The Marvel vs. Capcom 2 X-Men ‘97 Art Edition Deluxe Arcade Machine is a bona fide classic.
These days, superhero video games generally well-regarded. Aside from a handful of bad examples, you can choose hit games for Batman, Spider-Man, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers.
But it wasn’t always thus. Take, for example, the Spider-Man game on 8-bit systems, desperately trying to make an impact when it was really a shadow of the wallcrawler. Outside of the arcades, the best superhero game for years was Freedom Force (a topic we’ll revisit on GamingRetro soon enough) while in the arcades, superhero games were everywhere.
Aside from a particularly awesome Superman game, I recall one particularly good arcade superhero game: Marvel vs. Capcom, and its sequel Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Both games are included in this 8-title system, which features stunning arcade machine livery.
The full games list is as follows:
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2
- Marvel vs. Capcom 1
- Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter X
- X-Men vs. Street Fighter
- Marvel Super Heroes X
- X-Men Children of the ATOM X
- X-Men Mutant Apocalypse
- Marvel Superheroes in War of the Gems
(You may note that X-Men Mutant Apocalypse and Marvel Superheroes in War of the Gems are not arcade games, but SNES games.)
Features of this arcade dream include a light up marquee, 17 inch BOE colour display, 2-player control deck, 3-D faux coin doors, and Wi-Fi. This adds connectivity to a central leaderboard, where you can compete with other players around the world.
This arcade machine has been previously issued, but is now re-released to tie in with the X-Men 97 series on Disney+. Remember, Arcade1Up machines come ready for assembly. You can find out more from the Arcade1Up website – remember, this is currently a US release, with a UK/Europe release expected later in the year.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.