List of Superman video games

A number of licensed video games based on the character Superman have been created, the first being released in 1979, over a year after the first Superman film.

Superman video game for the Atari 2600, the first licensed Superman game released.

Over the years, video games based on Superman have attained a reputation for being of low quality.[1] The most prevalent example of this is the 1999 Nintendo 64 Superman game which is considered to be one of the worst video games ever made.[2] As a result, later Superman games were given "the Superman curse", which means that there will be negative reception for that game.[3]

Video games starring Superman

Title Details

1979 – Atari 2600
Notes:
  • The player takes control of Superman, who must repair the bridge destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his henchmen, enter a phone booth to turn back into Clark Kent, then return to the Daily Planet in the shortest amount of time.
  • To slow Superman's progress, Kryptonite has been released by Luthor. If hit by Kryptonite, Superman loses his abilities to capture criminals and fly. To regain them, he must find and kiss Lois Lane.
  • One of the earliest console games to feature a pause option.

1985 – Commodore 64, Atari 400/800
Notes:
  • Originally for the C64 but was also ported to the Atari and many other systems in Europe
  • Superman's enemy Darkseid is also playable

1987 – NES
Notes:
  • The Japanese version of the game for the Famicom features the John Williams Superman theme.

1988 – Arcade
Notes:
  • Taito action game that allows a second player to play a red-garbed Superman
  • Features John Williams Superman theme from the film series

1989 – Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amiga, Atari ST[4][5]
Notes:
  • Hybrid action game featuring 3D flying, overhead vertical scrolling and side scrolling sections
  • Features both Lex Luthor and Darkseid as villains

1992 – Genesis
Notes:
  • Side-scrolling arcade game where the player controls Superman through various levels in an effort to defeat various villains, culminating with the evil supervillain Brainiac. In Europe it was released as Superman: The Man of Steel.
Superman: The Man of Steel

1993 – Master System, Game Gear[6]
Notes:
  • 2D scrolling action game developed by Graftgold and published in Europe only by Virgin Interactive. It is based on the earlier Superman game for the Genesis by Sunsoft.

1994 – Super NES and Genesis
Notes:
Superman

1997 – Game Boy[7]
Notes:
Superman Activity Center

1998 – MacOS, Microsoft Windows[8]
Notes:

1999 – Nintendo 64[9]
Notes:
  • Unofficially known as Superman 64, it is a 3D action game in which the player takes control of Superman who must rescue his friends from a virtual-reality replica of Metropolis
  • The game is notorious among critics and gamers as one of the worst games ever made. Common criticisms include poor collision detection, awkward controls, and bizarre glitches.

2002 – PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube
Notes:
  • Based on Superman: The Animated Series, cut scenes used cel-shaded animation to emulate the look of traditional animation. The original Superman: The Animated Series voice cast all returned to their roles for the game.

2002 – Xbox[10][11]
Notes:
  • Action game from Circus Freak Studios and published by Atari based on the comic books.

2003 – Game Boy Advance
Notes:
Superman The Greatest Superhero

July 6, 2005 – V-Smile[12]
Notes:

2006 – Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox[13]
Notes:
  • Loosely based on the Superman movie of the same name; features the voice and likeness of many cast members. In the game, Superman combats Metallo, who does not appear in the movie, as well as other classic villains
  • For the Game Boy Advance, a different style of game was released to exploit the license. Superman Returns: Fortress of Solitude combines various puzzle challenges (one of which was Sudoku with superpowers) punctuated with short flying action sequences.
Superman

2006 – Handheld TV game
Notes:
  • A TV game with different styles of game published by Jakks Pacific and developed by HotGen, with 5 episodes

Video games featuring Superman

Title Details

1995 – Super NES, Genesis
Notes:

2006 – Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable
Notes:
  • Based on DC Comics' premiere superhero team, the Justice League of America.
  • The handheld Nintendo DS version shares a similar visual style and gameplay mechanics to the console game, but serves as a prequel to its story.
  • Superman is voiced by Crispin Freeman.

2008 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Notes:
  • Combined characters from the Mortal Kombat franchise with those from the DC Universe, including Superman (voiced by Christopher Corey Smith).
  • In his ending, Superman works with Shazam to prepare a new costume that makes him impervious to magic attacks.

2009 – Arcade
Notes:

2011 – PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Notes:

2012 – Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Wii U
Notes:

2013 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Wii U
Notes:
  • Fighting game from the creators of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe featuring Superman (voiced by George Newbern) as a playable character, with an alternative version of the character as the primary antagonist and the original one as a minor protagonist. The alternate Superman became a dictator after the Joker tricked him into killing Lois and his unborn child and nuking Metropolis. In his Classic Arcade Battle Ending, Superman, though pleased with the outcome, feels troubled with the battle with his counterpart, noticing that he would not be the only Superman to go so far astray. After much discussion with his fellow Leaguers, just in case he would go rogue, Superman ingests a remote-release Kryptonite capsule, when triggered, the Kryptonite would permeate his body, killing him. In each week, a different Leaguer is voted to take possession of its remote control, with only Batman, however, being denied a shift.

2014 – Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS
Notes:
  • Sequel to Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes with Travis Willingham reprising his role.
  • He is designed after his appearance in The New 52.
  • Along with the default costume, Superman also has two additional variants: his Solar Suit (which is found in the final level), and the Man of Steel incarnation (which is available via DLC).

2015 – Microsoft Windows
Notes:

May 16, 2017 – Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Notes:

October 16, 2018 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Notes:

2022 – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Microsoft Windows
Notes:

Mobile games

Title Details
Superman

2011 – iOS[14]
Notes:

Unreleased Superman games

Title Details
Superman III

Cancellation date:[15]
1983
Proposed system release:
Atari 5200
Notes:
  • A game based on the Superman III movie was developed for the Atari 5200 but was never released.

Cancellation date:[16]
1992
Proposed system release:
NES
Notes:
  • In development by EIM and was going to be published by Sunsoft, DC Comics, for whatever reason, rejected it and the game had some changes made and became Sunman, but was cancelled.

Cancellation date:[17]
2000
Proposed system release:
PlayStation
Notes:
  • This was initially intended to be a port of the N64 game, but after that game was a critical failure, a totally new game was developed.
  • The game was hit by setbacks and after two years in development, when it was ready for release, Titus Software's rights to Superman had expired.
Superman: Battle for Metropolis

Cancellation date:[18]
2001
Proposed system release:
Game Boy Color
Notes:
  • In development by Neon Studios and to be published by Infogrames, but was cancelled after failing to impress DC Comics.
  • A prototype from late in its development was leaked onto the Internet in late 2019.
Blue Steel

Cancellation date:[19]
2008
Proposed system release:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Notes:
  • A new Superman game was being created by Factor 5 for PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii but the game was cancelled when Brash Entertainment went out of business.

References

  1. Totilo, Steven (Oct 13, 2011). "The Next Superman Video Game is Excellent". Kotaku. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  2. Casamassina, Matt (1999-06-02). "Superman review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-23. (the game) is executed so poorly that it actually serves to butcher the reputation of the prominent action hero.
  3. Hewitt, Les (June 8, 2015). "The Superman Curse". Historic Mysteries.
  4. "Superman", The One, Issue 6, March 1989
  5. "Superman: The Man of Steel", Zzap!64, Issue 47, March 1989
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2010-08-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Superman Activity Center". GameSpot.
  8. http://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/superman__ Moby Games. "Superman for Nintendo 64," (retrieved on March 9th, 2009).
  9. Goldstein, Hilary (8 November 2002). "Superman: The Man of Steel Review".
  10. "Superman: The Man of Steel Review". GameSpot.
  11. "Superman: The Greatest Hero - IGN.com".
  12. "Superman Returns for Xbox 360 - GameRankings". www.gamerankings.com.
  13. McElroy, Justin (December 6, 2011). "Portabliss: Superman (iOS)". Joystiq. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  14. "Superman Video Games - Stage 1". www.comicbookbin.com.
  15. "Unreleased Superman Game For NES Finds Life On The Internet - Siliconera". 27 April 2009.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "Holiday 2019 (Day 4) - Superman: Battle for Metropolis (Unreleased GBC game)". Hidden Palace. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  18. "Superman (Factor 5) [X360/PS3 - Cancelled] - Unseen64". 9 March 2009.
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