When Bruce Timm and Paul Dini entered the world of… Batman in an animated form on Fox Kids, they take the first tentative steps towards a huge animated universe. It, along with The Simpsonschanged the expectations of animated shows in the 90s and paved the way for more sophisticated and adult-oriented works.
Even years after the series ended in 1999, the legacy lives on in several others Batman adaptations and binding media. There are plenty of titles based on the caped crusader and its critically acclaimed animated series and original titles capture the feel of the show.
10 Batman: The Animated Series gave fans some handheld fun
Just like them Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles handheld titles, Konami was right when it came to the Game Boy adaptation of Bruce Timm’s animated series. Even with its monochrome color scheme and 8-bit limitations, the game makes a valiant effort to capture the feel of the source material while providing a really fun title.
The gameplay is very much taken from the excellent NES Batman title of Sunsoft as players run, punch and jump over the wall to protect Gotham City. What’s new about this title is the integration of the hero’s famous grappling hook for a nice platform design.
9 The Adventures Of Batman & Robin is the best game adaptation of the show
Konami’s action platformer for the Super Nintendo is the closest title to the look and feel of the series with superb 16-bit renditions of Shirley Walker’s haunting score and highly detailed sprite work. Additionally, gamers had access to the costumed hero’s martial arts moves and beautiful toys as they took over his iconic villain gallery.
Levels showed a healthy amount of variation, with one instructing players to dodge traps in a dark museum and another forbidding them to harm civilians under the influence of Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
8 Telltale’s Batman Deconstructed The Mythos
Telltale’s formula laid down in their Walking Dead titles were starting to get a little long in the tooth, and DC’s famed hero was starting to get a little oversaturated by the time this title was announced. Telltale overcame the fatigue, however, with some fun twists in the mythos, creating a more mature and morally ambiguous story.
The game made a dark deconstruction of Thomas Wayne, portraying a more vulnerable and humanized version of the Joker, years before Joaquin Phoenix took on the character. It’s a title well worth a look Batman fans.
7 Mark Of The Ninja makes their enemies afraid of the darkness
With a stylish cartoon style and intuitive stealth mechanics, sign of the ninja draws many comparisons to the caped crusader’s Arkham titles. Klei Entertainment’s roundup of titles such as the Shaft games and don’t starve showcases the studio’s talent for creating fun titles with a clear visual identity.
Like the previous one, sign of the ninja is incredibly graphic in its depiction of violence, which tends to conflict with the game’s cartoonish aesthetic. However, fans who can get through this will find a cathartic and atmospheric platformer.
6 Batman Returns Perfectly captured the look and sound of the Burton movie
Like Konami’s other SNES title starring The Dark Knight, Batman returns perfectly reproduced the look, sound and feel of the source material. Danny Elfman’s phenomenal score is done justice by Jun Funahashi and Harumi Ueko, while Bo Welch’s timeless art direction is faithfully recreated on 16-bit hardware.
The gameplay consisted of beat ’em up levels punctuated by occasional platforming challenges. Of course, great controls and excellent integration of Bat’s tool belt made for a great action title. The only downside was the lack of multiplayer. Still, fans should not pass up the opportunity to view this shopping cart.
5 Sunsoft’s Batman is the best game based on the movies
Sunsoft’s side-scrolling action title, based on the Tim Burton movie, has done a phenomenal job of capturing the dark noir look of the source material while providing a solid title on its own merits. With the acrobatic prowess of Ryu Hayabusa, and with almost as many gadgets as Mega Mandriving the caped crusader was fun and responsive.
Fans of the film may be put off by some of the freedoms the game brought with it, such as the hero’s use of firearms and the throwing of Joker to his death. However, players who can look past that will find one of the best action titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
4 The Sly Cooper Games have stolen the hearts of players
Sucker Punch’s stylish hybrid of stealth and platforming is perfect for fans of the caped crusader 90 series. The Sly Cooper games put players in control of the eponymous thief and his crew as they loot the loot from a wide variety of colorful and bombastic villains.
Like Batman TAS, they have a vibrant comic book art style that mixes with little touches of film noir. While the thief is on the other side of the law, Sly only goes after other criminals because he believes it’s not a sport to rob good people. He even has a rival/love interest that is heavily inspired by Detective Rene Montoya.
3 That goes double for Persona 5
From its visually striking visual style to its vibrant and energetic soundtrack, Atlus’ Persona 5 stimulates different senses. Players take on the role of a delinquent named Joker and his group of disenfranchised friends. During the day they are regular school children, but at night they are a team known as the Phantom Hearts Thieves.
Their goal is to steal the wicked hearts of the wicked. In addition to a stylish comic book look, there are many references to the caped crusader, such as the fictional movie The Cake Knight Rises and Ann Takamaki’s Catwoman-esque alter ego.
2 Viewtiful Joe delivered a red hot shot to the action platform arm
Featuring a vibrant cel-shaded art style that blends Sentai manga with American superhero comics, Hideki Kamiya’s Viewtiful Joe is still quite an eye-catcher, even decades after its initial release in 2003. This 2D brawler proved to be both fun and stylish, with a cathartic combat system and some creative puzzles that took advantage of the hero’s abilities.
Although a trilogy was promised, Joe only saw one sequel and two spin-offs before hanging up the V-watch, seemingly for good. With a timeless graphic style and high-quality gameplay, Batman fans would do well to be “henshin a-go-go” themselves.
1 The Batman Arkham series surpassed their source material
Rocksteady managed to deliver the final one Batman gaming franchise with the Arkham series. The mix of stealth, combat and exploration combined to make a fun gaming experience regardless of players’ love for the source material.
Many of the games even feature the same writing staff and vocal talent of the series, with Paul Dini writing the first two titles and Kevin Conroy reprising his role as The Dark Knight in Rocksteady’s trilogy. Fans of the comics were also pleased with how the games portrayed each of Bats’ villains, with Mark Hamill earning several accolades for his performance as The Joker.
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