Moving right into more DC territory after Superman, we have not one but two episodes devoted to Batman games! This set of games is a bit more promising than the previous Superman games we looked at, and in this set of videos James goes all out in more classic, themed Angry Video Game Nerd style, dressing up as Batman and parodying the character plenty, if in a comedic way.
It should be noted that this is the first video fully filmed in the “new” Nerd Room, the basement of his then-new house. It’s dark, has wood paneling and over time would have the area behind the couch (a futon, actually) change from game posters to more games! By 2008 the Nerd was a major thing, and these changes show that progress!
Anyway, on to the episode (which happens to have James using a MacBook (or PowerBook) in the opening sequence 😀 ) we start off with Batman – The Caped Crusader for the Commodore 64, the only game in this video not based on a Batman film! It’s an interesting looking game; a pretty straightforward, albeit very chaotic looking, C64 title with awesome SID music! Poor controls, possibly iffy game play, but hey, it’s something. I will note that the C64 isn’t as bad as James may make it seem here – not by a long shot.
Moving on, we hit Batman on the NES. OH. HELL. YES. This game is one of the best, albeit hard as hell. Good music, incredible graphics, but oh man is it difficult.
We move on to Batman Returns for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A beat-em-up, well regarded from what I’ve heard and seen, We also see a Sega-CD version of the game, but all the Nerd can seem to ever get to is driving stages.
We also see a version of the game on the Lynx, this marking I believe our introduction to that console in the AVGN series. It’s…. a blurry mess that’s apparently not very good. We take a look at The Adventures of Batman and Robin on the SNES, a game based off the animated series for Batman in the mid 90’s. A good series, and a decent, if flawed looking game.
Lastly, we hit Batman Forever. Oh fuck this game. I got it for Sega Genesis the Christmas of 1995 and I hated it. I couldn’t really get anywhere in it — hell, I think the Nerd gets further in this video than I’ve ever seen in the game myself! I won’t even spoil it further, it really is a game that deserves the hate it gets, in my opinion. Terrible controls, screwed up level design… and so much more.
The video ends with the traditional surprise character showing up: this time, it’s Mike Matei as The Joker! We get some parodies of the classic 60’s Batman series, ending with the Nerd held hostage, forced to play more Batman games! Of course, it’s a cliffhanger meaning we have to wait till part 2 to see what happens. Good thing I’m covering part 2 immediately following this.
Final Rating: 4.0/5
This episode, for as much as I don’t care about the whole superhero scene, really speaks to my inner child. Batman Forever is a game I seriously hated as a kid, an I did enjoy the animated series in the 90’s. The whole point of the Angry Video Game Nerd is to “take you back to the past” and this episode certainly did that. James’ portrayal of Batman is funny in a subtle, stupid kind of way, and the surprise of Mike at the end is a treat. All in all, this is just a fun episode — you can tell James had fun with it and is rather happy here!
Enjoy!
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