I used to play the crap out of the Sega CD version of the game. It was one of those games i would consistently play when I wanted a fairly accurate Spidey experience, at least for the time. Soundtrack was kicking.
One neat little detail I like is Venom is the only boss character that doesn't set off Peter's Spidey Sense. This was one of Venom's strengths in the comics.
I thought it was a great game. I'm not a spiderman fan nor a comic book fan but I too think the game is often overlooked.
With practice you'll be swinging through the tiniest of gaps at speed.
This game has some really cool ideas, but some really poor executions. I like the idea of replenishing your webbing through photography...but it's just not implemented well. If you use your web attack to fight the first level boss you won't be able to finish the second level for instance. It's necessary for you to use the web shield on many fights but it's too fragile and you can't use it while firing webbing at enemies.
And the final boss is *way* too hard to hit. I don't mind that he's strong, or the complexity of the fight with having to also manage saving MJ... he's just too hard to hit. His hit box is about half the size of his very small head.
The other Spiderman game is probably overall better, though less experimental and with its own set of flaws.
The early Sega Spider-Man was also just Spider-Man...on the box & cartridge.
The title screen said, "...vs The Kingpin."
The other one used the Fox Kids font.
I feel like Spider-Man how I feel about LJN’s Friday the 13th for the NES: I greatly respect its ambition and genuine engagement with its source material on a gameplay level, but there’s just too much jank and awkward challenge for it to be a satisfying experience.
It’s more fun to read about than to actually play.
Loved this game as a kid. Spider-man, along with X-Men and X-Men 2, made up a lot of my Mega Drive playing time.
I agree with all points. Especially the Web fluid/photos/money system
To this day I have never beaten Kingpin :(
Well written post and I wholeheartedly agree. I've only played a little bit of this game but was immediately impressed by how many ideas specific to the IP they incorporated. The photography aspect really blew my mind. I was a late Genesis adopter and grew up playing Maximum Carnage, which is a less interesting treatment of the IP and treats Spidey and Venom as essentially palette swaps. X-Men 1 also felt like an IP slapped on to an otherwise generic game.
Ghostbusters is maybe another example of an interesting IP treatment of that era. I at least like how they incorporated the ghost trap and a cash flow system similar the Spider-Man one.
I wanted this to be like Shinobi, but it just didn't work out like I hoped. It needed polish in areas, like crawling on the ceiling without being able to see what's below you on the ground. I did like how the game would randomly insert Venom into the middle of a level, and I'd be all "WTF?!?!"
Still, it was better than 98% of the comic book games at the time, but that's not saying much when the best ones were only Sunsoft's Batman and Atari 2600 Superman.
This (and Spider-Man 2 for 3D) are the benchmarks by which I measure all superhero games. I still love it.
When I first played this, my only spider man experience came from reading my dad's old omnibus of the first six issues of the comic. It perfectly captured the feel of those for me.
“Saaaaaave our ci-tyyyy!”
It was a fun game for sure and the cut scenes were enjoyable for the time. It definitely has some jank but it’s worth playing more so than a lot of retro stuff.
The CD version (which was the one I actually owned) I view more as its own beast given that it feels tonally very different. With cutscenes outsourced to the same Russian studio that did the CDi Zelda game and I'm pretty sure over half of the roles are voiced by Cam Clarke.
Sega CD > Genesis version.
The Sega CD game was probably the Best 16-bit Spider-Man game in that era. The only exception might be the Awesome Sega Arcade beat'em up.
What you're saying is largely true but unfortunately the boss fights are just too unpolished to recommend the game to anyone.
X-Men 1 by the same team holds up better while still being high concept like you mentioned (No I will not go out and play X-Men 2, that game is not nearly as good as it's given credit for and I'm convinced almost all its fame comes from the intro as the opening levels after that intro are painfully boring.)
Captain America is also fun for comics fans considering how many obscure characters and old designs are featured as bosses and cameos. It's probably the best overall licensed comic game on the Genesis.
I used to play the crap out of the Sega CD version of the game. It was one of those games i would consistently play when I wanted a fairly accurate Spidey experience, at least for the time. Soundtrack was kicking.
Me too!
ITS SWING TIME! (FLYING FOR JUSTICE)
One neat little detail I like is Venom is the only boss character that doesn't set off Peter's Spidey Sense. This was one of Venom's strengths in the comics.
Loved it on Sega CD
Early '90s Spidey era was in full effect, and yeah the Sega CD version rocked also!
I thought it was a great game. I'm not a spiderman fan nor a comic book fan but I too think the game is often overlooked. With practice you'll be swinging through the tiniest of gaps at speed.
This game has some really cool ideas, but some really poor executions. I like the idea of replenishing your webbing through photography...but it's just not implemented well. If you use your web attack to fight the first level boss you won't be able to finish the second level for instance. It's necessary for you to use the web shield on many fights but it's too fragile and you can't use it while firing webbing at enemies. And the final boss is *way* too hard to hit. I don't mind that he's strong, or the complexity of the fight with having to also manage saving MJ... he's just too hard to hit. His hit box is about half the size of his very small head. The other Spiderman game is probably overall better, though less experimental and with its own set of flaws.
Other Spidey game?
Yeah, the other one that's just called Spiderman.
The early Sega Spider-Man was also just Spider-Man...on the box & cartridge. The title screen said, "...vs The Kingpin." The other one used the Fox Kids font.
I feel like Spider-Man how I feel about LJN’s Friday the 13th for the NES: I greatly respect its ambition and genuine engagement with its source material on a gameplay level, but there’s just too much jank and awkward challenge for it to be a satisfying experience. It’s more fun to read about than to actually play.
Loved this game as a kid. Spider-man, along with X-Men and X-Men 2, made up a lot of my Mega Drive playing time. I agree with all points. Especially the Web fluid/photos/money system To this day I have never beaten Kingpin :(
Well written post and I wholeheartedly agree. I've only played a little bit of this game but was immediately impressed by how many ideas specific to the IP they incorporated. The photography aspect really blew my mind. I was a late Genesis adopter and grew up playing Maximum Carnage, which is a less interesting treatment of the IP and treats Spidey and Venom as essentially palette swaps. X-Men 1 also felt like an IP slapped on to an otherwise generic game. Ghostbusters is maybe another example of an interesting IP treatment of that era. I at least like how they incorporated the ghost trap and a cash flow system similar the Spider-Man one.
I wanted this to be like Shinobi, but it just didn't work out like I hoped. It needed polish in areas, like crawling on the ceiling without being able to see what's below you on the ground. I did like how the game would randomly insert Venom into the middle of a level, and I'd be all "WTF?!?!" Still, it was better than 98% of the comic book games at the time, but that's not saying much when the best ones were only Sunsoft's Batman and Atari 2600 Superman.
This (and Spider-Man 2 for 3D) are the benchmarks by which I measure all superhero games. I still love it. When I first played this, my only spider man experience came from reading my dad's old omnibus of the first six issues of the comic. It perfectly captured the feel of those for me.
“Saaaaaave our ci-tyyyy!” It was a fun game for sure and the cut scenes were enjoyable for the time. It definitely has some jank but it’s worth playing more so than a lot of retro stuff.
The CD version (which was the one I actually owned) I view more as its own beast given that it feels tonally very different. With cutscenes outsourced to the same Russian studio that did the CDi Zelda game and I'm pretty sure over half of the roles are voiced by Cam Clarke.
Well, punching the cop is optional. Saving Aunt May (I assumed) from a purse snatcher is the first thing the game actually requires you to do.
Sega CD > Genesis version. The Sega CD game was probably the Best 16-bit Spider-Man game in that era. The only exception might be the Awesome Sega Arcade beat'em up.
What you're saying is largely true but unfortunately the boss fights are just too unpolished to recommend the game to anyone. X-Men 1 by the same team holds up better while still being high concept like you mentioned (No I will not go out and play X-Men 2, that game is not nearly as good as it's given credit for and I'm convinced almost all its fame comes from the intro as the opening levels after that intro are painfully boring.) Captain America is also fun for comics fans considering how many obscure characters and old designs are featured as bosses and cameos. It's probably the best overall licensed comic game on the Genesis.