X-Men Arcade: In Defense of Dazzler

This article has nothing to do with Wolvie. 

Ah, the X-Men arcade game. It's a fun, classic brawler that just resurfaced on the PSN and XBLA. But something I've noticed as a theme in every review: endless jokes about Dazzler. "Better call it now so you don't get stuck playing Dazzler." Having spent a considerable portion of the last week playing the hell out of the game I have to wonder: what's everyone's problem?


I mean sure, Dazzler is pretty obscure (I can't tell you her real name, origin story, or if I've ever read a comic she appeared in). She's not an iconic character like Wolverine, Cyclops or Storm, or a character with a big following like Nightcrawler has. And gameplay-wise, she's not the Mutant Power spam machine that Colossus is. And yeah, I can kinda understand how you might want a more well known character like Jean Grey or Jubilee in her spot, but I've been playing the game and honestly...I really like playing Dazzler.

No adamantium claws or eyebeams. Just PLASMA BOMBS.

She's a pretty solid, balanced character. Not that there's that much difference between the characters- but most of them have a jump attack that tends to send me flying over whoever I'm trying to kick in the back of the brain. Not so with Dazzler- her jump attack is ACTUALLY USEFUL! She's also probably (I have no way of proving this) the quickest character. It might just be me thinking that, but in any case: she's fun to play.


Also, her mutant power is pretty useful at clearing out a bunch of enemies at once. Granted, ALL of the mutant powers are supposed to be like this, but hers is second only to Colossus for spread, and isn't accompanied by a WHOOOOOOOOOOOA!!! Plus, her attack range isn't nerfed to hell like Cyclops.


Anyway, show a little respect for the obscure but oh-so-playable Dazzler. That plasma-bomb mutant power may save your ass sometime.