Batman: The Video Game

Batman: The Video Game, is a group of platform games developed by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name. Despite having the same title, each is actually a different game. The NES title is arguably the best known and contains five levels culminating in a showdown with the Joker in the bell tower of Gotham Cathedral.[1] It was received well despite changes from the movie upon which it was based.[2]

This article is about the 1989 video game. For other videogames, see Batman (disambiguation).
Batman: The Video Game
North American NES cover art
Developer(s)Sunsoft
Publisher(s)Sunsoft
Designer(s)Kazutomo Mori, Sp.Taka, Yoshiaki Iwata, Noriko Sakai, Tadashi Kojima
Composer(s)Naoki Kodaka
Platform(s)NES, Game Boy
ReleaseNES
  • JP: December 22, 1989
  • NA: February 13, 1990
  • EU: September 14, 1990
Game Boy
  • JP: April 13, 1990
  • NA: June, 1990
  • EU: 1990
Genre(s)Platform game
Mode(s)Single-player

Sunsoft followed up the release of Batman with Batman: Return of the Joker.

NES version

Gameplay
Batman being attacked by Heat Wave in the first stage in the NES version.

The game has a feature that was unusual in side-scrolling platform games at the time, largely to the NES itself. Unlike Sunsoft's Batman for the Mega Drive/Genesis, which features the grappling hook, Batman has the ability to wall jump, which is reminiscent of Ryu Hayabusa's wall scaling in Ninja Gaiden. He is also able to use three projectile weapons: the batarang, batdisk, and bat speargun, which are powered by pellet cartridges.

The stages in the game consists of the Gotham City Streets, Axis Chemical Plant, Gotham Sewers, Mysterious Laboratory, and the Gotham Cathedral Belltower. A number of notable DC Comics villains appear as low-level minions in the game, including Deadshot, KGBeast, Maxie Zeus, Heat Wave, Shakedown, and Nightslayer. The bosses in the game are Killer Moth, a device known as the Machine Intelligence System, the Electrocutioner, a machine known as the Dual-Container Alarm, Firebug, and the Joker.

Development

While Batman and Batman: The Caped Crusader were not based on a movie, this game was. The prototype version of the game had some significant differences, such as a 1UP icon and entirely different cut-scenes. The game's original last boss was Firebug and there was no Joker boss. Instead, Batman defeats the Joker in the ending cut-scene. The art and dialogue were changed from the prototype to the final version to better reflect the look and events from the movie.[3]

Reception

The NES version has received positive reviews. Allgame editor Brett Alan Weiss called the game "one of the best superhero games for the NES".[4] The NES version is also considered by many players and reviewers to be one of the most difficult games ever released for the system.[5][6][7][8][9]

Genesis version
Main article: Batman (Sega Genesis video game)

A title for Mega Drive/Genesis was also developed by Sunsoft. Unlike the NES version, its plot has more similarities to that of the film.

Game Boy version

The Game Boy title holds an aggregate score of 78.75% on GameRankings for the Game Boy version.[10] It features Batman attacking with a gun and is arguably the least related title to the movie.

PC Engine version

Batman for the PC Engine is an action-puzzle game, developed by Sunsoft and released in 1990 only in Japan. For unknown reasons the game was never released in North America for the TurboGrafx-16.

References
  1. "Batman - NES". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  2. Lachel, Cyril. "Batman: The Video Game." Defunct Games. URL: http://www.defunctgames.com/review/1015/batman-the-video-game.
  3. http://www.quebecgamers.com/archives/dossiers/batman-prototype-nes/index.html
  4. Weiss, Brett Alan. "Batman - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  5. http://www.thegr1nd.com/2015/07/21/hard-nes-games-worth-playing/
  6. https://www.goombastomp.com/looking-back-on-batman-for-the-nes/
  7. https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587117-batman-the-video-game/reviews/151106
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2017-12-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. http://comicsalliance.com/batman-89-video-game-nintendo-tim-burton-sunsoft-review-video/
  10. "Batman: The Video Game for Game Boy on GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
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