Review JAM 3/5 · Oct 27, 2016
The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes (SNES)
Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-DSTFqYbio
Pros:
+ A 16-bit Spider-Man game where it FEELS like you're playing Spider-Man
+ Vibrant and detailed sprites and backgrounds
+ Surprisingly good soundtrack
+ Plenty of dialogue to move the game's story along
+ Feels satisfying to beat a stage/boss
Cons:
- Tons of tiny, annoying enemies
- Bosses can have really cheap …
Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-DSTFqYbio
Pros:
+ A 16-bit Spider-Man game where it FEELS like you're playing Spider-Man
+ Vibrant and detailed sprites and backgrounds
+ Surprisingly good soundtrack
+ Plenty of dialogue to move the game's story along
+ Feels satisfying to beat a stage/boss
Cons:
- Tons of tiny, annoying enemies
- Bosses can have really cheap attacks and in turn, can be beaten by abusing a single attack (Mortal Kombat uppercut all day!)
- Touchy controls when you're clinging to a wall (which happens often)
- Some levels and enemies felt completely uninspired
Final Thoughts:
I was expecting to just play one stage and be left disappointed but, to my surprise, it was actually quite fun! Something that lacked in the 8/16-bit days was a Spider-Man game that actually made you feel like you had control over his powers and Lethal Foes is pretty much as close as it gets. It had some fun platforming elements and button-mashing the living hell out of some of the bosses was pretty enjoyable. I wasn't crazy about having to play through the entire stage again if you died at the boss and there aren't any checkpoints either.
It's really a mystery why this game never had a US release. I think it's safe to say that Lethal Foes has faded into obscurity, having remained a Japanese exclusive title for the Super Famicom. I accidentally found out about the game's existence today, when checking to see what Japanese games had been fan-translated as of late. I should've played the damn thing in English!