BATMAN Retro Games Archive (1986-2005) P.1

[Azrael]

Fresh from the success of the home ports of Data East's Robocop, British developer Ocean undertook duties of turning the Batman movie into a computer game. It was actually the third Ocean published Batman game (after 1986's Bat Man and 1988's Caped Crusader) so in some circles it was also known as "Batman 3".

Batman: The Movie was met with generally favorable reviews and was a hit on various formats. The definitive version was that for Amiga 500 because of the revolutionary for the time driving levels (which obviously inspired the Batmobile levels in Sega's Batman Returns). Atari ST was a faithful port and each of the 8-bit conversions was good in its own way. The C64 is notable for its soundtrack.

• Commodore Amiga (WinUAE)
• Atari ST (Steem)
• Commodore 64 (CCS64)
• Amstrad CPC (WinAPE)
• Sinclair Spectrum (ZX32)
• IBM PC - MS DOS (Dosbox)

Sunsoft brought Batman to home consoles. The NES version is the more well known, but the game was also quite popular on Sega Mega Drive and Nintendo Game Boy. The MD version closely followed the movie's setpieces while the NES deviated to the point of including enemies resembling Firefly. The game's success lead to the creation of a sequel for the NES, partially inspired by the movie, subtitled Return of the Joker.

The PCE version was a Bomberman-inspired action/puzzle, released only in Japan, and is mostly known for the excellent cutscenes. According to this article, the game was originally conceived as a traditional sidescroller.

Sunsoft's Batman also had some of the most memorable and popular BGM of the 8/16-bit era

• Nintendo Entertainment System (Emu)
• Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive (Emu)
• Nintendo Game Boy (Emu)
• PC Engine/ Turbografx 16 (Emu)

EXTRAS

Batman Online Gallery
Magazine & Artwork Scans Archive

LINKS

Review of the Soundtrack
NES Review
MD Review (Sega-16.com)


LONGPLAY VIDEOS

http://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3E705D17E917E704
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DQKF7hmhbqU




In 1992-93 Batman kept on returing in a variety of good, and not so good, games.

Konami's SNES game remains a textbook example on how to do a sidescrolling beat'em'up, as well as a film license - stellar presentation with sights and sounds lifted directly from the movie, and flawless controls. Only problems? The lack of a 2 player mode, which is essential in the genre (a deviation from the movie, adding Robin or Catwoman in co-op, would be welcome) and the presence of a few strictly 2-plane levels, where the player attacks only with batarangs.

The Sega CD version had impressive for the time racing levels, in the tradition of classic Sega arcades like Out Run and Space Harrier. This was one of the first vehicle combat games, long before Twisted Metal. The visuals hold up pretty well, the arcade style action is intense. The platform levels are the same as the Genesis cartridge version; fairly mediocre but notable for introducing essential gameplay elements like cape gliding, using the grappling hook while in mid-jump, and an arsenal of different weapons.

The adventure game for IBM PC is quite interesting in that it retains the atmosphere of the film with excellent art direction, but ultimately feels too elementary as a point & click adventure. Very few and basic puzzles, the entire game can be solved in less than an hour. What remains are the excellent VGA graphics with many film locations rendered in loving detail, and smoothly animated sprites - maybe a traditional action game with the same visuals would be more welcome.

The Amiga version has some nice backgrounds and the opening tune is appropriately moody - but the game itself is barely playable and almost feels like a published beta.

THE GOOD

• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1993, Konami)
• Sega CD/ Mega CD (1993, Sega)
• IBM PC MS DOS (1993, Spirit of Discovery, Gametek, Konami)

THE SO-SO

• Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive (1992, Sega)
• Sega Game Gear (1992, Sega)
• Sega Master System (1992, Sega)
• Nintendo Entertainment System (1992, Konami)
• Atari Lynx (1992, Atari)

THE GROTESQUE

• Amiga (1993, Gametek/Konami)

EXTRAS

Batman Online Gallery
Magazine & Artwork Scans Archive
Batman Returns (SNES) EU Manual scan (HQ)


An interview with Stephen Thomson, one of the artists involved with Sega's Batman Returns (known for some very good Batmobile levels). He was also one of the founders of ClockWork Tortoise, makers of the well-liked The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Mega Drive).

He also shares a few unused graphics from the games (possibly story screens). A good read for any old Sega fan.

I was very proud of the Batman Driving section work on the Mega C.D. we really pushed the machine hard. I was working closely with Jon O'Brien and Chris Shrigley making the driving assets and Front end respectively. I really went all out on the cutscenes as I remember, utilising the scaling sprite tech to full effect. I think the most ridiculous was making a full screen batman arm as the cursor in the options menus. I remember Chris frowning at the idea. I seem to remember that the arm scaled as it pressed the menu buttons aswell. I saw a vid on youtube and it doesn't run very well at all, pretty but sluggish to navigate.

After leaving Acme (Malibu) interactive Myself Jon O'Brien, Andrew (joey) Headon, and James Maxwell setup our own company called ClockWork Tortoise Inc. Our one and only title was the Adventures of Batman and Robin for the MegaDrive. I'm Pleased that its recognised as one of the better Batman Games as we all really put our Live and soul into that title.Again we really pushed the hardware to its absolute limit, doing pseudo 3.D. textured 'Polys' and big brash Bosses.

LINK


LONGPLAY VIDEOS

This actually has an unjust reputation as a horrible game - it has more to do with the movie itself and Acclaim's logo on the box than its quality. Made by the people responsible for Alien Trilogy and Die Hard Trilogy, Batman & Robin was one of the first sandbox games.

It was also a confusing mess, however, forcing the player to seek vague clues in order to find the next crime location. The control scheme, split between "action" and "adventure" mode, was also unnecessarily complex, awkward, and hard to master. A difficult game, inspired by a movie nobody liked - recipe for disaster.

It's obvious however that it was lovingly crafted with great attention to detail. The graphics are quite good for a PSOne title and some of the areas, like Arkham Asylum, are wonderfully atmospheric. The game was also packed with easter eggs and references to other versions of Batman, including newspaper clippings and a Shreck poster.

An unfairly maligned game which needs reappraisal.[/font]

Batman & Robin: Video Game Walkthrough from PlayStation Solutions

LONGPLAY VIDEOS

PRESS / REVIEWS