Compare & Contrast: Batman

Hello and welcome to ToriJ's Video Game Reviews. Over the years superheroes have undergone a lot of retellings and reimaginings. One such example that stands out even today is Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson taking on a much darker side of the Dark Knight that comic book writer, Frank Miller made popular again.

With the popularity of the movie it only made sense to create a video game tie-in to profit even more off the success of the movie. This gave us video game adaptions on the NES, Sega Genesis, and the Game Boy, but today I'll be doing a Compare & Contrast of the NES and Genesis versions of the game to decide which one is the best. So, hang onto your seats because we're going to Gotham!

I'm Purpleman!

Gameplay wise both are pretty straightforward. The NES version has a button for jumping and attacking while allowing you to toggle between different weapons you pick up along the way. The Genesis version starts you off with batarangs right away and makes use of the C button to throw them.

While you don't get as many batarangs as the NES version, I fail to see how that's a bad thing. Nintendo gives you so many batarangs you'd have to go out of your way to run out of them, whereas the Genesis forces you to use them more sparingly to make each batarang count. It's more realistic in the long run as Batman doesn't just have a million of them to pull out of his ass any time he wants.

Chances are you're going to be punching a lot regardless of which game you play. On Genesis you'll be punching air because if you get too close to a bad guy he'll hurt you. But on the NES? You're going to be punching like a madman just to get at the enemy before they come charging at you and even then you'll still miss on occasion. They may as well call the game Batman Punch Out!

Another thing you're going to be doing a lot of is wall jumping. It's like the developers were playing Ninja Gaiden while making this. You need to get the jumping down precisely by level two if you want to get anywhere in this game. Some times you have to fall off a platform and then quickly jump off it to avoid danger. At least the Genesis version gives you a grappling hook! The Genesis version requires a lot less jumping.

  You can't even go to the museum in this town without being shot at!

Both games are loosely based off the movie, but the Genesis version is closer to being a faithful adaption in level design. You get stages based around the chemical plant where the Joker is made, and the art museum the Joker and his men attacks. You even get to ride in the Batmobile and the Batplane.

In the NES version the stages are barely recognizable due to the limitations of the Nintendo and the enemies make no sense! You're fighting ninjas and robots. Since when in the hell did the Batman movie have robots? Is that supposed to be Firefly at the first boss stage? I'm fighting Firefly! Actually, that's kind of cool.

Another point in the Genesis version is there are a couple more stages and challenging boss fights in it. Even if you're doing a speed through of the game you get ten more minutes of game time than you would in the NES version.

What the hell is that green thing supposed to be? An alien? A robot? A demon from the lowest depths of hell?

When it comes to graphics, it isn't a fair comparison. The Genesis wins hands down. Better all around console and they just rendered everything with more detail. Batman looks like he does in the film, the backdrops are clearer to what they represent, and when they do show clips the images look like they were ripped right out of the movie.

I realize that the Genesis version doesn't have as many cut-scenes as the NES, but what the NES has isn't that great to begin with. We get some animation of the Batmobile and them overusing the “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight” line, and that's mostly it. The Genesis version cuts to the chase and the few cut-scenes you do get are a lot more enjoyable.

  Case in point, you get to knock the Joker in some chemicals. What more could you ask for?

At the end of the day, Batman is one of the few video game adaptions of a movie that's actually good. Batman looks great, the stages are all inspired by the movie, and you get a kick ass final boss fight with the Joker. If you really want to experience Tim Burton's Batman movie in video game form, then you can't go wrong with the game on Sega Genesis!

NES Batman: Skip it

GEN Batman: Get it