The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
2,401A playthrough of Sega's 1995 licensed-based run-and-gun shooter for the Sega Genesis, The Adventures of Batman and Robin.
The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega Genesis is, unlike the SNES, Sega CD, Game Boy and Game Gear games based on the license, a Contra/Gunstar Heroes-style shooter. And while it is very good, opinions on this Genesis cart tend to be far more polarizing than those of the universally lauded Konami SNES game.
Mr. Freeze is threatening to use his powers against Gotham City, and so Batman or Robin (or both through simultaneous co-op play) set out to do battle. The game is comprised of four main stages, and each is capped by a major villain - Mad Hatter, The Joker (and Harley), Two Face, and of course Mr. Freeze himself.
From the very outset, The Adventures of Batman and Robin is intent on letting you know that it's not playing around with you. Right from stage one, the game constantly floods the screen with bad guys, and until you get a feel for the flow of the game, they will overwhelm you again and again. Thankfully the heroes control quite smoothly - you can fire in eight directions, jump kick down or to the side, and hang and attack from ledges - these are quite necessary in order to avoid being slaughtered. The controls are responsive and feel natural, but you'll have to master them if you hope to clear even stage 1-1. There are a few stages where the game play changes itself up by becoming shoot 'em up, but they're pretty much the same as the fighting stages, just without the ground.
You get three different choices for weapons, and firepower is upgraded by picking up different color bat icons. Each weapons has a power shot that can be fired off by letting the bar next to your life gauge fill before attacking. This adds a good element of strategy to the fights, even if many of them are so frantically paced that you'll forget about the charge shot in-fight.
The game is difficult, no question, but I don't find it anywhere near as difficult as many people make it out to be. It takes some skill and practice, but it's far easier than the NES Batman game was, and it's not as demanding nor punishing as Contra: Hard Corps' gameplay. There are many people that say that Batman & Robin is too hard, and though I'd agree that at least a difficulty option would've been nice, it's simply not a game designed with the novice player in mind. I do have to question the wisdom of releasing a game like this as a licensed product for a kids' cartoon, though.
The graphics and sound are absolutely superb for the Genesis. It manages to be colorful despite the grim backdrops, and the sprites, though a bit small and lacking in detail, are all well animated. Tons of bullets, explosions, and bodies fly around the screen at once with nary a hiccup in the framerate, and there are some wicked special effects at play - just check out the first stage's pseudo-3D building fronts, the robot scanner effects in stage 4, and those bosses. My jaw about broke the floor the first time I ever got to the Mad Hatter fight.
The soundtrack is a love it or hate it affair. It's a true marvel to hear the Genesis produce such an odd, industrial dance mix and it thumps hard. There aren't any melodies to speak of, but it's always pretty driving and urgent. It accompanies the action well, but I wouldn't listen to it outside of the game. Some people love the music, others hate it - I like it well enough in-game, but I don't think it's Jesper Kyd's best work by a long shot.
I really like the game, but to me, it doesn't feel like Batman. It feels more like a game that the license was tacked onto, unlike the phenomenal SNES game. If you want a good run-and-gun shooter, you can't go wrong here, but I can't help but prefer the Nintendo version. This one just doesn't have the personality to draw me in in the same way.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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