An allegory for the Civil Rights movement, a band of outcasts, and one of the most beloved teams of superheroes since their debut in 1963, the X-Men are all of these things and more. Though their most recent cinematic outings haven't been met with the best reception, the X-Men are still viewed in incredibly high regard by comic fans. With a revival of the 90s animated series on the way, and the team's inevitable appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe creeping ever nearer, the X-Men are from extinct.
Being one of the most popular superhero groups in comics, the X-Men have received a plethora of video games over the years. While some of these titles go a long way in capturing the team dynamic present in the comics, quite a few fail to live up to the potential of the license. This tier list is going to focus on games where the entire team are the focus, as opposed to solo titles like the slew of Wolverine games.
S-Tier
- X-Men (1992): Held in as high regard as arcade classics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and Alien vs. Predator, X-Men is a pretty great side-scrolling beat-em-up that gives players the choice of suiting up as five of the most iconic mutants, and Dazzler. Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler all appear as playable characters, each with their own unique super moves and abilities. It's a little simplistic by today's standards, but it still stands out for being one of the only X-Men titles where teamwork is actually encouraged.
- X-Men Legends (2004): The first of Raven Software's stellar X-Men titles, X-Men Legends takes the beloved team dynamic present in the comics and translates it to a beautifully stylish, responsive video game experience. Players can swap between Mutants on the fly, combining their abilities for devastating super moves, a mechanic that would go on to inspire the Ultimate Alliance series of games.
- X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005): Improving upon its predecessor in just about every way, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse feels better to play, looks better, and has even more team-based mechanics to experiment with. The roster of characters is also increased significantly, even going as far to include external Marvel characters like Iron Man. Rise of Apocalypse is still widely considered to be the best X-Men game ever made.
A-Tier
- X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994): Capcom's first foray into the world of Mutants, X-Men: Children of the Atom is a tight, responsive fighting game that still holds up pretty well today. Featuring 12 fighters from both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, Children of the Atom was an impressive first attempt at an X-Men fighting game.
- X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995): Though it was criticized at the time for some sub-par audio and visuals, the second Sega Genesis-exclusive X-Men game is generally considered to be one of the better offerings in retrospect. Featuring seven playable characters, X-Men 2: Clone Wars has some pretty varied gameplay for an otherwise simplistic platformer.
- X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996): Following on from the success of Children of the Atom, Capcom released X-Men vs. Street Fighter, which pits the Marvel heroes against some of the most famous fighting game faces. With some tweaked and refined gameplay mechanics, including the innovative ability to switch out fighters on the fly in a Tag match, X-Men vs. Street Fighter is a solid step-up over its predecessor.
- X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001): Widely considered to be the best X-Men fighting game released so far, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 took the bones of the original and fashioned them into a fairly refined, albeit a little clunky, 2.5D fighter. With 18 characters on offer, including a fun Spider-Man cameo, Mutant Academy 2 has plenty to offer fans of the comic.
B-Tier
- Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge (1992): Adapting the Uncanny X-Men comic of the same name rather faithfully, Arcade's Revenge is a pretty solid platformer. Featuring some non-linear game design, allowing the player to tackle each hero's missions in whichever order, Arcade's Revenge is a solid, but rather difficult game.
- X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994): X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse is a very short, but pretty fun little game. Some great presentation lifts this title above some of its competition, but its short length and occasionally unfair difficulty can lead to frustration.
- X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse (1997): A true oddity, X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse is actually an official mod for the original Quake. Tasking the players with hunting down the titular heroes, The Ravages of Apocalypse is certainly one of the most unique comic book games ever made and even holds a Guinness World Record for being the first superhero FPS game ever made.
- X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000): Coming in below its sequel, X-Men: Mutant Academy is a fine fighting game, though the controls can feel awkward at times and the roster features just 10 playable characters.
- X-Men: Next Dimension (2002): The third entry in the Mutant Academy series, despite the unrelated title, X-Men: Next Dimension brings the fighting series to the realm of 3D. Unfortunately though, this conversion led to the game being compared to contemporary titles like Dead or Alive, which offered much more content and tighter mechanics.
C-Tier
- X-Men 2: The Fall of the Mutants (1990): A follow up to the pretty poor Madness in Murderworld, X-Men 2: The Fall of the Mutants is a solid improvement in a few notable areas. The roster has been increased, the presentation has improved, and the game throws some much more creative enemies at the player.
- X-Men Game Gear Trilogy (1994-1996): Coming in at the same spot, the three X-Men Game Gear titles, X-Men, Game Master's Legacy, and Mojo World, are all extremely similar titles, but for 90s handheld experiences, they're surprisingly okay.
- X-Men: Mutant Wars (2000): The first of the Game Boy X-Men titles, Mutant Wars is another absolutely fine handheld game. Some pretty poor graphics, and some extremely repetitive gameplay keeps it low on the list, but that should be expected.
- X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse (2001): The best of the bunch, X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse is the final handheld-only X-Men game. Though it still suffers from lackluster gameplay, its colorful graphics are a step above the rest.
- X-Men: The Official Game (2006): Back when movie tie-in games felt they needed to put the term "official" in their title, X-Men: The Official Game came out in 2006 to coincide with the release of X-Men: The Last Stand. Being set just before and during the third X-Men movie, this title is a barebones third-person action game that offered little more than any other tie-in game of the time.
D-Tier
- The Uncanny X-Men (1989): The first X-Men game ever made also happens to be one of the most lacking. Though it features six playable characters, this top-down game is an absolute chore to play, with each mutants' signature abilities costing a sizeable chunk of HP to use, stripping any "power" away from a supposedly superhero-themed game.
- X-Men: Madness in Murderworld (1989): An unfairly tough experience awaits those who play X-Men: Madness in Murderworld. Although its age gains it some leniency, the game-breaking difficulty, sometimes locking players out of levels if a specific character has died, is simply not fun.
- X-Men (1993): 1993's X-Men looked quite nice for its time, but its absurd difficulty did nothing to keep players invested. The game's follow-up, Clone Wars, was much better received.
- X-Men: Destiny (2011): Landing at the bottom of this tier list for its inability to deliver on such a promising premise, X-Men: Destiny is one of the most disappointing superhero games list here. Marketed as the quintessential X-Men experience, where players could create their own Mutant and join forces with either their favorite heroes or villains, X-Men: Destiny turned out to simply be a generic action game with subpar graphics, a dull story, and mind-numbing gameplay.