The Adventures Of Batman & Robin Video Game
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Title: The Adventures Of Bamtna & Robin |
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The Adventures of Batman and Robin is a set of three separate games that share the same title. The SNES version was more of an action platformer, while the Genesis and Game Gear versions were more of a shooter and the Sega CD version consisted of only Batmobile levels.
The Adventures of Batman and Robin is a variety of different games. The SNES version was a traditional side scrolling action game whereas the Genesis version was a two player game that played like a shooter. But instead of using guns, Batman and Robin used Batarangs and other assortment of projectiles to take out their foes. The Sega CD version consists of just Batmobile levels.
The Adventures of Batman and Robin was originally titled "Batman: The Animated Series" after the show. But since the show got a name change, the game was delayed and then renamed to what it is called today and Robin was added as an NPC. Despite his appearance in the game, Robin is not a playable character. Each level was remotely based off episodes of the series and shared dialogue and moments from them. Before each level you are allowed to pick from a variety of different weapons.
For the most part, is an action-adventure platformer in which the player only controls Batman, and follows him to the end of each stage, where a villain is set to appear. However, the style and design of the stages themselves are different between each other, which gives notable diversity to the game.
Some of the more common features in the game is the possibility to equip with different gadgets, such as bombs, x-ray lenses and so on. Some of the gadgets are in some cases essential to complete some stages. There is also the possibility of returning to the Batcave in order to re-equip the gadgets and restart an entire stage with all the lives the players has accumulated to that point (in case the player had lost lives).
The game features passwords, which leaves the player in the last played stage. The passwords also takes count of the numbers of lives remaining and the continues used. These cannot be obtained in the Hard difficulty, which means that the game must be completed from the beginning. Completion of the hard mode rewards the player with a special ending.
The SNES version had 8 levels:
Level 1: Amused to Death
The Joker and Harley Quinn broadcast a television message to Batman inviting him to meet them at The Joker's Funhouse.
Boss: The Joker
Based on the episode(s): Christmas with the Joker, Be A Clown
Level 2: No Green Peace
Bizarre things are occurring at the forest in Gotham City suburban district there's only one person who would do such a thing. In this level, Batman cannot use his fists, Bat Stars and Bat Explosives since there are only women enemies.
Boss: Poison Ivy
Based on the episode(s): Pretty Poison, Eternal Youth
Level 3: Fowl Play
There has been a break-in at the Gotham City Museum and it's up to Batman & Robin to find the person responsible for this. Unfortunately, Robin is not a playable character in this level.
Boss: Penguin
Based on the episode(s): TBC
Level 4: Tale of the Cat
Batman is doing his nightly routine in the streets of Gotham City when he stumbles upon a familiar cat burglar lurking around.
Boss: Catwoman
Based on the episode(s): The Cat and The Claw part I
Level 5: Trouble in Transit
Two-Face has just robbed a bank and it's making his escape. Make him pay!
Boss: Two-Face
Based on the episode(s): Two-Face part II
Level 6: Perchance to Scream
Boss: Scarecrow
Based on the episode(s): Nothing To Fear
Level 7: Riddle Me This
Boss: The Riddler
Based on the episode(s): If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?, What Is Reality?
Level 8: The Gauntlet
Bosses: The Joker
Penguin
Catwoman
Scarecrow
Clayface
Man-Bat
Based on the episode(s): Trial (loosely based)
The Mega Drive/Genesis version, developed by Clockwork Tortoise and published by Sega, is a run 'n' gun where both Batman and Robin must stop Mr. Freeze, who plans to freeze Gotham City. In order to keep the duo busy, he also frees the Joker, Two-Face and the Mad Hatter, each one with their own agenda. The Joker celebrates his birthday wreaking havoc in Gotham and stealing diamonds, Two-Face tries to take over the city from above, and Mad Hatter is creating a robot army in his surreal lair.
The game can be played by two players simultaneously; one player with Batman, and the other with Robin. Both characters are identical in terms of playability, and both use batarangs, bolas, or shirukens in long-range attacks, while using melee attacks at short range. There are four levels consisting of several stages, mostly of a straight left-to-right traverse to the end where the boss awaits. In some levels the game switches to a side-scrolling shooter, in which the players must control the Batwings.
The game is regarded as being extremely difficult to complete, and also known for showcasing some of the most impressive special effects on the Mega Drive/Genesis. It also features a soundtrack by Jesper Kyd. This accounts for the relatively high quality of Kyd's compositions, as well as the fairly simple FM synthesized nature of the game's sound effects.
The Genesis version consists of four levels:
1. Happy Birthday to Me!
Bosses:
Harley's Robot
Harley Quinn
1. Joker
2. A Two-Sided Story
Bosses:
Two Face's Airship
Large Ship
Two-Face
3. Tea Time!
Bosses:
Giant Cat
Giant Doll
Mad-Hatter
4. Snow in July?
Boss:
Mr. Freeze
The Mega-CD/Sega CD version, also developed by Clockwork Tortoise and published by Sega, consists of chase screens with the Batmobile and Batplane. Between levels, the story advances through animated scenes that were created specifically for the game. The animated segments were developed by TMS, which also did some of the episodes of the original cartoon. Kevin Conroy (Batman), Loren Lester (Robin), Robert Hastings (Commissioner James Gordon), Robert Costanzo (Harvey Bullock), Diane Pershing (Poison Ivy), John Glover (the Riddler), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), Mark Hamill (the Joker), John Vernon (Rupert Thorne) and Ron Perlman (Clayface) all reprised their roles from the animated series.
The Lost episode
The animated segments (about sixteen minutes in total) in the video game for the Sega CD are sometimes referred to as "The Lost Episode" of the series. These segments, which are intended to be cutscenes between gameplay elements of the game, closely resemble the episodes of the actual television program. The animation was done by the same crew of TMS who worked on the actual cartoon, which gives equal quality and style as the conventional episodes. Devoted fans of the show will, however, notice certain differences:
Warner Bros. Animation was not involved in the making of the "Lost Episode". Thus, neither the story or storyboards were made by the same crew as the ordinary episodes.Unlike in ordinary episodes, the actors recorded their lines individually, not ensemble as in the show. The animation was, however, based on pre-recorded lines, like in the series.
Since the game did not apply to rules of censorship of American television (or WB Animations own guidelines of such), the cutscenes generally appear somewhat more violent and brutal than the episodes of the series were allowed to be.
The game's music composer obviously did not follow the style of Shirley Walker and her co-composers from the series and used a more modern "synth rock" style. Unlike the live orchestra scores from the series, the game score was digital.
Due to technical limitations of the Sega CD, neither sound or colors are of the same quality as the television program. The cutscenes required long buffering time.
In addition, because the animated sequences are interspersed between gameplay, they do not form a complete story themselves.
Enemies:
Poison Ivy
The Riddler
Harley Quinn
The Joker
Rupert Thorne
Clayface
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The original document is available at http://www.batmanytb.com/tiki-index.php?page=The+Adventures+Of+Batman+And+Robin+%28Video+Game%29