5 Retro Spider-Man Games No One Remembers Today

July 3, 2026 - 11:41

Spider-Man has swung through countless video games over the decades, from the beloved PlayStation 1 classic to the modern PlayStation hits. But not every web-slinging adventure gets remembered. Some titles, despite being fun or ambitious in their day, have faded into obscurity. Here are five retro Spider-Man games that most people have probably forgotten.

First up is "Spider-Man: The Sinister Six" for the Game Boy Color. Released in 2001, this top-down action game tasked players with fighting each member of the Sinister Six in a series of maze-like levels. It was surprisingly tough for a handheld title and featured a unique health system where Peter Parker had to find his civilian clothes to recover. Most fans today have no idea it exists.

Then there is "Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro" for the original PlayStation. While the first Spider-Man game on that console is a classic, its sequel is often overlooked. It improved the combat and added new villains like Electro and Hammerhead. The game even had to be recalled and re-released after the September 11 attacks because its original ending featured the Twin Towers. That controversy erased it from most people's memory.

Another forgotten gem is "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows" for the Nintendo DS. The console and PC versions of this game are well known for their black suit mechanic and open world. But the DS version was a completely different 2D side-scroller with a darker story. It let players switch between the red and blue suit and the symbiote suit on the fly, but its small screen and limited release meant few people played it.

"Spider-Man: Friend or Foe" is another odd one. Released in 2007, this game was a co-op beat-em-up that ignored the movie canon entirely. Spider-Man teamed up with heroes and villains from across the multiverse to fight a common threat. It was colorful and silly, but it came out right when the movie tie-in games were getting more serious, so it was quickly forgotten.

Finally, "Spider-Man: Battle for New York" for the Game Boy Advance is a rare side-scrolling fighter. It let players play as either Spider-Man or Green Goblin, each with their own campaign. The Goblin's story showed his side of the conflict, which was a neat idea. But the short length and simple gameplay meant it was a rental at best, and now it is barely a footnote in Spider-Man gaming history.

These games may not be masterpieces, but they show how Spider-Man's video game history is full of strange, forgotten experiments.