Despite Spider-Man always being an All-American product, as strange as this sounds, the first game on this list happens to be a Japanese exclusive game, Lethal Foes for the Super Famicom. And no, it is not based on the 1970’s Japanese tokusatsu series nor is it based on the Spider-Man manga. It is an adaptation of the original Marvel comic. Though it is a platform game, its presentation does a great job of capturing the nature of the character. There is a lot of jumping on rooftops and web-slinging from one end of the level to another.

You face various villains such as Doctor Octopus, Carnage, the Beetle, and the Lizard. It has a straight up combat system of punching, kicking, and shooting webs and you get occasional help from other Marvel heroes such as Iron Fist and Human Torch. For its time, the game is rather straight to the point in context to the nature of the Spider-Man comics and is a must-have for fans of both the franchise and retro gaming. Thankfully, an English patch came out for the game a little while ago for those that want to play.

In the heydays of the arcade, beat ‘em ups were a popular genre. In addition to well-known games such as Final Fight and Double Dragon, The Simpsons and X-Men even had their own arcade beat ‘em ups so it was natural for Spidey to have one. In this game, you play as Spider-Man as he is out to stop one of the Marvel Universe’s most powerful villains, Doctor Doom! However, Spider-Man must also face the Kingpin, Venom, Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, and other members of his rogue's gallery. But he isn’t alone in his fight since Black Cat, Prince Namor, and Hawkeye join in as selectable characters to help!

Beyond being a typical beat ‘em up, the game does a great job of portraying the characters’ abilities beyond punching and kicking. Prince Namor uses water projectiles, Hawkeye uses his bow and arrow, and Black Cat has her rope and hook so everyone can do something that is useful in context to difficulty. There are also some sections of the game that temporarily scale out to turn the game more into an 8-bit platform game for some variety. The game keeps players interested and with its other inclusions from the Marvel extended universe, you and your friends will enjoy this.

While Wilson Fisk, or the Kingpin, has been famous as a Daredevil villain, he debuted as a Spider-Man one and this game takes him back to his roots. He has set a bomb in New York and has framed Spider-Man as the culprit. Now Spidey must prove his innocence and find the bomb before it’s too late. Like many pre-32-bit era console Spider-Man games, this is a traditional platformer but with its own spin to appropriately accommodate it as a Spider-Man game as he can climb up the walls. You can disable enemies by knocking them out or tie them up in a web. At the start of the game, you can even help an old lady from getting robbed.

Besides the Kingpin, Spider-Man has to deal with other villains such as Doc Ock, the Lizard, Electro, and the Sandman. The game also allows you to take pictures to make some money to buy some more web fluid because you’re going to need it. If you can find the Sega CD version of this game, it also includes some animated cutscenes with some voice acting. While the quality is laughable today, for its time, nobody can deny it was state of the art. The gameplay is still largely the same as the Genesis version, but it has improved animation, faster frame rates, but does not have the taking photos feature. Instead, you collect web fluid in the stages as opposed to making money. Like some of the older games featured on this list, it is recommended more for retro gamers.

Throughout the history of Spider-Man, there have been numerous versions of him, in addition to the standard 616 Universe and Ultimate Spider-Man, you also have Noir and 2099 and they are all playable in this game after an ancient artifact shatters causing a ripple in reality. While you can play as four versions of him, they are not all the same. If you play as 616 Spider-Man, he tends to use speed and webs like in other previous games. As Ultimate Spidey, he uses the symbiote and tends to have a wilder style of fighting. With 2099, he is much faster and agiler than 616. With Noir, he tends to be stealthier in nature.

Further expanding and emphasizing this novelty, it uses voice actors from previous animated series to play each Spider-Man. For example, Neil Patrick Harris (who voiced Spidey in the MTV cartoon), Christopher Daniel Barnes (from the 1990’s series), Josh Keaton (from the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon series), and Dan Gilvezan (from the 1980’s series) each play a respective version of Spider-Man.

If you ever wanted to play a Spider-Man game where you can choose your own adventure, then Web of Shadows is the game for you. You can either choose to abide by “with great power, there must also come great responsibility,” or just screw it. Depending on these choices, it affects the outcome of the ending. In addition to using the iconic Spider-Man costume, you also have the option to use the symbiote costume. Naturally, the normal costume emphasizes on speed and agility while the symbiote is based on brute strength.

Like some other Spider-Man games listed here, you can also meet other Marvel heroes such as Luke Cage, Black Cat, and Wolverine as he must stop the Kingpin, Vulture, and Venom as he sets out to save Mary Jane. While the game is like the recent open-world Spider-Man games, due to the dark nature of the story, it has a more intense action system that is relatively easy to master due to how repetitive it is. With the option to use the symbiote, it appropriately allows a more brutal fighting style to take out your enemies and contributes to why Spider-Man can go bad.

This game serves as a sequel to Shattered Dimensions but with only the 616 and 2099 versions of Spider-Man playable. Just like in its predecessor, each Spider-Man has their own unique ability to make them useful. 2099 can clone himself to distract enemies and sneak up on them, while the 616 Spider-Man has the ability to move much faster and with more agility to combat enemies and go through stages. Just like in some of the more recent games, it uses some RPG elements where if you collect experience points, you can use them for upgrades.

Considering that each Spidey plays in their respective timelines, what Peter does in his presence can alter the future for Miguel in 2099. For example, if Miguel finds a barrier in his timeline that is present in Peter’s, the only solution is for Peter to destroy it for Miguel to plow through. So if you want to play as Spider-Man with some time travel, then try this out.

Based on the second Raimi movie, you must save the city from Doctor Octopus. The biggest praise this game gets is how it realistically captures New York. In addition, many people love the physics of the web-slinging since you have to aim for a building or other high objects as opposed to previous games where Spider-Man can shoot into the top of the screen without having to touch anything. When you get Spidey’s web to a corner of a building, it will guide you in a way based on the trajectory of how the player is positioned from point A to point B.

While they weren’t featured in the actual movie, in addition to facing Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man also encounters Black Cat, the Shocker, Mysterio, and the Rhino. So if you want to experience the movie again but with some major differences that are still in tune with the original Spider-Man source material, many fans dispute that this is the best game to experience that.

Taking inspiration from Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate comic series, you play as that respective version of Spider-Man as he has to stop Venom from wreaking havoc. The game largely plays like your typical Activision Spider-Man title but with its own fresh presentation. The cel-shaded graphics and panel scenes feel like the comic book, and its voice acting feels like a true teen superhero drama. The game offers an open world where you can web-sling and if you see a crime in progress, you can step in and apprehend the perps.

It is a highly story oriented game where you have to face various villains like in a majority of the games on this list. You face the Ultimate versions to not only Venom but to Electro, the Rhino and the Green Goblin. Another great feature of this game is that you get to play as Venom where you can rampage the Big Apple for more fun.

After the first Activision game became a hit on the PlayStation, it was only natural it would be followed up by a sequel. If any game made the modern standard for what a true Spider-Man game should be, it is certainly Enter Electro. It was one of the first to have a true open world New York experience as the web-head himself. The first game’s graphics were rather foggy, but with this one, it is very clean and allows you to feel the ground. What’s also fun about this game is how you can customize Spider-Man. For example, you can give him the 2099 costume and give him invisibility.

As for special guests, you got Rogue and Professor X from the X-Men and Thor. As for villains, in addition to the titular Electro, you also face the Shocker, the Lizard, Hammerhead, and Sandman. If you played any of the more recent titles, this game is pretty much the beginning of them.

The top Spider-Man game of the 1990’s certainly has to be Maximum Carnage, based on the actual comic storyline where one of the franchise’s most powerful villains, Cletus Cassidy, aka Carnage, has broken out of prison and is out to wreak havoc. Not only does Spidey have to deal with Carnage, but also with Shriek, Doppelganger, and the Demogoblin so he can use all the help he can get. His main partner is his former arch-nemesis, Venom, but they also get occasional assistance from Captain America, Black Cat, Iron Fist, and Deathlok to take them down.

While a large majority of Spider-Man games were platforms up to this point, this game takes a page out of the arcade game and gives you a beat ‘em up akin to Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The game does a great job of representing Spider-Man and Venom as they can go up walls and use their super strength to throw large objects at enemies. Plus, you can use your web to throw enemies around. For 90’s kids, this was the perfect Spidey game. While fans of beat ‘em ups will love this, this game is notorious for its challenging difficulty but fans of the original comic story should enjoy this since it does a great job of capturing it with its excellent graphics and a kick-ass soundtrack.