Game Debate #187: Batman (NES)

[Reed Rothchild | 10,067]

[TDIRunner | 2,999]

I've played it, but not enough to rate it.  I've only played it in recent years as an adult.  I never had a chance to play it when it was new as a kid. 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,125]

I've always loved this game and the movie it was based on, so I don't think my rating is very objective, but... 10/10.

It's also nice to see an NES movie license that doesn't suck.  There was Gremlins 2 as well, also by Sunsoft, but that might be it...

[the_wizard_666 | 1,363]

It's a pretty good game, but having beat it I have no desire to ever play it again.  I did have fun playing it in the tournament a couple years back, but I don't think I'll ever pop it in again just to play it, so I gave it a 6/10.  It's an excellent action-platformer on a system that has a ton of action-platformers...one of the best in fact.  But the genre is part of what I dislike about it...I just am not much of a fan of platformers, no matter how good.  I would've preferred if they threw in some exploration elements (like TMNT) or some sort of investigation aspect (like Dick Tracy).  But that's just my personal opinion.

[DefaultGen | 5,961]

I think it's alright. A lot of the platforming is slow-ish and can be precise to the point of being finnicky (at least if you want to avoid hits). The wall jump mechanic and mood are pretty rad. I think I'd like it more if it went more into the platforming and had fewer annoying enemies. Joker is a pretty cool boss too. 6/10

Edited January 19, 2024 by DefaultGen

[Tulpa | 3,771]

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I've always loved this game and the movie it was based on, so I don't think my rating is very objective, but... 10/10.

It's also nice to see an NES movie license that doesn't suck.  There was Gremlins 2 as well, also by Sunsoft, but that might be it...

You get to live. Everyone else...

[DefaultGen | 5,961]

1 minute ago, Tulpa said:

You get to live. Everyone else...

I was going to make a comment that Batman wouldn't kill people, but I guess this is the game where he has a gun.

[OptOut | 9,271]

Absolutely top-tier NES, not much comes close to this one. 10/10!

[Tulpa | 3,771]

4 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I was going to make a comment that Batman wouldn't kill people, but I guess this is the game where he has a gun.

*snob voice*

It's a spear gun, not necessarily for use against people.

 

 

Plus, Batman fuckin' tosses Joker clean off the tower at the end. Like, no accidental slipping or anything. Just hauls off and makes the Clown Prince of Crime into street pizza. I mean ... damn.

[koifish | 628]

One of my top NES platformers. I wouldn't say everyone should play it though, because it's pretty difficult, and also because some will complain that it is not a "real" batman game. If you like hard platformers though? Play it, it's worth it.

[docile tapeworm | 4,332]

2 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I've always loved this game and the movie it was based on, so I don't think my rating is very objective, but... 10/10.

It's also nice to see an NES movie license that doesn't suck.  There was Gremlins 2 as well, also by Sunsoft, but that might be it...

 

53 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Absolutely top-tier NES, not much comes close to this one. 10/10!

Batman is a great game……but

1. SMB3

2. Ninja Gaiden

3. Shatterhand

4. Batman

5. Adventure Island

Honor mention VPD

id also like to say power blade is overrated. That game is almost not good. then you got power blade 2….. yuk.

Edited January 19, 2024 by skinnygrinny

[Dr. Morbis | 2,125]

8 minutes ago, skinnygrinny said:

 

Batman is a great game……but

1. SMB3

2. Ninja Gaiden

3. Shatterhand

4. Batman

5. Adventure Island

Honor mention VPD

id also like to say power blade is overrated. That game is almost not good. then you got power blade 2….. yuk.

Are you rating Batman as the fourth best action-platformer on the console and then only giving it an 8/10 ?!?!?

[Sumez | 3,214]

39 minutes ago, skinnygrinny said:

id also like to say power blade is overrated. That game is almost not good

if only someone made a romhack to capitalize on the things it does well

[Sumez | 3,214]

Batman is my sort of game, that specific type of action platformer which almost only exists on the NES.

It's not a great game by any means, but I like it at lot. When it's good, it's really good. But it's quite short, even if the later stages are challenging enough to almost make up for that. I would have loved more interesting walljumping challenges in the vein of the best parts of the game.

The bosses suck however, and the final boss is just absurd.

[OptOut | 9,271]

1 hour ago, skinnygrinny said:

 

Batman is a great game……but

1. SMB3

2. Ninja Gaiden

3. Shatterhand

4. Batman

5. Adventure Island

Honor mention VPD

id also like to say power blade is overrated. That game is almost not good. then you got power blade 2….. yuk.

Lul.

4th best NES game of all time. 8 outa. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,332]

8 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Are you rating Batman as the fourth best action-platformer on the console and then only giving it an 8/10 ?!?!?

 

6 hours ago, OptOut said:

Lul.

4th best NES game of all time. 8 outa. 

I don’t understand what the issue is here. 

[mbd39 | 2,147]

10. It's in my top 10 NES games. I've beaten it deathless.

[Link | 2,951]

9 hours ago, Tulpa said:

You get to live. Everyone else...

I've been waiting for you to show up

[RH | 5,421]

This was a top favorite of my childhood and it also has the only NES chiptunes that I enjoy just listening to as an OST outside the game.

When it comes to the NES, this is by far my favorite 3rd party game of all time. It doesn’t beat SMB3 but it beats SMB1 and I’d have to think real hard about whether I like it better than Metroid, but that comparison is more Apples to Oranges.

Edited January 19, 2024 by RH

[T-Pac | 8,443]

For some reason, my brain can't latch onto games that have a property tie-in I don't like. 

If Batman [NES] was, like, a Power Rangers game or something - I'd probably love it. But I just don't care for the Batman license, and it sours the experience for me. I actually purged this game and a few others from my collection for that exact reason (like TMNT - I'm just not into the Ninja Turtles, either).

But it's also worth noting that Sunsoft games have never really clicked with me in general. I can recognize why they're so highly-regarded, but for some reason I can't get anywhere in them.

[T-Pac]

[Webhead123 | 831]

Great game, especially for its time, but way too fucking hard in spots. The difficulty is really the only thing that keeps it from being higher for me. Even so, I still remember what a huge deal the Batman movie was in '89 and playing this game in 1990 was honestly very exciting. The graphics and music absolutely slay and the play control is very solid, with my only complaint being that I wish they allowed the player to switch special weapons on the pause screen. Having to rapidly switch weapons mid-action can be frustrating at times.

I've never beaten it and am not terribly worried about doing so. I just like to pop it in and play a few stages to listen to those beautiful chiptunes.

8/10

Edited January 19, 2024 by Webhead123

[docile tapeworm | 4,332]

I actually feel like the game has become a bit overrated in recent years. I had this game as a kid and always enjoyed it. But now it’s like everyone is all of a sudden saying how great it is to the point of putting it above true greats.

@Sumez I think the experience would suffer if the game were longer. It nails the vibe in stage one. The cave is garbage. The wall jumping in the electric shock stage is its peak enjoyment, where the gameplay shines brightest and the experience is tapped. The final stage and joker are fun because of the challenge. Adding more stages would just water down the experience because there’s nothing more to the game to warrant more.

[docile tapeworm | 4,332]

@Dr. Morbis @OptOut @Link what’s the issue with giving this game an 8 as 4th best in the genre on the console? 

[Tulpa | 3,771]

3 hours ago, Link said:

I've been waiting for you to show up

If anything, I now know who all to put on my shitlisttm. 

[mbd39 | 2,147]

2 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

Great game, especially for its time, but way too fucking hard in spots. The difficulty is really the only thing that keeps it from being higher for me. Even so, I still remember what a huge deal the Batman movie was in '89 and playing this game in 1990 was honestly very exciting. The graphics and music absolutely slay and the play control is very solid, with my only complaint being that I wish they allowed the player to switch special weapons on the pause screen. Having to rapidly switch weapons mid-action can be frustrating at times.

I've never beaten it and am not terribly worried about doing so. I just like to pop it in and play a few stages to listen to those beautiful chiptunes.

8/10

Get good at farming the enemies that drop from the ceiling. That will definitely help you in beating it.