NES Batman Duology Review
Played on PC (via Nestopia Emulator)
Developed by Sunsoft
In the mid-2010s, the trend of video games based on movie licences would die down, with them being all the rage in the '90s and 2000s as movies were seen as the superior form of media and thus, influenced most things around them. The appearance of these games dates back to 1982 when the first instance of a movie-videogame was Atari's Raiders of the Lost Ark, based on the movie of the same name. Plenty of movies would receive this treatment; E.T., Indiana Jones, and most notably, superhero movies. Superhero feature films would start to pick up steam in the 80s and 90s, thanks to Christopher Reeve's Superman, and Michael Keaton's Batman. With two of the big three superheroes (the third being Spider-Man) having live-action portrayals, this would increase the interest in superheroes resulting in: comics, animated shows, movies, and ultimately video games. One such videogame was Sunsoft's efforts to bring Batman (specifically Michael Keaton's character portrayal in the 1989 film) into the NES sidescroller platformer format. Loosely based on the film, they would also develop a follow-up to the original promptly subtitled 'Return of the Joker', which I'm also reviewing here. I wanted to see if the NES-era of these joint Batman games would still hold up today and the constant praise they receive online.
Batman: The Video Game
Released 22nd December 1989
Story
For a game released in 1989, I expected it to be quite plain in most aspects, and be a trivial hour of my life, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. Loosely based on the 1989 Batman movie, you follow Batman (obviously) as you chase down Joker across Gotham and all of its distinct locations, bearing little similarity to the movie's plot. Not that the story here is important in any shape or form, as it mostly only gets explored via freeze frames with one liners and a final cutscene shorter than a minute. Additionally, do you really need a reason to play as Batman? Evermore so in a game older than the ESRB/PEGI rating? No, and such is the case here as there is no reason to focus on why you go from stage to stage, besides the fact that it's fun.
Gameplay and Bossfights
The gameplay ended up being somewhat enjoyable despite its archaic nature. It's even more basic than a simple platformer nowadays as you effectively only jump, latch onto walls to do a wall jump and crouch. In addition to this, you will encounter enemies that mindlessly walk towards you to do loads of damage and to counter them you get the choice between three types of batarangs: the simple one that curves back to you, the triple explosive and the missile-launcher pistol. You can also punch frantically but with how difficult the game becomes later on, you should spam your way through with batarangs. That being said, all of these rudimentary mechanics come across as decently polished and didn't wear themselves out to be too plain, nicely hiding some of the rust in old games like these. My only 2 complaints with these is how the difficulty is surprisingly quite high as levels become increasingly more populated with higher health enemies, traps and platforming moments. Unfortunately, this isn't the entertaining type of difficulty where it skill checks you, but instead simply increases the ways you can die rather than providing variety. My other complaint is the bossfights. While they seemed initially cool, each fight played out the same as it consisted of me standing in the same spot, spamming my batarang until they died as you're more likely to survive if you tank the damage rather than try to dodge it and its strangely large hitboxes.
Atmosphere
Finally, the atmosphere here was good. The pixelated style did show wear and tear with how blocky and montone it came across, but that in itself had a charm to it, as every enemy, trap and even the environment stood out as much as they needed to be, without sacrificing the grit of Gotham's backgrounds. It still obviously has its issues like Batman being a purple toy soldier for one, but the 8-bit soundtrack also portrayed that old-school charm that makes up for its other lacking moments. Neither are such standouts that they get permanently stuck in your head, but they do a nice job of keeping this 1-hour experience more sweet than bitter.
While it is 30 years behind the standard set in current-day platformers and beat'em ups, the retro energy it provides is enough to make you forget about its undeveloped shortcomings.
-Mediocre-
Batman: Return of the Joker
Released 20th December 1991
Story
For this sequel of sorts, it felt less like a Batman game, and more like a standard platformer, run'n'gun hybrid that could be found in other early '90s games like 'Megaman'. This is due to how there is a lack of a Batman identity throughout the game, of which it took me 1 and 1/2 hours to beat but I suck at platformers and there are playthroughs on YouTube that are 20-30 minutes long. The story here has zero connection to any of the Batman movies unlike its predecessor, and follows how Joker survived the fall at the end of the previous game and is now concocting a plan to do with missiles. Just like before, the context behind why you're fighting robots and ninjas on rooftops and in sewers doesn't matter here as it never really has in most '90s games.
Gameplay and Bossfights
The gameplay is technically better now. There's a way to slide and aim up when shooting, and the batarangs get swapped out for this infinite blaster that changes firing type depending on the power-up you walk into after defeating an enemy or destroying crates. The difficulty here increases on the basis that the platforming becomes varied like the levels moving along with the player, moving platforms, traps and turrets on walls and ceilings, being able to fall off the map etc. There are also 'Jetpack Joyride'-esque sections and the enemies here aren't mindless drones but instead are positioned to make the platforming more challenging in a fun way. Additionally, alongside your health, you have a "B" meter (I'm assuming this is a "Bat-meter" of sorts) which, when maxed out, temporarily gets powered up with invulnerability and faster fire rates. There is more here to make the game entertaining than before and, while the age was apparent with the previous game, this one perfectly masquerades ahead of it, making it not feel aged in any regard, even if it is missing many platforming features that are a staple in modern gaming, like a double jump or dash. However, this just doesn't feel like a Batman game. The more you play and the wackier the environments, level design and boss encounters, the more I feel like I'm playing an even cheaper copy of 'Megaman' than before and it just didn't sit right with me. Additionally, the bosses here have the same issue as before where they're mindless in how it is easier to tank their damage rather than dodge it, the difference now is that they lack even more personality as they aren't foes from Batman's Rogue Gallery, but just some basic bosses you'd otherwise see in other platformer/run'n'gun games.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere here is just as good as it was before, with the music providing that okay-yet-successfully-retro energy, while the pixel art is significantly better. The environments, enemies, and even Batman are better detailed and stand out just as well, with Batman rocking a blue colour palette reminiscent of the comics. What drags down that quality is that, besides Batman's art, everything else is devoid of that unique personality that I had an issue with, with the gameplay and bosses.
In return for making it a more enjoyable and cohesive game, it strips some of that Batman identity I was hoping to see expanded upon.
