Batman is arguably one of the most iconic characters of the DC Comics world, which may explain the significant number of games, spin-offs, and films that immediately followed after the character’s vast influence on pop culture. Despite not being the conventional superhero that has superpowers, the Dark Knight has won hearts and gained fans after he devoted his life fighting the bad guys in Gotham City.
However, Batman has one of the saddest background stories of all time. Bruce Wayne in real life, he is a billionaire and the only son of Thomas and Martha Wayne, owners of a multi-billion enterprise. After witnessing the gruesome murder of his parents, Bruce vowed to bring justice to the criminals. Although he gets help from trusty pals Alfred, the butler, and authorities, catching the bad guys wasn’t always smooth sailing. He developed an arch nemesis, Joker, who does silly traps to kill the superhero.
Batman became one of the most successful characters introduced by DC Comics
This storyline became an inspiration to many things, but Batman probably was mostly evident in video games. The character has enjoyed 30 years of left and right titles for many platforms from various developers, but here are the best ones from the ’90s:
The Adventures of Batman and Robin
Released by Konami and playable in the classic Super Nintendo Entertainment System, this 24-year-old game proved to be one of the most addictive among all the games that starred the Caped Crusader. Players carefully follow Batman as he explored Gotham City and into other places to defeat known DC villains at the end of every level.
Moreover, it wasn’t one of the games that can be finished in one seating. Those who love finishing challenges may find this Batman game worth their while. After all, it will be totally worth it for those brave souls who choose to play the game in difficulty level -- creators had added a special ending for those able to finish everything in one go.
To be fair, the graphics of The Adventures of Batman and Robin was already beautiful for its time and in comparison to other competitors. Sure, it’s going to be eaten in today’s market but back then, the game was more or less attractive.
Batman
This 1991 game had Batman fighting all villains before facing Joker.
Released in 1991 for the Genesis console, this game was a wee bit far from the original movie than other game franchises, but nonetheless, majority of this still followed the source material. The graphics were fairly OK but what’s admirable is the pace of the game.
Like the film, Batman needs to fight several villains from one city to another before coming face to face with Joker. Although critics note that the enemies weren’t exactly the best designed, the difficulty of defeating each of them gets harder as time went by. Another edge of this classic gem is the sound effect that was never too much.
The Adventures of Batman and Robin
This version was released in 1995 by Sega for Genesis. This game made it all about Batman and Robin, which are both playable characters. A year after the release of the same title for SNES, graphics were a lot crisper and colors became more vivid.
Perhaps how it differs from other game franchises was the number of enemies pitted against the lead protagonists. Speaking of enemies, villains like Mad Hatter, Joker, Two Face, and Mr. Freeze appeared in the The Adventures of Batman and Robin. The developers also added little details in the surroundings like cats running out from garbage cans, which had help made the total gaming experience complete.
Batman Returns
This 1992 game came out on both Sega’s Genesis and the SNES. This title, which some touts as the definitive video game of the ‘80s to ‘90s, is based on the film of the same title, where players were taken into seven key moments from the movie.
Based from the movie of the same title, this game features two new villains
Like in the film, villains The Catwoman and The Penguin were featured but before Batman gets to fight them, he must first weather through a series of challenging circumstances which involved fighting criminals and clowns. The World’s Greatest Detective also got a major upgrade, including bombs, batarang, and a legion of bats to fight his enemies.
Of course, with the character’s additional skills meant controls were harder to learn, meaning players need to spend ample time learning the tips and tricks. Another thing to deal about the game are the particularly interesting gargoyles which are there to annoy you while playing.
