Considering the relative youth of the medium, it’s only natural thatBatman’s video game outings haven’t garnered him the same legacy as his comic, cinematic, or animated affairs. That said, the Caped Crusader’s recent video game adaptations have built up quite the reputation for Batman within the medium. BetweenArkham Asylum,City, andKnight, there’s no real shortage of high quality single player Batman games.
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As great as theArkhamgames are, it’s important to remember that the Dark Knight starred in a number of games beforeAsylum– for better & for worse. Batman’s early adventures might not reach the high standards fans are looking for, but they’re fascinating pieces of video game history nonetheless.
10Batman (1986)
The very firstBatmanvideo game was developed by Ocean Software in 1986. An isometric action-adventure game,Batman(1986) released to critical acclaim. Reviewers cited not only the game’s level design, but its comparative sophistication to other titles of the era.
Keeping in mind that Nintendo hadn’t quite reinvigorated the games industry yet, the fact Batman’s first video game adaptation was a success is quite a surprise. Said praise isn’t unearned, however, asBatman(1986) features a primitive form of saving that makes it so players don’t need to restart the entire game upon death, and the art direction has its charm.
9The Caped Crusader (1988)
Ocean Software’s second Batman game, 1988’sBatman: The Caped Crusaderswapped the original’s isometric gameplay in favor of arcade-esque side-scrolling. Stages were still explorable by design, butThe Caped Crusader’s design goal seems to center around giving Batman a more engaging combat challenge. LikeBatman(1986,)The Caped Crusaderreleased to critical praise. Much in the same wayBatmanfeatured an early form of saving,The Caped Crusaderfeatures an early form of multiple routes– with The Joker and The Penguin both having their own gameplay scenarios where they’re the main villains.
8The Movie (1989)
Ocean Software’s final batman game and an adaptation of Tim Burton’s film of the same name,Batman: The Movielikewise released to rave reviews, even earning the Game of the Year award from the now defunct Crash magazine.
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Like its predecessors,Batman: The Moviemarches to the beat of its own drum. Gameplay is the most modern of the Ocean Software games, fairly comparable to arcade games of the late 80s and early NES games.
7The Video Game (1989/1990)
Developed by Sunsoft,Batman: The Video Gamewas the franchise’s first video game to lack Ocean Software’s involvement. Despite this, little quality was lost in the shift in developers. If anything, Sunsoft’s interpretation ofBatmanlends itself to a surprisingly addictive NES action-platformer that takes valuable notes from the likes ofNinja Gaiden.
Although an adaptation of Tim Burton’s film, Sunsoft does bolster the movie’s plot by adding in characters exclusive to the comics– Deadshot, Killer Moth, KGBeast, and Nightslayer all appear alongside the Joker, alongside other members of Batman’s rogues. Sunsoft developed aGame Boyport of the game where Batman uses a gun, but it doesn’t match the same quality of the NES original.
6Batman Sega Genesis (1990)
Due to the differences in hardware between the Super Nintendo andSega Genesis, multiplatform games often featured significant changes– even if they were developed by the same studio. Sunsoft worked on the NES and Sega Genesis versions ofBatman: The Video Game, but the Sega Genesis release is more than just a spitshine.
Not only is the story far more accurate to the film (cutting new characters and featuring more cutscenes,) the gameplay loses itsNinja Gaideninfluence and overall a far slower action-platformer.
5Batman PC-Engine (1990)
Sunsoft yet again refused to simply remake or port the NES version ofBatman, creating an all new version entirely for the PC-Engine. This game was released exclusively in Japan, owing to the fact that it was abruptly changed from an action-platformer into an arcade-esque adventure game (along with the fact the TurboGrafx simply wasn’t doing well in the west.) Gameplay has an emphasis on puzzle-solving, but nothing’s particularly too challenging– the difficulty curve never getting any higher than earlyZeldadungeons.
4Batman Arcade (1990)
Developed by Atari Games,Batman(1990) is an adaptation of Tim Burton’s movie, but sticks very close to the beat em formula popularized by arcades of the era.Batman(1990) is purely a side-scroller, featuring a higher difficulty curve than its predecessor and cutscenes that stick as close to the movie as possible. Don’t expect to see anyBatmancabinets in the arcades, but the game itself isn’t particularly difficult to track down.
3Return Of The Joker (1991)
One of the best games on the NES,Return of the Jokeris an NES adaptation of the comic book story arc of the same name. Detailing Joker’s first appearance following his presumed death during the events ofA Death in the Family, the game pits Batman against most of his rogues in a game that turns a disappointing two-parter into a fantastic action-platformer.
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Gameplay is fast paced, and while thatNinja Gaidenvibe has since been lost, Sunsoft’s last depiction of the Dark Knight makes for an excellent finale to their interpretation of Batman.
2Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returnsis very much a game of its time. By the early 90s, the movie industry had mastered the art of commissioning video game adaptations. As a result, several different developers worked on their own versions ofBatman Returns.The most notable of which, however, were Konami’s.Batman Returnson theSuper Nintendois arguably the best version of the lot, an action side-scroller that’s very much in line with the combat found inFinal Fight. Konami also ported the game to the NES, but it’s understandably a simpler affair altogether.
1The Animated Series (1993)
An adaption of the animated series of the same name,Batman: The Animated Serieswas developed for the Game Boy in 1993.Konamiwas once again working on the franchise, which in a way ensured the game’s quality. A late in life Game Boy game,Batman: The Animated Seriesmakes excellent use of the handheld’s hardware to create an atmospheric platformer that really does feel like the TV series in 8-bit.
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