PixelKnight
Observing the process
- Pronouns
- He/Him
A discussion about the sheer pressure some licensed games were made under in the 90s had Goldeneye raised as the opposite example- a licensed game that wasn’t rushed, and came out two years after the film.
There are some great licensed games I could name off the top of my head, the ones that stick in my memory due to good word of mouth or being fun to play, some of those games are a bit more accessible too due to various compilations etc. Capcom made loads in the 90s, notably the Disney ones. Then there’s TMNT that’s having a revival with the great recent brawler. The history of superhero games has been a bit spotty until relatively recently though, with loads sitting in the licensing limbo of dead or merged companies and rights that means we likely won’t see them again.
For every licensed gem there’s a pile of shovelware, but back then the definition of it could be licensed games made on a shoestring budget and in a ridiculously small amount of time, and shoved out for full price by a major publisher to tie-in with a movie or craze. All that stuff still exists (as a parent I often see the stuff tying in to stuff my kid likes that the games media doesn’t cover as it’s largely terrible) but it’s been interesting in particular to see the superhero stuff either go to AAA or free-to-play mobile stuff with little in-between, as they can’t just churn them out in quite the same way any more- there’s more expectation of what your £40 gets you in regard to monolithic IP these days.
Still, what I’m interested in here is the gems on Nintendo platforms. What examples are there of licensed games that were good? Let’s list some here!
Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
SunSoft made this after their first NES Batman was a tie-in to the 1989 film, and it’s a much stronger game for the freedom to take from the comics instead (something the striking cover art leaned into).
Darkwing Duck (NES/GB)
Capcom’s games were great for this kind of stuff. I had the GB version as I loved the cartoon, but it’s not far off the NES version, in much the same way that the Duck Tales games are great on both too.
Thor: God of Thunder (DS)
WayForward’s pixel art on solid form with a 2D brawler here, an example of where portable versions of licensed games ended up being a more arcadey, immediate iteration that still stands out after the AAA 3D version is long forgotten.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)
The pick of the bunch from the launch lineup to me, and a real odd duck. A different game from the Ghost Recon shooters on consoles, this is more of an SRPG, worked on by Julian Gollup of X-com fame. So it’s a launch game by Ubisoft, you’d think that would have made it highly visable, but it both looks like a DS title and the GR branding probably put off more people than it attracted. It’s story is nothing special (and leans hard into sci-fi towards the end) and the characters are stock action movie cliches, but the gameplay is really, really good. If you like squad tactics games and things like cover and overwatch mechanics appeal to you.
There are some great licensed games I could name off the top of my head, the ones that stick in my memory due to good word of mouth or being fun to play, some of those games are a bit more accessible too due to various compilations etc. Capcom made loads in the 90s, notably the Disney ones. Then there’s TMNT that’s having a revival with the great recent brawler. The history of superhero games has been a bit spotty until relatively recently though, with loads sitting in the licensing limbo of dead or merged companies and rights that means we likely won’t see them again.
For every licensed gem there’s a pile of shovelware, but back then the definition of it could be licensed games made on a shoestring budget and in a ridiculously small amount of time, and shoved out for full price by a major publisher to tie-in with a movie or craze. All that stuff still exists (as a parent I often see the stuff tying in to stuff my kid likes that the games media doesn’t cover as it’s largely terrible) but it’s been interesting in particular to see the superhero stuff either go to AAA or free-to-play mobile stuff with little in-between, as they can’t just churn them out in quite the same way any more- there’s more expectation of what your £40 gets you in regard to monolithic IP these days.
Still, what I’m interested in here is the gems on Nintendo platforms. What examples are there of licensed games that were good? Let’s list some here!
Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
SunSoft made this after their first NES Batman was a tie-in to the 1989 film, and it’s a much stronger game for the freedom to take from the comics instead (something the striking cover art leaned into).
Darkwing Duck (NES/GB)
Capcom’s games were great for this kind of stuff. I had the GB version as I loved the cartoon, but it’s not far off the NES version, in much the same way that the Duck Tales games are great on both too.
Thor: God of Thunder (DS)
WayForward’s pixel art on solid form with a 2D brawler here, an example of where portable versions of licensed games ended up being a more arcadey, immediate iteration that still stands out after the AAA 3D version is long forgotten.
Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)
The pick of the bunch from the launch lineup to me, and a real odd duck. A different game from the Ghost Recon shooters on consoles, this is more of an SRPG, worked on by Julian Gollup of X-com fame. So it’s a launch game by Ubisoft, you’d think that would have made it highly visable, but it both looks like a DS title and the GR branding probably put off more people than it attracted. It’s story is nothing special (and leans hard into sci-fi towards the end) and the characters are stock action movie cliches, but the gameplay is really, really good. If you like squad tactics games and things like cover and overwatch mechanics appeal to you.
Last edited:
