Welcome dudes and dudettes to another edition of 16-bit beach, where the best games of all time retire in glory… or do they? Winter is well under way, and with the colder exposure means it’s definitely time to warm up with some 16-bit classics from the era of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Especially the Sega Genesis which I’ve been rebuilding my collection of. The console was an absolute treasure trove of great games. And among them some interesting licensed games. Especially several for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. So how does Spidey’s first foray on the Genesis pan out? Let’s find out with Spider-Man Vs. The Kingpin.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1991
PUBLISHER: Sega
DEVELOPER: Technopop
GENRE: Action Platformer
Not too much to really say about the game’s development, but the game was first made as a Master System title, and would actually be one of the last games developed in North America for the console. A year later in 1991, Sega would try again with a port to the Sega Genesis. It proved to be a solid seller, and would be bought by apparently two out of three mega drive owners at the time. This would convince Marvel to continue working with Sega, and the collaboration would see future titles like the X-Men games, and a 32X Spider-Man game later on. In 1993, this game would be re-released for the Sega CD, with improved graphics, a more epic soundtrack, and even voice acting.
The weirdest thing about the game is that the full title, The Amazing Spider-Man Vs. The Kingpin is nowhere to be seen on the box, or cartridge. This wouldn’t be much to think about except that in 1994, Acclaim would release a game based on the mid-90’s animated Spider-Man series. That game would also simply be listed as “Spider-Man”, making things a little confusing.
COVER STORY
Not a bad cover. It’s a nice shot of Spider-Man swinging some web high above the New York streets. It’s a simple action shot that is very effective in catching the eye of the consumer as a video game cover should. I love both iterations of the classic Genesis box. From the older black border style to the just as epic red box look. I think the black cover works far better in making this stand out.
STORY
It seems like poor Spidey can’t catch a break. Wilson Fisk, better known as the Kingpin begins to broadcast himself on television claiming that Spider-Man has planted a bomb somewhere in New York, and if he’s not captured in 24 hours, the bomb will explode. So it’s up to the web slinger to clear his name, stop the bomb, and defeat the Kingpin once and for all. But Kingpin isn’t just going to let himself be beaten easily, he’s brought several of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes to keep the wall crawler occupied.
GAMEPLAY
Spider-Man Vs. The Kingpin is a one player action platformer. You control Spider-Man as you must go from level to level defeating the multiple villains of his past while trying to find the bomb the Kingpin has placed. You move Spider-Man with the D-Pad, can shoot web/activate your item with the A button, punch with the B button, and Jump/wall crawl with the C button.
Spider-Man has several different attacks that all work pretty well. He can shoot basic web shots by tapping the A button. A few shots will usually web up most major enemies. When you hold the directional button in the path you want to go and press the A button, Spider-Man will shoot a web line that he can swing across. It works pretty well. Much better than the awful attempt in the NES Spider-Man game. While pressing pause and selecting the web shield, Spider-Man will create a shield that will prevent some damage for a short period of time.
However, all of these web attacks will drain Spidey’s web fluid meter. It can be refilled by finding icons scattered throughout the level, or by taking pictures. An interesting idea added to this game is having Spider-Man take pictures to earn money. When Spider-Man’s spider-sense tingles, that means it’s time to take the camera out from the pause menu and snap a shot at whatever’s in front of you. At the end of the level, you’ll earn money that will add up to paying for more web fluid. Sadly, this is one of those games where you retain all damage and lost web with each stage you pass.
The last icon in the pause menu is Peter Parker’s head. activating it will take you to Peter and Mary Jane’s apartment where Spider-Man can restore some of his lost energy. There’s a major downside to this as the game’s timer will speed up, and if you’re concerned about running out of precious time, you’ll have to use this very sparingly.
Yes, the game’s main objective is to try and find the bomb in under 24 hours. Thankfully, the timer is very generous. You don’t get an actual 24 hours to beat the game, but they could have done worse and put you under the gun to beat the game in 24 minutes, which thankfully isn’t the case. However, this doesn’t mean you can be leisurely in your playing. Every game over and continue will take away a few hours from the bomb, and if you run out of time, the town blows up, with the game even seemingly shutting your game off for a few seconds, as you get the game over.
As you travel through the game, you’ll have multiple levels to traverse, and many enemies to cross paths with. The warehouse where Doctor Octopus resides, the sewers where the Lizard calls home, the power plant being sabotaged by Electro, the city park where Sandman is located, and the city streets where you’ll battle both the Hobgoblin and Venom. In fact, you’ll sometimes have to fight Venom randomly in several different stages.
Once you defeat the enemies and gain the keys, the Kingpin decides to make things even rougher for the wall crawler by kidnapping his wife Mary Jane. After a large cave stage, you’ll have the final level, which is a real pisser to try to beat without cheating. First it’s rematches with four of the bosses at the exact same time. If you can defeat them, or just avoid them, you’ll have to deal with the bomb. You can’t just throw the keys in all willy nilly. You have to pay attention to what color is flashing on the bomb and place the correct key in. Screw up, and the bomb will go faster, eventually leading to an explosion. But if you can do it, the bomb is deactivated.
However, the game isn’t over yet, and this is where the real screwover comes. You have to fight the Kingpin who is wicked strong and takes quite a few hits. And even though the bomb is deactivated, you’re still technically on a timer. Mary Jane is slowly being lowered into the vat of chemicals below, and if you don’t defeat Kingpin in time, Spider-Man’s wife is dead, and you get a game over. With no continues either. So you have to do all of this in one shot, or your screwed. Lovely classic gaming cruelty.
If you want to cut out the middle man of having to go through all of this crap again, there is this cheat code that definitely helps. At the options menu, keep Spider-Man on the level area and hold start on controller 2 as well as holding A+B+C on controller 1. Then press up and up left. If you got it right, you’ll see three exclamation marks. Any time during gameplay, press start. You can refill web with the A button, heal with the B button, and skip levels with A, B, and C pressed at exact same time. Is it cheap? Yeah, but this game’s at times unforgiving difficulty asks for it.
GRAPHICS
For an earlier Genesis game, this has some really solid graphics. Every Spider-Man character looks like their comic counterparts. Levels all feel like they fit in the Spider-Man universe and use the color palette Genesis to its best potential for an earlier title. All in all, it makes for a great looking game.
SOUND
None of the music is all that interesting honestly. Nothing really stands out or feels very Spider-Man-ish. If I was to give one tune a nod, I’d definitely give it to the intermission music used in the game’s cutscenes. It’s very slow, but effective given the situation the game is putting you in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obLBujcx8eg
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Spider-Man vs. the Kingpin is a decent game at best. It controls well, has some great levels, and decent graphics. However, I’d say the biggest problems come from somewhat annoying difficulty and a very forgettable soundtrack. The latter being majorly rectified in the Sega CD version. In the end, there are far worse Spider-Man games on the Sega Genesis, as well as far better ones. This one is in the middle of good and bad. I’d say give it a play and see if you like it, but I’d also say have a copy of Maximum Carnage or even Spider-Man the Animated Series with you if you really want some decent Spider-Man action on the Genesis.
RATING: Thumbs in the Middle