Batman: Revenge of the Joker (Genesis) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthough of Sunsoft's 1992 license-based action game for the Sega Genesis, Batman, Revenge of the Joker.

Sunsoft's second Batman game for the Genesis is a port of the excellent 1991 NES title Batman: Return of the Joker (   • Batman: Return of the Joker (NES) Pla...   ).

Return of the Joker was most notably known for its technical achievements on the 8-bit platform. Featuring huge, fluidly animated character sprites, tons of parallax scrolling, and an amazing soundtrack by Naoki Kodaka featuring tons of digital samples, Sunsoft's advertising focused largely on how its presentation rivaled anything you'd find on the 16-bit platforms.

And they weren't exaggerating. In most ways, Return of the Joker could have passed as a Genesis game. Though the game was far easier and simpler than the first NES Batman game, it was a triumph, and it is still deserves to be checked out by any self-respecting NES fan.

Its focus on looking and sounding "next-gen' made the game a prime candidate to be ported to the Sega Genesis. It seems like it would be a sure-fire win, right?

So you might think.

But the fates conspired against this one. Rather than developing the game in-house like they'd done with previous Batman games, Sunsoft farmed production duties out to Ringler Studios, and the results were... somewhat less than stellar.

Revenge of the Joker includes all of the bosses and weapons, and the original stages and their layouts remain pretty faithful to the NES title. Batman has also been given a new move - a press of the C button allows him to deliver a powerful kick to whatever stands in his way.

The difficulty level has been ramped up significantly for this version, however, and it hurts the gameplay. Enemies now move faster and can soak up a ton of damage (the boss fights now feel like battles of attrition more than anything else), and most of Batman's weapons are useless as a result. Batman also got some new animations, but get this - Batman's idle stance leans his sprite forward, and this often places him directly in the path of some hazard you were trying to avoid. It's a ridiculous addition that, like so many of the other changes to the gameplay balance, makes the game far too frustrating. Endless cheap shots are not the way to make a game fun.

Making matters worse is that somehow the overall presentation represents a severe downgrade from the NES original. There is a lot more color on-screen at once, but the new color scheme is garish and cartoony, and it looks cheap when compared to the darker, somber look of the original. The graphics have all been redrawn as well, and they too fall victim to the ill-advised shift in style. And then there's the music. Tommy Tallarico is credited for the new Genesis arrangements, but this certainly wasn't a starring moment in his career. Kodaka's music is all here, but the instruments sound tinny and flat. The bass and percussion is weak and lacks any impact, and the leads are thin and weak. It's not a shining moment for FM synth.

Just as was the case back in 1992, there is no good reason to play Revenge of the Joker over the Return of the Joker. That is, unless you have exceedingly low self-esteem and are intent on punishing yourself.

Boo, Sunsoft. Boo.

_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!