The Adventures of Batman & Robin

"Nothing fancy here, just a straight up AAA quality game from Konami"

Being a huge Batman fan and an avid viewer of Batman: The Animated Series, I had my eyes set on this game. And seeing that Konami was going to develop it, I was expecting a quality game. And it doesn't disappoint.

Graphics: 10
Konami, amazingly, captured the look of the series with the smooth animation of the graphics. The way Batman's cape flows when he runs are just few of the graphical bells and whistles of the game. And the background of the stages makes you feel that your playing the show. There's also some Mode-7 rotation thrown in for good measure. Personally, I was surprised and impressed that the SNES can handle smooth animation graphics.

Sound :10
The strong point of the series was the music, which won it a daytime Emmy. And everything was captured perfectly, the game sound like the actual show. The intro theme from the show was just perfect. And the BGM on every stage fitted the mood (whether it's a chase sequence or a boss fight). Again, I'm amazed the SNES can pump out audio of this quality.

Control: 9
This game uses all 6 of the SNES's action buttons. Batman can do a lot of actions like block attacks, wall jump, ground roll, hang on ledges etc., and controlling them is a cinch. But it can get a bit tricky when you're using the grappling hook, but it can be remedied with a little practice.

Gameplay: 9
Of course, the meat and potatoes of any game. After playing the first couple of stages of the game, I thought this was just an ordinary side-scroller. But in Stage 3, Fowl Play, it gave the game an exploration feel, which it totally expanded on Stage 7, Riddle Me This. And the driving sequence in Trouble in Transit, was a welcome change from the side scrolling action. Unfortunately there's only one, a flying sequence would have been nice also. But still, the diversity of the stages made the entire game lass repetitive. A pleasant surprise for me was you were required to have seen an episode to know the answer to the Riddler's riddle. Which I haven't seen but was able to see that episode after I finished the game. It just shows how close this game is to the actual show.
My only gripe with the gameplay is how limited the combat is. The enemies die from 2-3 punches. Expanding the combat system by giving Batman more moves and gadgets and making the enemies tougher would have enhanced the "action" part of this action/adventure game.

Overall: 9
In my opinion, this game pushed the limits of the SNES in terms of the awesome graphics, immersive soundtrack. And the excellent gameplay make this one of the finest action/adventure game experiences on the SNES. Batman fans (especially the of show) will, without a doubt, enjoy the game. It's also worth a look for casual gamers looking for an above average action/adventure game. Although there could have been more villains (Mad Hatter, Bane, Killer Croc, Ras Al Ghul etc), the SNES can only do so much. And I applaud Konami for getting the most out of a 16-bit console.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/06