a few years back, and places you, the player, in the shoes of your favorite hero, or villian in the quest to obtain the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove with gems that control Time, Space, Power, and various other attributes of the galaxy. The last one standing, will control the universe with this glove. Interesting, right?

-Graphics 8/10-

It boasts some of the cleanest, crisp graphics for a Saturn console fighting game, a true acrade conversion, that places emphasis on animation, and converting the true arcade look to the home console without loosing much of the graphics in the process. The frame rating is incredible, never loosing much to slow down, or to the hardware limits of the Sega Saturn. Each character is well drawn, almost taken right from the comic, and placed into the game, each with their own body movement that comes off right, if you've played it in the arcades. The only problems that arise, and that you can see when playing, is when the biggest characters come into play, namely Juggernaut, and Thanos, you have some slight sprite slowdown, but nothing that can't be overlooked.

Each move from each character, is unique, right down tot he basic punches and kicks, and the animations on the super moves are amazing to watch, coming off with much speed, and little slow down, with a couple of the characters, a shadowing effect is present. All bonuses when playing this game.

-Sound 10/10-

That announcer...with the cheery voice, sounds like he's a DJ more than a fight commentator, which isn't all bad. The other voice over effects are unique to each character, from the high voice of Spider-Man, to the rugged, deep throated growl of Wolverine. The music sets each stage apart, never using the same piece of music twice, and keeps an up-beat, almost dance like tone to the entire game, from beginning to end. All are taken directly from the Arcade version, and all port over perfectly to make the soundtrack, and voice over a class act.

-Control 9/10-

Every move that was in the arcade, is here in the port version. Nothing is missed, and, unlike most games, there isn't a frame of animation missing that I could tell. All of the moves pull off with ease, so wrestling with the control isn't a big deal here. Higher hitting combos however, are a little different, it's not as in-depth as Tekken 2 and 3, where you need perfect timing, and in some cases, quick fingers to get the maximum hits.

-Gameplay 9/10-

Straight up brawling action. But in quest of something. It adds a bit of unique play, having to use gems, each one doing something different, either in increasing your speed, your strength, defense, and adding projectiles. Although it varies, you can get a different gem from every other person you face, and either save them or use them in the fight...it's really your choice. They do add a certain upswing to the game play, but they're not there long enough to do much. Combos, the high hitting ones, is where alot of your time will be spent, and not so much in pulling them off, but in mastering a high hit air combo, or two-in-ones into a high hitting combo. Those of you that have played the SF series, will know exactly what I mean once you've started playing.

-Replay Value 8/10-

It's a fighting game. You'll play it with friends to beat on them, or have them beat on you. It really depends on what you do with a fighting game once you've played. As with most fighters, this one is a need-to-play-with-a-friend type of game, although you'll psend alot of time mastering one or two characters and their combos.

-Overall 9/10-

It's not bad for a fighting game. It adds the real elements of a true fighting game, and arcade-to-home conversion game for your Saturn. The voice overs, and the music for individual stages, makes the soundtrack on this worth while, while the clean comic like graphics make it nice to look at, as well as play. Control is easy, if you've played the SF series, as it follows the exact same format. The gameplay will keep you busy for a long time, trying to master the individual characters, moves, powermoves and combos...add this in with the replay value, and a couple of different modes, and you've got a good choice, and a great purchase for an old system.

-Rent or Own: Own-

You can pick this title up for a relatively cheap price now, compared with the price 3 years back when it was released in 97. I haven't been able to find it in a rental store in quite some time, as rental stores usually stop renting games that don't rent out. If you go to places such as EB, or even up on E-Bay, you'll find this game for a good price, used, but not bad. It's a keeper if you own a Saturn, one of the good ones they created.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/00, Updated 02/15/00