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

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X-Men: Children of the Atom
Developer(s)	Capcom Probe Entertainment (PC port)
Publisher(s)	Capcom Acclaim Entertainment (Western domestic releases)
Composer(s)	Takayuki Iwai Shun Nishigaki Hideki Okugawa Isao Abe
Platform(s)	Arcade, Sega Saturn, PC DOS, PlayStation
Release date(s)	Arcade December 1994 Sega Saturn JP November 22, 1995 NA 1996 EU 1996 PC NA May 31, 1997 EU 1997 PlayStation EU February 1998 NA March 3, 1998
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneiously
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) 13 + (Home ports only)
Input methods	8-way Joystick, 6 buttons
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	CPS-2
Display	Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

"X-Men: Children of the Atom" was also the name of a sourcebook for the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game.

X-Men: Children of the Atom 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.

[edit] 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' eye beam), and the ability to pursue an opponent after performing a throwing attack for additions 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 can not play against a clone of their own character. Akuma from Super Turbo, appears in the single-player mode as a secret opponent who appears after the sixth match if the requirements are met.

[edit] Characters

[edit] X-Men

• Colossus is the slowest, but strongest X-Men member. His attacks involve pummeling the opponent and taking advantage of his metal skin. His stage is a city under siege by Sentinels. The road you fight on can break, which drops the fighters onto a garbage barge.
• Cyclops relies mainly on his optic blasts. He has a great amount of agility and has an uppercut move. His stage is the Danger Room.
• Iceman attacks his enemies with ice beams or ice balls. An interesting point is that he takes zero chipping damage when blocking a projectile attack. His stage is an ice floe floating across a tropical beach.
• Psylocke, utilizes both Ninjutsu attacks and psionic blasts, with equal ease and speed. She also employs illusions, enabling sneak attacks. Her stage is an elevator moving around a skyscraper.
• Storm is the only X-Men member who can fly and mainly attacks with wind, ice and lightning-based attacks. Her stage is on top of the Blackbird.
• Wolverine has moves related to his powerful brawling and clawing skills. He has great agility and can also heal part of his damage. His stage is the Savage Land.

[edit] Villains

• Omega Red mostly makes use of his tentacles, draining either the life- or X-energy or whipping them at the player. His stage is an undersea laboratory.
• Sentinel is the largest regular character. He is slow and awkward, but features a vast array of intimidating short- and long-range weaponry, and extremely powerful blows — Sentinel's normal moves inflict guard damage to blocking opponents. His stage is a Sentinel factory in Genosha. Master Mold, who is in the background, will either fly off or be destroyed depending on whether or not Sentinel wins.
• Silver Samurai features an array of Kendo strikes and throwing shurikens. He can also use his mutant abilities to energize his sword in a vast array of ways. His stage is a Kodokan.
• Spiral uses her long, powerful six arms. She is a great grappler, and can teleport at will. Her stage is Mojo world. Her stage is unique because the floor will break up to 3 times.

[edit] Bosses

• Juggernaut is the first boss character which the player encounters after defeating the first six opponents. He is a slow, but powerful character with huge range. Three blows dispose of almost any character. Not only is he extremely powerful, but it takes multiple hits to put him on the floor. He has a special armor that prevents him from being tripped or pushed back that is powered up even more by his Crimson Gem of Cyttorak power-up ability. His stage is a space ship launching bay.
• Magneto is the final boss. He is capable of flight and is immensely powerful. In addition, his super bar fills automatically. As expected, his attacks are mainly revolved around his mastery of magnetism and electromagnetism. One ability allows him to manipulate ship fragments from the Blackbird, which is never seen in a later game. Another creates an invulnerable magnetic shield around him that protects him from virtually any attack. His stage is Avalon, his space station.

[edit] Secret Character

• Akuma (Gouki in Japan) is very similar to his SSFII Turbo incarnation. His stage is the Danger Room. He is selectable via a code at the character select screen.

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: X-Men: Children of the Atom (arcade game)

• 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