The Adventures of Batman & Robin

"Am I watching an episode of the series, or playing it?"

I don't think there was an animated series more suited to the Super Nintendo than Batman: the sharp edges, the healthy mix of color and darkness... the graphical limitations of the SNES were a perfect fit for the deceptively simple style of animation. Even if 3D consoles had hit the market by this time, I'm willing to bet most would have preferred The Adventures of Batman and Robin to any three-dimensional world. This game is worth seeking out today just to see the brilliant conversion from series to cartridge - Konami must have watched dozens of episodes before embarking on this venture, something truly laudable. I go easy on games that don't remain true to their source material, because, after all, the original plots don't always lend themselves to gameplay. However, if you can somehow manage to keep faithful to its nuances, it certainly deserves applause. The Adventures of Batman and Robin accomplishes this and makes it look easy.

The game graphics are practically lifted from the series - the sprites are decidedly smaller than what you may expect, but there is never a sense of a lack of detail. Now, the music... oh, the music. If anything can keep you coming back to this game, it's the music, which loses none of the flair of its television counterpart. Danny Elfman's "Batman Theme" plays occasionally during every song, which is to be expected, but the real kicker is that other music is taken from the actual episodes in which they originally appeared. There's a rendition of "Joker's Theme" from the series - that playful little tune with an undercurrent of malice. They really did their homework.

A caveat to those who wish to seek it out: Konami aimed this game at younger players. As a result, the actual 2D platform sections of the game tend to be a little easier than what gaming veterans are used to playing - a one-two punch may be enough to take out most minor foes. However, the game throws a few curveballs that require some quick thinking, and will keep a gamer of any age on their toes. Adventures also caters to people who have watched the series, which something of a given; after all, it's an adaptation. For the greenhorns, however, it may get a tad confusing, as the game expects you to have some preliminary knowledge to aid in its completion: The Riddler's maze is definitely full of fun brain-teasers, but the answers may not be entirely obvious unless you've seen the episode "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"

The gameplay is fairly standard, but responsive, and remains true to a children-geared theme. You jump, you punch, and you use your gadgets with relative ease - no confusing button combinations to muck up the works. Also, at the beginning of every level, you are given a choice as per which weapons and gadgets you want to take with you. It's a little nonsensical, considering that you can just bring everything with you every time without much consequence. Picking and choosing leaves your inventory a little less cluttered, but the situations are rarely imperative enough for it to matter. The younger gamers aren't supposed to think that far ahead - but they'll catch on quickly.

Oddly, the bosses are a tad more difficult than one would expect from the rest of the game. This is where the older players will have the most fun, as you are not only battling Batman villains, but they are done in clever, original ways: you fight the Joker while you face each other on roller coaster cars; you battle the Scarecrow while balancing on the wings of a glider plane. You might be thrown off guard, however, by how quickly the game jumps into these scenarios, starting from the very first level onwards. It leads one to question why Konami made most of their levels so simple, if there would be such oddity and difficulty to their bosses.

But never mind. The graphics are fluid, the music is superb, and it's a pleasant feeling just to play around in this world. The Adventures of Batman and Robin may not stand as the most brilliant game of the genre, or even the best game to feature the Dark Knight. But real effort and care went into its making; it was Konami's love letter to Batman and his fans.

This review of The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the SNES is Copyright 2004, Ian Pugh.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/04