''Batman: The Video Game'', is a group of

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...

s developed by

Sunsoft , stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Sunsoft is the video games division of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sun Corporation. Its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sun Corporation of America, though, ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

and

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same te ...

, loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name. Despite having the same title, each is actually a different game. The NES title is arguably the best known and contains five levels culminating in a final showdown with the Joker in the bell tower of Gotham Cathedral. It was received well despite changes from the movie upon which it was based. Sunsoft later released '' Batman: Return of the Joker'' as a follow-up which is not related to any movie.

NES version

Gameplay

The game has a feature that was unusual in side-scrolling platform games at the time, largely to the NES itself. Unlike Sunsoft's ''Batman'' for the Mega Drive/Genesis, which features the

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and ho ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

has the ability to do a

wall jump This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

, which is reminiscent of Ryu Hayabusa's wall scaling in '' Ninja Gaiden''. He is also able to use three projectile weapons: the

batarang A batarang is a roughly bat-shaped throwing weapon used by the DC Comics superhero Batman. The name is a portmanteau of bat and boomerang, and was originally spelled baterang. Although they are named after boomerangs, batarangs have become ...

, batdisk, and batpoon, which are powered by pellet cartridges. The stages in the game consists of the Gotham City Streets, Axis Chemical Plant, Gotham Sewers, Mysterious Laboratory, and the Gotham Cathedral Belltower. A number of notable

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

villains appear as low-level minions in the game, including

Deadshot Deadshot (Floyd Lawton) is a supervillain and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by David Vern Reed, Lew Schwartz and Bob Kane, the character made his first appearance in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #59 ...

KGBeast KGBeast (Anatoli Knyazev) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo, the character first appeared as an adversary of Batman. KGBeast has appeared in numerous cartoon television sho ...

Maxie Zeus Maximilian "Maxie" Zeus is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as a minor enemy of Batman. He is depicted as a mentally ill former history professor who is obsessed with Greek mythology and believe ...

Heat Wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

, Shakedown, and

Nightslayer Night-Slayer is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #529 (August 1983), and was created by Doug Moench and Gene Colan. Fictional character biography The son of a Gotham City millionaire (and u ...

. The bosses in the game are Killer Moth, a device known as the Machine Intelligence System, the Electrocutioner, a machine known as the Dual-Container Alarm, Firebug, and the Joker. The penultimate boss will be skipped in the continued play if the player reached the Joker previously, so the player can directly fight the Joker next time.

Development

While ''

'' and '' Batman: The Caped Crusader'' were not based on a movie, this game was. The prototype version of the game had some significant differences, such as a 1UP icon and entirely different cut-scenes. The game's original last boss was Firebug and there was no Joker boss. Instead, Batman defeats the Joker in the ending cut-scene. The art and dialogue were changed from the prototype to the final version to better reflect the look and events from the movie.

Reception

The NES version has received positive reviews. Allgame editor Brett Alan Weiss called the game "one of the best superhero games for the NES". The NES version is also considered by many players and reviewers to be one of the most difficult games ever released for the system. The Game Boy version of the game sold over 500,000 copies by December 1990.

Genesis version

A title for Mega Drive/Genesis was also developed by

. Unlike the NES version, its plot has more similarities to that of the film.

Game Boy version

The Game Boy title holds an aggregate score of 78.75% on

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. It features Batman attacking with a gun and is arguably the least related title to the movie.

PC Engine version

''Batman'' for the PC Engine is an action-puzzle game, developed by Sunsoft and released in 1990 only in Japan. For unknown reasons the game was never released in North America for the TurboGrafx-16.

References

External links

* * *
Batman (NES)
at

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* {{Authority control 1989 video games Action video games Video games based on Batman films Batman (1989 film series) Game Boy games Game Boy-only games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Platform games Sunsoft games Superhero video games Video games based on films Video games based on adaptations Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Naoki Kodaka Video games based on works by Tim Burton Video games set in the United States