Aww yeah. This is more like it!
In 1994, Konami followed up the Batman Returns arcade style smash with another based on the Animated Series for the Super Nintendo. It was a gorgeous game, with great sound, and some clever gameplay mechanics that make it one of the best platform adventure games for the console.
Sigh…I don’t have a copy. I’m working on it.
Sega, on the other hand, had learned from it’s first spar with Konami, and ran a pretty formidable counter to it for the Genesis in 1995.
The Adventures of Batman & Robin differs in some key points from the SNES version. The Genesis favors a more standard run ‘n gun approach, using some platforming and batarang powerups. While both games run basically side-scrolling style, and look very similar- points to Sega- but the story and levels are quite different.
The big difference? Well, that’s why the Sega version edges over the SNES one for me. Batman & Robin is a two player! This is the first Batman game, across all consoles, to let the real deal Dynamic Duo battle across the screen together. And that right there puts this game in a league of it’s own.
Sure, they control the same. And the difficulty is a bit brutal, especially every damn boss fight. But not having to face the underworld alone is reason enough to fight on.
Sound and graphics are clean, controls are maybe gooquite as nice as the SNES, but pretty good for Sega standards. A two-player Super-C style run n’ gun is the best way to break down the gameplay. This version does have top-down Batwing levels as well, which are always welcome additions. At the time, both games received high marks from critics, and were strong sellers for both consoles.
So, to put it more simply, both games are solid 16-bit offerings that you can’t go wrong with. But the Sega one letting you team up with a buddy is too much fun to pass up. Either one would make great companion pieces for your DCC figures, while we’re at it.
Editor’s Note: Want to see a movie based around batman and Robin? No, not the one with Clooney, but the newest animated one. Check out JKL-MD ReFugee’s review of DC’s latest animated movie!
