Game:

The Batman (2005)

Duration: 14:25

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A Japan-only Batman game... for PC Engine!? AWESOME!!!!

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Actually, a lot of people say the game sucks, but it's really not bad at all, just... different... very different... but it is pretty faithful to the franchise. You see, back in the 90s, Sunsoft, Konami, and Sega all released some pretty great or interesting Batman games (and then there were other, not so great or just terrible games), but almost all of them focused on Batman and/or Robin beating the living crap out of badguys either in Beat-em-up- fashion, side-scroller action fashion, or even more along the lines of a platformer. Indeed, when Sunsoft was originally developing this game, it seemed that it was going to be another side-scroller (and good looking at that), but, for whatever reason, it was scrapped and this was presented to PC Engine owners instead: a top-down search-and-destroy maze game type thing.

The game is actually pretty fun and well-designed for the kind of game it is, and it's spread across 48 stages and four different levels (12 stages each) before you reach the final level to defeat "The Joker" and his two closest henchmen (the only real boss fight in the game). You start off in Gotham City collecting The Joker's tainted cosmetics, then move to the Fluegelheim Museum to clean and restore important defaced paintings, then travel to the Axis Chemical Factory to set bombs to destroy the Joker's ability to produce dangerous products at its source, then finally head back to Gotham to get rid of the Joker's poison balloons. You get some pretty short but very detailed cutscenes as you move to each new level and get a preditcable but satisfying ending when you defeat the Joker (which is unfortunately crazy easy).

Batman is confronted by different enemies each level, although they all fall under the same three kinds: Stupid slow guys, fast guys that run around wildly or chase you if you're too close or in their line of sight, and thugs who carry guns. It's a little disappointing, but there are fortunately level hazards and other elements to keep you on your toes after you've quickly gotten down enemy patterns. The stages are varied enough in their design and are actually quite detailed, and the music, while limited in number (four for the primary 48 levels, a few additional ditties, and a final level theme), are some of the best tunes to ever come out of the PC Engine. Sunsoft did an amazing job and I have no complaints with how the game looks or sounds.

The gameplay is very basic and the game is pretty lenient. The Caped Crusader starts off very weak, throwing slow Batarangs and moving very slowly. He can walk into stunned enemies to defeat them, but this is a risky manuever without getting power-ups to improve your abilities. Batman can increase the speed of his attacks, how many Batarangs he can throw at one time, and his walking speed by grabbing power-ups. There are also other items like invincibility, a bomb to defeat all enemies, an item to increase time, and a Joker icon which weakens the player. There are also zip lines which warp Batman to different areas. Stages are confusing, but never downright frustrating and you usually have more than enough time to complete a level (for the ones they think you don't, there are time pickups accordingly).

This game may not focus much on Batman's brute strength, cunning, or large assortment of gadgets, but maybe that's not a bad thing-- there were so many Batman games of the 90s that maybe Sunsoft thought they needed to pump some originality in somewhere, and you'll get just that with this game, bundled into a easy-to-play package complete with passwords for later play. The only thing that sucks are the zip-lines; you can sometimes get put in an unfair position when getting off of one (like right on top of an enemy). This is a video of the game in action, going through the first level. Enjoy.

Basic Format: Turbo Chip / HuCard