We come together today to rank the best X-MEN games of all time.
Anybody with any sense knows that the X-MEN are freakin’ awesome. The comic book series that started way back in 1963 has spawned films, television shows, toys, clothing, and of course… video games.
We ranked the original television cartoon pretty high on our list of the 10 Best 90s Cartoons Of The Past, and the X-MEN were absolutely a giant part of our childhood in various forms.
With over 40 awesome games (and a couple bad ones), how do you choose the best? We would be better off doing a top 30 list… but I have muay thai tonight… so let’s keep it at 10.
This won’t be easy, but here are the 10 best X-MEN games of all time.
Table of Contents
10. X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse (1997)
Let’s just start this list off with a weird one:
X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse is a first person shooter game featuring a large cast of X-Men characters.
The game was based on the Quake game engine, and requires a copy of Quake to run, technically making it an expansion pack.
It was called a “total conversion” of the original Quake title, and all weapons and NPCs were redesigned to fit the official X-MEN license.
You play as Cyborg, and your mission is to blast a bunch of X-MEN to smithereens. But don’t worry; it’s not the real X-MEN, it’s evil clones of them.
Makes total sense.
The game didn’t receive particularly positive reviews, but it’s such a funny and interesting part of the X-MEN video game history, we had to include it.
And “The Ravages of Apocalypse” has a special place on another list: It holds the Guinness World Records entry as the First superhero first-person shooter (FPS) videogame. So not a total loser, after all.
If you ever wanted to play Doom/Quake… but blast X-MEN instead… this game is for you!
9. X-MEN 2: Clone Wars (1995)
The Sega Genesis was home to some of the coolest X-Men games of all time, including X-MEN 2: Clone Wars.
The 1993 Genesis entry was a strong contender for this list. But we had to make some room for other bangers, so we went with the 1995 followup: Clone Wars.
Produced by SEGA and HeadGames, whose previous work included Pink Goes to Hollywood (1993) and Taz in Escape from Mars (1994)… not exactly the strongest game titles in history.
Hard to believe that they scored the contract to do “Clone Wars” and got it so right!
This game is unique and intriguing right from the start. You literally are thrown right into the game with a random character (which can be altered by holding different buttons during startup). No title card or anything.
The credits roll immediately after the first stage and we see our title card. You are then given the option to select your character and continue into the game.
There are seven characters in total: Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Wolverine, and Magneto (unlockable). All having their own unique abilities in the game, making the gameplay diverse and enjoyable.
There were some pretty incredible boss battles in the game, and featured graphics that will feel quite familiar on the Genesis console.
Overall, this is a really fun experience, and will especially please retro game fans of classic Genesis or Super Nintendo era platformers.
8. X-Men: The Official Game (2008)
It’s not too often that a video game connected to a movie is one of the best in a franchise. But here we are…
X-Men: The Official Game was a video game created to help fill in any story gaps between the X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand films.
The game features three short stories surrounding the characters Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler. And the game’s voice cast included the original actors from the X-MEN films: Hugh Jackman, Alan Cumming, Shawn Ashmore.
The story was developed by Zak Penn, who co-wrote the third X-MEN film, and Chris Claremont, a long time X-MEN writer.
Game play is quite diverse as you play as the main cast of characters, who each have their own unique play styles and environments to navigate.
And of course, there are appearances from many other characters from the X-MEN universe.
We included this one on our list of the 10 Best Marvel Xbox 360 Games and it is absolutely an awesome entry in the history of X-MEN video games.
7. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (2013)
As the name suggests, Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a LEGO themed game featuring a gigantic cast of Marvel characters… including a lot of our favorite X-MEN.
If you have never experienced a Lego game title, let us be the first to tell you… they are a ton of fun. We have a list of the 20 Best Lego Games Of All Time, and of course, Lego Marvel Super Heroes makes an appearance.
It’s kind of interesting how something like Lego pairs well with almost any franchise for some of the most entertaining video game titles, but it just works.
And we have Traveller’s Tales to thank for a ton of the games in the Lego game series.
The game has ports for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes jumps between comical action combat, puzzling, and hilarious cutscenes.
There is a cast of 180 characters from the Marvel Universe… yes.. 180. Each with their own unique abilities and ways to interact with the world that makes sense for their character.
Stan Lee even makes an appearance and is a playable character.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes is widely considered one of the absolute best Marvel game titles of all time, and with the inclusion of so many great X-MEN, we also feel it earns its spot here on the list of the best X-MEN games of all time.
6. X-MEN Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Well dang it… here we are again! Another film related game. I guess that’s a credit to both the quality of the X-MEN films and the games.
X-MEN Origins: Wolverine (the game) was related to the 2009 film X-MEN Origins: Wolverine. Duh.
They really went all out with the video game adaptations for this one: creating ports for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3ds and PlayStation Portable.
We particularly like the Playstation version, and included it on our list of the 10 Best Marvel PS3 Games Of All Time.
So what made this game so special?
Well, it was developed by Raven Software, who we will speak more about later in this list. But to not spoil that bit too much.. just know that they are a heavy hitting development team that has delivered some pretty incredible games in the X-MEN franchise.
And X-MEN Origins: Wolverine in particular was developed in a similar style to games like God of War. Third person perspective action with a ton of brutal combat.
A perfect fit for Wolverine.
You also earn experience points through combat, and these points can be used to expand Wolverine’s abilities.
And don’t worry… we got exactly what we wanted: Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine for the game’s voice acting.
This is an action packed game from start to finish, and easily one of the most bloody X-MEN games.
Not for the faint of heart. But definitely for fans of good X-MEN gamin’. Check it out.
5. X-MEN: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse was released for the SNES way back in 1994, and it was developed by Capcom.
This will not be the last time we see our X-MEN and Capcom working together. So stay tuned for that.
In “Mutant Apocalypse”, players can take control of one of five incredible X-MEN: Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Psylocke, and Wolverine.
The game offers players a unique non-linear path through the experience with character specific stages, as well as an endgame where you can choose your favorite character.
With Capcom developing the title, the graphics were as great as you might expect, sharing style with Street Fighter II. And the level design is awesome top notch.
“Mutant Apocalypse” is known for offering a pretty significant challenge to players, and that is one of the qualities that has become one of the selling points as well.
X-MEN: Mutant Apocalypse is considered one of the absolute best X-MEN video games of all time by pretty much anybody who has made an attempt to rank them. And we are not gonna break that mold today.
4. X-MEN Arcade (1992)
There are pretty much three super bangers when it comes to Arcade beat-em-ups in the early 90s: The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and… X-MEN of course!
The X-MEN arcade game was developed by KONAMI, who we know for about a bajillion incredible games.
It would be crazy to attempt to list their works, but to give you a small taste, here are some of the best entries from that era: The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… ah crap, it all makes sense now! Haha.
The game offered cooperative game play with up to six players, depending on the arcade cabinet. The characters available are Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler and Dazzler (who?).
And in a plot that seems so oldschool (cause it is), your task is to stop Magneto from causing too much trouble.
Like in any good beat-em-up arcade game, your goal is to simply progress… survive a swarm of goons who wanna take your coins.
With X-MEN being one of the most popular and best selling arcade cabinets in the early 90s, take our coins they sure did.
We freakin’ love this game, and we listed it as one of the 10 Best Marvel Games.
3. Marvel vs Capcom 2 (2000)
When creating this list.. we could have easily included X-MEN Vs. Street Fighter (1996) or X-MEN: Children Of The Atom (1994) both of which appeared on our list of the Best Sega Saturn Games Of All Time.
But with Marvel vs Capcom 2 being one of our favorite fighting games of all time, and also appearing on the list of the 12 Best Capcom Games of All Time… we give it the edge for X-MEN fighting.
It originally released in Japan for arcade, but also saw ports on Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, and iOS. So there are plenty of ways to enjoy it.
It is even an awesome game to play on a lot of the current Best Handhelds Under $100.
Marvel vs Capcom 2 is a perfect example of the 2d fight genre. Period.
It makes use of one-on-one battles with three team members. You can tag in any member of your team at any time. You can also call on team members for assists.
And as you build up the meter for Hyper Combo, you work towards those super cool, super gigantic attacks. So satisfying.
Marvel vs Capcom 2 is considered a 2.5d game, as it makes use of 2d sprites for the characters and 3d elements in the stages. It all comes together in one of the most visually pleasing games of all time.
It ain’t a full X-MEN title. But with the inclusion of a ton of our favorite X-MEN, like Gambit, Wolverine, Juggernaut, and Magneto… there ain’t no way we are gonna skip on including it on this list.
2. X-MEN Legends (2004)
An X-MEN action role-playing video game? Um, yes please!
That’s pretty much what everyone was thinking back in 2004 when Raven Software released X-MEN Legends for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
It was Raven Software’s first console video game, but Activision knew that Raven Software were not new to making great games.
Their previous games included Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Heretic 1 & 2, oh.. and they were also contracted to work on a little game called Quake 4 (developed at the same time as “Legends”). They also went on to make a ton of games that appear on most “best” lists.
There are fifteen playable X-MEN characters to choose from, as well as twenty additional characters that appear throughout the game.
As you would hope for, you can play as Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Beast, Gambit, Nightcrawler and more in a four man team.
You can also play with up to four players at a time and team based strategy was a big focus in the game’s development.
Experience points are earned throughout your journey, and you can upgrade your X-Men and X-Women’s abilities.
The story was developed by past Marvel writers with Stan Lee consulting, and is centered on Alison Crestmere (aka Magma) as she learns about herself and her new mutant abilities.
The voice cast for the game were many of our favorites from film and television, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X.
X-MEN Legends truly had an all-star team from front to back, and it resulted in one of the absolute best X-MEN games to ever be created.
It is kind of difficult to imagine that they could get the formula any better. Oh wait…
1. X-MEN Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse (2005)
Guess what, y’all? They did it again. Take one of the best X-MEN games and make it bigger and it will surely be better. Amirite?
As the second installation in the X-MEN Legends series, “X-MEN Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse” released on GameCube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and PC in 2005. Just one year after the original.
A continuation from the story of the original “Legends” title, this time we see our beloved X-MEN and X-WOMEN battling against the supervillain Apocalypse.
Twenty-five playable characters and forty-six additional characters we know and love from the massive history of the X-MEN franchise make an appearance.
Experience points play a vital role, like with the previous “Legends” game, where each character’s stats and abilities can be upgraded.
There is also a game plus mode, allowing you to play through the game again while retaining all of your stats that you built throughout the first playthrough.
Like any good sequel, the fans and critics were split on whether it lived up to the original. There are always gonna be those who hold firm to the original and hate changes made in a followup.
But overall, both games hold strong positions in rankings as the best X-Men game in the long history of the franchise.
We included it on our list of the 20 Best 4 Player GameCube Games Of 2022. So you know we love it.
You can easily flip a coin on which is better. But we give edge to #2… it went big, it swings for the fences, and the inclusion of so many characters from the X-MEN world make it our absolute favorite X-MEN game ever.
