Game review by William Smith
If I reviewed every Batman game, I wouldn’t have time to write anything else.
There are literally dozens to choose from, ranging in quality from laughably horrible to the best experiences gaming has to offer — kind of like the movies.
So I’ve narrowed it down to three, starting with the best.
“Batman: The Video Game” (Nintendo Entertainment System, 1990)
Unfortunately, the best Batman game is the most difficult. We’re talking 1980s Nintendo hard. Throw your controller at the screen “Battletoads” hard.
Like most kids, I rented it from my local video store. Then I died, over and over again, unable to reach the second level. I never played it again —until last week. I’m no better a gamer than I was 30 years ago, and was forced to turn the rewind/slow-motion function on in my emulator to stand a chance.
It was only through blatant cheating I discovered how tight the controls are. How ingenious the level design is. How superior art design can trump ancient technology.
The movie tie-in is limited here, especially since Batman wears his traditional blue suit rather than the black Michael Keaton version. This feels like a fresh Batman story told through kinetic action rather than words.
If you want another great Batman game in this style, try the Sega Genesis version. It’s a completely different game with similar mechanics, and nearly as good.
“Batman Returns” (Super Nintendo, 1993)
Much easier, much prettier, and much longer than the Nintendo original, this direct film tie-in to “Batman Returns” is a rarity — a one player beat-em-up that never gets boring.
The Super Nintendo really flexes its muscle with lavish graphics and meticulous detail, even allowing the player to smash store windows by throwing baddies into the background.
The challenge feels much more balanced here, though I was never quite able to finish the game in my early teenage years. It was so fun, I kept renting it anyway.
If anything, “Batman Returns” is just a bit too lengthy, especially without the modern convenience of saving your game. The only way to take a break back in the 90s was to pause the game for hours at a time, which inevitably ended in parental chiding about burning images into the TV screen.
“Batman” (Arcade, 1990)
Not a bad game by arcade platforming standards, but a hollow shell compared to the two games above.
It’s still a lot better than the “Superman” arcade game and is the only game on the list that faithfully recreates the original Michael Keaton “Batman” film. Nearly scene-by-scene, surprisingly enough.
That means you throw Jack Nicholson into a vat of green acid at the beginning of the game to turn him into the Joker, then throw him off the clock tower to his doom at the end.
Ironically enough, Joker’s death in the arcade game is actually more dramatic than the film, portraying his final fall in a detailed, Hans Gruber from “Die Hard” fashion. It makes the 20 minutes that come before more than worth it.