Countdown to MVC3: Spider-Man the Video Game

In lieu of the impending release of Marvel vs Capcom 3 in a few months I'm going to be doing a series of reviews of some underrated, time forgotten Marvel based video games.

Today:

Spider-Man the Video Game

In 1990 Marvel decided it was time to have another video game based on its properties be made. They partnered with Sega which was putting out most of the cooler arcade games of the moment and released the very simply titled Spider-Man the Video Game, or just Spider-Man.
Not wanting to have Spidey fight alone they decided to throw in 3 other characters to help him out. At the time the Black Cat was a pretty prominent character in Spider-Man comics so that was a logical choice. The other 2 however are out of left field. The arrow shooting avenger: Hawkeye, and the self righteous king of Atlantis: Namor. Neither one featured prominently in Spidey comics nor where there any recent pair ups that would have prompted there inclusion. To this day I have found no good, valid reason to their inclusion other than because they could.
Its like including Reed Richards and Hank Pym in a game about Ghost Rider. They make very little sense.

The Arcade cabinet is set up with a wide panel and four joysticks and button sets across. This allows up to 4 players to fight and co-exist in the same screen fighting bad guys at the same time.

Imagine you are a 12 or 13 year old kid on a stingy allowance and maybe some lawn mowing cash or paper route dough, you walk into the Arcade and see this glorious Spider-man game. You move close to it and prepare to insert your hard earned quarters in the machine. The quarter clinks as it makes its way through the mechanism and you eagerly press start. You are presented with the hero select screen. Pick any of the four, and start your adventure.

The game is fairly unique amongst arcade games in that it features two different gameplay styles merged fairly nicely. You play the standard up close beat them up style game like Double Dragon or Final Fight, but across the different levels the gameplay will change to platforming style similar to most of the Super Mario games.

You start of in the beat-them-up game play style and move to the right. You chase after Scorpion who has stolen the Mystic Power Stone fighting goons in the same spandex outfits but in different colors. The blue goons are the easy goons. from there you get green goons, red goons, purple goons etc... Each with an increase in difficulty and health bar and for some even a weapon. Yes the harder goons get equipped with electric batons which they swing at you trying to electrocute you. There's also the token fat gang member goon. Looking like an overweight Mr. T and also increasing in difficulty and varying colors of the same basic outfit.

In beat-them-up mode each hero has an attack button and a jump button.
The attack button produces a combo of punches and kicks as you continue to press it.
Pressing both at the same time produces the special ability. Spider-Man shoots a big web blast which damages the opponent. Hawkeye shoots out arrows obviously. Black Cat swings around her grappling claw, and Namor shoots lighting from his hands.

Moving along exactly 4 feet from the start, you get your first boss fight against Scorpion. Before you fight him the trailer you are standing in front of opens up revealing Eddie Brock in some kind of suspension chamber with a bat containing the Venom symbiote.
Once you kick Scorpy's butt a bit, the chamber opens up releasing Eddie, and the symbiote who promptly change into Venom leaving a puddle of symbiote on the floor. You continue to fight both for a while until Scorpion eventually leaves. You punch Venom some more to deplete his health bar and just when you think he's down, the mystic Power Stone floats down and merges with Venom. This allows the Symbiote to absorb the puddle it left on the floor a few moments ago and grow to giant size.

The game then changes to its platforming style by zooming out of the action. This is pretty cool, as it means no loading screens, and no waiting times.

Your hero will then be pretty small, and loose his/her punches and kicks in favor of projectile shots. Depending on the hero the projectiles will be either a web ball an arrow, lightning, or a grappling claw. Venom will jump away,and you will be forced to chase him.

You proceed through the platforms, jumping and climbing. Until you pass a big picture of Namor on a tower and engage Venom once again. You now have to shoot at him to deplete 3 health bars, all the while jumping up to avoid him, and the scrolling screen. Eventually you'll defeat him, the Mystic Power Stone will float away and you'll catch a ride on a helicopter which will drop you on a nearby building.

The game will zoom back in again and into the beat-em-up mode. Clobber a few more goons, an move right to meet up with the Kingpin and an unconscious Venom lying on the floor.

Kingpin will send his goons in cheap suits after you, and Venom will wake up for one more battle. Defeat Venom a third time, and he'll be down for good. Well not quite, you'll still have to face him again at the end of the game, but at least you won't fight him again in the other levels. Once defeated you get the recount screen. Where the amount of kill..err.. knockouts on goons and bosses add up in your score. You might also get some bonuses.

The game progresses pretty much like that, alternating between beat-them-up and platforming through out the various levels which encompass such varying Marvel locales as: A Zepellin, The Kingpin's Office building, Latveria and Dr. Doom's Castle.

The game is very colorful, controls are very responsive, and you get to fight a myriad of Spidey's villains. Green Goblin, on his glider no less, Sandman, the Lizard, Doc Ock, Elektro and Venom of course amongst others.

But that's not why this game gets to be reviewed here, no, the reason I chose this game is because its the cheapest arcade game ever produced. Not cheap like low cost, cheap like it swindles, cons, and extorts you out of your allowance.

Let me explain.

Arcade games are designed to get you to keep putting quarters in them to continue playing but this one stoops to lows that have never been seen before or since. The game's deviousness revolves around the characters health or life as the game calls it. Unlike other games where you have a set amount of health, this one bases the amount of health on the amount of quarters you put in it. More quarters means more health. Instead of a health bar though, you get a number. Around 100 health points per quarter. That in and of itself isn't so bad but the game was really designed to rob you of every last coin.

As with all games damage reduces your health, and although there are quite a few health pickups through the game they never seem to be enough; Why? Because the power abilities of your characters, the web, the arrows, the lighting etc... also consume health when you use them.
So trying to dispatch an enemy quickly by using powers may actually cost more health, than trading punches with them. Using powers costs health seriously who though that was clever?

Ah but that's not all, the scrolling screens are also a health hazard. If you fall out of view in the platforming sections, or aren't fast enough in climbing up the game will deduct health and bounce you up into view.

So, damage, powers and falling, that makes 3 things using up your precious health which can basically only be replenished by putting more money into the machine, but that's still not all.

Not only do you loose health through damage, and usage of powers, and the scrolling screens; you also loose health through time. Yes, even if you stand still, and are not getting punched or kicked or using your powers, your health depletes over time. And its not a slow depletion either, it goes through a quarter's health in under a minute.

So here you are playing a game that not only wants your money, its going to do every dirty trick it knows how to do to get it. Trying to get through the whole game will require at least 10 dollars if you're good, which for a young 12 year old kid of the early 90's on a skimpy allowance is just beyond imagination.

In the end the game is fun and quite entertaining. Its not all that long either, but when you are pumping quarters into it nonstop it seems like it goes on forever.


This game is one that you may want to play at least once. However, unless you have an arcade near you that may still have 20 year old games, your best bet is to find a ROM somewhere and play it on an emulator. Its much more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about coins.


Well that's it for now, but stay tuned for next time when I'll be taking a look at the game that started the entire Marvel versus Capcom series of games.