Proto:Superman (Nintendo 64)

The prototype of the Nintendo 64 Superman game is very strange, as it's very different from the final and far more playable/tolerable. No "solve my maze" here, thankfully, as this prototype dates to September 6th, 1998, after which Titus were forced to completely remake the game due to issues with the licensor.

Menu Screens
The Titus fox is an animated 3D model in the prototype. It was probably dropped because the fox does not look as good as the image used in the final.

The menu was reorganized a bit:
 * Practice mode was added to the final, as well as a demo mode that plays after some time of inactivity.
 * Last Game is not available in the prototype.


 * In the options menu, there is nothing for difficulty, but there is an option for viewing and modifying control schemes (if you call toggling inverted flying options a control scheme).
 * The Biography is present in the main menu in the prototype, where it makes sense.
 * You can't select Spanish in the prototype's Language selection.

Controls
The control scheme was modified drastically in the final. Too bad they had to drop the pictures...

Single Player (Playable through regular means)
The infamous flying rings mechanic is not present at this point, and the first thing you'll notice is that you are in the real world (or at least, in the multiplayer map). Only seven levels are playable properly (Well, technically 5, as two require Cheats to play). Past Level 7, the game crashes, since there is no next level to go to. The rest are unfinished and require codes to reach.

Level 1
You are given two objectives at the start: save an ambulance (pick it up, then drop it off on the road below) and defeat the Shadows. The controls feel a little more tight, and Superman's collision box is a lot more sensible.

While this is the first level, the Shadows carry rocket launchers and will never drop them or run out of ammo, making it nearly impossible to beat them without using heat vision (and sneaking up behind them). You also have all your abilities at half charge, so you don't need to look for tokens to use them.

Level 2
Now, you're in the Daily Planet newspaper building. This time around, you have a time limit: a very lenient 10 minute one that can be extended, thank you very much! Like the first level, you have two objectives: save Jimmy the photographer, and stop the kryptonic gas diffuser by freezing it. You can walk, but you can still fly, enabling you to finish the level within three-and-a-half minutes if you know where Jimmy and the diffuser are.

The Shadow men this time only have guns and deal a lot less damage, so it's relatively easier to take them down. Jimmy is in a small room at the lower level parking lot, while the diffuser is in the hallway on your right after you return from Jimmy and go up to the middle floor. When you get close, a meter will appear at the bottom.

One last thing: to save Jimmy, and again to finish the level, go to Jimmy and let him come to you. The conversation will start automatically.

Level 3
You are still in the building, and now need to find and freeze three more diffusers and beat up Darkseid within 30 minutes! Very lenient for time, you'd think...except you have to find the freeze breath tokens! Yes, you start with none, and there are no breath tokens to be found (but plenty of every other type of token available for you to collect).

It is impossible to beat without using cheats. The cheat for infinite ice breath in this version is: 812128E4 42C0 812128E6 0000

By fooling around with the speed boost you can, on occasion, break out of the area. Be aware that if you do, there is no way to get back in the area. All objectives are on the middle floor, and are found in the same manner as the previous level. You'll have to solve puzzles to get through to them first, though.

Level 4
Now you are in a subway, and have three minutes to get to the main station (a bit of a journey from where you start) and defeat a Lexoskel (which is a little reminiscent of a certain Sci-Fi movie I know). To get to the station, just follow behind the ongoing train on the right side, or, if you can do it, get in front of the train and race your way to the station.

The fight with the Lexoskel is so one sided, it is guaranteed you will lose the first time – first off, you have no superpowers and you can't pick up any, so you'll have to fight mano-a-mano. Also, the guy has a bunch of rocket launchers, so much so that if you're too far away or if your feet aren't on the ground, he will fire a legion of them in your direction! As such, before you fight get very, very close to the Lexoskel. That way, the rockets won't hurt you and you can get the first hit. After that, it's just a matter of punching him until his health meter is empty.

Level 5
Back outside to Metropolis, where Bizzaro has let eight Rhyno-robots free! It is your job to find them, drop them in the river, and then beat Mala to a pulp (why Mala and not Bizzaro, I don't know). At least the area they limit you to is not too big, so finding them should be easy.

You should have about five minutes or more to get Mala, who is waiting near the Lexcorp truck, though you won't need more than 60 seconds. You get to fight in the air, and you can use your laser abilities to dispatch of her quickly.

Level 6
In the subways once again. You need to find and freeze two Kryptonic diffusers, and beat up Metallo...with no time limit! Finding them is the exact same as before, but you start next to one. You must freeze it with what little ice breath they give you (one token now, one more later), otherwise you must use a code or restart the level.

Once that's done, go down past the station and follow the tracks. Go into the first left you see, and grab the crate inside. Fly out and continue in the direction you were going until you find a second left close by from where you are. Place the crate on the beam to reveal the second diffuser. You need the last breath token to freeze it, though. Go back out and find an entry to the right. You'll find it there. Go back and freeze that puppy to finish the objective.

Now, to beat up Metallo make your way back to the station and simply punch the heck out of him. Trust me, he won't fight back.

Level 7
Finally, something different! You are on a very incomplete version of Brainiac's starship. The level has blocked-off sections that can't be opened, and damage detection is random. In addition, enemies will attack left and right, so punching will do no good. Three codes are needed to Clip through boundaries, stay alive, and fight back properly: the infinite speed boost, health, and heat vision, respectively.

Speed boost: 812128D8 42C0 812128DA 0000

Health: 812128D0 42C0 812128D2 0000

Heat Vision: 812128E0 42C0 812128E2 0000

You need to find the XV12 Module, beat 20 of Brainiac's minions (robot crabs), and find and beat Brainiac. No time limit, but it does take a while to beat. Fly up, and beat the two crab things on the way. Take the left open passage and you'll enter a room with a red thing in the center. Go into the warp in the floor, to enter a lookalike of the room you were just in. Fly up, ignoring the crab, and take a large entrance. If the one you picked led straight to lasers, go back and take the other one, which will give you a few corners, then the lasers. Now, using the speed boost, clip your way out or the area, then immediately start following the hallway, making sure to keep the room in sight. Eventually you'll come across a room with lightning. fly past it to find a yellowish room. Clip through the floor, and fly up two floors to reach the module. Grab it, and you're done.

Next, glitch through the lasers to reach crab 1. Kill it, and glitch through the next set to the thunder arena (the area with the lightning. Two crabs are down below, waiting. Once finished, go into the path that is open. This leads to a dead end with four crabs. Take them out one at a time, making sure they don't swarm you. Leave the room, then go right at the arena. You'll want to glitch through those lasers again. You'll see crab 8 there. Once he's dead, glitch through the next set of lasers. Once through, glitch through the other set of lasers in that room. Crab 9 is right there. You'll finally be back in the room with the teleporter. The crab you didn't get earlier is crab 10. This room has two smaller entrance ways that are both connected. Enter through one of them and kill crab 11 that's inside. Go back to where the teleporter is and enter it. The teleporter takes us back to the room that's similar but also different. Go into the hallway which led to crab 11 and you'll find 2 crabs there, 12 and 13. Now go to the room that lead to the very first spot where you glitched. That leads to crab 14 and if you keep going, crab 15. Now go back to the strange room with the teleporter, but don't go in the teleporter. There will be two longish looking things in this room that lead up and down. We've ignored them up until now. The two bottom ones are connected so go down one of them first. Take a good look around down there. Crabs 16-18 are here. When you're done, go back upstairs and to the top floor. One of those upstairs parts leads to crabs 19-20. Deal with them, and you're in the home stretch.

You can now fight Brainiac. Enter the teleporter. There are four entrances in the Thunder Arena and Brainiac is at the only one we haven't been to yet. Breach through the wall and you'll see that fan and laser again. Keep breaching through walls and go past the point where you found the XV12 module and back into the Thunder Arena. When in the Thunder Arena breach through the final set of lasers. When through, take a right and go upstairs. In the next room, you'll find Brainiac. His strategy is to shoot his lasers at you and run away when you get close. Punch him several times and he'll go down.

Multiplayer
Only the battle mode has been implemented, but it is nowhere close to being complete. The two cameras (for P1 and P2) are both controlled by the first controller, are both at the first player's position, and one of them, paired with the bike, is at an odd angle. Controlling the bike is possible, but only barely.