X-Men: Children of the Atom (arcade game)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (Japanese: エックス・メン　チルドレン　オブ　ジ　アトム^?) is an arcade game that was produced by Capcom and released on the CPS-2 arcade system in 1994. It is the first fighting game produced by Capcom using characters under license from Marvel Comics, widely praised for its faithfulness in capturing the spirit of its namesake comics, by using colorful animation and voice actors from the X-Men animated series, such as Cathal Dodd as Wolverine.

Gameplay

X-Men follows the same fighting game controls and conventions Capcom previously established with the Street Fighter II games and the original Darkstalkers. The player can choose between one of six X-Men members or four of their enemies (for a total of ten selectable characters) and proceed to compete in a series of best-two-out-of-three one-on-one matches.

The player has an "X-Power" gauge (similar to the Super Combo gauge in Super Street Fighter II Turbo and the "Special" gauge in Darkstalkers) that builds as the player performs regular or special moves. X-Power gauge starts at Lv. 1 and reaches Lv. 2 when it becomes half-full and an Aura will begin to surround the player's character until it becomes full and reaches MAX level. Players can then perform an "X-Ability", which consumes a small portion of the X-Power gauge, or a "Hyper X", which consumes a greater portion of the same gauge. Breaking one's fall from a throwing technique or performing a counterthrow will also consume a portion of the X-Power gauge when performed.

Other features introduced in Children of the Atom includes Super Jumps, the ability to roll away or towards an opponent after falling, the ability to determine the aim of a projectile move (such as Cyclops' optic blasts), and the ability to pursue an opponent after performing a throwing attack for additional attacks.

After selecting a character, the player can choose between "manual" or "automatic" blocking. By selecting to automatically block attacks, some features will not be available during gameplay.

The single-player mode consists of six computer-controlled opponents and two non-playable boss characters. Unlike some games, the player cannot play against a clone of their own character. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo appears in the single-player mode as a secret opponent who appears after the sixth match if the requirements are met.

Characters

Secret Character

• Akuma (Gouki in Japan) is very similar to his SSFII Turbo incarnation, including his character sprite hailing from the very game, and is the only Street Fighter character to be in the game. His stage is the Danger Room. He is selectable via a code at the character select screen.

Voice Cast

The voices were recorded at Q-West Studios Toronto and used the same cast as the X-Men animated series, albeit in different roles (except for Wolverine and Cyclops).

• George Buza as Colossus, Magneto
• Catherine Disher as Psylocke, Storm, Spiral
• Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Sentinels
• Dan Hennessey as Announcer, Omega Red, Juggernaut
• Norm Spencer as Cyclops, Iceman
• Yasushi Ikeda as the Silver Samurai

Ports

• An initial Sega Saturn version was released by Capcom in Japan on November 22, 1995, which was released in North America and Europe by Acclaim a few months later. Developed by Rutubo Games, the Saturn version allows players to play as the Juggernaut in the two-player Versus Mode via a cheat code.
• Versions for the PlayStation and Windows PC were released in North America and Europe in 1997. Both ports were developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim.

External links

• X-Men: Children of the Atom at the Killer List of Videogames
• X-Men: Children of the Atom guide at StrategyWiki
• X-Men video games on Marvel.com