Released: 1996
Developer: Probe Entertainment for all versions except Gameboy, which was done by Acclaim
Publisher: Acclaim
Genre: Beat 'Em Up
Ever since the Angry Video Game Nerd did his review, people have been claiming this to be the worst game ever (or 2nd worst, right behind Superman 64). I do agree that Superman 64 sucks major balls and it feels more like a test alpha product than a full blown video game you paid 40$ for back in the day. But I cannot see how people gripe about Batman Forever. Also: Keep in mind I ...will attempt to include the other consoles. This is mainly for the SNES version though. *also note: I'm not rating the PC version. This is also Batman Forever, not Batman Forever the Arcade version that's completely different and was released on the PS1.
It's a movie-game, it follows the story of the movie. So if you want to know the story, go watch the movie, it's not a bad movie anyway. It doesn't follow *exactly* the plot. It's very lose. (for example, you will be in Arkham Asylum, where Two-Face escaped from, then in a bank, from the beginning of the film, then in a cirus, from where Robin's family died, and so far) It starts to get fuzzy after that linking the levels to the films, but it isn't a big worry.
In Batman Forever, you can choose to play as either Batman or Robin, and pick out 2 gadgets before each level to use. Both Batman and Robin has set gadgets already on them (like shielding and throwing grenades and grappling hooking and fun stuff like that) The gadgets you pick out do everything from throwing a batarang to shooting sticky stuff on the ground enemies can step on and get stuck on (or slip on, depending on the gadget) You can shoot guns, put up force fields, become invincible, and a number of other things that don't sound sexual when I describe them.
The enemies all fit the levels and tend to be sons of bitches to kill. Seriously, they are skilled motherfuckers. If you sit down to play, you will be playing for a long time. They all can block and have their own special moves. Plus they have sexy names like "Dark Ninja" and "Big Daddy". ....Ok, it's lame, but you can't help but remember. "Ok, Chainsawchoker9000 is gonna drop here...ahh there we go!" After you've played a while. The backgrounds all look nice (although it depends on the level really), and the music is actually quite catchy and memorable (except level 1, it will put you to sleep)
While going through the game, you find different power-ups. Little green rectangles are health, white stones with the bat symbol on them are like super health, the blue squares are blue-prints (picking up enough of these will unlock hidden gadgets you can use on the rest of your game. Unfortunately, they aren't unlocked forever. If you turn the game off, you have to re-unlock them.), Two-Face coins which give you a life (and if picked up on the un-scratched side, your life is restored too), then finally the Riddler's question marks. Picking up the question marks tells you a riddle and it basically is telling you were the secrets are. This is not a deep game like Arkham Asylum, there is no reason to have the Riddler's messages saved in a menu system or anything.
But speaking of secrets, this game LOVES them. The secrets are so hidden and cryptic, good luck finding them. They're everywhere. Whether you just continue walking through a wall, or sliding on ropes to the edge of the screen, or grenading the ground, they are everywhere.
Batman Forever is a simple game. You go, punch enemies, maybe find a secret if you're lucky, and that's it. It does include cheats, a two-player kickass co-op mode (you can also choose to have the friendly fire on or off, keep it off) and a training mode. The training mode lets you play as some of your enemies too, not so useful, but it's still fun. It's also an easier way to find out how to work some of the gadgets.
I do praise the game because of those reasons. It's a very nicely done beat 'em up. It even have subtle little hints of awesomeness (such as Two-Face. Fighting him on his left side shows his *evil* side and he attacks much different than if you were on his right) But I know I know, the little problems.
Everything is a mystery. How do I grapple, how I fire my barrier, how do I throw a grenade, how do I drop down, ect, ect, ect. I suppose they thought leaving all that out would be a fun challenge, but it isn't really. Pretty much nobody buys a beat 'em up to figure shit out. So YES, you use select+up to grapple and R+Down to drop down. Everybody in the universe knows that now. But the thing is, it isn't a broken game. The controls aren't so busted that it ruins it. Just look it up. I'm pretty sure you have the internet, just do a google search. It's an old game, stop whining. There are also certain things you can grapple in which your never told you can grapple. You just have to guess around (which isn't that difficult really)
The only major thing that's bothersome...is that the game is hard as fuck. I'm convinced it's impossible to beat, let alone attempt a speed-run on. (and I mean, beat by sitting through and playing from level 1, no cheating). It kicks your ass. You'll be both jammin' out to the music while in anguish over some dude chainsawing your bits off. The enemies are tough enough (especially those damned Riddler Thugs). I cheated to see what the ending level was like. Unbelievable. The ending boss...es are just a kick in the nuts too. You have to fight Riddler (and he can summon Riddler Thugs), then Two-Face, and then Yeti Riddler (well, he looks like a yeti anyway). that didn't happen in the movie at all! He just kills you with his big furry blue arms! By the way, I found out what the crap that is.
"Early concepts of the final showdown on Claw Island had a huge, muscled, Riddler sitting on his throne when Batman finds him. The Riddler twists the two skulls on his armrests and the Riddler's muscled body is revealed to be a shell which splits in two, from which the real Riddler (wearing his white and green jumpsuit) steps out. This description made it into the junior novelization of the movie by Alan Grant, and was also featured in the video game based on the movie." Oh.
Because the enemies take forever to kill, and the loading times, it basically takes a long ass while to get through the game. Oh yeah, loading times. On the Super Nintendo. Everytime you change rooms, a black screen appears with the words, "Hold On," The shit? I don't get that...at all. HOLD ON. fightfightfightfightfightfight HOLD ON. fightfightfightfightfightfightfightfight HOLD ON. But everything in-between in pretty fun.
So onto common criticisms that most people just took from AVGN!
"Why the fuck is jump button up!?"
Because they were trying something new by putting a more detailed style of fighting in.
"It's a rip off of Mortal Kombat."
Uh, no it's not. It feels nothing like Mortal Kombat, the combat is much much slower.
"Why is select the grappling hook?"
They ran out of buttons because of above reason. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but at least they took a risk. Just as a side note: I don't accept complete control mysteries in modern games. In old games I can understand, but in new games, there is no excuse.
"Why is R the jump down button?"
To be honest, that's really comfortable. Pressing down and R makes the job faster, while select and up takes longer. Or maybe that was their plan...I mean, think. It's faster to jump down than it is to take a grappling hook and fire up isn't it? Seems logical to me.
"Why does foreground block my goddamn view?"
Calm down, I admit it sometimes gets in the way but not too much. Just back up and you can see. At least it isn't totally obscuring your vision.
"The controls suck."
They are a little laggy, but it's not too bad.
In short, remember older games were years behind. The ideas we have now didn't exist back then. Or they didn't think them back out. Also don't take the AVGN WORD FOR WORD. He does it for comedy. He even "reviews" games he likes. He will sometimes even stretch out the truth. (and just a fun observation, while he's pressing buttons to find out how to shoot the grappling hook, you can hear the grappling hook shoot in the background.) I like him, he's funny, but some people take his crap too seriously.
+ Great music
+ Good backgrounds
+ Simple fun
+ The game is memorable
+ 2 Player co-op
- Hold On
- Everything is a mystery you have to figure out
- Hard as fuck
- Very Time consuming
Ok...sigh. Batman Forever gets a.... 4 for the SNES, -4 for the Gen, 2 for the GB, and 3 for the GG. I have no idea about the PC, so I'm leaving it out.
Also: Remember to not take the score against new titles. Only take it against other titles of it's own kind. AKA: Against other SNES games.
Notable Console Differences: I think the Gensis and Super Nintendo versions are the closest related. The Genesis' music isn't quite as good. The Gameboy version is just garbage and the Gamegear version is hardly any better.
