Back in 1989, a Batman game was being developed for the PC Engine. It looked much like the action-platformers that were appearing everywhere else. For reasons known only to Sunsoft, the most we ever saw of it was in the September 15th issue of Famitsu. Luckily for fans of the NEC console, a Batman game was in fact released a year later. There's only one tiny problem; its genre is maze-action. I mean, there are worse ideas out there. A Joker dating sim for instance... Actually, strike that. Everyone would've bought a zillion copies if that was made. Honestly though, a Caped Crusader adventure where you're running around like a bat in a maze, grabbing power pellets or burying crooks with a shovel? It could be an all-time classic.
What we got is neither the best thing ever nor the worst thing ever. It's a perfectly decent thing, an adept product by a team who knows their stuff. The music is typical Sunsoft awesomeness, and the cutscenes all look incredible. If you're the sort of gamer who looks past the presentation in the hopes of finding endlessly deep and complex game mechanics, then sadly those hopes must be dashed. I must stress the usage of perfectly decent here. You'll never feel cheated, but you'll also never feel like your skills are being adequately tested. Each of the 48 maps Batman will traverse are competently designed and well-paced. Unfortunately, they never reach their full potential.
Your objective changes every 12 maps, but really, it's entirely a matter of navigating the Dark Knight to objects of interest while evading crooks. The sole means of defense is the trusty batarang. Anyone who gets bopped is momentarily stunned, making them an easy target for a nearby vigilante. However, be mindful when you hit the attack button, because Bats will stand still until his weapon returns to him. Power-ups dot the map, granting permanent upgrades as long as there are lives remaining. If you've ever spent a minute with something like Cratermaze, then you'll grasp the basics immediately.
The difficulty rises very slightly with every completed map. Eventually, they'll incorporate a multitude of dangers; including vicious traffic, baddies who move at double-speed, and the ever-popular guy with a gun. Other navigational hazards like conveyor belts and "grapple points" aka teleporters must also be overcome. Again, it's nothing that maze-action veterans aren't already familiar with, and that's the main issue. Oddly, the final challenge is a boss rush of sorts, wherein you battle three of Joker's "top guys" and then the Clown Prince himself. It's cute that the guy who tries to stab Batman with knife-boots is one of the bosses. He might even be the toughest of the bunch due to requiring a specific timing in order to land hits and get away. I wonder why Sunsoft didn't try to work more bosses into the rest of the game instead of at the very end, but whatever.
I can't say I was ever bored with the game. Its 48 maps move quickly enough so that the satisfaction of completing one overrode the repetition of starting another. However, there's definitely a void here that needed to be filled by new types of enemies, a greater variety of obstacles, and more stress-inducing situations. In short, Batman needed a Hard mode.
The realities of game development being as harsh as they are, I've little doubt that any ideas Sunsoft had that could've pushed players further never got the time to be realized. To their credit, the final product is solid. Every death that befell Batman was entirely my fault. The controls and movement are razor-sharp, with cornering - usually a sticking point in maze-actions - that felt just plain good. There's just not enough here to last beyond a single play-through.
Still, I'd say that there are much worse ways to spend a lazy day. Allow curiosity to get the better of you and give this game a try. Also, you have to admit that a map shaped like the Batman logo is pretty darn cool.
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