Please login to submit a screenshot

"Not great, but not bad either..."

Batman has a few games out there that rest on three different platforms and carry his name as well as the theme of the movies they represent. The first couple of Batman games that I happened to play on the NES were your standard side scrolling adventures that involved shooting enemies and moving on to the end with a linear path. Batman Returns also follows the movie in most respects, but leaves you with something that is more than your simple platform jumping and involves some street fighting. For the first time in a long time, I actually had Batman in a street fighting style that matched Streets of Rage, though a little less intricate.

For those of you who follow the movies of the Caped Crusader, Batman is in fact Bruce Wayne, a young millionaire who has nothing to do with his money but go out and get into fights. As a crime fighter, Batman tends to fall in love with the worst possible choices in women and gets himself into situations that almost get him killed countless times. As a comic book character, he is a hero who has no powers other than his mind and the intense will to kick the crap out of people. As a movie star, Batman has no real actor to play him since they gave Michael Keaton the boot and put in George Clooney.

Batman Returns takes place in the city of Gotham right around the merry time of Christmas and introduces a new villain. Although most of us are really used to the Joker and find him a more appealing, if not interesting villain, we are now introduced to the underworld sophisticate in the form of the Penguin. Throughout Batman’s adventure, he battles the forces of the Penguin to stop his nefarious plot to overthrow Gotham City and make it his own personal playground. For those who have seen the movie, you know what I’m referring to and for those who haven’t, you should probably watch it to understand what I’m talking about.

Batman Returns features essentially the same style of game play that the previous installments of the series have offered, but you’re no longer stuck on a one track, linear run and gun. This time around, you have the ability to move all over the screen in a less linear fashion, using Batman’s fighting moves to take out your enemies. As you start playing through the game, you’ll notice that Batman does have some weapons, but they tend to be useful in the most dire of situations and the fighting really isn’t much to look at. In fact, the only thing that I’m sure of that Batman can do is punch his way out of any situation and it shows here.

The weapons that you have range from the bat throwing boomerang to a grappling hook that will help you in the later stages of the game. These can be selected from a small menu and then used when you need them the most. Batman is only given one life to deal with the threats that await him, so if you happen to die on any given stage, you will return to the first portion of it regardless of what password you have. I’ve played through the game more than once and I’ve found that there are plenty of passwords that are given to you and you can use them, but only to return to the first part of the stage you died on.

Enemies are abundant throughout Batman Returns and you will find that the game takes on a pattern finding mission in which you will find the best way to defeat them. The boss battles are a little more difficult and take some though in order to complete them, so be prepared for a tough battle. Much like the movie, you will find that the enemies match that of what you have seen in the movie, with plenty of clown type characters running around. Once you have a hang of what punches Batman has at his disposal, you should be well on your way to beating people up without taking damage.

Something that I had issue with on the other hand was the lack of control or rather the lack of options with the combat system that Batman has. You can use your special weapons by pressing up and the action button from time to time and you will find that this is useful as long as you’re lined up with the bad guy. The combat system either hand a jump kick or a series of punches, so button mashing is something you have to get used to. The biggest flaw that I found here was that there was no way to block and you have to take the damage if you’re surrounded by the enemy and getting beat on from both sides.

The first thing that you’re going to notice is that Batman Returns is an exceptionally dark game which gives it a little leeway in terms of details on everything in site. The use of shadows here is extensive and while the enemies and even Batman tend to have detail, the color schemes of them all seem to be a little too bright for my tastes. Fighting is fluid, but the environments are a little choppy and it can be difficult to see just where you can and cannot walk without getting yourself into trouble. As I would have expected, all of the locations that are in the game are lifted straight from the movie, so purists will probably find this to be an awesome attention to detail.

Presentation of the audio tends to be a little short and recycles tunes from one stage to the next at some point or another. You will find that the game has a bland use of the sound effects as well, with your most prominent feature being that of enemies or yourself getting hit. The actual theme from the movie is lifted enough to the point that you can tell what it is with the title screen, but there isn’t much else that you’re recognize. As with most games that feature action from movies and other sources, there is no surprise that there isn’t a lick past the title that you’ll remember.

Batman Returns offers the same action with a slightly different format than the other games in the series. While I can’t justify telling you that this is the best game in the series, I can say that this is a game worth looking at because of the slight difference in what you can do. The lack of moves might turn some action gamers off and the sticky control can get you into some trouble at the moments you need it the least. A saving grace that keeps this game at the average level is the fact that you have a password you can use to get back into the action later if you feel like it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/03

Guide the caped crusader as he fights through hordes of circus performers to foil the plans of The Penguin and Catwoman in this action game based on the 1992 movie of the same name.


Overview





Batman Returns is an action game based on the 1992 film of the same name. Multiple unique versions of the game exist, developed sometime between 1992 and 1993:
◾The Super Nintendo Entertainment System version, developed and published by Konami in April 1993 features a sidescrolling beat-em-up style in similar vein to the SNES version of Final Fight. It also features some 2D platformer levels and a Batmobile racing level using Mode 7 technology.
◾The Genesis version, developed by Malibu and published by Sega in 1992, played like a traditional 2D action platformer. An enhanced version for the Sega CD, featuring enhanced music and added 3D Batmobile and Bat Skiboat levels, was released in 1993.
◾The Nintendo Entertainment System version, also developed and published by Konami in January 1993, features a sidescrolling beat 'em up style similar to the NES version of Double Dragon and sidescrolling Batmobile and Bat Skiboat levels.
◾The Game Gear and Sega Master System versions, developed by Aspect and published by Sega, is a traditional 2D action platformer.
◾The Atari Lynx version, developed and published by Atari, is a traditional 2D action platformer.
◾The Amiga version, developed by Denton Designs and published by Konami, is a traditional 2D action platformer.
◾The PC version, developed by Spirit of Discovery and published by Konami, is a point-and-click adventure game.

As the titular Batman (depicted in cutscenes by Michael Keaton), players fight a gang of circus performers (the Red Triangle Circus Gang) while foiling the plans of deformed The Penguin (depicted by Danny DeVito) and cat burglar Catwoman (depicted by Michelle Pfeiffer).