Wolverine (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of LJN's 1991 NES game, Wolverine.
Wolverine was a US exclusive when it was released back in 1991, and (thank merciful God) was a huge step up from total abortion that was The Uncanny X-Men game.
You (obviously) play Wolverine. He's been trapped on some island by Magneto and Sabretooth, and (big surprise) has to go after them and beat them to make his escape. It's pretty standard platforming with themed stages that are fairly large and branching, with many areas having "secret" doors (read: doors that are slightly off of the direct path to the exit) that will give you upgrades, power-ups, and refills for your troubles.
Wolverine can punch stuff to death with his fists, or with a push of the Select button, can whip out his claws and shred stuff at the cost of a bit of his health gauge with every swipe. If he kills enough baddies without taking hits, his bezerker mode kicks in. This gives him invincibility and stronger attacking power, but since he's a "bezerker" (not the one from The Combatribes), you can't really control when he slashes. Seriously, this is the first time I remember playing a game where the invincibility power becomes such a liability: if you try to jump and Wolverine decides it's time to slash, well, good luck. It will kill any momentum behind the jump and probably send you directly into a pit, fire, or spikes. Besides that, though, it's surprisingly easy. There are a lot of power-ups lying around, and even some of the later cheap traps (like those gas jets in the last level) are pretty easy to get by once you remember where they are and take your time getting through them.
The graphics are fair - they're nicely detailed and colorful, even though they're awfully small. The music is pretty ace, though. It was done by Geoff Follin, and it certainly sounds like Geoff Follin. It'd be fairly easy to mistake it at first listen to something off of the Silver Surfer soundtrack, even it this one's music isn't quite as good.
Wolverine is a pretty solid game, especially for one burdened with the LJN logo, and is way better than the Wolverine game on the SNES (somehow) - so, if you like Xmen titles that aren't absolute garbage, this might be one to try out!
______
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@NintendoComplete]

This US exclusive is a pretty decent platformer that stands head and shoulders above the absolutely horrendous Uncanny Xmen game that came before it. The soundtrack from Geoff Follin certainly doesn't hurt, either!

[@Amazontroia]

Indeed that Uncanny X-men game was a joke I remember renting it when I was young and crying because it suck so bad and went to movie gallery and demanded a trade rofl

[@TylerJayWalker]

@@Amazontroia The worst part of almost all the superhero games of this and the next ear was that they made the characters normal powers into rather rare freakout moments like finding a mario star, not a normal part of their character.

[@Jonnybravo-808]

Easily one of my all time favorite NES games. Thanks for posting the awesome playthrough!

[@deankuhlman9539]

Oh I agree the NES X Men was real bad

[@balloonedraccoon2503]

This soundtrack goes hard tho. It's progressive

[@xrezzerreckedx4226]

Kinda funny how Wolverine needed a cheeseburger to heal.

[@doom-scroller7817]

I know I do.

[@ikaroAP]

A cigar would do better kkkkk

[@Angie2343]

Hey, a guy's gotta eat.

[@nunyanunya4147]

he doesnt need the cheeseburger but addign a beer and cigar would not be in the nes spirit sadly

[@jeremyriley1238]

@@nunyanunya4147 That is true since at the time, Nintendo of America had that content policy making it where all games had to be family-friendly.

[@alexwijaya1118]

I remember playing this game in 2012 when I was in elementary school, good old memories :')

[@michaelwerkov3438]

Youngin. I'm glad you knew of this game though!

[@jamesk1288]

Yeah, I believe I had this game in 1992. I still have yet to beat it

[@crewrangergaming9582]

I used to play for hours on an end when I was in elementary in 2006.. I was never able to pass the water levels 😂

[@thebigsquig]

I remember as a kid my dad playing this and finding a hidden warp zone in the first level because he thought up was jump. If memory serves me, it's on the platform below the burger at 1:06. Stand on the platform and press up and it will warp you to trial 2. It might be a different platform but I believe its around there.

[@scottodrowsky9835]

I remember playing this game as a kid. Can't remember how far I got in it though. Thanks for this!

[@CloudStrifeZX]

that face Wolvi makest at 20:25 its like saying " its a LJN game what do you expect?"

[@PlusmaGun]

I consider this game to be *one of the best LJN games on the NES*, believe it or not. Sure, it could have been better, but hey, it could have been a lot worse, too! Like *Beetlejuice* kind of worse!

[@Thetazord]

PlusmaGun I'll give it to ya, bub. LoL

[@subzero8679]

Beetlejuice isn't even that bad really once you know what to do. It still has some shitty cheap deaths, but it's not a horrible game.

[@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE]

Software Creations was the responsible for this game, explaining the music by Geoff Follin.

[@musicstaroffl]

Amazing music & wonderful game!

[@alvaroalas2450]

this game was decent for 8 bit era,i just wish the claws didn't drain your health

[@JHEntertainment98]

I wish it was more accurate to the comics and gave Wolverine a healing factor.

[@MatthewBenson321]

Wow that's some incredible music.

[@BipolarBowler]

All the sound effects make me think of 8-bit colitis

[@jasonhull2163]

I got this game when I was 7 when it released. Hard as shit for a kid.

[@wendeldejapericorrendoeped293]

Minhas habilidades no vg vieram desse jogo fenomenal, jogava direto meu jogo favorito!

[@aitakemi]

This game stressed me out so much as a kid, I couldn't even pass level 4... it was pathetic.

[@Sankuuuuuuu]

Omg I Played This Game Nostalgia

[@Lj-md9ng]

Funny thing is I thought that I played and beat all of the X-men games.. this is my first time seeing this one😂

[@egocide9034]

Soon as I heard the soundtrack I immediately thought sounds Silver Surferish, is this Tim Follin?.. Look it up, apparently it's by Geoff Follin, Tim's brother.. Didn't even know he had a brother lol. Funny thing to discover just from the way a video game sounds.

[@LilReikoGold]

Avgn did a review on this game and it was funny

[@EDifyer881]

At least it's better than the uncanny xmen

[@gabrielsylvestre3708]

There's a warp at the beginning of stage 1 at the bottom platform on the other side of the pipe wall I found by accident as a kid. I also found Psylocke and Jubilee by accident. I ddn't make it past stage 3 = Halloween.

[@ChescoYT]

Kids today don't know the garbage we had to shift thru...

[@Sankuuuuuuu]

xD

[@luigiprado5935]

Great game!

[@jamesborlan2850]

This game does looks pretty good But I’ve heard that the big problem with this game is that using wolverines claws drains your health although I think that’s supposed to add the challenge of the game Still this game did help build the mold for future x men games such as the genesis ones the snes one by capcom and street fighter vs X-men Yeah this game is pretty good for ljn standards (but then again I think the time to hate on ljn is over as worse game companies such as Phoenix came along and said hold my beer)

[@Kakakid520]

Aluguei esse game na época e acabei comprando o cartucho depois! zerei foi top de mais!

[@nickelarcade6934]

Awesome music. I’m assuming this is the same game engine as Spider-Man and X-men arcades revenge.

[@thunderlightning1980]

LJN and their dirty fingers! They loved Spider-Man, X-Men, and a few others.

[@chocolateshogun2511]

Ahhh, the infamous Karnov ending....

[@zacharyhecox6580]

Forgot the waterfall on level 4

[@magicalstarz4477]

This game played by Deadpool since 1940 and X-Men watching the movies🎥 like Batman, Superman, One-punch man to bring creative programmable world 💫Dp /// ☄️

[@EDifyer881]

It's obvious that they never read the comics because this definitely didn't look like a wolverine game wolverine adamantium rage however did feel like a wolverine game despite not being that good

[@justanobody0]

it looks like they had already started designing assets for another game, or had another game already partially made and then was like "yea, Wolverine needs pumpkin head enemies"

[@Joe_Friday]

Why is he not using his claws?

[@jeremyriley1238]

In this game, using the claws will slowly drain your health (something that is stupid, as Wolverine is supposed to have a healing factor, yet here, he can take damage from bubbles).

[@MrChicagoIllinois]

This game plays just like Silver Surfer.

[@johannesberg8649]

The fucking music in this game though...awesome as SHIT

[@sainttrunks1982]

Worst Ending Ever... and what was Magneto doing? nothing

[@sainttrunks1982]

Why are silver surfers attacking you?

[@gabrielsylvestre3708]

How do you use Havok?

[@justanobody0]

didn't it say select

[@DrowningSorrows1]

I still hate that you can't use your claws. Well you can but only if you want them to drain your health. That makes no sense. That would be like making a Spider-Man game where you lose health every time you shoot web, or a Superman game where you lose health every time you fly.

[@DrowningSorrows1]

The ending is funny too. You knock Sabretooth off and then it shows Wolverine looking stern and then it just ends.

[@justanobody0]

some comments have suggested they should've included wolverine's healing so they could have the claws hurt wolverine, but if he slowly regained health at some rate, it would offset the ability to use claws

[@jeffreymcgillivray5408]

I beat this game when I was a kid, but I hated it. Really? I lose energy when I use my claws? This game pissed me off on all levels, but I still had to beat it because of how much it pissed me off.

[@MultiVince95]

Nice

[@thunderlightning1980]

I hate those punch and kick sounds, they remind me of Target Renegade, Terminator 2: Judgement Day (NES). GEEZ!

[@shkeni]

Terrible game, but the music's pretty ace. Love that first level theme.

[@aguilatormenta9663]

Lobezno el videojuego.

[@andreydubovitskiy6056]

Wolvfrine NES Playthrough 0:06

[@mathsamitsir]

very easy game. nes should make more difficult games

[@eugenehill7165]

Psylocke 2:48 Jubilee 6:34 level bonus kids wolverine ha havok Hamburger 🍔 soft drink heartbeat 💓💓💓💓💓💓 Claw knives before night trail on fire

[@eugenehill7165]

Havok 17:46 wolverine defeated magneto 18:13

[@cote87]

The end? hahahaha

[@holyhexor_w]

Some like it hot..!!

[@Haughtwire]

Nintendo pisses me off

[@Peter_Morris]

Dang Jim Lee sucked at this game. :)

[@manuelchavarria]

One of the most annoying-sounding games of all time

[@psy8637]

휴대폰종간갑

[@psy8637]

모음1듣가수

[@psy8637]

화산고

[@solarflare9078]

Amazing soundtrack RIP Geoff Follin.

[@noeldelacruz3573]

18:40 - Wolverine: “Where the hell were you guys when I was fighting Magneto?!?”

[@knightshifter2201]

This wolverine game actually isn’t bad it’s hard but definitely not bad and the music just kicks ass.

[@CarozQH]

Games like this really show that being on the NES wasn't an excuse for having poor animations - everything in this game, from Wolverine and the enemies to the backgrounds (especially that fire trial level, I mean... damn!) is really smoothly animated and just looks great!

[@killerb255]

2:52 hawt

[@uynosquedamostrabado]

i see bad bitch

[@OswaldMiyake35]

Actually this a Good Game for LJN Standars.

[@bryansteele832]

IT WAS! Terminator 2 & spiderman sinister six on the other hand...HO-LEE SHIT

[@Bloodreign1]

LJN never made a game though.

[@knightshifter2201]

The graphics are beautiful for a nes game and the music rocks.

[@SeekGrace]

I never managed to get pass that submerged stage when I was kid. PS: ''The End ?'' I'm still thinking about that question since 90s.

[@ambermariemalone]

Loved this game as a kid and it's so oooh satisfying to see the levels I could never get to 😂 thank you so much for posting this!!!

[@DarKKnightt07]

weird how this looks like gameboy color game.

[@yellowblanka6058]

As LJN games go, this is a masterpiece of game design. I still think Tim Follin's music deserves a better game though.

[@andreydubovitskiy6056]

Wolvfrine NES Good Ending 20:15

[@andrewvincent7299]

I don't understand the story here. Did Sabertooth trap him in some labyrinth of deathtraps or something lol?

[@mariusamber3237]

The set-up - according to the manual - is that you end up washed up on an unknown island, and you can only go inland, since there's no way back, and then you enter Sabretooth's labyrinth of death, essentially (it's called the Otherworld from what I remember).

[@justanobody0]

@@mariusamber3237 Sabertooth went through all the trouble to make different themes for areas like making sure all the henchmen in one area wore pumpkin shaped helmets

[@michaelhowell5874]

Man, Wolvie has always been an inspiration to me, I think since '90. I always hated when he got hurt in this. Wonderful game, and the music....

[@hydrovenom1]

I got this game when I was 7 years old. I beat it the same day, and could never beat it again after that 😂

[@DefinitiveDubs]

There's a romhack that gives you recovery time and makes it so the claws don't hurt you. It makes the game pretty damn good.

[@nilehoruseus]

I like this game I like Wolverine so much

[@ezio1896]

My cousin and i used to play this he died 10 years ago this reminded me of him😭

[@Frogdoddofficial]

Im surprised by the lack of sprite flicker in this game.

[@KevinWikse]

3:11 Magnets to pull him by his adamantium laced bones. That's called foreshadowing....

[@justanobody0]

Sabertooth who designed all these levels seems to know this but Magneto doesn't

[@TheAkd89]

This game pissed me off as a kid lol

[@EDifyer881]

Magneto and sabertooth looked like a joke in this game lol

[@JawnReal]

I played this throught omg the nostalgia. Im still salty tho im stuck at the final stage I cant get him to push off the cliff

[@jimlee6560]

Same here 😂, I always wondered how could he not be destroyed even after so many attacks..

[@999heretic999]

It’s really similar to T2. Music, sound effects, character model.

[@NelsonWilcox22]

Same developers. Plus, the music in both games were composed by Geoff Follin.

[@gateofdivine582]

I remember liking the animation, music and being Wolverine. Nothing else was enjoyable about this brutal game as a kid. 😅

[@WaldoBagelTopper]

I never got passed the graveyard/spooky stage. Kinda glad I didn't now lol. This looks like one of those games like Castlevania- where they try to get cute the closer you get to the end lol. And the ending lmao what a poor pay off. Ahhh my youth.

[@SeanRopp]

I remember playing this and getting all the way to Sabertooth at the end and not knowing how to beat him. Years later I finally found out you gotta knock him off the ledge. Also, I think that if you stand still for a while, Wolverine would heal. It was a long time though, but I can't remember if this was entirely the case.

[@Dorelaxen]

Gotta disagree with you, here. The music is good (when isn't Follin good), but man, I utterly HATED this friggin' game. That berzerker mode was the single stupidest thing I've ever encountered in a game. Who thought that was a good idea? I kept on getting hit on purpose so it wouldn't kick in, and hey, that's not good either because that kills you as well! Yeah, it is nominally better than Uncanny X-Men, but so is a kick in the balls. More Laughin' Jokin' Numbnuts for the NES.

[@WerewolfOvWallachia]

what kind of X-Men game punishes the player for using Wolverine's claws??... this one... such a mediocre platformer with Marvel slapped on it... with all the expensive licenses that Acclaim picked up and all the mediocre developers they hired to make the games, it's a wonder how they didn't go under in the mid 90's.

[@zankyprasetya3063]

Actually there was shortcut to go next level, but i just found 2, at lv1 to lv 2 and lv 4 to lv 6, tell me if there another shortcut

[@Kamen_Rider.]

My first NES game, and the first one i managed to finish as a kid!!!

[@jasonsheard2105]

I could never get over that Wolverine beats Magneto with a few punches

[@lucasanjoz]

shhhhhhhheeet! SOOOO MANY MEMORIES with the intro and first stage song xDDDDDDD

[@JHEntertainment98]

Wolverine is supposed to have a healing factor he doesn’t need Burgers to heal, and why does using his claws drain your health. Did the developers of this game know anything about Wolverine?

[@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE]

Well, they gotta make the game balanced.

[@JHEntertainment98]

@@RedTsarOldChannel-INACTIVE I’ve seen plenty of other X-Mens where Wolverine had his healing factor but they designed it in a way that the game wouldn’t be too easy, such as X-Men Legends and X2 Wolverine’s Revenge.

[@crewrangergaming9582]

As a kid I was never able to pass the water levels.. 😢

[@m.a.packer5450]

One of the absolute worst video games ever made

[@robwest5457]

Awful. Typical LJN garbage. Run around as Wolverine with no claws. Zero boss battles, fight monochromatic enemies, eat burgers, drink idk whisky?, punch, punch, punch, finally fight Magneto but he runs away, fight Sabretooth, pointless battle where u just knock him off a cliff....seriously bad.

[@NintendoComplete]

Rob West Sabretooth made me laugh. That fight is identical to the end boss fight in Cliffhanger.

[@framds4802]

17:49 Played this game a million times for years trying to find Havok. Now I am at peace.

[@michaelwerkov3438]

Bro same. When I discovered there were other hidden characters. .

[@Apathesis0]

Incredible soundtrack

[@deankuhlman9539]

This game looks lame as hell.

[@DuduSP7]

Awesome game 😍😍😍😍

[@snesfan8935]

How nice, we have here x-men the outback / xtinction agenda / mutant genesis team.

[@Kenny-wr3ky]

Thinking on how LJN could have fixed the claw and healing factor issue with this game I came up with this. On the life bar have a green section where you can use Wolverine's claws freely. Then a yellow section where it does drain life and back to a red section where you can use them freely again. So you start off full health green using your claws but if you get hit down to yellow they can drain your life. Then like the original you can freely use them when your in the red. Now to the healing factor. Simply have Wolverine heal while he rages.

[@LUCKO2022]

How the hell was I supposed to know that when you get Havock? I didn't know that you had to kneel twice and punch in the air twice to get the platform to move? How was I suppose to know that as a kid. I can beat the game and have been able to since the game was new in 1991. But I never got Havock. I never knew how to get in that door.

[@bluescat581]

Can't believe Wolverine gets hurt when he uses his claws. Why.

[@SackboyLBP]

This is actually a prequel to the PS5 game of the same name

[@djking330]

Na minha infância nunca consegui derruba ele no poço pra zerar

[@liliannakifflin6343]

Looks like Jubilee is slowly becoming Katharine Hepburn.

[@ambermariemalone]

Back again! Every now and again I need to watch this. Life was simple then.