There are games that make you feel like a superhero, and then there are games that make you feel like you forgot to read the instructions, lost the instructions, and maybe the instructions never existed in the first place. Uncanny X-Men on the NES proudly lives in that second category.

This week, we’re taking a look at a game that technically features some of our favorites from Marvel’s mutants, but in a way that raises a lot of questions. Mostly “why does it work like this?” and “who thought this was a good idea?” Along the way, we’ll try to connect the dots back to the comics and see what actually made the jump from page to cartridge.

Joining the show are frequent guest and actual real-life friend Adam Williamson, along with Miles Stokes from Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, bringing the kind of X-Men knowledge and patience required to make sense of a game that absolutely refuses to explain itself.

So grab a friend, a pile of comfort snacks, and a security blanket because everything you've heard about this game is probably true. I hope you survive the experience.

Learn such things as:

Who is that silent superstar that put together the character bios for the manual?
Why do doors hate the X-Men so much?
How does Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men play into the origin of Play Comics?
And so much more!

You can find Adam on BlueSky @effectnotaffect and absolutely nowhere else except for on Play Comics where he writes comic reviews and appears on other episodes. Of particular interest to listeners of this episode are The Gimmick #1 and The Job #1.

You can find Miles over at @XPlaintheXmen on BlueSky or over at the official site for Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

The next episode is going to be Lupin the 3rd Treasure of the Sorcerer King, so get your thoughts ready and over to me if you want to hear them in the show.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Spawnography and Capes on the Couch for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who’s favorite X-Men character is Lockjaw.

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Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-89f00a for 40% off for 4 months, and support Play Comics.

The Uncanny X-Men with Adam Williamson and Miles Stokes (Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men)