Next on our Batman game list is the other Batman Returns title, the Sega Genesis version.
Released in 1992, Sega produced an in-house adaptation for their systems to coincide with the theatrical release of Batman Returns. Whereas the Konami ones that came out for Nintendo were arcade style brawlers, Sega opted for a more standard 2D platformer version.
Batman Returns was released on both the Genesis and the shiny new Sega CD, and while the majority of the games are the same, the Sega CD version did have some pretty impressive cutscenes and driving levels.
The Genesis version could’ve used some of that.
Now, to be fair, Returns isn’t a bad Sega game, or even a really bad game in general. But there’s a definite shift in the quality of this game verses the previous Genesis Batman ones, and sadly this game is more in line with “bad” half that we’re now embarking on.
Gameplay wise, this is a functional, if clunky, platformer. You have a strike attack, a jump, and a few different movie themed weapons. There is also a grappling hook feature that you will want to get good with early on, if you want to complete it at all, that allows you to climb and swing across sections of the boards. The weapons select is on the pause menu- you just select what you need off the utility belt.
The story mode is actually fairly well set in the movie-verse, interestingly picking up right after the Ice Queen’s demise. Oops, spoilers! Ahh, you’ll be okay. You face off with Catwoman in the first board, and then spend most of your time beating on those damn clowns.
Graphics are decent, but they feel a little uninspired, and kinda drab. Batman Returns is a dark movie, of course, but the Konami game had great colors and shading that were right in line with the style, but much more fun to look at. Same is true for the level design- there’s nothing wrong with them, they’re just not as fun as some of their predecessors.
The music is a major letdown, though. You come off the Sunsoft games, with awesome soundtracks, to Konami with a pretty good one, to that awful tinny Segasound. You know the one, where you get a drum beat and baaooww baaaooww baaaaoooaaaooww and that counts as a soundtrack. The Genesis gets a bad rap for sound in general, but it doesn’t have to be so- some of my favorite games of all time, like Target Earth and Shining Force have excellent game tracks. It’s Mortal Kombat bad.
I ran this guy for about three levels before giving up the ghost. It is surprisingly difficult, and while not punishingly so, like the NES Batman game, it isn’t nearly as engaging. As a kid, this was good for a rental, but I never acquired my copy until I was an adult and couldn’t remember which Returns game I liked. Again, this isn’t a bad game, and it does have elements of good in it, but the balance of game verses cash-in had definitely started to shift by this title. This was Sega’s first chance to really square off against Konami though, and luckily they learned some good lessons in time for their next Bat-faceoff….
