Batman Returns

Moby ID: 23469
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Description official description

The successful movie sequel Batman Returns spawned many different game adaptations. The SNES version presents the story of Batman's encounter with the Penguin and Catwoman as a side-scrolling beat 'em up, with one Batmobile driving sequence thrown in.

There are two varieties of beat 'em up levels. One plays like Final Fight and similar games: Batman can move in two dimensions, beating up his enemies with various punches, kicks, combos, and special moves. Special gadgets to be used include the famous Batarang to take out enemies from a distance and "Test Tubes" filled with chemical explosives which will damage all enemies on the screen.

In the second type of side-scrolling level, Batman can only move in one dimension, left or right. The Batarang is the standard weapon here, with punches only being used when the enemy gets close. Also in these levels, Batman can use a grappling hook to cross dangerous areas unharmed.

Enemies in the beat 'em up levels usually belong to the Penguin's Red Triangle Circus Gang - clowns in all varieties: thin clowns, fat clowns, clowns on bikes, clowns armed with bazookas, and more. At the end of each level, there is a boss fight, including several encounters with Catwoman and the Penguin.

In the Batmobile driving level, the action is viewed from behind. Batman has to evade clowns on bikes and shoot them down when he gets the chance. At the end of the road, another boss fight awaits.

Digitized images from the film illustrate the storyline.

Spellings

  • バットマンリターンズ - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SNES version)

18 People (16 developers, 2 thanks)

Director
Planners
Programmers
Designers
Sound & Music
Manual By
Coordinator
Licensing Manager
Special Thanks To
Produced by
  • Team Yoshimoto Entertainment
Presented By
  • Konami

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 18 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 33 ratings with 3 reviews)

Classic Beat-'em-up that's even better than the movie it's based upon.

The Good
Let us start:

Graphics: The backgrounds have a lot of depth and detail, all the Stages follow scenes from the movie, and each and every one is refined and lovely to look at. My favourite is Stage 4 (The Penguin's Trap) where Batman has to fight his way in a dark building, with excellent use of low-key lighting and shadowing.

Sounds and Music: the hits and everything else are well-done, but the music is the cream of the crop. Almost every tune from Danny Elfman's terrific score is reproduced here and are clearly recognisable, the only popular Bat-game I remember to do so

Controls and Gameplay: If compared to TMHT IV: Turtles in Time (another Konami masterpiece), Batman moves a little slow, his jump is abrupt and cannot run. But that's not necessary as the levels are shorter, Batman can block, throw enemies into walls, glass windows and park benches, and his special move does not drain as much life as in Turtles in Time, and can use test tubes to break a crowd or hurt bosses. The controls are simple and responsive and you should not feel any problems with the interface at all as you can adjust them. Also, what distinguishes this game from other Beat 'em ups is the platformer-like sub-levels where Batman can use his batarangs to kill enemies and use his grappling gun to get through tough spots.

The Bad
It's not very challenging, even on Mania mode and with limited continues, as you can coast through the game within 90 minutes or 2 hours on the harder settings. You take less time finishing the game than watching the movie itself. The only exceptions are Cat-woman and the Penguin, both of whom are extremely difficult as they have dashing attacks which you cannot block and can take away an entire life in one hit.

The Bottom Line
This one is the best of all the Batman Returns games. In my opinion, it's tied with the original Batman on the NES as the best Bat-game and is also one of the best movie-games ever made. In a genre where 90% of games based on movies are dreadful uses of licences, this one is a diamond in the rough and you'll want to play it again and again, even after you finish it.

I didn't like the movie that much for its overtly gloomy atmosphere, but the game is satisfying as hell.

SNES · by Stsung (30) · 2009

Fun, but also hard.

The Good
The graphics were really nice. Good sound/ music most of the time. A cool move for the brawler genre where Batman smashes two goons heads together.

The Bad
The difficulty is very high. The boss fights are some of the hardest the brawler genre has ever seen, but it's more due to unfairness, then actual well thought out AI routines. The driving levels were not fun.

The Bottom Line
Well it's like Double Dragon, but you are Batman instead of Jimmy Lee. You wander around, beating people up, until you destroy the Penguin. There are some driving levels, but they are not the diversion you would hope them to be.

The game is fun enough, but Final Fight and it's sequels on the SNES are better overall. The difficulty is almost inexcusable at times and Konami should have brought it down considerably.

The one thing Batman Returns really has going for it is that it's a Batman game that isn't awful, a very rare occurrence in the pantheon of Caped Crusader games.

SNES · by scabadoo (35) · 2006

Terrible Film. Fun Game.

The Good
Released in 1993, one year after the film. Batman Returns follows the plot of the movie from which it is based. But trims it down quite a bit so it is less stupid. And it is a hell of a lot more enjoyable.

After saving dismal Gotham City from The Joker. The city has a brief respite from danger. However that is about to change. Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin, has his sites of the mayor's job. He allies himself with Max Shreck the second wealthiest man in Gotham.

To make matters worse demure Selina Kyle is transformed into the deadly and sexy Catwoman. After she joins with The Penguin, The Caped Crusader is going to have his work cut out for him.

Batman Returns has a nice mix of gameplay. There are beat em up stages. In which Batman fights through waves of enemies. Batman has a large repertoire of skills. Of course there are punches and kicks. But he can also grab foes, and hit them while held, slam them into the ground, slam them into the backdrops breaking glass, or whatever happens to be there. Batman can even grab two opponets and slam their heads together. He can also block, and do area sweeping moves, very convenient if surrounded.

In addition, there are stages in which the player makes use of Batman's tools, instead of punching, they will throw batarangs. And make use of Batman's spear gun, to go up buildings and avoid taking damage.

There is also one level in which you get to use the Batmobile. Shooting foes and racing after The Penguin.

Levels are often ended, with a boss fight. The better fights are between The Batman, Catwoman, and The Penguin. However bossfights tend to be difficult, more on this later.

The graphics are very good. The sprites are very large on screen, and immpressive. Batman, looks like he is from the movie, as do the villians. The cutscenes while not as impressive as the in game graphics, are still fairly good. They wisely used stills from the movie. And the plot is trimmed down, to avoid the dumber moments of the film.

The sound and music fair a little worse than the graphics. The music is a Snesifyed version of the films score. Which I hardly would call CD qualiity as the back of the box maintains. I personally have never thought that the Snes sound chip was as good as that of the Genesis, as fanboys would have you belive. The soundeffects get the job done but are far from greatness.

The Bad
The game can be difficult. But not in the way it should be. What it comes down to is a few bosses that use cheap tactics in order to beat you. They will often corner you and use their special move repeatedly. This is quite lame.

Most bosses allow you to form a sort of stratagy, that normally works. But aside from the tough bosses the game is pretty easy.

The loose plot, may be seen as a bad thing as there are many plot holes because of it. For example in the game Catwoman is never seen again, after you defeat her halfway into the game, odd.

Overall however it tells the story better than the film.

I hate the "try the game on a higher setting crap". I understand that they desingers where trying to add replay value. But this is too much. As finishing the game of the hardest setting "Manic" is next to immpossible.

The Bottom Line
If you crave a good beat-em-up on the Snes, or a good movie tie in avoid Final Fight and pick up a copy of Batman Returns. It is as close to beat-em-up heaven Snes gamers will get. Seeing as Streets of Rage is only of the Genesis.

SNES · by MasterMegid (723) · 2007

Trivia

Endings

Depending how well and on which difficulty the game is played, players can get multiple endings for completing the title. Playing on the hardest difficulty is the only way to get the longest and full ending.

Music

This was the only Batman Returns game to make full use of Danny Elfman's film score. All other versions of the game use music created specifically for the game.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Guy Chapman, LepricahnsGold, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto.

Game added October 6, 2006. Last modified February 10, 2024.