Batman is a hero that has made his mark on culture in many differnt ways. While everyone will flock to the Arkham series when it comes to gaming, you should also be aware that his title tied to the 1989 Burton film is also a God send of its time. Not only was it an exemplary platformer, it also captured the very essence of Batman himself with only 8-bits to work with. Many will cite this as one of the very few in the category of the unsung heroes of the movie, comic book and video game triumphs.
The controls are very intuitive and the soundtrack gives off that Danny Elfman feel to bring you a great experience punching out criminals. You get to cycle through many weapons, which you will need, and you will need to get a grip on the grappling techniques. It has a mechanic very similar to Ninja Gaiden where you jump on and from walls in order to progress. It's a tricky control, but with some good muscle memory, it's not extremely hard to get down.
Atmosphere is something that is very difficult to get down, especially with games limited to the Nintendo Entertainment System. This is the best in terms of Batman games of its time, because some of them lacked the gameplay while hitting the atmosphere, while others just flat out didn't try. Sadly, the Sega Saturn never saw a good Batman game. One thing you can also compare to the Arkham games is that this game is much harder.
The platforming is just the beginning. Some of the mini-bosses and some of the level designs enhance the difficulty for that wholesome NES difficulty that's all natural and still tastes great. Even if you do conquer the labyrinth that is this game's level design with all of the jumping and wall hopping, actually beating the Joker is a whole other ballgame. Once you get the controls down along with the special weapons, this game is beatable. Be prepared for a lot of game over screens, though.
It's really a marvel to see just how far back Batman ruled the scene. Superman and Spider-man can't even boast the number of quality games in the caped crusader's library. It could be argued that this game ranks right among them in terms of Batman's chief video game achievements. It's not perfect by any means. The difficulty can get downright tormenting and the limited Continue system should never have been introduced to the console mechanics to begin with. It's not as if we're jamming quarters into our Nintendo systems. It's worth your time to give this one a try. Just remember to take it slow and show them that you are vengeance! Virtua Batarang!
_theatrical_poster.jpg)
