10 Most UNFAIR Superhero Games

10 Most Unfair Superhero Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at superhero games that go beyond being a challenge, and are famous for their unfairly unbalanced difficulty.

“Wolverine” (1991)

In the 80s and 90s, LJN became notorious as a publisher of excruciatingly hard licensed games. For Wolverine’s solo adventure on the NES, one of the most indestructible mutants out there felt pretty helpless. Like many tough games of the era, you’re bombarded with enemies that seem almost magnetically drawn to the adamantium in Wolverine’s body. This would be par for the course, and almost manageable, had the developers not made the hero’s powerset such a hindrance. Whenever Wolverine attacks with his claws, it drains his health…which, for some reason, he cannot immediately use his healing factor to restore. Nope, you’ll have to find food. Coupled with the unforgiving enemies, and the lack of an invulnerability window after getting hit, it feels like you’re never meant to win.

“Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage” (1994)

LJN rears its ugly head again. At least this time it’s a decent game, but “Maximum Carnage” will still kick your ass. It might not have made it onto the list if not for one simple fact: while you can play as Spider-Man or Venom, and most beat ‘em ups at the time supported two players, this game is single player only. From the start, you feel how desperately you could use an ally. Enemies flood the screen at a near-relentless pace, in numbers that far outweigh what most general players can handle on their own. Plus, given the time period and genre, it isn’t as if you have access to the many feats Spidey or Venom could normally use on hordes of goons.

“Superman” (1997)

Although not the “Superman” game you might have expected to see (don’t worry, we’ll get to it), this self-titled Game Boy adventure is probably best left forgotten. Firstly, his flight. You have to hold the A button to fly, and release it to fall, which already makes it hard to avoid hazards. Then, there are those hazards themselves, which can appear suddenly from off the side of the tiny screen. And what of Superman’s power? Well, you only have a basic punch attack with short range, that doesn’t deal much damage, and can just as easily get you hurt by something else instead. All of this is made worse by the fact that you can’t heal, and only have six lives with no Continues. How fun…

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1989)

Growing up during the initial popularity boom of the Ninja Turtles, there were likely legions of kids aching to get their hands on a TMNT video game. Unfortunately, if you had an NES, this is what you got. While each hero naturally had their own weapons, no level of expertise with them could save you from getting annihilated. Again, enemy numbers and their placement is borderline malicious, seemingly in an effort to halt any forward momentum. When one Turtle runs out of health, they’re locked until you can rescue them later. Needless to say, you’ll be doing a lot of rescuing. The game is best remembered for the infamous Dam level, in which you must swim through tight tunnels full of electric seaweed and lasers, disarming bombs on a time limit. But the whole experience is a lesson in frustration.

“X-Men” (1993)

Released on the Sega Genesis, this X-Men title is a solid, albeit flawed side scroller, that probably would have been much more enjoyable if not for a few key things. Once again, we’ve got some profoundly annoying enemy placement. But there’s also the issue of some really tricky platforming, with jumps that are famously tough to land. Those two things together are bound to make most players rage after countless deaths. And then you still had the overpowered bosses to contend with. However, even more infamous, is a moment in Mojo’s fortress at a computer, where players must reset their console to progress, without any hint that’s what you’re supposed to do. In a time where these types of meta solutions were far from common, it stumped most players, causing them to get stuck on a perpetual Game Over.

“Batman: The Video Game” (1990)

Tim Burton's 1989 “Batman” film was a cultural phenomenon, so a video game tie-in was inevitable. Yet, for any kids hoping to take on the role of the Dark Knight, the game is brutally unforgiving. Naturally, it shares a lot of things with other games on the list, but in a maddening combination. Not only are standard enemies much stronger than they ought to be, they’re also perfectly placed to be in your way while platforming, and have absurd spawn rates that make it so you have almost no downtime. Even without the enemies, the platforming itself would still be a challenge since it requires perfect precision. Bosses also ramp up difficulty severely as you continue, leaving little room for error.

“Silver Surfer” (1990)

Want to play a severely weakened version of a usually mighty hero? Then, do we have a game for you. There are tons of unfair games populating the NES, but “Silver Surfer” genuinely feels sadistic in its nature. You go down in a single hit, which is standard for a lot of shoot ‘em up games of the time. What makes this one especially vindictive is A) the sheer number of projectiles on screen making it feel more like a bullet hell, and B) the fact that the Surfer has the biggest hitbox known to man. You can even die by accidentally bumping into the environment. And this all obviously means you get very comfortable with the Game Over screen.

“Superman: The New Superman Adventures” (1999)

Two years after Titus Interactive put out a ridiculously tough “Superman” title on Game Boy, the studio released something far worse, and therefore memorable, on the N64. More commonly known as “Superman 64,” everything horrendous about this game has been shared and laughed at across the internet for more than 25 years. Obviously, the unfairness here comes from just how poorly designed it is. Most people would only ever see the opening level, a timed flight course through a trail of rings with controls so poor, it’s way too easy to miss, fail, and have to start again. Things don’t get better, either. The difficulty would be hard to deal with even if Superman didn’t control like a slug wading through mud.

“The Adventures of Batman & Robin” (1994)

With visuals and a story inspired by the 90s animated series, “The Adventures of Batman & Robin” captures what made that show so entertaining. It’s just a shame that it also makes you want to be a lot harsher in how you treat Gotham’s criminals, specifically the version on the Sega Genesis. This version is an intense run and gunner, with enemies pouring from different sides of the screen. It is utterly relentless, and swapping your focus between all of them gets very overwhelming, very quickly. Playing in co-op doesn’t help either, since both players split the power-ups, making it so one of you is literally always fighting for their life. It’s a game we have respect for, but it definitely tests our patience.

“Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge” (1992)

The crown jewel of LJN’s unfairly balanced superhero games, “Arcade’s Revenge” is one of the most aggressive NES games you could seek out. Although, why you would want to is beyond us. You have five characters to choose from, Spider-Man, Cyclops, Gambit, Storm and Wolverine, each with their own unique stage to complete. Unfortunately, each of those stages seems to have been engineered just to cause you misery. They all have some uniquely frustrating aspect, from the giant spiked ball that endlessly rolls after Gambit, to Cyclops' mine cart gauntlet of traps and enemies, to Storm’s underwater nightmare that caused many players to drown. But it isn’t just the level design that hurts. None of the levels have checkpoints, the heroes all share the same number of lives, and there are no Continues. You can only restart the game so many times before you simply give up.

What superhero game do you feel was unfairly stacked against you? Share your thoughts in the comments and we’ll see you next time!