Homebrew Saturn port of X-Men arcade gets updated demo, adding 3-player co-op and playable Storm

Remember the homebrew port of the 1992 X-Men arcade game for Sega Saturn being worked on by hotrodx? They just came out with an all-new version of their demo adding Storm to the playable roster, as well as 3-player co-op and a new 2nd stage.

Might as well cut to the chase. Check in past the break for info on the update as well as a download link.

According to the description of the above video showing off the new additions to this demo, these are the all new changes to version 0.2.0 of the demo.

• New selectable character, Storm
• Three-player co-op, join any time
• Second stage, the Sentinel Factory
• Additional enemy types
• On-screen “mayhem” including “lots of sprites and explosions”
• A not-quite Easter Egg celebrating the release of Disney+ animated series “X-Men 97”

Developer hotrodx also clarifies here that they do not actually own a 6-player multitap, which is required for multiplayer with more than two players on Saturn. They tested the 3-player co-op mode using an emulator. In theory, it should still work on real hardware, so if you happen to own a Saturn multitap, give it a try for yourself.

You can run the game on real Saturn hardware with a number of methods, with the easiest option being to use an ODE such as a Fenrir, Satiator, or Phøde. Just remember this demo is only meant to function on NTSC Saturn consoles either way, so don’t bother trying it with a European model Saturn.

The video description also has the link to this new version of the demo, but you can also click right here to grab it. Once you’ve tried it out, tell us about your experience in the comments below. Unfortunately, hotrodx has comments turned off on their YouTube videos, and with no other links made available to contact them, there seems to be no way that I’m aware of to give them any feedback. Hopefully, they’re doing just fine developing their new port anyway.

On a related note, while this demo adds in some sort of reference to the new X-Men ’97 animated series now streaming on Disney+, that same show coincidentally just referenced the X-Men arcade game right back in episode 4, which is currently the latest episode. Here is the clip to see for yourself.

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