Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #379: The Adventures of Batman & Robin

The Adventures of Batman & Robin

Super Nintendo

Nostalgia Factor:

I was a HUGE fan of Batman: The Animated Series when I was a kid. Not only did I love it because of Batman, I loved the setting, the music, the villains – everything. Even to this day, I stand by my opinion that this is possibly the greatest cartoon series of all time.

Due to the fact that I never owned a Super Nintendo growing up, I was never able to play its video game adaptation. I did play The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Genesis, but I never really liked that one. It was too difficult. I didn’t like the shooting/punching mechanics. I also feel it didn’t properly capture the look and feel of the source material.

Turns out I was playing the wrong version of the game. The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the SNES is everything I would have wanted from a Batman game as a kid, and more. Read on for my full thoughts.

Story:

This game basically acts as a compilation of episodes from the animated series. Each level begins with a title card, which lets you know which villain you’re going to be facing (just like in the show). You fight through each of these themed levels, beating the villain, who typically acts as a boss character, at the end of the stage. Then you move onto the next one.

None of these stages are connected. For example, the first stage has you going to an amusement park to battle the Joker, while the second stage has you fighting Poison Ivy in her greenhouse. Like I said before, each of these stages are basically mini-episodes from the show. At the end of the game, you take the fight to your foes, fighting through a gauntlet of boss characters until you face off in the final battle against the Joker.

Gameplay:

This is an easy game to get used to. You control Batman, although he moves across the screen pretty slowly. You jump. You swing from things using your grappling hook. When you encounter an enemy you can punch or kick them to death. It only takes about one or two hits to kill your standard enemy, so the game isn’t too difficult – at least right off the bat. After playing The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Genesis I can honestly say that this game is a lot simpler than I had anticipated. It is very much a traditional platformer by most definitions of the word.

As you play, you’ll notice you have access to a handful of gadgets, like X-ray vision, a flashlight, a spray gun, batarangs, and the ever dependable grappling hook. Play around with these items and see how they benefit you. I mostly ignored them while I made my way through the game, inadvertently making things a lot harder on myself in the process.

The game throws some variety at you from time to time. There’s a driving level (which is terrible and I hate, BTW). There’s a level that takes place in a giant maze. There’s a level where you explore an office building. The remaining stages simply consist of moving your character from the left side of the screen all the way to the right, and then fighting a boss character, in typical 2D platformer fashion.

As far as overall difficulty goes, the game isn't too overly hard. Where I encountered the most trouble was during the boss battles. Many of these battles rely on trial and error, observing your enemy, and taking advantage of their attack patterns. But that is a lot easier said than done. You're going to die fighting these bosses, and when you die you often have to replay long chunks of the entire level over again. The maze/labyrinth stage is one of the most egregious offenders.

Graphics:

This game looks excellent. It captures the overall feel of the 90s cartoon perfectly. I'd be hard pressed to name a game that is as true to the source material as this one. It is like the animated series came to life, and now you are in control of the action.

Sound:

Just as this game captures the feel of the show visually, it does the same with its music as well. I was truly impressed as I made my way through this game that the Super Nintendo could bring this to life as well as it did.

Overall:

This game really impressed me. I came into it thinking it would just be a cheesy 2D platformer and it blew away all my expectations. It pays such a wonderful homage to the source material, capturing the essence of the animated series perfectly.

I'm not going to sit here and say it's a perfect game. The platforming action is slow, clunky, and ultimately flawed. Some of the levels, like the Riddler's labyrinth, overstay their welcome and drag on for way too long - to the point where mucking my way through them began to feel like a real slog. And that driving level? It is pure torture. You can't see what's coming up in front of you, and if you go too fast you'll slam into the wall and lose precious time. If you go to slow, you'll run out of time. You have to be 100% perfect to make it through this level, which to me is ridiculous because there's no way to get through this stage other than trial and error, memorization, and repetition. And even then, the controls are so touchy that one tiny little mistake will doom you. I hate it. If you say you made it through this level on your first attempt, you are lying.

All bad things aside, this game overall left an overwhelmingly positive impression on me. As such a huge fan of the source material, this game was an absolute treat for me. It's everything I ever could have wanted from an adaptation of the cartoon, and more. Why couldn't The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Genesis be this good? I rented that for one weekend as a kid and never bothered to pick it up again. Maybe I'll have to give it another chance. Anyway, I am rambling.

If you like Batman: The Animated Series, this game is for you. If you are just looking for a good 2D platforming experience, this might not be the game for you. Or maybe it is? I'll admit, my Batman blinders are making it hard for me to determine if this is actually a good game or not. But I had a good time with it. And this is my review, so that's really all that matters.

THE GRADE:

B+

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