Considering the relative youth of the medium, it’s only natural that Batman’s video game outings haven’t garnered him the same legacy as his comic, cinematic, or animated affairs. That said, the Caped Crusader’s recent video game adaptations have built up quite the reputation for Batman within the medium. Between Arkham Asylum, City, and Knight, there’s no real shortage of high quality single player Batman games.
As great as the Arkham games are, it’s important to remember that the Dark Knight starred in a number of games before Asylum– for better & for worse. Batman’s early adventures might not reach the high standards fans are looking for, but they’re fascinating pieces of video game history nonetheless.
10 Batman (1986)
The very first Batman video game was developed by Ocean Software in 1986. An isometric action-adventure game, Batman (1986) released to critical acclaim. Reviewers cited not only the game’s level design, but its comparative sophistication to other titles of the era.
Keeping in mind that Nintendo hadn’t quite reinvigorated the games industry yet, the fact Batman’s first video game adaptation was a success is quite a surprise. Said praise isn’t unearned, however, as Batman (1986) features a primitive form of saving that makes it so players don’t need to restart the entire game upon death, and the art direction has its charm.
9 The Caped Crusader (1988)
Ocean Software’s second Batman game, 1988’s Batman: The Caped Crusader swapped the original’s isometric gameplay in favor of arcade-esque side-scrolling. Stages were still explorable by design, but The Caped Crusader’s design goal seems to center around giving Batman a more engaging combat challenge. Like Batman (1986,) The Caped Crusader released to critical praise. Much in the same way Batman featured an early form of saving, The Caped Crusader features an early form of multiple routes– with The Joker and The Penguin both having their own gameplay scenarios where they’re the main villains.
8 The Movie (1989)
Ocean Software’s final batman game and an adaptation of Tim Burton’s film of the same name, Batman: The Movie likewise released to rave reviews, even earning the Game of the Year award from the now defunct Crash magazine.
Like its predecessors, Batman: The Movie marches to the beat of its own drum. Gameplay is the most modern of the Ocean Software games, fairly comparable to arcade games of the late 80s and early NES games.
7 The Video Game (1989/1990)
Developed by Sunsoft, Batman: The Video Game was the franchise’s first video game to lack Ocean Software’s involvement. Despite this, little quality was lost in the shift in developers. If anything, Sunsoft’s interpretation of Batman lends itself to a surprisingly addictive NES action-platformer that takes valuable notes from the likes of Ninja Gaiden.
Although an adaptation of Tim Burton’s film, Sunsoft does bolster the movie’s plot by adding in characters exclusive to the comics– Deadshot, Killer Moth, KGBeast, and Nightslayer all appear alongside the Joker, alongside other members of Batman’s rogues. Sunsoft developed a Game Boy port of the game where Batman uses a gun, but it doesn’t match the same quality of the NES original.
6 Batman Sega Genesis (1990)
Due to the differences in hardware between the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, multiplatform games often featured significant changes– even if they were developed by the same studio. Sunsoft worked on the NES and Sega Genesis versions of Batman: The Video Game, but the Sega Genesis release is more than just a spitshine.
Not only is the story far more accurate to the film (cutting new characters and featuring more cutscenes,) the gameplay loses its Ninja Gaiden influence and overall a far slower action-platformer.
5 Batman PC-Engine (1990)
Sunsoft yet again refused to simply remake or port the NES version of Batman, creating an all new version entirely for the PC-Engine. This game was released exclusively in Japan, owing to the fact that it was abruptly changed from an action-platformer into an arcade-esque adventure game (along with the fact the TurboGrafx simply wasn’t doing well in the west.) Gameplay has an emphasis on puzzle-solving, but nothing’s particularly too challenging– the difficulty curve never getting any higher than early Zelda dungeons.
4 Batman Arcade (1990)
Developed by Atari Games, Batman (1990) is an adaptation of Tim Burton’s movie, but sticks very close to the beat em formula popularized by arcades of the era. Batman (1990) is purely a side-scroller, featuring a higher difficulty curve than its predecessor and cutscenes that stick as close to the movie as possible. Don’t expect to see any Batman cabinets in the arcades, but the game itself isn’t particularly difficult to track down.
3 Return Of The Joker (1991)
One of the best games on the NES, Return of the Joker is an NES adaptation of the comic book story arc of the same name. Detailing Joker’s first appearance following his presumed death during the events of A Death in the Family, the game pits Batman against most of his rogues in a game that turns a disappointing two-parter into a fantastic action-platformer.
Gameplay is fast paced, and while that Ninja Gaiden vibe has since been lost, Sunsoft’s last depiction of the Dark Knight makes for an excellent finale to their interpretation of Batman.
2 Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returns is very much a game of its time. By the early 90s, the movie industry had mastered the art of commissioning video game adaptations. As a result, several different developers worked on their own versions of Batman Returns. The most notable of which, however, were Konami’s. Batman Returns on the Super Nintendo is arguably the best version of the lot, an action side-scroller that’s very much in line with the combat found in Final Fight. Konami also ported the game to the NES, but it’s understandably a simpler affair altogether.
1 The Animated Series (1993)
An adaption of the animated series of the same name, Batman: The Animated Series was developed for the Game Boy in 1993. Konami was once again working on the franchise, which in a way ensured the game’s quality. A late in life Game Boy game, Batman: The Animated Series makes excellent use of the handheld’s hardware to create an atmospheric platformer that really does feel like the TV series in 8-bit.
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