Wolverine: Better than The X-Men, but still Bad

I’m going to dive back into LJN’s collection of superhero games on the NES. I’ve already looked at their awful X-Men game, so I’ll be looking at their Wolverine game. There was a low bar for this game to clear, and it managed not to trip as it stepped over it.

This game was released in 1991, and much like LJN’s X-Men game, was based on the Pride of the X-Men cartoon. That is why Wolverine is wearing his brown and yellow outfit. Instead of making the incomprehensible mess that was their X-Men game, this is a standard side scroller.

This was a game that I didn’t know about as a kid, and didn’t play it until the 2010s. None of my friends talked about this game, and I don’t remember seeing it when I was collecting games in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first time I saw the game was in a YouTube video, so that wasn’t a great first impression.

TLDR: Wolverine is better than some of the other Superhero games from LJN, but still has a lot of problems.

Narrative

Wolverine has a simple story. I’m not sure if it was taken from one of the comic books, but it wouldn’t surprise me if something like this happened to Wolverine somewhere along the way. It does work well for a video game, which is much better than the other NES game.

Wolverine is kidnapped and taken to an island by Magneto and Sabertooth. That is all you’re given in terms of a story, and it really is all you need. It would be nice if some of the stage bosses were explained.

For a game like this, the story is fine. Wolverine didn’t need an elaborate story or anything like that. All you needed was an explanation of where you were and why you’re there. That is exactly what the game gives you.

Gameplay

I don’t like this game, but it is better than some of the other LJN published games. I like it more than their Spider-Man game. The level design is better, but the gameplay is a little worse. The controls are also a bit of a mess.

You would expect Wolverine to use his claws in the game, and you can. For some bizarre reason, the developers decided to punish you for using them by having them slowly kill you. Every time you punch with your claws, you drain your health.

At this point, I should remind people that Wolverine has a healing factor. I know this is a video game, but having something as stupid as “his claws kill him” in a game is beyond nonsense. There is no explanation for why this happens in the game, which might have made it okay if they had explained it as Wolverine being poisoned or something.

There are nine stages in this game, and it ends with a fight against Sabertooth. The level design is what you should expect from one of the LJN games. It is better than the Spider-Man game, but that doesn’t mean it is good or anything like that.

There are only two bosses in the game, which is stupid. Even in 1991, Wolverine had a decent history in the comics, and adding in some characters from those stories would’ve been a welcome addition. It is strange to say the least.

Along the way, you’ll pick up some health items. These come in the form of Soft Drinks and Burgers. I didn’t notice any other power ups in the game, which is strange, but since this is an LJN published game, I’m not surprised that something lazy like this was done.

Just avoid the enemies. There is no point in fighting any of them, unless they get in your way. This is made even more obvious by how quickly they can kill you, and by how awful your character’s hit detection is.

You can find other X-Men in the game. Havok, Jubilee, and Psylocke are in the game, which is a nice addition. So, if you want to find them, you can. There is more information in the game’s manual (Link).

This feels like it could’ve been better than what it was. There are parts of the game that make you think it’s on the right track, but then something stupid happens.

Visuals

The graphics aren’t anything to write home about. Wolverine looks like every other side scroller on the NES. It is a generic game that could’ve been anything.

The levels look fine, but the layouts are awful. There are a number of leaps of faith you’ll need to take. It just doesn’t feel like they finished the game, or they didn’t play test it enough to work out the kinks.

The enemies are uninspired. I’m not sure who they are, or why they’re working with Sabretooth. When I think of iconic X-Men villains, I don’t think about silver guys who phase in and out of reality, bubbles, or random guys with guns. This just feels off to me.

Level design really holds this game back. It makes for a bad experience overall. Most of the visuals are okay, but the fact that you can accidentally jump to your death is a problem. I like the way that Wolverine, Sabertooth, and Magneto look in the game, but the other enemies feel out of place.

Reviews at the Time

This game received surprisingly good scores when it was released. They weren’t amazing, but they were good for an LJN game. I think Nintendo Power’s review is the most telling, but there were some reviews on MobyGames that were a bit surprising.

There was one review from a Brazilian publication called VideoGame that absolutely loved the game. They gave it a 9/10, and from the scans of the magazine, it looked like they went all out on this review. I can’t read Portuguese, but I’d like to have the magazine just in case someone wants to read it.

GamePro gave the game a 3/5, which is closer to reality. They praised the game for being challenging, and it comes across that the reviewer liked the game. They point out many of the common complaints about the game, suggesting that it is easier to avoid enemies rather than fight them.

Nintendo Power had four people review the game, and most of them gave it a score of 3/5. The highest score it received was a 3.3/5, and the lowest was a 2.9/5. None of the reviewers gave their thoughts on the game, which is understandable.

This all suggests that it was seen as an above average game back in 1991. If it weren’t for the internet and people compiling the history of the NES, I doubt that this game would’ve been remembered. I don’t agree with the reviews of the game, but I do think it is one of the better LJN games.

6/10. I wanted to rate this game higher, but there are so many little problems that add up over time. If the hit detection had been better, I might’ve enjoyed this more than I did.

Pros

• Decent looking
• Okay level design

Cons

• You can die fast!
• Bad hit detection
• Only two boss fights

Conclusion

It is strange to play a game where you just avoid the enemies instead of fighting them. It is something that I would expect to see in a horror game, and not in a side scroller on the NES. There is little to no reason to fight in this game until you get to the two boss fights.

Going back to read the reviews of the game was interesting. I got the impression that they didn’t want to trash the game, or that they saw it as something average when compared to the other side scrollers on the NES. I don’t think this is as good, but I do like it more than the NES Spider-Man and the Superman games.

Overall, this was a disappointing game. There are some dumb decisions that the developer made that sunk this game for me. The claws, hit detection, and how quickly you can die were the big factors that made me dislike the game.

If you liked this post, please check out my other posts about LJN games, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men.