From HandWiki - Reading time: 5 min
| Wolverine | |
|---|---|
North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Software Creations |
| Publisher(s) | LJN |
| Designer(s) | Craig Houston Kevin Edwards |
| Artist(s) | Craig Houston Lyndon Brooke |
| Composer(s) | Geoff Follin |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Wolverine is an action video game developed by Software Creations and published by LJN for the NES, and was released in North America in 1991. It is a licensed game based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name, as well as the X-Men.
Wolverine has been captured by his old foes Magneto and Sabretooth. Stranded on a deserted island, Wolverine must survive deadly enemies and traps, concluding with a battle with Magneto and Sabretooth.
The player controls Wolverine, who has been imprisoned on a vast island, through various stages, into a final battle against evil mutants Magneto and Sabretooth. Along with icons to restore health, or to gain extra lives, special icons can be located to allow other X-Men characters, such as Jubilee, Havok, and Psylocke to offer advice or temporary aid.
Wolverine's basic moves are jumping, ducking, punching, and kicking. He can bring out his legendary powerful claws with a push of the "Select" button, but every time the claws are used, his energy is depleted. Energy is regained by consuming food and beverages, such as hamburgers and soft drinks. If the player kills enough minor characters, Wolverine will temporarily shift into a "Berzerker" mode.
Unlike many other NES games, where the player's character is given a grace period of invulnerability after sustaining damage, Wolverine's energy is simply drained for as long as he is in contact with an enemy or hazard. Another difference is that at the end of a level, except for the final two, there is no boss to defeat.
In a retrospective of video games featuring Wolverine, IGN mocked the NES game for not being faithful to the comics as well as its high difficulty level.[1]
Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]
Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]
In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]
On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]
In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]
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