THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON ¿OR NOT?

Welcome to another forgotten game. Another forgotten game with the aroma of a comic, an icon and mythology. Unlike other posts, here claiming the excellent Taito arcade from Superman does not make as much sense, as simply spending an entertaining time writing about the character and it is well known and remembered recreational. But it is also true that the always complicated property rights have avoided revalidating and reissuing this prodigy of the five duros, and I suppose that despite everything, if there is something vindictive in this post.

THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON ¿OR NOT?

Born in 1938 in the first issue of Action Comics magazine, which featured him on the cover, the work of writer Jerry Siegel and cartoonist Joel Shuster, he was the first great superhero and one one of the most iconic, if not the most, of the thousands of characters that in this subgenre of fantasy and action have seen the light. Here it does not make as much sense as in other entries to recreate in details about such a mythological figure, all to a greater or lesser extent know their capabilities, origin, design and appearance, and even their human employment. Although it did not really start with all this, it developed over the years and multiple adventures. In fact, Superman in its beginnings did not even fly, it took great leaps as a result of the fact that on its home planet, Krypton, there was mega-gravity that made it possible to move with enormous speed and ease when on earth . Yes, it is easy to think of John Carter as well, seen.

With eighty-two years behind him what the character has lived is, simply, almost overwhelming. We had him in World War II, but a magical artifact that protected Hitler and his clique made him and other supers unable to get involved in many of the Third Reich atrocities. Or that McCarthyism and the book The Seduction of the Innocents greatly touched up their adventures and way of acting, from more urban, direct and expeditious beginnings, to a festival of colors and neutrality in order to avoid the putrid controversies that fell on the comic American commercial in the 50s.

But you couldn't stop the Man of Steel, and even forming a Super Family with more characters from his collections, or mixing with other heroes of the publisher, be it in the Justice Society of America, or in the Justice League of America - although later there are more supers that are not North American in according to what moments ...-, while his powers grow and put him at the height of a god capable of collapsing supernovae and traveling for the same time. No, it was not easy to stop this kind of deity hidden behind the suit, glasses and identity of the shy journalist Clark Kent.

Thousands of threats and problems he had to face in the cartoons, such as the alopecian Lex Luthor, the classic mad doctor, turned into a business magnate in the 80s. And whose change of canon to put him in the youth of the character in Smallville, cost him the I work on its original creators for a bristle that the publisher gave them with the rights, and that has had its heirs litigating DC/Warner for decades for it, having a sort of settlement today.

Dream stories where Superman becomes the President of the United States, a last adventure of the character years in the future, a reformulation of the myth by John Byrne in the mid-80s, and the very death of the character at the hands of that force. unstoppable it was Final Judgment.

But as a good deity, he had to be resurrected, with several supermans out there as well, and some precious hair that he kept for years. Then, he married his eternal love, Lois Lane, and even a hybrid human and Kryptonian son, Johnatan Kent, in honor of Kal's adoptive father. I better skip the issue of restarts, rewrites, changes in timelines, travel between realities... the canon has danced more in the last two decades than in the previous six. On top, now with the rumor of his move to second or third line for the sake of a new global editorial line in DC comics that will put youngsters in the role of the classic heroes of all time. But we all know that sooner or later, we will hear an "Up, Up, and Fly," and we will see the character again where it belongs.

Obviously, such a character has made all kinds of appearances and given all kinds of licenses. From radio series, to lunch boxes for the kids. Highlighting with pride and power the 1978 film by Richard Donner, with the ill-fated Christopher Reeve playing the character, its sequels somewhat less, and wanting from my small plot to claim Man of Steel from 2013 and Batman VS Superman from 2016, both by Zack Snyder , where the now Geralt of Rivia, Henry Cavill knows how to make a superb and solid Superman, taking the baton from Reeve, but leaving another hole for the memory of Brandon Routh's very solvent interpretation in Superman Returns.

It could not be otherwise, the character has also had a good number of games, although most of his solo games have moved in the field of mediocrity. The Pioneer was a 1978 title for the Atari 2600, which was an excellent job on its own. The second was a multi-genre title for Commodore 64 and Atari 400/800, then a slop for NES where Superman spent more time walking than flying, and the fourth was finally a game to match and perhaps the best of all based in Superman.

A SUPERMAN OF TWENTY-FIVE CENTS

Ten years after his debut in Atari 2600, and Donner's great movie, above, using cuts from original John Williams themes for it, Taito brings us an arcade game of action, flight, smack, and even shoot'em up. Already with cooperative and everything to put the icing on it.

On top of it, names of openwork within the company, nothing to support and publish the work of smaller teams. With Toshiyuki Nishimura directing–The Ninja Warriors, Rastan Saga–and design, Hidehiko Fujiwara–Darius II, Time Gal–as general designer of the game, both as headliners. From the musical and sound section we have four people in charge, no less, Masahiko Takaki, Kazuyuki Ōnui, Shizuo Aizawa, Takami Asano, with emblematic works behind them such as Bubble Booble, Don Doko Don, Rastan Saga, Operation Thunderbolt, or Chase H.Q. among many other names.

Well, we have introduced the dads of the creature. Now let's talk about what we had in our arcades, ¿okay? Here a little history does not hurt, especially when we handle a comic character with thousands of them behind him. Well, we have an alien invasion of the evil General Zaas ¿How? ¿What doesn't sound familiar to you? Mmmmm, less video games and more general culture, ¿huh?

Shit ¿huh? Well, we have five phases to crush your plans, crushing your hosts. The five phases have three types of levels: horizontal, like a beat’em up, but flying across the stage. Verticals, flying in continuous scroll up or down, and distributing firewood equally. And the strangest thing, levels shoot’em up lateral using the heat/laser vision of Superman and companion. Eh, what companion? Let's not get ahead, I'll get to that.

Superman can deliver super-punches and super-kicks in the brawler and vertical scroll levels, as well as use his most iconic and well-known power: charge his fist of energy to drop it into a devastating projectile of solar energy. ¿What happens? ¿What are you saying? ¿Doesn't that sound like comics to you? You worry me, people, you have to be more cultural

And not only fly and distribute firewood and energy, we also have acts of super-force breaking walls and barriers, or lifting objects and vehicles to throw them, along with three types of items in the form of jewels. Blue to regain life, red to burst everything on the screen, and yellow to get extra projectiles without having to load your fist.

Well, if we join the cooperative and the time limit of the horizontal normal phases, in the form of fireballs that urge us to advance and not take advantage of the enemy respawn to get items continuously, we have roughly what this excellent arcade offers . The experience as a game is quite satisfactory, it is not always easy to fight against enemies that appear no longer on both sides of the screen, but up and down the mechanics and phases of flight.

Something that seems enormously remarkable to me is the visual charisma achieved in the game, because although there is a DC license in between, a pajolero character from the publisher is not used beyond Superman. Quite curious. Price for rights even of putties or something bad? Because Zaas can't stop remembering Brainiac, and he might as well have been replaced by him. With the enemies putties and means, the same. Similar can always be made, but they are the own design of those responsible for Taito.

That is why I find it commendable to get that visual section so accomplished without using known models or characters. Also, the direct inspiration for Superman, his illustrations between phases and the artwork that accompanied the arcade come from the great Curt Swan. Listen to me, if you are old young like me, any classic image you have of the character will surely come from the almost three decades that he spent as the most prominent cartoonist of the character, unfortunately gradually falling into oblivion as the eighties brought more preferences dark, in front of its classic, colorful and vital style. Almost all the bullets in the first part of the entry are from his pencil, as a small personal tribute.

Oh, and in the fourth phase, in Washington, some enemies come out hanging from walls that loose cobwebs. It doesn't even occur to me that he can remember that...

But wait

Another of the theories on this - because the game says absolutely nothing about the second player, beyond speaking in the plural if we defeat Zaas between the two - is that it is the Red Superman, but not the well-known Mark elseworlds Thousand, but a rare version of an old story from number 162 of the 1963 Superman collection:

And then that concept would be used in different appearances and unfolds. But I had promised not to get involved and I have not kept my word, so I can only put the finishing touch on this entry. As I said at the beginning, the divided rights of character, musical authorship and references to the film, have meant that there is not a single domestic version of this game. As I have been told a while ago, - my sincere thanks again to Jose Antonio "Evil Ryu" Moreno - nor the compilation Taito Legends in Japanese version, which has 100 company titles, has it in its ranks. Not in virtual bazaars, or any kind of reissue. Nothing.

So as in other entries in my hand, I want to end up asking, for you, ¿which is the actor who best reflects Superman?

I have it clear for me it is and will be Christopher Reeve