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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Best Superhero
00:11Video Games.
00:21For this list, we'll be looking at the best games that make us feel super, whether they're
00:24based on existing IPs or not.
00:27Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:32the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:36Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions
00:37We're currently in the middle of Spider-Man's peak in video games thanks to Insomniac, but
00:52the wall-crawler has still had some stellar games along the way such as the Venom-heavy
00:56Web of Shadows.
00:58Shattered Dimensions gave us a Spidey game with a new twist though.
01:01It brought together four different versions of the hero, each with their own unique mechanics,
01:05like Spider-Man Noir's stealth-heavy takedowns.
01:07It was awesome seeing these versions collide, especially considering how the comics and
01:11movies went on to replicate it thanks to writer Dan Slott.
01:14Although fun combat and voice work from the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Spider-Man
01:18mainstay Josh Keaton also helped.
01:28Prototype
01:36It seems every year brings us an open-world superhero game, but for the time it was released,
01:40Prototype was pretty unique.
01:42Players control the amnesiac Alex Mercer, who discovers he has incredible shapeshifting
01:46abilities and the power to consume others, gaining their memories in the process.
01:50Turning into your foes to infiltrate their forces was a neat way to uncover the mystery,
01:54but the shapeshifting mechanic could turn Alex's limbs into a variety of weapons, making
01:58it incredibly fun to rampage through Manhattan.
02:00Its sequel disappointed, and the series fizzled out, but the original is still more than worth
02:04checking out.
02:10X-Men Origins – Wolverine
02:19Few games have taken the genre hack and slash so literally.
02:22While the movie is a notable low point in the X-Men film franchise, its video game adaptation
02:26let Logan tear through enemies with all the violence fans wanted.
02:30Sure, many games had included Wolverine as a playable character before, but they all
02:33felt a bit too family-friendly considering Wolverine's brutal nature.
02:37It naturally followed a similar plot to the movie, though setting us loose against unfortunate
02:42enemies made it not matter as much.
02:43The short campaign and lack of replayability made for a brief experience, but there's
02:47no denying how fun that experience was.
02:57The Wonderful 101
03:06Why have one superhero power set when you can have many?
03:09That's the question this PlatinumGames action game asked and answered with delightful results.
03:14Players control an ever-growing group of superheroes during an alien invasion, morphing their bodies
03:18into various weapons.
03:19While not every member of the group gets their own power – that would be a nightmare to
03:23develop – each addition makes the ones you can use that much stronger.
03:26Morphing into a giant fist, hammer, bomb, whip, and several others made it a joy to
03:31smash enemies and environments alike.
03:32The over-the-top abilities paired wonderfully with its zany characters and bonkers story.
03:44LEGO DC Super-Villains
03:55There are plenty of LEGO games that celebrate their respective brands, such as LEGO Marvel
03:58Super-Heroes.
03:59What sets LEGO DC Super-Villains apart is the ability to create your own character and
04:03bring them into the story.
04:05Known as the Rookie, the player joins a team of villains to stop an invading force that
04:08has made the Justice League disappear and are masquerading as their replacements.
04:12The Rookie can obtain new powers throughout the story, giving the game an overall more
04:16personal touch through customization.
04:18Of course, you'll still gain access to a packed roster of beloved characters should you want
04:23You gotta hand it to them.
04:25They're better at being villains than we are.
04:27I beg to differ, Catwoman.
04:29No one is better at being a villain than Lex Luthor.
04:34Deadpool
04:35A script?
04:36Like some dingus word writer's gonna know better than me how to show how amazing I am.
04:43Amazing is more Spider-Man's thing, really.
04:45Yeah, right.
04:46What's so amazing about that, Geek?
04:48As is befitting of the character, Deadpool begins with a meta-reference to an anti-hero
04:52starring in his own game and only gets more insane.
04:55The developers at High Moon Studios nailed the characterization, proving him as a viable
04:59star long before Ryan Reynolds brought him to the mainstream.
05:03Combat consisted of standard hack-and-slash, shoot-em-up gameplay.
05:05But what really makes it worth picking up is the great writing, buckets of blood, and
05:09Nolan North's work as the Merc with a Mouth.
05:11Just like how Ryan Reynolds is the definitive on-screen version, North flawlessly captures
05:15him in-game, which is why he's played across multiple releases.
05:32Saints Row IV
05:42As a franchise that started out bombastic, one might have expected Saints Row to run
05:46out of steam by the fourth entry, but that's far from the case.
05:50After an alien invasion, the player-created president finds himself trapped in a simulation.
05:54But once your allies hack it, you gain some pretty awesome superpowers.
05:58High durability and speed means you can destructively dash through any obstacle, and energy blasts
06:02from your hands make it so you can take on any foe.
06:05But you've still got the ludicrous weapons the franchise is known for.
06:08It's absolutely insane, and for this franchise, that's the highest compliment we can pay it.
06:20Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
06:28The Civil War storyline is one of Marvel's best in recent memory, on the page and on-screen.
06:33This 2009 action title let us play through it with some fantastic characters and mechanics.
06:38They blended the beat-em-up genre with dungeon-crawling, as well as some light RPG elements.
06:42With a team of four, it offered a great co-op experience and variety in how you wanted to
06:46vanquish foes.
06:47Not only did each hero and villain play relatively differently, but the sequel also brought special
06:51fusion attacks that were different depending on which two heroes pulled them off.
06:55A human torch could set fire to a massive boulder thrown by the Hulk, while Iron Man
06:59and Deadpool could unleash a bombardment of grenades and lasers.
07:14South Park – The Fractured But Whole
07:21Who knew that a South Park game could be so super-powered?
07:24The Fractured But Whole has players controlled in New Kid, as he's caught between two groups
07:27of children competing as superhero roleplayers.
07:30However, their shenanigans uncover a dark criminal conspiracy in their town, which includes
07:34monsters and crime families.
07:36As you progress through the RPG, you gain access to a variety of abilities across ten
07:40classes of which you can mix and match.
07:42The customization is definitely appreciated, and so too is how well the game adapts the
07:46show.
07:47Thanks to South Park's minimalist animation, it legitimately looks as if you're playing
07:51with all the risque humor intact.
07:59The Incredible Hulk – Ultimate Destruction
08:05Any game that lets you play as the Hulk is basically required to let you smash as much
08:09as you want.
08:10Thankfully, Radical Entertainment nailed it.
08:13Ultimate Destruction follows Bruce Banner as he attempts to build a device that will
08:15cure him of his transformation.
08:17While there's absolutely nothing wrong with the plot, which also pits Hulk against
08:21the newly created Abomination, that's not what the game is remembered for.
08:24Destructible environments, using items like lampposts and cars as weapons, a variety of
08:29unlockable attacks, and a free-roaming open world make it the best solo game the Hulk
08:33has ever appeared in.
08:35It's one big, awesome playground for you to rage in.
08:46X-Men
08:53There are few arcade beat-em-ups that can stand alongside Konami's X-Men as true classics.
08:58The plot, like many others in the genre, is simple.
09:01Magneto is warring against humanity, and the mutant team must stop him.
09:04Players could choose between six team members – Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler,
09:09Colossus, and Dazzler.
09:10Going up against hordes of minions or conquering a tough boss with your friends was tons of
09:14fun, and it definitely kept players popping in quarters.
09:17Some versions actually allowed for up to six players, an impressive feat in arcade cabinets.
09:21Its art style is also fantastic, whether you played it back in the day or the HD console
09:26remake in 2010.
09:36Beautiful Joe
09:46Capcom has released some wonderfully weird games over the years, and one of its strangest
09:49is Beautiful Joe.
09:50It begins with the unexpected hero's girlfriend being kidnapped into a movie world, where
09:54he follows to be transformed into the titular alter-ego.
09:58Joe gains a handful of powers that play into its film setting, such as slow-mo, which makes
10:02dodging easier and increases his attack power, and a close-up that gives him new attacks.
10:07It's exceptionally fun using these to pummel rooms of enemies.
10:10Additionally, its cel-shaded art style gives it a gorgeous, distinctly comic book look.
10:14It's just a shame this franchise didn't take off like others.
10:25Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Turtles in Time
10:37As you can see, Konami was once the uncontested king of arcade beat-em-ups.
10:42One of its best, and our pick for the best-featuring superheroes, is Turtles in Time.
10:46After the opening level in New York, the turtle's archenemy Shredder sends them through several
10:50points across time, including the Stone Age and the Wild West.
10:54It's a great way to include more varied level design outside of the streets of New York
10:57City.
10:58Each turtle has slightly different stats.
10:59Donatello's weapon gives him the greatest range, while Raphael has the highest speed.
11:03It also has an incredible art style and music that plays homage to the animated series.
11:08And the SNES version was pretty great as well.
11:15Spider-Man 2
11:25Before Insomniac came along, the Spider-Man 2 tie-in game was usually decreed as the hero's
11:29best game.
11:30And it's easy to see why.
11:32No game before it had truly given us the freedom of Spidey's traversal the way it was explored
11:36here.
11:37It helped pioneer the open-world action-adventure genre, paving the way for future games on
11:41this list.
11:42It distracted us from the main story, which we already knew was great in the movie, through
11:46fun side-quests and Spider-Man's tremendous web-swinging mechanics.
11:49Never before had a superhero game made us care about rescuing a city in need.
11:53Also, it came with some great boss fights not seen in the movie, such as Rhino and Mysterio.
12:05Infamous 2
12:15Technically you can play the hero or the villain thanks to this game's morality system.
12:19But that's only part of why it's so well-liked.
12:22Another big part is letting us loose in an open world with electric powers that can both
12:25decimate enemies, as well as make us float and grind across cables and train rails.
12:30Like Spider-Man 2, Cole's traversal made adventuring through the city a joy.
12:34But Sucker Punch also improved on every other element in the first game, from its more lived-in
12:38setting to better visuals to Cole's new abilities.
12:40Your choices not only affect the story's outcome, but also what new passive and active
12:45abilities you can unlock, warranting a second playthrough.
12:57Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
13:10Once we got over the fact that we could only play as Star-Lord, we experienced one of the
13:14best narratives in any superhero game.
13:16We weren't the only ones impressed.
13:17It's earned a handful of story-based award nominations.
13:20And only playing as the team's leader actually makes sense.
13:23During combat, players can command each member, all of whom have a variety of attacks that
13:27can be unlocked.
13:28But this plays into the story as well, since Peter must learn responsibility on a number
13:32of levels.
13:33The writing team completely captured the characterization of each teammate, matching and at some points
13:38even surpassing James Gunn's work within the MCU.
13:50Injustice 2
14:03NetherRealm has proven itself a talented development studio when it comes to blending incredible
14:07fighting mechanics with a strong narrative.
14:09Building off the impressive foundation of the first Injustice, the sequel follows Batman
14:13and his team battling a villainous group led by Gorilla Grodd and Brainiac.
14:17As gameplay was already pretty fantastic, Injustice 2 makes subtle changes to returning
14:20characters.
14:21However, there are a ton of new and welcome inclusions.
14:24Beloved DC heroes and villains like Black Canary, Supergirl, and Poison Ivy helped round
14:29out DC's roster.
14:30But there were also awesome guest characters like Hellboy and the Ninja Turtles, making
14:34it a stellar fighter with tons of fan service.
14:47Marvel vs. Capcom 2 – New Age of Heroes
14:55Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is on a level that most fighting games simply can't match.
14:59With a baffling 56 playable fighters, it more than tripled the roster of its predecessor.
15:04Fighters range from the endlessly beloved like Wolverine and Mega Man to the obscure
15:08like Shuma Gorath and Captain Commando.
15:10But this isn't a case of quantity over quality.
15:12With a couple of exceptions, most fighters control entirely differently.
15:17And since each player gets a team of three, there's no telling how each match will play
15:20out.
15:21Gameplay is incredibly quick-paced and, as basically any input results in a super-powered
15:25attack, is easy to pick up but hard to master.
15:36Marvel's Spider-Man 2
15:44Elegantly swinging from success to success, Insomniac's Spider-Man games just keep on
15:48getting better with each new release.
15:50It built on everything that made the original 2018 game and Miles Morales so special, namely
15:55terrific storytelling, in-depth character arcs, and pure fun escapism.
16:00Story-wise, we get to see Peter Parker and Miles Morales sharing the screen as they seek
16:03to stop the relentless Kraven the Hunter as he and his goons stalk New York.
16:07Adding to this is the Venet symbiote and the narrative arc of Harry Osborn, the intertwining
16:12relationships made for a captivating experience all throughout the game's runtime.
16:16Plus, Spider-Man 2 might just be the most fun platinum trophy to work towards and obtain.
16:26Batman Arkham City
16:36Rocksteady hit the ground running with Arkham Asylum, but what came next was unlike any
16:40other superhero game.
16:41By transitioning to an open world, the team allowed us to truly become Batman through
16:45extremely satisfying navigation and traversal.
16:47Launching from a roof via the grapple gun to glide gracefully forward is never not fun.
16:52Not only that, but we had a variety of moves and gadgets to utilize when pummeling goons
16:56and supervillains with extreme prejudice.
16:58Batman's famous villains, from Joker to Mr. Freeze, were in full force and all supremely
17:03voice acted.
17:04It was the next step in the evolution of the superhero game and one that, in our opinion,
17:08has yet to be taught.
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