My Played Video Games Review: Captain America and the Avengers for the Sega Genesis

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Captain America and The Avengers is an arcade game developed and released by Data East (a now-defunct Japanese video game and electronic engineering company) in 1991. It features the Marvel Comics characters The Avengers in a side-scrolling fighting action and shooting adventure. The game received a port on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1992.

Good 2 player co-op action games were plenty on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. This was one of the top 10 of them.

1991 Arcade flyer of Data East Japan advertisement of the game. (Image source)

The Story

The ingenious Red Skull is using a mind-control machine to unite the world's most notorious super-villains under his leadership. Call out the world's mightiest superhero team: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! As Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, or The Vision, it is up to you and a friend to stop the Red Skull's horrible plan for world domination. Battle those super-villain enemies! Live the Marvel legend in this Sega translation of the blockbuster arcade hit!

Box, manual and cartridge of the game. (Image source)

The Graphics and Sound

The graphics are nothing special even for this console version of the arcade and the colorful backgrounds can be a little bit much at times. Character sprite detail is okay and most bosses look quite good themselves. But the regular enemies are quite generic and are poorly done. The game can have sprites flickering if there are plenty on the screen.

The sound overall is pretty good. There is voice acting, but there is little to no difference between different characters' voices, which takes away something from the game. And also most of the talking is made up of mediocre catchphrases. The music is very good on some levels, just alright on others.

2 player action gameplay video sample of the game. Better watch in 360p to make it look similar to the console version.

The Gameplay

You (and a 2nd player friend) can play as one of the four mighty Avengers. They all can jump, punch, and throw, etc. and they each have unique weapons. The playable heroes are:

The Vision: an android in a white suit who can fly, go underwater, and has laser beams.

Iron Man: Tech genius in a metallic suit who flies and goes underwater as well. He shoots repulsor beams from his arms.

Hawk-Eye: An expert master archer. He shoots arrows from his bow.

Captain America: The Leader of the Avengers. He's a war hero and he can throw his shield at the enemy like a boomerang.

You go around beating up enemies. Some levels have you fly shooting down enemies. Sometimes, you get assists from other surprise superheroes too.

Replay value is just okay. You can try out the other three playable superheroes if you have mastered your main character.

My Verdict

Captain America and the Avengers for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive is enjoyable as a 2 player co-op retro beat-'em up. There are many villains in the game and the action is good. But if you like better-looking graphics in your co-op play, then stay away.

Go and try it (preferably with a friend) on the venerable Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Or play it on a great emulator.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!