Tim Burton's Batman was released to theaters in June of 1989, and almost immediately became a box office hit. As a result all kinds of tie-ins began to crop up, like toys and cartoons, to keep kids hooked on the newly budded movie franchise.
The late 80's also was the prime of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Naturally, marketing turned to this medium to further the tie-ins to the popular movie and licensed out to software developer Sunsoft, who you may know from such games as Fester's Quest (NES) and Blaster Master (Various Systems) as well as the GameBoy Final Fantasy titles (in conjunction with Square).
One common reality when it comes to movie licensed games is that they are usually terrible and most comic based games suffer this fate as well. That said, Batman for the NES is a great game. It's one of the few occasions where gameplay took priority over plot or gimmicks. This is an example of what made a great game back in the old days and one of the reasons Sunsoft was a software development powerhouse in early gaming.
It plays as a standard side-scroller with you in control of Batman. The goal is to traverse each stage, defeating enemies and avoiding hazards as you go, ending each stage in a boss battle. If you have ever played games like Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden then you'll feel familiar with the gameplay in Batman. After gaining an ammo powerup you have access to three weapons, the boomerang, the rocket gun, and the dirk with each weapon taking 1, 2, or 3 ammo respectively. Batman also has a health bar that depletes when attacked or harmed by hazards. You start with three lives and are provided with two continues to complete the five stages in the game, and you will definitely use your continues.
.031.png)
.034.png)
The challenge is hard in this game. Enemies get gradually stronger as the game goes on, and many times you are faced with difficult wall jumps that require pre-planning. On top of that the boss battles become absurdly difficult starting in the third level and if you make it to the Joker you will likely never win, or have the resources to even harm him. Life can be farmed at points with the help of dispenser enemies that drop drones regularly so you can punch them, but health doesn't last long and you'll find yourself with a blinking life gauge more often than not.
.040.png)
.050.png)
Another problem with this game is that your ammo runs out fast when using the rocket gun or the dirk in boss battles, leaving you with no option but to try and defeat the enemy with your fists alone. Items will not appear during the battle either, and if you die you start the fight over with whatever ammo you have left. As a result, it's very likely you will completely exhaust all of your ammo and be left with no choice but to try and defeat the boss with your fists alone. This puts you deeper into harm's way, and usually results in you using one of your limited continues.
.045.png)
.043.png)
Batman isn't all bad though. In actuality it's an amazing game for it's age as it comes with a stellar soundtrack and cinema scenes to get you into playing as the Dark Knight. You have good control for the platforming and there are no jumps that are too out of the question. In fairness the only real problem with this game is the lack of infinite continues. If you could always continue again from the beginning of your current stage after you run out of lives, this game would suddenly become very beatable. As it stands though it's a grueling task to even make it to the last level, and the Joker is almost impossible to bring down. I've never done it, and I don't think I ever will as long as I live.
This game isn't for everyone though. Casual gamers may want to skip this due to it's difficulty. Hardcore gamers though will find this title very engaging and a considerable challenge to beat, and I very much recommend it as it's one of my favorite NES games. It's only available if you have an NES console and a cartridge copy of the game and it's unlikely it will ever turn up on the Wii's Virtual Console due to being a movie license. However, if you are a collector and are up to the challenge, seek this one out!
It plays as a standard side-scroller with you in control of Batman. The goal is to traverse each stage, defeating enemies and avoiding hazards as you go, ending each stage in a boss battle. If you have ever played games like Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden then you'll feel familiar with the gameplay in Batman. After gaining an ammo powerup you have access to three weapons, the boomerang, the rocket gun, and the dirk with each weapon taking 1, 2, or 3 ammo respectively. Batman also has a health bar that depletes when attacked or harmed by hazards. You start with three lives and are provided with two continues to complete the five stages in the game, and you will definitely use your continues.
.031.png)
.034.png)
The challenge is hard in this game. Enemies get gradually stronger as the game goes on, and many times you are faced with difficult wall jumps that require pre-planning. On top of that the boss battles become absurdly difficult starting in the third level and if you make it to the Joker you will likely never win, or have the resources to even harm him. Life can be farmed at points with the help of dispenser enemies that drop drones regularly so you can punch them, but health doesn't last long and you'll find yourself with a blinking life gauge more often than not.
.040.png)
.050.png)
Another problem with this game is that your ammo runs out fast when using the rocket gun or the dirk in boss battles, leaving you with no option but to try and defeat the enemy with your fists alone. Items will not appear during the battle either, and if you die you start the fight over with whatever ammo you have left. As a result, it's very likely you will completely exhaust all of your ammo and be left with no choice but to try and defeat the boss with your fists alone. This puts you deeper into harm's way, and usually results in you using one of your limited continues.
.045.png)
.043.png)
Batman isn't all bad though. In actuality it's an amazing game for it's age as it comes with a stellar soundtrack and cinema scenes to get you into playing as the Dark Knight. You have good control for the platforming and there are no jumps that are too out of the question. In fairness the only real problem with this game is the lack of infinite continues. If you could always continue again from the beginning of your current stage after you run out of lives, this game would suddenly become very beatable. As it stands though it's a grueling task to even make it to the last level, and the Joker is almost impossible to bring down. I've never done it, and I don't think I ever will as long as I live.
This game isn't for everyone though. Casual gamers may want to skip this due to it's difficulty. Hardcore gamers though will find this title very engaging and a considerable challenge to beat, and I very much recommend it as it's one of my favorite NES games. It's only available if you have an NES console and a cartridge copy of the game and it's unlikely it will ever turn up on the Wii's Virtual Console due to being a movie license. However, if you are a collector and are up to the challenge, seek this one out!
No comments:
Post a Comment