"Just like the television show on which it is based, the handheld game is pure excellence!"

During Batman's reign of the box office in 1992, with the "so-so" film Batman Returns, Batman was brought to the air waves as Batman: The Animated Series a show so good that, even though it was broadcast to children, adults everywhere loved it. The production design and simplified animation style would become a mainstay of DC Comics, although the art style ("Dark Deco") is finally on it's way out, it helped the show, with the brilliant writing and wonderful music, earn award after award.

So what do you do with something like that? You merchandise it for all it's worth. And unsurprisingly, there were video games.

This game was produced during the very short period of time that Konami had the franchise rights to make Batman games. Batman was Konami's only other licensed property, besides Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It's unfortunate that Konami didn't keep it.

Story: 10/10

Story? It'd sort of be a spoiler to reveal it here, because there isn't one story. There's several short and to-the-point stories within. There are six or seven levels in the game, and each one has it's own storyline, each is presented in 'episode' form. Thus, it's quite interesting, as if you aren't that interested in the 'story' for the current episode, then you can bear it to see the story for the next episode. A nice change of pace from other games, so it gets a ten. The stories aren't too involving, but the variety and the nice use of dialogue used in the story-screens earns the section a ten.

Music: 10/10

All of the music in the game carries the trademark Konami composition. Hard hitting, rhythmic tunes that get your pulse pounding. Although as it is a licensed title, the music is a little less "Konami-esqe" in the compositions, as the game makes excellent use of the show's theme music, and intertwines it with the rest of the tunes. It truly equates 'Batman meets Konami' to your ears, and it's not to be ignored. Use a pair of headphones.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are quite stellar for an old Game Boy title. Rich in detail, but not too much, so it doesn't strain your eyes. The cut-scenes between each episode are nicely rendered and beautifully show off the show's distinctive look. The backgrounds are equally as impressive, showing Gotham City to be a beautifully disgusting place. The sprites look a little on the plain side, but not enough to drop the score for the graphics.

Gameplay: 9/10

Typical platformer, where Batman leaps around a lot. He also uses weapons like his grapppling hook to get around. It's somewhat difficult, and the lack of level replayability doesn't help. If you die, you have limited continues, and no save or password feature. Thus, the difficulty can be annoying to some, but most will clear the game without much trouble.

Overall: 10/10

All aspects of the game are wonderful. It's a surprisingly excellent little title for the Game Boy, and was probably very overlooked. You should definitely go out and get it for yourself.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/04