MARVEL MaXimum Collection Review - Sensational or Venomous?

MARVEL MaXimum Collection

PC/PS/XBOX/SWITCH

3/27/26

Limited Run Games

If you grew up loving comics during the ’80s and through the early ’90s like I did, then you already know how turbulent and exciting that era was for Marvel. Titles such as Uncanny X‑Men, Thor, and Fantastic Four were dominating newsstands, driven by darker, more mature storytelling that pulled in a whole new generation of readers. This period also saw the rise of some of the most influential artists in comics history — Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and others — whose dynamic styles helped redefine Marvel’s visual identity. Their work fueled massive crossover events that carried the company into the ’90s and shaped the direction of the entire industry. Side note, remember when Wolverine got his flippin’ Adamantium ripped out in the Fatal Attractions series? That was gnarly. 

It wasn’t all perfect for Marvel, however. By the mid‑90s, the company had lost many of its top artists to the newly formed Image Comics, and a wave of weaker storylines and overextended titles began to drag down the overall quality. Combined with market oversaturation, Marvel’s sales took a noticeable hit. Marvel Mania wasn’t gone by any means, but the company did struggle for a few years before eventually regaining its footing and redefining its place in the industry.

I suppose that’s what makes the Marvel MaXimum Collection from Limited Run Games such an interesting release: it captures both the explosive highs and the undeniable lows of Marvel’s video game history as opposed to its comics. It’s packed with a few genuine standout titles, alongside others that are perhaps better left in the Danger Room. Together, this package forms a fascinating time capsule, but does the MaXimum Collection shine as bright as Cyclops’ optical blast? Or did it have me yelling like Colossus? Let’s find out in our full review!

The Marvel MaXimum Collection doesn’t include every ’90s Marvel game that existed, with omissions like the excellent X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, the not‑so‑memorable Wolverine: Adamantium Rage, or the outstanding Genesis X-Men games, but it does gather up quite a few notable releases. Players will gain access to X-Men: The Arcade Game, which features support for 6 players and online play including rollback netcode; Captain America and The Avengers in its original arcade format along with the Mega Drive version and the very strange NES game; both versions of the beat ’em ups Maximum Carnage and Separation Anxiety; four versions of Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge; and of course, saving the best for last, Silver Surfer on the NES… I kid.

Not only will you gain access to all of these releases and their many formats, but there’s a full archive which includes digital manuals, box art, and even old advertisements that will bring back memories of all the stomach cramps you got trying to read in the backseat while your mother or father were driving you about. There’s also a music player included, which is great, as the vast majority of these games feature amazing chiptune compositions.  Perhaps most notable is the work of Tim Follin on Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge, but more on that later. 

Because the vast majority of these games were enough to make you shout BERSERKER BARRAGE when it comes to difficulty, Limited Run Games have also included a cheat menu so that you can scum your way through each title, which, hey, for many of us might be the first time we see past the building‑climbing level in Maximum Carnage. There’s now also the ability to create save states and rewind gameplay, and despite this, Silver Surfer still seems impossible to complete. Holy fuck, that might be the hardest game ever made. But we aren’t done yet, as a CRT filter also exists, even if I wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of it. Overall, some degree of care has gone into paying tribute to these games, though, as I always point out, I really love inside baseball and would have loved some interviews and a bit more history about the games themselves.

But about those games — as I’ve alluded to, you’ll get both the best and worst of Marvel here, though, to Limited Run Games’ credit, they are all well‑emulated versions on a technical level. X-Men Arcade truly needs no introduction. Released in 1992 by Konami, this was a staple of the arcade scene. My local arcade had the six‑player version, which is included here, but Limited Run Games didn’t stop there. You can also select different regions and even the different cabinets, such as the 2‑player or 4‑player setups. While not based around the '90s cartoon so many of us know and love, and instead based on the 1989 pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, players can select between Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Dazzler, Storm, or Nightcrawler on a quest to stop Magneto from doing those nasty evil things he’s known for!

This is a pretty standard brawler at the end of the day — you have a small assortment of punches, kicks, grabs, and, most notably, your mutant abilities, which, for a bit of your health, will unleash devastation on every foe on screen! There are tons of Sentinels to mow down and of course iconic baddies like Pyro and The Blob… nothing stops the Blob! While this game did get a digital release back in 2010, that version was delisted in 2013 due to licensing issues, which makes this an important release from a preservation standpoint. It’s a good version from what I played too, with crunchy sound that includes ICONIC, nonsensical voiced lines, and the great pixel‑art visuals that we all remember so well. I’d say this classic is probably worth the price of admission alone, but I am sure at least some of that is nostalgia talking. This is one of those games where you can close your eyes and see that EXACT place where it was in your youth, a true legend.

While X-Men may have ruled the arcade scene for its time, Captain America and The Avengers were no slouches either. Believe it or not, this game was actually released before X-Men in 1991, developed and published by Data East. It’s one that I, and I’m sure many of you, remember running into at a local pizza shop, ah the memories. Within this side‑scrolling beat ’em up for up to four players (though a two‑player cabinet was also available), you could choose between Steve Rogers himself, Iron Man, Hawkeye, or Vision… yeah, that guy. Each character comes equipped with their own set of melee attacks and specials, and it’s worth noting that compared to X-Men: The Arcade Game, this title feels a bit quicker and in some regards, more interactive. There are tons of items to grab and toss at foes along with decent gameplay variety throughout levels such as a few thrilling flying sections. For their many differences, one thing the two games absolutely share is a collection of ridiculous, cult‑classic voice lines. It’s a good game that isn’t as visually impressive or legendary as that arcade classic I’ve already mentioned enough times, but is still great fun, especially with friends. 

This collection also includes the Genesis version of Captain America and the Avengers, which is an inferior—though halfway decent—take on the arcade game. For some reason, the 8‑bit NES version is also included, which is an entirely different experience altogether. More of a side‑scrolling platformer where only Captain America and Hawkeye are playable, you travel across a map of the United States collecting power crystals and finding exits. While the soundtrack is decent, it’s a clunky mess of a game with poor visuals and terrible difficulty balancing. Cool that it’s here for historical purposes, but definitely best to avoid and feels a little out of place. Oddly, the SNES and Game Gear versions are not included, though you aren’t missing much.

Next, we have a more polarizing game — and one that I don’t think is particularly great. This is Maximum Carnage, based on the comic book series of the same name. In the comics, it’s a fantastic storyline where Carnage forms a sadistic group of killers to wreak havoc across New York, forcing Spider-Man and Venom to team up for the greater good. While Acclaim has been trying to make a comeback lately by publishing indie titles, back then having their name on a game wasn’t always a good sign, and well…Yeah.

Maximum Carnage is strangely single‑player only — a mistake its follow‑up would correct — and it quickly becomes a boring beat 'em up slog through bland levels filled with the same recycled enemies over and over again. It’s also notable for having one of the most frustrating climbing sequences ever conceived. Thank God for the new built-in cheats, or else I would’ve rage‑quit just like I did back in the 90s. Ok, fine, it's not all bad, I’ll admit the red cartridge was pretty cool too, but in truth, I never liked this game. There’s a solid soundtrack, some fun cameos, and the comic‑panel cutscenes still look great, but it’s repetitive even by brawler standards, features stiff controls without much of a moveset, and yeah… I still can’t get over the lack of co‑op. I understand the SNES was slow, but it wasn’t the only version that made this decision. It’s kinda cool that you get to play as Venom at times, I guess? Even if he doesn’t feel that much different.

On the topic of versions, you also get the Mega Drive iteration, which some argue has the better‑sounding soundtrack, which is in fact completely different for the most part. There’s also a grittier look and slightly tighter feel to the game — but to me, the outcome is the same: a middling experience.

Unfortunately, Separation Anxiety doesn’t fare much better. Yes, you finally get a 2‑player option — thank the lord — but it’s more or less a rehash of the same mediocre mechanics from Maximum Carnage. In some ways, the visuals and overall production values even feel like a step down. Loosely following the events of a limited Venom series, more cheap hits and bad arcade‑ish action await Marvel fans across bland, boring levels, backed by a soundtrack that isn’t nearly as memorable as its predecessor. Even the cool comic‑book cutscenes have been scaled back, making this feel like Maximum Carnage on a budget with co-op. But hey, at least you get both versions… yay. In truth, you might squeeze a bit of nostalgia out of turning on infinite health or lives and punching through levels you probably never saw back in the day unless you watched a playthrough on YouTube — but that’s about it.

This leads us, of course, to Spider‑Man and the X‑Men: Arcade’s Revenge, maybe one of the strangest games of my childhood. Oh yes, I owned this on SNES back in the day, and I was just as perplexed then as I am now. You get to play four different versions of this bad boy. The game, a 2D action platformer, begins with Spider‑Man chasing down bombs, and eventually entering Arcade’s madhouse, where players are forced to choose between Wolverine, Gambit, Cyclops, Storm, or Spider-Man…Again.  Each character gets their own set of levels, and let me tell you — they’re not only weird, they’re savagely difficult.

Wolverine fights through a bizarre funhouse, Cyclops tries to survive mine‑cart gauntlets, Storm has to hold her breath (good luck) while navigating underwater mazes, and Gambit spends his time running for his life. I was eight years old when this game came out, filled with far more time and determination than I have now, and I could never get through it. It controls poorly, has some of the strangest design choices I’ve ever seen, and is downright unfair. I will say some creativity went into the structure of this game, but it was mostly in vain. 

By far the best part of the entire experience is its stunning soundtrack by Geoff and Tim Follin. Tim Follin was an absolute genius, and as wild as it sounds, this is one of the best soundtracks of the 16‑bit era. Unfortunately, that musical magic doesn’t transfer well to any platform outside the SNES — and the Genesis version is also much worse visually, especially Storm’s level. Ugh. As for the handheld versions? Yeah no. This game is worth a look out of morbid curiosity, but honestly? It’s pretty bad.

Not to be outdone, this collection closes things out with Silver Surfer, a 1990 NES shooter that may very well be the hardest video game ever made. This game makes Raiden feel like a walk in the park. I literally couldn’t beat this with cheats and rewinds activated for goodness' sake. A mix of side‑scrolling and overhead stages, enemies come at you in seemingly impossible patterns, and one‑hit deaths are guaranteed thanks to some of the worst hitboxes on the system.

Honestly though… it’s not a bad‑looking game, and the soundtrack — once again scored by Tim Follin — is naturally amazing. I almost didn’t hate this one entirely. There’s something to be respected in just how ridiculously cheap it is. I didn’t want to play more of it, mind you, but I definitely wanted to watch someone else be good at it.

Performance was solid across all included games, with a few audio glitches popping up during my time with the main arcade releases, but not too often or enough to hinder my experience. I didn’t experience any crashes on the PC version, and all of the games booted up without issue on my Steam Deck too, running at 60FPS, making this a nice on-the-go package. I found the menus all to be quite well designed, easy to navigate, and appreciated the options for borders, filters, and screen size adjustments. 

And so that’s the MARVEL Maximum Collection — a bizarre gathering of titles that, in reality, features two amazing games and a bunch of strange anomalies that at least have some merit. Based on the inclusion of both The X‑Men Arcade Game and Captain America and the Avengers, it’s tough not to recommend, as long as you understand you’re getting some pretty bad games alongside those two stellar ones. With that in mind, there are enough bells and whistles tossed in to make this a solid collection that Marvel fans and anyone who grew up with these titles will appreciate.

While some of the memories were painful to revisit, I’m glad this collection exists, and I’m already hoping for another one — preferably with some of the really good games that didn’t make it into this set. Until then… I guess the dream of a truly uncanny collection remains in the Infinity Gauntlet.

BRONZE/GOOD