I'm going to go on my Superman rant now. There's never been a good Superman game and that can be blamed on three things, only two of which matter.
The first is technical limitation, this game doesn't suffer from it, and the only Superman title that's really held back by it alone is the Atari 2600 title, so we'll discard it for now.
The second and third are the human obsession with "The Superman That Can Punch Anything" and "The Superman Who Decides to be Evil". This game's weakness stems from the "Superman That Can Punch Anything" point of argument.
When Superman was created, he was a powerful antithesis to war, hatred, the atom bomb. He was something to put hope into for kids at the newsstand who were surrounded by emerging geopolitical struggle and whispers of fascist uprisings. Superman was something to be admired because of his ability to protect as an ideal. This was something comics were uniquely equipped to do, as a visual language of action and color can communicate excitement even when the narrative of the thing moves quietly.
So as it has come, time and time again, for video games to do "what only they can" with the caped boy scout, they've dared to ask to bold question "What if instead...Superman WAS the nuke?" and "What is Superman could punch REAL good?" Superman (1988) by Taito is another such game.
It's coated in the hopeful color and chime of Reeves-era Superman, and in quiet moments like Superman flying over a scenic mountain sunset, it channels these themes well. But at its core, Superman is half beat-em-up, half shoot-em-up, ignoring the hero's power set and ethos to fit into an arcade cabinet. It's simple, visually busy, and can be played with only a single button if desired, which says all that needs to be said in my mind.
There's never going to be a good Superman game until players and developers alike can accept a game in which the point is to struggle to do good with unlimited power, instead of a game where you struggle because of a health bar or a murderous dictator Superman. And as such, this title is just alright.
The first is technical limitation, this game doesn't suffer from it, and the only Superman title that's really held back by it alone is the Atari 2600 title, so we'll discard it for now.
The second and third are the human obsession with "The Superman That Can Punch Anything" and "The Superman Who Decides to be Evil". This game's weakness stems from the "Superman That Can Punch Anything" point of argument.
When Superman was created, he was a powerful antithesis to war, hatred, the atom bomb. He was something to put hope into for kids at the newsstand who were surrounded by emerging geopolitical struggle and whispers of fascist uprisings. Superman was something to be admired because of his ability to protect as an ideal. This was something comics were uniquely equipped to do, as a visual language of action and color can communicate excitement even when the narrative of the thing moves quietly.
So as it has come, time and time again, for video games to do "what only they can" with the caped boy scout, they've dared to ask to bold question "What if instead...Superman WAS the nuke?" and "What is Superman could punch REAL good?" Superman (1988) by Taito is another such game.
It's coated in the hopeful color and chime of Reeves-era Superman, and in quiet moments like Superman flying over a scenic mountain sunset, it channels these themes well. But at its core, Superman is half beat-em-up, half shoot-em-up, ignoring the hero's power set and ethos to fit into an arcade cabinet. It's simple, visually busy, and can be played with only a single button if desired, which says all that needs to be said in my mind.
There's never going to be a good Superman game until players and developers alike can accept a game in which the point is to struggle to do good with unlimited power, instead of a game where you struggle because of a health bar or a murderous dictator Superman. And as such, this title is just alright.
lostleader
2 months ago