Justice League: Task Force
  

   
STORY:  Darkseid attacks the planet Earth, destroying a military base in the process. A member of the Justice League (that the player chooses to play as) tracks down the other members for information and aid only be to attacked by those heroes in their related locations. As the hero defeats the other JL members, they deduce that the others aren't the real leaguers. Coming to this conclusion, the hero battles Cheetah and then Despero for more information. They both lead the hero to Darkseid, who then forces the hero to fight their android clone. Upon defeating the clone, the hero must face Darkseid himself. After the hero defeats him, the other League members are freed, and the military base is restored.

 

   
REVIEW:  Justice League: Task Force is a 2D fighting game produced by Sunsoft and distributed by Acclaim for SNES and Sega Genesis. Justice League: Task Force features 9 playable characters from DC Comics' Justice League universe. Clearly, the game was designed as an attempt to cash in on Street Fighter 2's and Mortal Kombat's massive success at arcades and home consoles. If you want my opinion, this title falls short in the graphics department and very short in the gameplay department.

 

 

Not only are the graphics bland and mostly unimpressive for a console video game in 1995 (not to mention the arcade scene's capabilities), but the boring and basic gameplay is super clunky and unresponsive compared to modern fighting games. Character special moves and priority attacks severely lack "oomph" and animation. They need more frames! In fact, if the award for "worst 2D animation" was to be given out to a "big name" video game title in 1995... Justice League: Task Force would be in the running (if not take the cake). In fairness, the characters look decent in still frame but in motion look pretty lame.

 

 

Gameplay-wise, was the game fun? Not unless you were easily amused by spandex wearing humans. For one, the small number of moves each character can perform definitely hinders the game's fun. Justice League: Task Force wasn't fun to me because I was elaborately enjoying and learning many many other fighting games in 1995. Does this game stand up to Capcom, SNK, or Midway's quality at the time? NOT EVEN CLOSE.


To any experienced fighting game player in 1995 who knew what's what, Task Force no doubt was mostly a disappointment on all levels (or they simply didn't care about the game at all). The backgrounds and sound effects / music aren't as terrible as the game itself, but the halfway-decent presentation isn't enough to save this game. Finally... the character roster, clearly aiming to make a quick buck using DC's highest profile comic book stars, is also smaller than that of most modern fighting games in '95. Hard pass from me.


FUN FACT:   Additional Justice League members such as Martian Manhunter, Fire, and Shrapnel were planned to appear in Justice League: Task Force but were omitted due to memory limitations on Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis.

Page Updated: January 19th, 2023 Developer(s): Sunsoft Blizzard Entertainment   SNES Condor Inc.   Genesis Publisher(s): Acclaim Platform(s): Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Release Date(s): 1995                                /   SNES / Genesis Oct. 27th, 1995           SNES Sept. 1st, 1995             Genesis Characters:  Superman, Batman, The Flash, Wonder  Woman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Cheetah, Despero, Darkseid . Featured Video: Related Games: Injustice: Gods Among Us, Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe, The King of Fighters '95, Darkstalkers 2, Fatal Fury 3, Street Fighter Alpha, Marvel Super Heroes, Mortal Kombat 3, Killer Instinct 2, Super Street Fighter 2, TMNT: Tournament Fighters, WeaponLord, Power Instinct, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Galaxy Fight, Tatsunoko Fight    Gameplay Engine  2.0 / 10 Story / Theme  5.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  3.5 / 10 Animation  2.5 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  4.0 / 10 Innovation  2.0 / 10 Art Direction  2.5 / 10 Customization  2.0 / 10 Options / Extras  2.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation  3.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  1.5 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  2.0 / 10 Characters  5.0 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  2.5 / 10  Review based on SNES version        Final Words: Justice League: Task Force can indeed be written off as just another "me too 2D fighting game of 90's". It wasn't good, but might've entertained some easily-entertained folk, and that's fine I guess. However, any seasoned fighting game player in 1995 would've flushed this one quick (or better yet, not bothered to play it at all). They didn't have this game at the arcades... because if they did, NOBODY would be playing it and it would've been a financial failure. No doubt, there were far more significant and high-quality fighting games available on the SNES & Genesis in 1995 (not to mention even better ones at arcades). Personally, after playing X-Men: Children of the Atom in the arcade for almost a year, a game that looked and animated like Justice League: Task Force just wasn't acceptable!  As it turns out, slapping Batman and Superman on the cover of a sloppily made fighting game probably managed to help this game sell a few copies... but this game also ended up overloading the crowded bargain bins of the 90s and nobody actually wanted to play it. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen    Click Here for more box artwork! Click Here for more screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES