The Adventures of Batman & Robin (MD, 1995)
Graphics-9 Sound-7 Control-7.5 Challenge-9 Story-5
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-7/6* Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
Technically impressive (perspective effects, polygons?, large multi-tiered bosses, mad hatter boss, flashlight effect, two-face boss, jet pack stage background, etc.)
2-player co-op (Batman and Robin, no friendly damage?, no difference between them)
Smart bombs (activate upon picking them up, often placed where you don't need them)
Mostly fast paced (character and projectile movements)
Context sensitive melee attacks (characters auto-punch/kick when an enemy is close in the on foot segments)
Some good bosses (mini-boss before mad hatter, mad hatter, two-face)
Good use of colour
Good animation
Double jump/jump kick (doubles as a dodge move in some cases)
+/-
While there's some decent variety between segments each one is quite long and repetitive and the variation seems to gradually decrease throughout the game
Respawn on the spot (weapon is downgraded, leads to some really tedious parts since bosses are so resilient)
Can't go backwards in a stage (run 'n gun/Contra-style)
No staff roll (and no Robin in the ending)
Techno/Industrial soundtrack (doesn't remind you of the show but it does fit the repetitive pacing and the genre)
Epilepsy-inducing screen flashing
Your ally can't respawn during boss fights
-
No difficulty options (can only change no. of credits from 0-6)
Repetitive (especially the airship stage which is also too long, repeats enemies a few times)
Overly resilient enemies for the most part
Somewhat unresponsive targeting controls while firing (need to hold the button down as tapping won't register unless your timing is exactly right between shots)
Can't move while firing (should've had a toggle for it)
No slide move (Contra: Hard Corps, Mega Man 3)
Few checkpoints (and sometimes they're set right at the boss - giving you no power ups so you'll be fighting for a long time should you die in the wrong spot)
Some trial & error (boss and enemy patterns, knowing what power up is dropped by what enemy)
Only three different weapons and there’s very little difference between the fire and lightning shots (they're also a bit hard to use at the second tier (out of three) since your fire is split into two and there's no forward shot)
Some actions lack sfx (taking hits, grabbing health)
Some slowdown (first jet pack stage, mad hatter boss)
Odd transition to the final boss
Art style strays further from the cartoon than the SNES game
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-7/6* Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
*1-player
+
Technically impressive (perspective effects, polygons?, large multi-tiered bosses, mad hatter boss, flashlight effect, two-face boss, jet pack stage background, etc.)
2-player co-op (Batman and Robin, no friendly damage?, no difference between them)
Smart bombs (activate upon picking them up, often placed where you don't need them)
Mostly fast paced (character and projectile movements)
Context sensitive melee attacks (characters auto-punch/kick when an enemy is close in the on foot segments)
Some good bosses (mini-boss before mad hatter, mad hatter, two-face)
Good use of colour
Good animation
Double jump/jump kick (doubles as a dodge move in some cases)
+/-
While there's some decent variety between segments each one is quite long and repetitive and the variation seems to gradually decrease throughout the game
Respawn on the spot (weapon is downgraded, leads to some really tedious parts since bosses are so resilient)
Can't go backwards in a stage (run 'n gun/Contra-style)
No staff roll (and no Robin in the ending)
Techno/Industrial soundtrack (doesn't remind you of the show but it does fit the repetitive pacing and the genre)
Epilepsy-inducing screen flashing
Your ally can't respawn during boss fights
-
No difficulty options (can only change no. of credits from 0-6)
Repetitive (especially the airship stage which is also too long, repeats enemies a few times)
Overly resilient enemies for the most part
Somewhat unresponsive targeting controls while firing (need to hold the button down as tapping won't register unless your timing is exactly right between shots)
Can't move while firing (should've had a toggle for it)
No slide move (Contra: Hard Corps, Mega Man 3)
Few checkpoints (and sometimes they're set right at the boss - giving you no power ups so you'll be fighting for a long time should you die in the wrong spot)
Some trial & error (boss and enemy patterns, knowing what power up is dropped by what enemy)
Only three different weapons and there’s very little difference between the fire and lightning shots (they're also a bit hard to use at the second tier (out of three) since your fire is split into two and there's no forward shot)
Some actions lack sfx (taking hits, grabbing health)
Some slowdown (first jet pack stage, mad hatter boss)
Odd transition to the final boss
Art style strays further from the cartoon than the SNES game