As one of the biggest superheroes of all time, Spider-Man has had no shortage of multi-media adaptations. The character has been getting video games longer than almost any other hero, with some of them dating back to some of the earliest systems like the Atari 2600.
Of course, not all of those games have been good. Whatever difficulties are involved in creating a game that's actually enjoyable to play is ramped up significantly when the game has to also imitate the powers of most superheroes. While some games were up to the task, Spider-Man's earliest games could be unpredictable in terms of quality.
10 Spider-Man Was Loved When It Came Out But Is Too Simple For The Modern Era (Atari 2600)
From an era back when Parker Brothers still made video games. An Atari 2600 title, it’s from 1982 and goes so far back it was designed by a single woman: Laura Nikolich. It’s a straightforward enough video game—Spider-Man has to climb to the top of a building to stop the Green Goblin.
It’s not a bad game for its era, but its simplistic design would cause most people playing it forty years later to lose interest quickly.
9 The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge Was Considered A Bad Game On Release Because Of Bad Combat And Load Times (PC)
It would be seven years before Spider-Man got another video game where he was the star. This time around players would alternate between playing as Spider-Man and Captain America and going up against a multitude of Marvel Comics villains. Unlike the Atari Spider-Man, this game was actually called bad when it first came out. It’s got better graphics, but ultimately it loaded slowly and people didn’t seem to like the game’s combat.
8 The Amazing Spider-Man 3: Invasion of the Spider-Slayers Is The Hardest Of The Spider-Man Game Boy Games (Game Boy)
The Game Boy got a third Spider-Man game just a year after the second. This time, they decided to base their plot on the story of an actual comic book, which left Spidey going up against a collection of Spider-Slayers.
While this game has a lot of Spider-Man villains, it just never feels like a proper Spider-Man game. It was also notoriously hard, considering how unrewarding it was to play.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man Saw Spider-Man Rescue Mary Jane From Villains Who Learned His Identity (Game Boy)
The first Spider-Man on the Game Boy, this title was developed by Rare and published by LJN- who would publish a ton of Spider-Man games during the 90’s.
The story for this one was the supervillains had figured out who Spider-Man was, and kidnapped his wife to try and get revenge. During the rest of the game, Spidey had to take down a ton of his villains while talking to them over a walkie-talkie about releasing his wife. It’s a bit more complex than the other two games, but it's also notoriously difficult and only thirty minutes long.
6 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Had Slow Boss Battles And Poor Graphics (Game Boy)
Yet another Game Boy title, this time releasing in 1992. Acclaim Entertainment handled this title, and it was again a fairly short affair. Spider-Man goes up against five different villains who’ve worked together to frame Spider-Man for robbing a bank. Clocking in at only twenty minutes for players who know what they’re doing, this game has one of the most boring fights ever in a battle against Gravitron.
Gravitron isn’t even a Spider-Man villain—and beating him requires crawling up a tube, getting off a punch before falling to the ground...and crawling back up that tube to hit him again.
5 Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six Is A Challenging Game But Adapts A Classic Spider-Man Comic (NES, Game Gear)
Released in 1992, Return of the Sinister Six was developed by Bits Studios and published by LJN. The storyline is meant to be an adaptation of an actual Spider-Man comic, which involved Doc Ock trying to take over the world with the help of some of Spider-Man’s greatest villains. Each stage was themed after the individual villains, and the superior power of the NES and Game Gear made for a better experience than the Game Boy title.
In the end, there’s tons more swinging and web-shooting than some of the older games, but it’s also far more challenging, with the NES version only allowing players one life and a single continue.
4 Spider-Man: The Video Game Had Repetitive Combat But Had An Array Of Playable Heroes (Arcade)
In 1991, Spider-Man came to the arcades with Spider-Man: The Video Game. Developed by Sega, the game involved battling against Kingpin and Doctor Doom. Of course, since it was an Arcade game there were a few guest-stars so players could play the game as a multi-player. These guests included Namor, Black Cat, and Hawkeye.
A more random collection of characters would be hard to find, and for the era people were probably just trying not to be stuck playing as the dude in green underwear. For the time period, this was a gorgeous game that was actually well received...but it was also a little too repetitive in terms of combat and the enemies were way too durable.
3 Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage Has Become One Of The More Beloved Classic Spider-Man Games (Super Nintendo)
It’s 1994 and the symbiote characters couldn’t be more popular. So of course Acclaim Entertainment took the opportunity to capitalize and provide fans with one of the most challenging beat ‘em-ups of the 90’s. The idea is Carnage has managed to get free of prison, and recruits multiple dangerous allies to help him wreak havoc across the city. Fortunately for Spider-Man, he has allies as well—Captain America, Black Cat, Firestar, Cloak and Dagger, and more.
Though the only playable characters are Spider-Man or Venom, the other characters can be used in combat as power-ups to help out, and add variety to the game which would otherwise be rather bland considering Spider-Man and Venom’s limited movesets. Combine that with the comic art that’s used to tell the stories and it’s not a surprise fans have grown more fond of this over time.
2 Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge Allows Players To Play As The Most Popular Characters In Marvel Comics (SNES, Game Gear)
Launching for the Super Nintendo in 1992, Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge deserves a ton of credit just for managing to juggle so many characters so well. Spider-Man gets caught up in rescuing the X-Men from the twisted assassin Arcade, with all of them winding up in Murderworld.
It’s not just Spider-Man that’s playable here, but Storm, Wolverine, Gambit, and Cyclops. Each one fights about as close to a representation of themselves as the SNES would allow, though frustrating controls hamper an otherwise delightful experience for Marvel fanboys.
1 Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin Feels Most Like Spider-Man From The Early Era Games (Sega CD)
Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin released four times across three years, but it’s the last one that’s most noteworthy. The Sega CD version takes advantage of the different medium and additional power to provide a game that’s not only voiced but has animated scenes for the story. In the game, Spider-Man not only needs to stop Kingpin from using a nuclear bomb, but save Mary Jane after she’s been kidnapped.
It’s a decent enough game on the Sega Genesis, but the Sega CD version’s superior music and gameplay make this feel closer to being a Spider-Man game than any other title of the ’80s or ’90s. Turning it into the definitive Spider-Man game for the era.