Sunday, July 30, 2017

Video Game Review: Batman Returns

Batman Returns
Super Nintendo


Back in 1992 there were many different video game editions of Batman Returns to hit the market. A different version for every console out there, I do believe. I happened to own both the NES and the Genesis versions of the game, but seeing as how I did not own a Super Nintendo I never got the opportunity to play the SNES edition of Batman Returns.

Back then I was an avid reader of video game magazines, and I always thought that the Super Nintendo version of Batman Returns looked super cool. It was a side scrolling beat 'em up in the vein of games like Final Fight and TMNT: The Arcade Game.

As much as I always wanted to play the game when I was a kid, I never got the chance. No Super Nintendo, no go. I was ten years old back in 1992. I would eventually get the opportunity to play this game. Little did I know that that opportunity wouldn't come for another fifteen years.




As an adult I was finally able to buy the Super Nintendo I never had as a kid. As a result, you can often find me perusing used game stores on the lookout for fun games that had passed me by in my childhood. Batman Returns was one of those games. I saw it on the shelf for a measly three or four dollars. I hadn't even so much as thought of the game in the longest time. Then I remembered how much fun it had looked when I was a kid. It was a no-brainer. Into the cart this game went.

Once I purchased this game it took me a long time to get around to playing it. This was during the period of my dark drunken years back in the mid 2000's. I have the faintest memory of playing this game on normal, getting my ass kicked, turning the difficulty to easy, and then zipping through the game with flying colors. I never touched it again until now in 2017.

Like I said I had last played this during my lost drunken years. I remembered nothing about the game, other than there being a particularly difficult battle with Catwoman that had given me trouble. Basically it was like I was playing it for the first time.




The first thing to jump out at me was the game's presentation. The musical score to go along with the game's cinematic introduction really got my blood pumping. Everything really matched the tone and the feel of the actual movie version of Batman Returns. The baby crying, the music playing. It was a really great introduction, something that the Sega Genesis probably would have never been able to pull off. It definitely got me stoked to play the game and ready to jump in and start beating some people up.

I played the game on normal difficulty, but I cranked the number of lives up to maximum. I never play games on easy anymore because I consider that cheap. But on games like this that emulate the arcade experience of dying a lot and having to "plug in more quarters" to continue, I never feel guilty turning the number of lives to max. So that's what I did. Once I was all set to play, off I went.

If you have ever played a game like Streets of Rage or the classic TMNT beat 'em ups, you know exactly what to expect here. Playing as Batman, you work your way left-to-right on each stage, beating up your enemies as you go. You can go up and down in the field of play in addition to left and right. Attacks consist mainly of punching your enemies, but you also have an unlimited supply of Batarangs that freeze up your enemies for a second or two when you hit them with one of these. Batman can jump and deliver kick attacks while in mid-air. Hitting jump and the attack button at the same time causes Batman to deliver a cape attack that hits everyone his immediate midst. It is a powerful attack, but it causes damage to Batman whenever you use it.




Like other games that Batman Returns is modeled after, you can collect power ups as you play. You can destroy things like barrels and garbage cans to collect extra health, points, and test tubes. Test tubes are special items that you can use to deliver damage to everyone onscreen. You start each stage with three of them, but you can collect more as you play. Earn enough points, and you are rewarded with extra lives.

I would have liked to see Batman Returns make more of an effort to incorporate environmental damage and attacks into its game play, such as having obstacles like pits and traps you can use to your advantage while fighting your foes. I also would have enjoyed the ability to pick up the enemies' bombs, knives, swords, and things of that nature and use them against them. But it wasn't to be. That was perhaps my lone gripe with the game, a little more depth to its fighting stages.

Not to say that the game doesn't mix things up from time to time. In addition to the main battle stages, every once in a while you will get a stage that is platform-esque in the way it plays out. You control Batman (of course) but instead of punching you can only attack by throwing Batarangs. You also have access to a grappling hook which you must utilize to jump and swing from ledge to ledge and over gaping drops where you are at risk of falling to your death. These levels are the closest thing the game has to offer for platforming action.




There is also a Batmobile stage in the game. This stage is pretty easy, as all you do is drive forward on a pre-determined course and shoot the bad guys that attack you. I had to play this stage a few times because it took me several attempts to beat the game. I never came close to dying on this stage. It is more of a fun diversion than anything else.

Batman Returns if a pretty short game. A little less than an hour, I would say. It closely follows the plot of the movie and doesn't throw any stages in here that wander too far from the source material. Expect to see a lot of familiar foes from the film as the Red Triangle Circus Gang is well represented here. You'll be battling an endless stream of the same clowns, skull heads, fire-breathers, jugglers, and motorcycle riders that you see in the film. Expect there to be boss battles with the Penguin and Catwoman, obviously. The game throws a few other boss characters at you as well, such as the Organ Grinder, the Strongman, and that clown who threatens Selina Kyle with the taser. "Heh heh heh. You missed!" Lol no.

I already mentioned that I liked the game's presentation of the opening scene, but its visual style while you are playing is top notch as well. The game's graphics are big and bright and cartoony. All of the characters are well drawn and easily identifiable. It seems like you fight a lot of the same enemies all the time, but I guess that is to be expected considering how closely this follows the plot of the film. The game's music and sound effect are top notch as well. Batman Returns does a great job atmospherically of retaining the look and feel of the movie.




I found this game to be somewhat challenging. I got my butt kicked the first time I attempted to play it. I barely made it halfway through the game. But the more I played, the better I got. I think it took me four attempts before I finally was able to beat the whole thing.

This is a really fun game. If I had played this as a kid, it would have compared very favorably to all the similar titles that were so popular back then. The lack of multi player is something that could potentially have hurt this game for me, but I mainly play single player anyway so I guess it wouldn't have mattered too much to me.

Games based on movies get a bad rap, but this one is pretty darn good. You can tell a lot of thought and effort went into it. It is very well made from top to bottom. The graphics, the music, the presentation, the game play, the level diversity, the challenge. Plus the game is just flat out FUN! There is something particularly satisfying about the way Batman beats the crap out of his enemies in this game. This would have been one of my favorites as a kid, no doubt. But as an adult, I've already had my fun with it. I played it a few times. I beat it. Into storage it will go. It was short, but it was fun while it lasted. Now time to move on to other games.



Overall:
B



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