Overthe last two decades or so, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. franchise hasinspired a number of imitators. Games like PlayStation All-Stars BattleRoyale, Multiversus, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl have all takeninspiration from the Smash formula, pitting their respective company’scharacters against one another. While DC characters appear inMultiversus, it seems Marvel very nearly had its own take on SmashBros., in the form of a Super Hero Squad game planned for the NintendoDS! As revealed by developer Luke Muscat, THQ wanted the team at Halfbrick to mimic the formula using characters like Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man.ย
Videos by ComicBook.com
Video from the game build can be seen around the 3:47 mark in the video embedded below.ย
The idea of pitting these characters against one another in a Smash style game sounds like an inspired idea, and the project was about halfway complete when it all fell apart. According to Muscat, someone at THQ realized that the publisher’s contract required that Marvel Super Hero Squad be a street brawler, in the tradition of games like Konami’s X-Men. As a result, developer Halfbrick had to take what they had and rush together a game that fit the formula. Marvel Super Hero Squad released on DS in 2009 and was met with largely negative feedback.
It’sinteresting to think what could have been, and how the game might have run on the DS hardware. While SuperSmash Bros. has seen releases on several Nintendo platforms, theseries never did get an installment on DS; the franchise’s firstportable entrywouldn’t come until 2014’s Super Smash Bros. forNintendo 3DS. It’s possible Nintendo knew the handheld wasn’t powerful enough for the game, but Marvel Super Hero Squad might have helped fill the void if Halfbrick had pulled it off. Instead, it remains one of the more underwhelming games based on a Marvel property!
Would you like to see a Marvel game in the style of Super Smash Bros.? Do you think this game would have been well-received? Letusknowin thecomments or share yourthoughtsdirectly onTwitter and onHive atย @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Nintendo Everything]
