5 Retro Spider-Man Games No One Remembers Today

Spider-Man has been swinging through the streets of New York since long before video games were a global industry. The wall-crawler was actually the first Marvel superhero to get his own game back in 1982, and since then, game developers have flooded the market with many different takes on the character. But with literally dozens of games released over the years, some "Spider-Man" titles have gone the way of other vanished retro games and disappeared from the memories of most gamers.

These forgotten titles actually represent some of the best and worst "Spider-Man" games that the world has ever seen. They aren't all forgotten gems, but they each managed — or at least tried — to capture something unique about why fans have loved Spider-Man for so long. Good or bad, it's a shame that no one seems to remember these Spider-Man games today.

Hardly anyone remembers 1982's "Spider-Man" video game, but it was the first title to put players in control of Spidey. The game took his "wall crawler" nickname as a call to action and focused most of its mechanics on Spider-Man's climbing skills.

In the game, the Green Goblin plants bombs at the top of New York City skyscrapers, and players need to help Spider-Man clamber up buildings to defuse the bombs before they detonate. While they climb, players have to avoid incoming attacks that threaten to send Spidey plummeting to the ground, and if they reach the top, they have to complete another dodging sequence with the Green Goblin himself before stopping the bomb and moving onto the next level.

Developed by Laura Nikolich, the game was published by Parker Brothers for the Atari and the nearly forgotten Sears home console. The game is about as bare-bones as could be, which is probably why it doesn't hold much sway even with particularly nostalgic gamers. Still, we owe 1982's "Spider-Man" a debt: It wasn't just the first game to feature Spider-Man, but also the first Marvel game altogether. Without it, we might not have the wealth of superhero games you need to play that we have today.

Nearly a decade after Spider-Man first swung into the world of gaming, superhero fans got their hands on a genuinely great video game adaptation of his story. "Spider-Man: The Video Game" was developed by Sega and released in 1991 as a coin-operated arcade game. Following in the footsteps of other celebrated beat-'em-ups, "Spider-Man" was designed as a side-scrolling game primarily focused on combat, but with occasionally platforming segments. The title finally let comic fans actually fight back against Spider-Man's foes, and it also introduced a slew of other characters from the comics.

Up to four players can jump into "Spider-Man," taking control of the titular character, Black Cat, Sub-Mariner, or Hawkeye. Each character has a unique set of moves and their own high score counter, which makes "Spider-Man" a significantly more replayable experience than any of its predecessors. The game pits players against iconic villains like Doc Ock, Sandman, the Lizard, Venom, and of course the Green Goblin. It's been over 30 years since "Spider-Man: The Video Game" first graced arcades across the world, but the game is absolutely still worth seeking out and playing today.

Arcades weren't the only place where gamers could play as Spider-Man in 1991. That same year saw the debut of "Spider-Man vs the Kingpin" on the Sega Mega Drive (aka the Sega Genesis), giving players at-home access to one of the best Spider-Man games of the era. Spider-Man is the only playable character, but the game fully utilizes his power set in a way that no other game of the time does. 

The title is another sidescrolling adventure with a focus on platforming and combat, and players can swing, crawl, shoot webs, and fight their way through devious plots devised by the Kingpin himself. The game also explores other aspects of Peter Parker's life by allowing players to take pictures for the Daily Bugle and hang out at Peter's apartment.

"Spider-Man vs the Kingpin" doesn't have the flashiest graphics or animations, but it's one of the most fleshed-out Spider-Man games fans have ever gotten. The whole experience is surprisingly well executed, and though it got overshadowed by later Spidey games, the fans who do remember it look back on it fondly. It's one of those games that are worth buying an old console for, and anyone lucky enough to still have a Genesis lying around should seek it out immediately.

In the comics, Spider-Man is famous for having bad luck in all his endeavors, but in real life, the character has had surprisingly good fortune when it comes to sequels. Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2" is often cited as the best on-screen version of the character, and the "Spider-Man 2" video game tie-in seriously impressed gamers in 2004. More recently "Marvel's Spider-Man 2" blew us away and set a new standard for the wall-crawler's video games, but there's another spider-sequel that doesn't get talked about nearly enough.

The 1992 Game Boy title "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is an ambitious but deeply flawed attempt at cramming a full comic book storyline into a single handheld game. In the game Spider-Man has been framed by a mysterious villain, and players have to explore the city and defeat some famous Spidey villains to clear his name. 

This game's unique hook is that instead of having linear levels, it uses interlinked zones to create a semi-open world for players to explore. Certain areas are sealed off until players can unlock specific items — like the Hobgoblin's glider — but they can use Spider-Man's wall-crawling and web-swinging to go where they please. Spider-Man has plenty of great one-liners throughout the story, which is sure to entertain comic fans, but the Game Boy graphics and unreliable controls are definitely what have condemned this game to the dustbin of history.

Neversoft's "Spider-Man" game from the year 2000 is right at the edge of being retro, but it's definitely not as well-remembered as it should be. The game debuted on the original PlayStation and the Nintendo 64, so it was surrounded by generation-defining titles like "Final Fantasy 7" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." It got rave reviews upon its release, but because it went up against some of the most iconic games of all time, "Spider-Man" doesn't get talked about today nearly as much as it deserves.

This game follows a "who framed Spider-Man?" plot, but at the same time it incorporates elements from other big Spider-Man comic stories like his encounter with the symbiote and his ongoing battles with Doc Ock. Players initially take control of Spider-Man working through 3D levels, and the game shows off all the character's signature powers, including web-swinging. Throughout the game, players can unlock new suits and playable characters, some of which feature their own unique powers.

The mechanics in "Spider-Man" aren't the only aspects of the game that take full advantage of its comic book source material. The art direction is distinctly reminiscent of the comics, and the game frequently features the voice of Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee. For gamers and comic fans alike, Neversoft's "Spider-Man" is a deeply satisfying experience.