Y’all hear about that new X-Men ‘97 cartoon coming out soon? It’s apparently supposed to be a revival of that X-Men animated series that aired around the mid-90s, which is considered to be one of the best Marvel animated series, or hell, one of the best animated superhero series of all time, so the fact that it is being brought back for a fresh new show is pretty cool…………. too bad I don’t give a shit about it. Yeah, you know me: couldn’t care less about modern Marvel properties, unless it is Spider-Man related, hot garbage, or both (Madame Web, my beloved…). But, with this new show coming out, it did make me realize just how big X-Men was back then, even before that huge movie franchise Fox made. They had plenty of comics, that animated show I already mentioned, and plenty of merchandise flying off the shelves, including video games of course! So, I figured it was about time to dive back into the world of X-Men video games with X-Men: Children of the Atom.

Normally, I wouldn’t be looking forward to playing one of these games too much, as Marvel games are pretty hit or miss as a whole, especially from this era, but this time around is an exception, cause we have Capcom to thank for this game, making this their second Marvel game they would ever make (the first being The Punisher). Not only that, but it would also be a fighting game, which Capcom is usually pretty good at, so needless to say, I was really looking forward to playing this one. When I did sit down to play it, I ended up having a pretty good time, with the game being pretty much just like every other Capcom fighting game at the time, but that also meant it was fast, fun, and bursting with personality, so I can’t complain.

The story is typical for a Marvel/X-Men game, where Magneto is planning on throwing the world in ruin by ushering it into a new Dark Age, so it is up to the X-Men to take him down once and for all……… by beating the fuck out of each other (I mean, how else would you stop a god-like mutant?), the graphics are fantastic, having the right style, animated finesse, and polish that you would expect from a Capcom fighter, while also providing the characters and environments in the game with that comic-like feel, which makes it look all the better, the music is great, being energetic and fitting for every single area you fight in and whatever opponent you do fight, making them pretty enjoyable to listen to, and the control/gameplay is what you would expect from a Capcom fighter, only now with a few additional new features that were lacking in several others.

The game is your typical one-on-one fighter, where you take control of one of 10 characters, either from the X-Men or as one of their many foes, take on eight separate opponents throughout many different locations across the Earth, deliver plenty of X-traordinary (I had to do it at least once) attacks to your opponents, with plenty of punches, kicks, and superpowers at your disposal that you are able to use, build up your X-Power Gauge to unleash one of several X-Abilities to deal massive damage to your opponents, and show that asshat Magneto what the true power of… beating up your teammates and other enemies can really do! Again, not sure about that part. If you are familiar with Street Fighter or other Capcom fighters, then you know what you are getting into when you play this game, and it manages to still be fun regardless of those faults, especially for those X-Men fans out there.

In terms of any kind of comic-book related video game, one of the biggest goals that you need to achieve is, not to sound cliche here, to make the player feel like they are playing as the superhero/villain in question. Obviously, this is easier said then done in most cases, but there are plenty of examples out there that manage to do that pretty well, including this game. All of the X-Men and other characters you play as in this game feel distinctive enough to where one doesn’t feel like a copy of the other, and while I do prefer playing as some over others, they are all pretty good choices if you know how to properly use them in a fight, making you feel like you are kicking plenty of ass as said character.

This is also paired alongside some new techniques that you can perform here that you don’t typically see in other fighting games, such as sliding, rolling, and performing a Super Jump to not only get an advantage on your foe, but to also avoid incoming attacks more easily, which is a nice feature to have. And of course, what would a fighting game from this time be without some sort of cheat code, where if you input a set of commands at specific times, you are able to play as Akuma from the Street Fighter series! Why is he here? Who cares, because Akuma is awesome, and playing as him is awesome too! Although, I can’t help but feel like this is… foreshadowing something………….. ah, you know what, it’s probably nothing.

Aside from all that though, once again, this is yet another typical Capcom fighter from the 90s. You know what you are getting into with it if you have played any other, with the only major difference being that you play as X-Men characters, which may not matter for some, but it could also turn others away who are just sick of these typical arcade fighters at this point. And speaking of typical arcade fighters, this game also has its case of fighting game syndrome, where it will make sure to wipe the floor with you on multiple occasions. It managed to do so with me pretty early on when I was playing as Wolverine, so I switched to Colossus, and I started doing better at that point… only to then get smacked down again and again. The more I play these fighting games, the more I realize how truly awful at them I am…

Overall, despite being a generic fighting game through and through in terms of gameplay and features, this is still a pretty good one from this era, being one of the best X-Men games from this era of video games, and one that any fan of the characters can jump into and have a blast with alongside some good pals. I would recommend it for those who are fans of the X-Men, as well as those who are fans of old school fighting games in general, because this game has all the markings of a great one, while also plenty for those X-Men fan boys to love as well. Although, now that I am thinking about it, I can’t help but notice that there are a few X-Men that are missing from this roster here. What about Rouge, or Gambit, or Beast, or Phoenix, or any of the other X-Men related characters for that matter?................ I am well aware that this game’s story is apparently based on a comic storyline, so if any of you go in the comments to try to give me some comic geek explanation for why they aren’t there, I will find you and perform an X-Ability on you myself.

Game #518