The Marvel Games Your Parents Warned You Were a Waste of Quarters Are Finally Back (as They Should Be)

I was one of the lucky ones. I had a subscription to The Sega Channel (shout out to my single-mother who somehow managed to pay for the monthly subscription).

It was a wonky and heavy cartridge that you slid right into your Sega Genesis, just like any other game cartridge. Actually, perhaps the 32X is a better example. However, what made this particular detachable peripheral different was that it had a coaxial cable that ran from it and into the wall (or your cable TV box, depending on your setup). That cable brought a world of Sega Genesis games directly into my living room, whenever I wanted it. Xbox Game Pass, PS+, Nintendo Online… they’re all a result of The Sega Channel: the first on-demand gaming service.

I’d spend hours playing games like Comix Zone, Earthworm Jim, and Flicky. There were some deep, yet entertaining cuts on there. Unfortunately, The Sega Channels days were limited to only a little over three years. There just wasn’t a need for it once cable modems and the internet started making its way into peoples’ homes.

Before it left, though, I spent PLENTY of time in the Marvel universe, before the MCU was even a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye. I’m talking about the Marvel video games that defined a generation of 90s gamers. From beat-em-ups to platformers, these games were as fun as they were difficult, whether you were playing on a home console or button-mashing in an arcade. 

Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, Colossus… so many heroes there, just waiting for you to take control of them. Alas, cartridges fade, and emulators can only do so much. Thankfully, Limited Run Games knows that, and have released the MARVEL MaXimum Collection to fill that space.

I was able to spend some time at PAX East 2026 playing the game while chatting with Limited Run’s Marketing Manager, Jeremy Campbell, learning how the collection came to be and why video game history needs to be protected, and above all else, cherished.

“Wouldn’t It Be Cool?”

Campbell is the kind of guy who gets it. A self-described gamer first, his enthusiasm for preservation is personal. You’re not getting canned corporate talking points from him.

“Just people like us,” he said when I asked how the collection came together. “Wherever you go, wouldn’t it be cool to be able to play this on a modern console and bring it back?” That instinct drove everything about the MaXimum Collection. Not just slapping ROMs onto a disc, but thinking about what each generation needs to feel comfortable and welcome in these older games.

The collection brings together six titles for the first time under one roof (er… onto one disc): 

• X-Men: The Arcade Game
• Captain America and The Avengers
• Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage
• Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety
• Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge
• Silver Surfer

Across arcade, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear versions, it’s an exhaustive love letter to the very specific era of Marvel gaming from the pixel-punching, quarter-hungry, and Saturday-morning-cartoon-adjacent 1990s.

Campbell was equally enthusiastic about working with Marvel on the project. “You can feel their energy,” he told me. “They love these characters. It’s not like it’s forced.” He laughed about jumping on calls with Marvel team members and checking out the action figures and collectibles on their desks in the background. These are fans working with fans, and it shows in the care taken with the package.

The physical Standard Edition (available for pre-order through May 24, 2026) includes a foil cover, sticker sheet, and booklet. Limited Run’s made-to-order model means the physical version will take some time to arrive, but the digital version across all platforms is available now.

Back in the Booth

When I finally sat down with a controller, Campbell asked me who I wanted to play as in X-Men: The Arcade Game. I didn’t even hesitate. Wolverine. He grinned and asked why.

I couldn’t fully explain it in the moment. It wasn’t like Wolverine was ever my definitive go-to (Colossus always had my heart), but there was something about the way Wolverine controlled, the way he moved through enemies, that my hands just remembered before my brain caught up. Campbell nodded like he’d seen this exact reaction before. “Muscle memory,” he said. And that’s exactly what it was.

Within seconds of the first stage, I was back. Not in some vague, nostalgic way (though a wave of nostalgia did wash over me). I was immediately back in the arcade, mentally that is. Attacks chained together, positioning around enemy clusters felt instinctual. The game holds up because it was always more about feel than complexity, and that feel is completely intact here.

What’s new are the quality-of-life additions that Campbell walked me through, and they’re smartly implemented without ever feeling intrusive. Display options let you toggle between clean modern pixels or CRT and scanline filters for that authentic tube television glow. The rewind feature is great for anyone who spent childhood staring at a Game Over screen, especially with Silver Surfer, one of the more notoriously punishing games ever made. Save states round it out, letting you finally tackle boss gauntlets on your own terms.

There’s also a detail that sounds small, but kind of a big deal when it comes to nailing the vibe: pressing the select button adds a credit, complete with the visual and audio cue of dropping a quarter into a cabinet. Campbell pointed it out with obvious pride, and rightfully so. Having grown up feeding machines at arcades, the sound led to a big smile on my face.

A Few Wishes and One Big One

X-Men: The Arcade Game was the title I got my hands on at PAX, and it delivered everything I hoped for. But I’m very eager to revisit Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge. That game has lived rent-free in my head for years. I can’t wait to dig into it again (this time with save states in my back pocket).

Interestingly, sitting with the collection afterward stirred up a craving I didn’t expect. I found myself wanting to boot up the N64 Spider-Man game from 2000. Sure, it was a bit janky, but something about re-entering that era of Marvel gaming sent me all the way back to that specific corner of the universe, which is perhaps the highest compliment you can pay a collection like this.

One gap, though, is the absence of X-Men 2: Clone Wars. For anyone who grew up on the Genesis, that game was a masterpiece of the platforming/beat-em-up genre, arguably better than the original X-Men game it followed. The MaXimum Collection is about as comprehensive as this kind of project gets, but Clone Wars would have made it truly definitive. I didn’t realize it was missing in time to ask Campbell about it, but here’s hoping it eventually makes its way back into my modern day arms.

Campbell put it best near the end of our conversation. “Video games are freaking awesome. They need to stay that way.” The MARVEL MaXimum Collection is a direct expression of that belief, and a reminder that these games weren’t just time-killers. These were (and still are) formative experiences worth revisiting, preserving, and handing down. I know I’ll be playing this collection with my two kiddos.

The MARVEL MaXimum Collection digital version is available now on Switch, PS5, Xbox, and PC. Physical pre-orders close on May 24, 2026 at LimitedRunGames.com.