SNES REVIEWS: The Adventure of Batman and Robin

This is going to be one of the more difficult reviews I had to make, because The Adventures of Batman and Robin is a game that is at once brilliant in design and terrible in value. It poses the now-raging question of quality vs. length.

Ultimately, I think ABAR is one of the best Batman games despite its flaws. However, it fails to reach the levels of a classic SNES great.


#94: The Adventure of Batman and Robin:
Year: 1994
Genre: Action Platformer
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami

"Right out of the 90s Batman cartoon"
 

This was a game based on the amazing Batman 1990's cartoon, and it looks like it. It takes both the style and animations of the cartoon and produces them as faithfully as it can given the SNES's limitations. What results is a game with a visual style unlike any other game in the series.

However, the style of the cartoon doesn't just stop with the animation, but also in the design of the regular goons and the many super villains of the show. In fact, each level takes a different villain and showcases him/her perfectly with their own level. Poison Ivy's forest stage looks suitably overgrown, while the Riddler's stage is an enigmatic labyrinth.

It's less annoying than Arkham City's trophies

I don't usually start my reviews discussing the visuals, but in this game, they showcase the thought process Konami had when making the game. It wasn't just a Batman game, but a Batman cartoon game. It needed not only to look like the cartoon, but also to have the variety of super-villains the cartoon had. It wouldn't do that if each level was the same, when each of the villains would naturally set up their obstacles and plans differently.

Aside from one level, all other 7 levels were top-notch design.


"Is it a plane? Is it a bird? No, it's just a man in a bat suit"

Aside from a stealth system, Batman operates very closely to how he operates in general. By being an immovable obstacle to the lawless, and an eternal hand in the faces of criminals. Armed with an arsenal of gadgets and gear, Batman can alternate between punching villains and throwing hundreds of Batarangs at them.

The combat in ABAR is basic, but not boring. Punches can be accompanied by Batarang throws, and outside of the bosses, the goons are not difficult to dispatch. Since the regular goons are cannon fodder, the bosses are naturally bullet sponges, or in this case, punch sponges. This means that most boss battles would be punch-and-run affairs with Batarangs thrown in for measure. These boss battles can be an exciting battle of attrition, but by the third similar boss, you find it tiring and against the villain's style.

The boss battle setting is more interesting than the fight itself

Thankfully, those boss battles are the only repetitive parts of the game, as each level is a study in variety of game design. By the final boss battle in the game, you would have fought the Joker while on a roller coaster ride, thwarted the Penguin's museum robbery, and even chased Two-Face in a brilliant top-down GTA-like car chase that predates the first GTA by at least two years. Each level played differently, which diluted the repetitive combat in the game. Unfortunately, some levels required difficult platforming sections, which were not helped by the imprecise platforming mechanics. However, it is rare to see a game try as many different mechanics as ABAR.


"Riddle me this: What is the best way to end a game?"

Regardless of the answer to Riddle's riddle, it surely was not how this game ends. To put it simply, the final level in the game, despite being as different from the rest as other levels are, is a complete bore. In Batman lore, it wouldn't be a spoiler to discuss the level, as it is a simple Arkham Escape.

All the villains you put to jail in the game now conveniently escaped; what ensues is a straightforward boss battle survival run. We fight most of the game's bosses with a few extras, and then go on to fight the Joker in a final battle more disappointing than Arkham Asylum's final roid-Joker battle.

I can imagine the guys in Konami’s decision-making session as the following:
Project Manager: So, we made a level for each villain, but we put the Joker first; what now?

Employee 1: Let us make an elaborate level where Batman tries to protect Arkham from another breakout.
Project Manager: Arkham, now that's a good idea.
Employee 2: Hey boss, we already put in a lot of work on this, and it's a Batman game; it would sell regardless.
Project Manager: Employee 2 is right; let us just put in all the boring boss battles we already made.


"I am the night. I am vengeance. I am Rob..(get's bitch slapped by Batman)"

So far, ABAR doesn't look as good as it was in my review as it did while playing it. I think it is because the sheer variety on show is difficult to convey accurately. One way of looking at it is that each level is made with a different Batman facet in mind.

Levels feature his ruthless attack on crime, as he singularly punches through minion after minion. Others feature his detective skills as he saves the museum from getting robbed. Also, each level emphasizes the specialty of the villain in charge. Naturally, the Penguin would have many minions as well as guns on his side. In contrast, the Riddler uses technology to trap the Bat.

The contrast between each level and the rest keeps the game not only fresh, but also easily replayable. Getting to Poison Ivy without being able to harm the environmental fanatics she employs is always fun. True to form, Ivy doesn't fight you herself, but delegates that to a new Vagina Plant Monster she concocted from a Hentai producer's wet dream.

Nuff said

"Batman cut short"

Finally we come to ABAR's most obvious flaw; it's length. With 8 levels, including the majorly disappointing final, Batman can comfortably be beaten in 5 hours or less. The game at the end implores you to finish the game on harder difficulties, but that doesn't add anything extra to the game. Finishing it on hard is the same as finishing it on normal without the added comfort of being able to save the game via passwords.

If, for instance, another playthrough introduced Robin as a playable character, or even at least changed the level layout slightly, it might be more inviting to play through it again. Of course, playing the game again would be a blast, and if I were back in the early 1990' playing on my grandfather's couch, I would try and beat it time and time again.

I can hear the theme music even now

However, this was a $70 game, and as such we are forced to consider the value of its hours vs. its price. It is a difficult question to answer, but we are left wanting more of the game. Perhaps that in itself is actually a testament to a good game, that replayability manages to fulfill itself completely.


In Conclusion:

First, let me get some things out of the way. The goons we beat up are the same two guys for every villain that uses them. Apparently, they only sell two shirt colors in goon town. True, you do not feel like the night as you do when in predator mode in the Arkham games, but if anything, you feel more like Batman when moving around with the main theme of, well, Batman booming in the background than by doing anything else. I was half ready to go on and wear a scarf over my neck and pretend it's a cape. The rest of the music isn't bad as well.

Batman is one of the few comic book characters with a consistent track record in gaming. If weighing his successes against his failures, he might be the only one with a scale leaning positively. It can be said that ABAR is one of the heaviest titles on the positive scale. Not to be missed by any fan of the bat in tights.


Final: 7/10 (Recommended)

Pro Points:

• Visual Design: +4
• Variety: +6
• Variety in Action: +5
• Feels Like Batman: +5  

Con Points:

• Boring Bosses: -2
• Imprecise Platforming: -2 
• Disappointing Finale: -2
• Very Short: -5 

Tips:

1. Batarangs are your friend.
2. Take everything with you on every level; you never know what you might need.
3. Seriously, Batarangs are your friends.
4. Grappling can be a little wonky; practice it before Catwoman's stage.
5. The shoulder buttons drift in the car chase level.

 

Series:

I remember having a lot of fun times playing the SNES in my childhood, but I only played or bought about 10 to 15 games, and many games that I played I couldn't go far into owing to my inability to read basic instructions in English.

As I grew up, I played more SNES games that came my way, as well as others released on other platforms. Due to the sheer quality of those titles that I played years later (such as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger) and those I remember playing (Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World), I was always curious about the quality of all those titles I did not play.

Three years before starting this review series, IGN released a list of their top 100 SNES games. Reading that list, I got excited and wanted to play all of them. However, I realized that just playing them wouldn't be enough. I wanted to study that list, and hence decided to review most games on the list.

Next Game:

After Batman's cleansing effect, I am not as worried about the games I missed as I was at first. My next game would be one I never heard anything about, by a studio I am not sure still exists. It's going to be #93 Super Turrican 2.

Stay Tuned.

For Previous Genesis Game Reviews:

The List

This blog was originally posted in Destructoid Community Blogs on March 23rd, 2014. The blog was slightly edited to fit my newer review format.