Batman: The Video Game (NES, 1989/1990)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5 Control-6.5 Challenge-8 Story-6
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
Three different secondary weapons that you can switch between on the fly (no pausing)
Wall jumping
Nice animated cutscenes
Some alternate paths through the levels
Good art direction and use of color
Unlimited continues? (tested 8 times)
Good initial enemy variation
Some large sprites
Some nice sprite animation
Fast paced overall
+/-
Three lives per credit
Ammo-based ranged weapons
Can’t attack upwards
No grappling hook
Trap spawning enemies take very long to destroy
No life or weapon upgrades
No hidden items?
Steep difficulty curve
Health farming takes forever
-
Some trial & error (a couple of leaps of faith, boss patterns, some enemies can shoot slightly from off screen)
Some control issues (Jumping right after attacking cancels the attack, if you jump or attack right before landing then the action is cancelled, slight delay when jumping (also when landing if you didn’t press forward), slight delay when turning around in mid-air if you don’t also attack, Batman removes your selected weapon when entering a new area, Sometimes sloppy hit detection (the traps, some bosses), )
Not very true to the source material
Repeating enemies and level designs
Quirky game mechanics (the punch is generally the most effective attack, you can pass through enemies while attacking them (making some bosses complete pushovers))
The triple shot is pretty much useless even though it's the most expensive
No batmobile or batwing segments
Some dead space here and there
No options
The gun and boomerang have a lower rate of fire in mid-air
Harder enemies don’t give better loot
Third boss fight is pretty much a battle of attrition
No checkpoint before the final two bosses (which you need to fight in a row)
Game doesn’t show bosses’ lifebars
No life drops from the trap spawners in the final area
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
Three different secondary weapons that you can switch between on the fly (no pausing)
Wall jumping
Nice animated cutscenes
Some alternate paths through the levels
Good art direction and use of color
Unlimited continues? (tested 8 times)
Good initial enemy variation
Some large sprites
Some nice sprite animation
Fast paced overall
+/-
Three lives per credit
Ammo-based ranged weapons
Can’t attack upwards
No grappling hook
Trap spawning enemies take very long to destroy
No life or weapon upgrades
No hidden items?
Steep difficulty curve
Health farming takes forever
-
Some trial & error (a couple of leaps of faith, boss patterns, some enemies can shoot slightly from off screen)
Some control issues (Jumping right after attacking cancels the attack, if you jump or attack right before landing then the action is cancelled, slight delay when jumping (also when landing if you didn’t press forward), slight delay when turning around in mid-air if you don’t also attack, Batman removes your selected weapon when entering a new area, Sometimes sloppy hit detection (the traps, some bosses), )
Not very true to the source material
Repeating enemies and level designs
Quirky game mechanics (the punch is generally the most effective attack, you can pass through enemies while attacking them (making some bosses complete pushovers))
The triple shot is pretty much useless even though it's the most expensive
No batmobile or batwing segments
Some dead space here and there
No options
The gun and boomerang have a lower rate of fire in mid-air
Harder enemies don’t give better loot
Third boss fight is pretty much a battle of attrition
No checkpoint before the final two bosses (which you need to fight in a row)
Game doesn’t show bosses’ lifebars
No life drops from the trap spawners in the final area