Line #7 Trivia/Superman64


1	* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: "The only thing you do in ''Superman 64'' is fly through rings." The reason people make this claim is because the flying-through-rings segments (which are the parts you do first) are considered notoriously frustrating, but there are plenty of other parts as well, such as fighting {{mooks}}, disarming bombs, and walking around Lex Luthor's headquarters itself. However, the fact that these levels are notoriously long and drawn out and that they are a staple of the gameplay have contributed to this reputation being well deserved for many.
2	* CreatorKiller:
3	** Developer Titus Software did not last long after this game hit store shelves and immediately turned them and the ''Superman'' license into a laughingstock.
4	** The game's critical failure was one of the multiple nails in the coffin of DC's Alpha Company status that they received in the late 90's, along with the critical and popular failure of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' and the [[BoxOfficeBomb box office failure]] of ''Film/{{Steel}}''. The very next year, ''Film/XMen1'' premiered, and Marvel has had a death grip ever since; it would take [[Film/BatmanBegins six years]] for DC to start rebounding.
5	* ExecutiveMeddling: In an interview with LetsPlay/ProtonJon (which has since been taken down, but is summarized in detail [[https://www.retrojunk.com/a/C1CKNP9rjC/the-story-behind-superman-64 here]]), developer and producer Eric Caen blames Warner and DC for many of the game's more head scratching moments, like the virtual world setting (as they refused to let Superman hurt "real" people) and the reliance on power-ups to use Superman's abilities. Also, "politics" were apparently responsible for the game's delays, and the delays were responsible for the forced release of this unfinished product. A [=PlayStation=] version was also in the pipeline, but the developers' license expired before it could be released.
6	* FranchiseKiller: This game ensured that Superman wouldn't star in a solo game for a long time to come. There have been a few ''Superman'' games in later console generations, but none of them were able to improve Superman's reputation in the video game realm.
7	* HostilityOnTheSet: One of the reasons the game was the way it was is due to the new management of Warner Licensing who hated the team and their project mainly because they wanted a high profile developer to create the game and went on their way to sabotage the game by requesting nonsensical gameplay ideas such as making the game a VideoGame/SimCity clone and rejecting features such as Superman swimming under water.
8	* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: There was a "Collector's Edition" of the game that came with a tie-in comic.
9	* NotScreenedForCritics: By the time gaming magazines got their hands on the game and were able to do a review on it, the game was already out for a couple of weeks, though bad word of mouth about the game also came out in the interim.
10	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The game was announced in 1997. It was released in North America on May 29, 1999 and in Europe and Australia on July 23, 1999.
11	* ScrewedByTheNetwork: According to Eric Caen, who squarely lays the blame at the feet of Warner and DC. The money quote:
12	-->"The licensor caused us A LOT of problems... they generated the final quality of the product!"
13	* SerendipityWritesThePlot: The poor programming of the game and the capabilities of the aging Platform/Nintendo64 had the creators HandWave the fog for the poor draw distance as Kryptonite fog. However, [[VoodooShark how Superman is able to breathe, let alone fly, with that amount of Kryptonite fog]], along with why such an excuse would be required when the game runs in a virtual world, is unexplained.
14	* TyopOnTheCover: ''The New Superman Aventures'' ([[RunningGag sic]]).
15	* UrbanLegendOfZelda: The ending [[http://web.archive.org/web/20021120153133/http://www.world-of-nintendo.com/game_endings/nintendo_64/superman.shtml described here]] (ignore the ComicBook/SpiderMan references) is apparently a CrossoverPunchline of sorts with ComicBook/{{Batman}} and... '''VideoGame/DukeNukem'''??[[note]]The site in question has a section where readers could send in their own ideas for games; it's likely that this was intended to go there.[[/note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iA3YPGnNHo The actual ending leaves a lot to be desired.]]
16	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
17	** A [=PlayStation=] version of the game was also planned. In fact, the developers for the [=PlayStation=] version were actually going to [[PolishedPort fix the N64 version's problems]], but the license expired before they finished it, and they never got around to releasing it (Eric Caen claims the game was 75% complete before the higher-ups pulled the plug). Two prototypes of the game eventually leaked in 2018 and 2020, with the latter of the two (dated to June 22, 2000) being the most complete draft of the game made before the plug was pulled.
18	** They originally considered using Bizarro, who actually had a model and some voice clips in the prototype, but was removed from the final product.
19	** Brainiac was going to be the main villain of the game due to the virtual world setting forced upon the developers. But ExecutiveMeddling forced a rewrite with Lex as the villain, even though Brainiac is still the final boss and Lex's opening line "In short time, your fate will be sealed, Superman" is very clearly said by Creator/CoreyBurton as opposed to Creator/ClancyBrown, having been recorded for Brainiac.
20	** The original pitch for the game was for an open-world Superman adventure where you'd fly around using all of Superman's powers to prevent crimes.
21	** Warner Brothers' ExecutiveMeddling pushed for a more ''VideoGame/SimCity'' sort of game where Superman was the mayor of Metropolis and alternated between protecting and developing the cities ala ''VideoGame/ActRaiser''

Context Trivia / Superman64