Superman (Arcade) Playthrough
204A playthrough of Taito's 1988 licensed-based arcade action game, Superman.
Played on the machine's default settings.
The first time I saw a Superman machine as a kid, it really left an impression on me. The game began with Clark Kent turning into Superman, the graphics were awesome, the theme song blasted at you over and over again, you could blow up helicopters with your eye lasers, and there was even a car to throw! It was the sort of game that got me excited to go to the arcade. You weren't going to find anything like this at home. Not in 1988.
According to the game's promotional flyer, "at last, our super hero, Superman, comes to the stage of the video game world! He will fight against aliens in order to frustrate the ambitions of the emperor 'Zaas' who schemes the conquest of the earth!
Using strong punches and kicks and exciting sonic blasts and heat visions, this fast-paced game is full of the characteristic energy that only Superman can possess."
Not the hypest description ever, but you have to give Taito credit: it's in English, and it makes sense. That was quite an achievement for them. Remember the ridiculous text in Ring Rage (https://youtu.be/oifFCOznpBE), or how they once released a game named "Violence Fight"? It's worth mentioning that this was not the first Superman game, regardless of what the flyer claimed. The man of steel had already been to "the stage of the video game world" several times, including on the NES (https://youtu.be/4xpJ0DbmKAg), though the arcade game was easily the best Superman game yet.
Playing it again as an adult, I still can't help but to be impressed by the presentation. The huge character sprites and colorful backdrops look fantastic for a game of its age, and there's no sign of flicker or slowdow when the screen is packed full of enemies and bullets. The music features an incredible FM rendition of the Superman theme (that synth brass!), and the digitized effects are punchy and crystal clear. The orchestra hit when you get a 1-up or a screen bomb never fails to bring a smile to my face.
The gameplay isn't up to the same level of quality as the graphics and sound, unfortunately. The brawler and the shmup sections both suffer from being too simple and repetitive, and once you hit stage four, the difficulty hits a sudden, massive spike - enemies begin to spawn right on top of you, and several can repeatedly stun lock you and chew through several lives in a row - and these things effectively ruin the rest of the game. Whenever I play, I usually turn it off as soon as I beat stage three. It's just not fun anymore beyond that point.
Superman hasn't had a lot of luck headlining video games over the years, but this is one of his better ones. It's pretty fun for the first fifteen minutes, at least.
For a bit of extra fun, keep an eye out for some of the weird text that shows up in the backgrounds, like the baptist church that advertises "couch service" or the casino named "Tremor Ferret."
Because Taito, I guess.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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