In my long-running journey to play every game in the same universe as Rino Romano's Spider-Man, I've finally conquered this beast.

I have been meaning to play this one for over a year, and the reason being that Rino Romano's Spider-Man appears in a deleted scene! Meaning, yes, this is canon to the four or five Spider-Man games that he first appeared in!

The way this one connects to the timeline is it is the second movie tie-in game to the Fox X-Men movies, the first was X-Men Mutant Academy, which branches off into the Mutant Academy game series (which I played.) In that timeline branch Spidey dies, but in this one he appears alive and well.

As for the actual game, my random timeline headcanons aside, it was alright lol. It wasn't super duper fun, I think the controls were kind of annoying and running through samey underground science lab after science lab didn't really hook me. What I really liked were some of the boss fights, with the exception of Magneto, that old fart, that fight was fucking infuriating.

I would never have played this game if not for the connections it has to my childhood Spider-Man game, and for that I give it some points because I think it's cool. It wasn't really a super joy to play, though, so here we are.

At the end of the day I did it in 3 or 4 hours so it wasn't a waste of my time, but I'm glad to have finally beaten it.

The crown jewel of the Artix Entertainment games, it's a lot more serious than their other games in a way that works but it still has that trademark silliness that makes it feel unique. It's a well-realized medieval fantasy setting with an intriguing story that's only grown more mature as time has gone on; quite frankly I'm surprised by how many scenes from this game have stuck in my memory.

The battle system is pretty good, with a variety of classes to choose from, and fights move pretty quickly so I never feel the crush of the grind. It's one of the few games of this genre where I actually felt compelled to seek out and complete every mission because they're simple, but satisfying.

Yes you have to pay for a membership to unlock everything but it's a one-time fee so it's basically the same as just buying a game. Having to buy the special book to unlock the seasonal events year-round is kinda annoying but just think of it as a dlc lol.

Every review on this site seems to be for the Genesis version. That version is dogshit that runs too fast and is nearly unplayable.
I would heavily rec the PC Engine version on the other hand. It's much more atmospheric, especially with the creepy 3D CGI. The turning is snappier, the player can set extra lives and continues should they need to, the collision is precise, and the built in turbo makes the game much more manageable. It's genuinely a great action platformer, if a bit short. I laughed out loud (LOL'd) when I picked up a powerup that drained my health. SOUL!

I IMPLORE anybody with a homebrewed 3DS or PlayStation 3 to get this game, because it is just so much genuine fun. A spin-off of the short lived Lost Planet franchise, it features series staples such as survival on a frozen planet and an endless onslaught of alien insects known as the Akrid, but the anime bullshit is cranked up to 500. As if the first two games weren't hammy enough, EX Troopers leaves them in the dust by codefiying itself in anime. The gameplay isn't the same as the first two Lost Planet games, due to the absence of actually piloting Vital Suits, as well as the lack of vertical mobility, but it makes up for it with snappy and satisfying arcade shooting with a simple to learn gameplay loop. The plot itself is also anime as fuck, even if it does play it safe compared to other anime games. The plot takes heavy cues from shonen heavyhitters such as Naruto, Soul Eater, and Bleach, as well as mecha such as Eureka Seven and Mobile Fighter G Gundam, where the main protagonist Bren Turner enters an academy dedicated to training soldiers to become part of NEVEC, the corporate conglomerate responsible for colonization on EDN III. As he enters the academy, he sets his sights on becoming the best at the academy, earning both the awe and ire of his peers, and causing friends of all kinds to surround him as he makes his way to the top, all the while uncovering a more sinister plot behind the events occurring at the academy. Despite its simplicity, it's very enjoyable to sit through and the Japanese voice acting does wonders to bring the vibrant characters alive. There's also a high quality fan localization out right now (available here: https://fantranslators.info/projects/e-x-troopers/) that translates everything into English from its original language in Japanese, and even if you can't go through the effort to patch a 3DS game cartridge or PS3 Blu-Ray disc, there is .cia files for Citra and a ROM for RPCS3 available so you can put the patch over it, and experience the game for yourself on PC. I highly recommend you do whatever it takes to play this game, because it was a sorely missed opportunity on Capcom's part, and it will be a missed opportunity on your part too if you don't.