X-Men: Mutant Academy

X-Men: Mutant Academy is a 3-D/2D fighting game developed by Paradox, the company behind Activision's Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style and the never-published Thrill Kill, and based on X-Men characters, from Marvel Comics. The game was released for the Game Boy Color and PlayStation as a tie-in to X-Men.

Published by Activision, X-Men: Mutant Academy is a basic fighting game that uses six buttons: three buttons for punches and three for kicks. Due to the success of the game, it was followed by two sequels: X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 and X-Men: Next Dimension. The game's characters can be played both with their comic book costumes and their costumes from the 2000 film X-Men. Characters not present in the film were given costumes of a similar design.

PlayStation
X-Men: Mutant Academy on the PlayStation is a fighting game that features 3D stages, but largely adhering to the rules of 2D fighters. The main characters are a combination of classic X-Men characters and the X-Men film. Nearly every X-Men character is available, each with their own fighting moves (much like Street Fighter) and plenty of finishing moves to spice things up.

Game Boy Color
Much like its big brother, X-Men: Mutant Academy on the Game Boy Color is a fighting game. Due to obvious limitations on hardware, the stages in this version have been rendered in 2D, and the gameplay is different from the PlayStation version. In addition to Story Mode, where one player takes on all the others in consecutive fights, there is training mode, battle mode, survival mode, and a versus mode utilizing the Game Link cable. During a fight, a rage bar will slowly fill, which allows using powerful special moves that are activated through button combos.

Characters
There are ten selectable characters from the X-Men Universe, all of them selectable from the beginning in versus mode, but the four bosses must be unlocked to play as in all the other modes.

X-Men

 * Cyclops
 * Wolverine
 * Gambit
 * Storm
 * Beast (only character not present in the Game Boy version)
 * Phoenix (a secret character in the Game Boy version)

Bosses

 * Toad
 * Mystique
 * Magneto
 * Sabretooth

Game Boy Exclusives

 * Pyro (boss character)
 * Apocalypse (secret character)

Reception
The PlayStation version of X-Men: Mutant Academy received mixed-to-positive reviews by critics. However, the Game Boy Color version received mostly negative reviews. Many critics and fans criticized the Game Boy Color version for its lack of difficulty, and its similarity to Street Fighter Alpha. Despite the criticism, some praised the graphics in the game. Unlike the handheld version, the PlayStation version was widely praised for the gameplay, the enemy AI, and the graphics, but it was criticized for its similarity to Capcom video games, such as Street Fighter.