Superman (Sunsoft game)

Superman (known in Europe as Superman: The Man of Steel) is a video game released by Sunsoft for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1992. It is based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It is a traditional single-player side-scrolling arcade game where the player controls Superman through various levels in an effort to defeat the evil supervillain named Brainiac. Other super villains, as bosses, include The Prankster, Metallo and Mister Mxyzptlk.

Released: 1992
Platforms: SNES Sega Genesis
Genres: Action Adventure
Developers: Sunsoft
Publishers: Sunsoft
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Composers: Kenji Yamazaki

About

This game was planned to be released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but was cancelled before it was completed. Versions of the game for the Master System and Game Gear were developed by Graftgold and published by Virgin Games in Europe as Superman: The Man of Steel, which was also the title received by the European Mega Drive version published by Virgin.

Keywords

superman

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Each level of the game begins with a front page of the Daily Planet announcing that some supervillain is wreaking havoc on the city, and with Clark Kent changing into his Superman costume in order to start the level.

The game limits the powers of Superman to jumping, punching and kicking (he cannot fly except in cutscenes). He can only use his superpowers by collecting certain icons scattered throughout the level that are required to accomplish a certain task, e.g., a superpunch icon to break down a wall in order to further advance in the level. At the end of each level, Superman battles a super villain from the comics, and the intermission between each level is a congratulatory message from the Daily Planet newspaper.

Reception

The game received from generally mixed to negative review. While the game was noted for its decent 16-bit graphics and sound, critics panned the game for its limited usage of Superman's powers and for having a limited storyline. As the player could only have one super power icon at a time, a glitch in the pre-production editions of the game (fixed before its release but still a problem in the edition that was reviewed by many video game critics) forced the player to reset the game if they collected the wrong icon.