Batman, also known as Batman: The Video Game, is a platform game developed by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and Game Boy, loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name. The NES version contains five levels culminating in a showdown with the Joker in the bell tower of Gotham Cathedral. It was received well despite changes from the movie it was based upon.
Batman: The Video Game (NES)
Sunsoft followed up the release of Batman with Batman: Return of the Joker.
The game has a feature that was unusual in side-scrolling platform games at the time, largely to the NES itself. Unlike Sunsoft's Batman for the Mega Drive/Genesis, which features the grappling hook, Batman has the ability to do a wall jump. He is able to use three projectile weapons: the batarang, batdisk, and batpoon, which are powered by pellet cartridges.
The stages in the game consists of the Gotham City Streets, Axis Chemical Plant, Gotham Sewers, Mysterious Laboratory, and the Gotham Cathedral Belltower. A number of notable DC Comics villains appear as low-level minions in the game, including Deadshot, KGBeast, Maxie Zeus, Heat Wave, Shakedown, and Nightslayer.
The bosses in the game are Killer Moth, a device known as the Machine Intelligence System, the Electrocutioner, a machine known as the Dual-Container Alarm, Firebug, and the Joker. The penultimate boss will be skipped in the continued play if the player reached the Joker previously, so the player can directly fight the Joker next time.
According to Famitsu, Batman sold approximately 80,000 copies during its lifetime in Japan. In 1989, EGM gave it their 'Best Movie to Game' award. In the years after its release, it has been celebrated as one of the best games on the NES. Furthermore, it is also listed among the best Batman games. In 2009, IGN placed the title on their 'Top 100 NES Games' list at #33, citing its gameplay and high difficulty. In 2014, Digital Trends named it one of the fifty best games for the NES, although the publication noted storyline changes from the film on which it was based. In 2022, Destructoid identified it as one of the ten best games for the NES, opining that it was better designed than Ninja Gaiden but highlighted its difficult nature. In 2023, Den of Geek listed it as one of the fifteen best NES games based on movies and TV shows.
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Game controls:
The NES version of Batman was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Press sideways to move BATMAN left and right. Press down to make BATMAN kneel.
Press A button to jump.
Press B button to attack/shoot.
Press to pause and show the score in the upper left of the screen.
Press to select a weapon of preference (but only when optional weapons are available).
Videogame Console:
This version of Batman was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for Batman. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game Batman are summarized in the following table:
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This version of Batman was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
