This unofficial X-Men web series is a retro gaming throwback

By Mike Epstein January 7, 2016

X-men: Danger Room Protocols - Intro

Have you ever wished that TV cartoons looked like old video games? If so, you should check out Vancouver-based video game animator Joel Furtado’s upcoming web series, X-Men: Danger Room Chronicles. It’s an unofficial collection of animated shorts designed in the style of an old X-Men video game.

In the X-Men universe, the Danger Room is the X-Men’s training facility, which combines robotic obstacles and virtual reality to simulate real world… Well, dangers. Danger Room Chronicles uses the premise to set up a series of one-off adventures using different pairs of heroes. The first episode, for example, will feature Jean Grey and Wolverine getting trapped in a simulation and fighting off enemies until they figure out how to escape.

Watching the opening credits above, fans might recognize some artistic flourishes from the X-Men video games from the 1990’s, specifically the Sega Genesis and Game Gear games called X-Men. Those touches, from casting to animation, combined with the pseudo 16-bit art, give off the distinct impression that you’re watching a cutscene from another dimension where the Sega Genesis could actually handle such a thing.

Unfortunately, Furtado may have chosen a bad time to release an unlicensed X-Men story. In addition to the upcoming film X-Men: Apocalypse, two live-action series set in the X-Men universe have been recently announced. Though the series title sequence includes a disclaimer stating Furtado has no affiliation with Marvel or Fox, which owns the film and television rights to the X-Men universe, these upcoming, licensed projects give them more reason than usual to enforce their trademarks and shut the series down.

That should not, however, prevent you from checking out the series. If you like the sound of it, Furtado has asked fans to support his work by donating to his Patreon campaign. The first episode of X-Men: Danger Room Chronicles hits YouTube January 19.

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