Tribute Games continues to flex their pixel-punching prowess, and upon seeing the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, it's high time that Marvel's X-Men get the same treatment. Unfortunately, the X-Men have been dormant for far too long in the video game space as far as stand-alone entries go, but with all the rumors and recent developments surrounding the MCU, now may be the perfect time for the independent developer to prep their pitch for the next logical step in the '90s-era comic book beat-em-up genre. If Shredder's Revenge is anything to go off of, there's hardly a better developer to tackle the '90s-era X-Men in video game form.
Marvel's animated series line-up in the 90s is a significant source of nostalgia for many gamers today. Ignoring X-Men was one of the biggest games of the arcade age and allowed up to six players to smash foes together. Players assumed the roles of Wolverine, Cyclops, Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Dazzler. The game used the classic comic book aesthetic, as the colorful '90s animated series wouldn't air until October of that year, nearly seven months after the arcade game was released.
For SNES, that classic look would be reused in console games like X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse. Unfortunately, there would be no revisiting the idea of a multiplayer classic style X-Men game, even with the success of games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. But X-Men's '90s adaptation feels almost like the perfect superhero parallel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in how well it could translate to a blast from the past like TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. Just as the classic TMNT arcade game got a fresh modern take on the classic series, it's hard not to imagine what a '90s X-Men six-player beat-em-up would look like if handled by the fine folks at Tribute Games (or at least someone with the skills to use the same template). The stars could potentially be aligning for something like this to happen, as there are several excellent reasons a new X-Men game in the vein of Shredder's Revenge would be the perfect pursuit.
The Successful TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Paves The Way For A 2D X-Men Resurrection
It's barely been a week since the launch of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and already the consensus is overwhelmingly positive. Tribute games went on a painstaking journey to craft a love letter-turned-marriage proposal to the '90s era Turtles. Shredder's Revenge paid homage to the original animated series and the games that spawned from it by including shared environments and characters. Suppose locations like the sewers in Shredder's Revenge can contain many Turtles references and characters just meandering about in the background. In that case, it's easy to see what an X-Men game would entail. The prospect of wandering around Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters while smacking over a stack of books only to see Hank (Beast) stumble about with a cup of coffee or traversing into the danger room as it manifests traps from the series in the middle of combat is exciting.
Disney & Marvel Are Returning To 90s X-Men Next Year
Marketing for the game would line up perfectly, as Marvel intends to release a fourth season of the X-Men's animated series in 2023. It's a lengthy process to get licensing approval, build a game, and ship it in a reasonable timeframe. Still, it feels improbable Marvel would launch this series without further plans for the beloved Mutants. If Tribute Games partnered with DotEmu again, they could easily rely on the nostalgic success of Shredder's Revenge and showcase the engine they've utilized as a template for what it could be. Additionally, Marvel Games has been shopping around for talented developers to improve their gaming pedigree for a while now. The synergy between an X-Men game and what may be planned for the MCU is almost palpable and would feel like a marketing blunder if Disney and Marvel were to ignore a pitch of this caliber.
The 90s X-Men Cast Is Iconic, & Tribute Could Bring Their Personalities To Life
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge somehow took a cast of four similar heroes and adapted their personalities perfectly while making each one a perfect representation of how they act and fight. With the X-Men, the cast possibilities are endless. Tribute Games could easily fill an X-Men game with characters such as Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Storm, and Gambit.
Beyond the classic X-Men staples, it would likely be easy to slot in more characters like Beast, Iceman, and Professor X (to fill a Splinter-like mentor role) and create dream scenarios fans have pined over for years. Additionally, Tribute Games could take advantage of some existing framework for a character like Wolverine, making him play similarly to Leonardo with his dual claw attacks and ability to somersault forward. With Tribute Games' knack for detail, however, there's potential for some significant Easter eggs and fantastic character interactions.
One detail that comes to mind is the health-sharing system in Shredder's Revenge where characters high-five to heal teammates. For X-Men, seeing Rogue's energy drain or watching Cyclops and Wolverine snarl at one another in modern 2D animation would be a real treat. In addition, every character's personality could blossom in their taunts and actions, such as a display of Gambit's cajun charm or Rogue blowing a kiss, not unlike her actions in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. It seems like a no-brainer that an X-Men game deserves the love and attention that the Turtles did in Shredder's Revenge, and now is the perfect time to do so.
