''Batman Returns'' (バットマンリターンズ) is a 1993

beat 'em up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

for the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name.

Gameplay

The game is a left-to-right scrolling fighter

, a genre that was featured heavily on the console at the time. The gameplay and graphics are very similar to the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

port of ''

Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Japanese publisher Capcom, which began with the arcade release of '' Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, within the '' Street Fighter'' universe, the games focus on ...

''. The game takes the player through seven scenes featured in the film. Each scene has a boss fight that Batman must win in order to proceed to the next scene. Scene 1 takes place in Gotham's Plaza, where Batman fights numerous Red Triangle Circus gangsters and saves Selina Kyle from the Stungun Clown who took her hostage. In Scene 2, Batman fights the Circus gang throughout

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

's Streets, facing the Tattooed Strongman as the boss. Climbing on the rooftops of Scene 3, Batman encounters Catwoman, who escapes to an abandoned building where Penguin's setting a trap for Batman, but he manages to take on Catwoman and Penguin on Scene 4. In Scene 5, Batman drives the Batmobile and uses a machine gun to destroy Penguin's Campaign Van. Moving to Scene 6, Batman goes to the Circus Train and defeats Penguin's right-hand man, the Organ Grinder. Penguin escapes to the abandoned Arctic World on Scene 7, where Batman destroys his Duck Vehicle and ultimately gains the upper hand on Penguin once and for all. Meanwhile, Catwoman escapes and watches as Batman gets called for another adventure. Various members of the Red Triangle Circus Gang attack Batman throughout the game. Batman has a number of weapons and moves at his disposal, including the

batarang The batarang is a roughly bat-shaped throwing weapon used by the DC Comics superhero Batman. Etymology The name "Batarang" is a portmanteau of ''bat'' and ''boomerang'', and was originally spelled baterang. Usage Batarangs are customizable t ...

Reception

Scary Larry of ''GamePro'' gave the game a perfect score, singling out praise for the visuals, animations, score and adjustable difficulty level. Super Gamer gave an overall score of 90%. They praised the soundtrack, graphics and gameplay, and called it one of the "finest scrolling beat 'em ups".

Accolades

In 2018,

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

placed the game 97th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time". They also praised the game being a good translation from the movie and described the game as a "beat-em-up gem". Nintendo Power ranked ''Batman Returns'' the eighth best SNES game of 1993. In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their top 25 "Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time" list.

References

External links

* * {{Batman video games 1993 video games Batman (1989 film series) video games Christmas video games Konami beat 'em ups Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Superhero video games Video games based on Batman films Video games based on works by Tim Burton Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the United States