| Batman Forever: The Arcade Game | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Probe Entertainment Iguana Entertainment Iguana Entertainment UK (PS1) |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim Entertainment |
| Producer(s) | Neill Glancy |
| Designer(s) | David Dienstbier Ian Dunlop Jason Carpenter |
| Programmer(s) | Carl Wade Stephen Broumley |
| Artist(s) | Michael McCallion |
| Composer(s) | Rick Fox |
| Series | Batman |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Sega ST-V[3] |
Batman Forever: The Arcade Game is a beat 'em up video game based on the movie Batman Forever. The subtitle is used to differentiate it from Batman Forever, another beat 'em up published by Acclaim. One or two players, playing as Batman and Robin, fight Two-Face, the Riddler, and numerous henchmen.
Gameplay[]
Arcade version screenshot.
Taking on the role of either Batman or Robin, players can punch, kick, and use special combination attacks to defeat waves of enemies.
The special combinations applied to enemies can add up to a possible 150+ hits on a single villain.
Special weapons, such as Batarangs, can be found throughout the levels.[4] It is sectioned off into stages, and arranged with waves of enemies before ending with a boss.
The game has a two-player mode, which allows both players to use the same character if so desired.[5]
Development[]
Acclaim first demonstrated the game at the 1996 American Coin Machine Exposition.[6] Batman Forever: The Arcade Game was Acclaim Entertainment's first arcade game.[6][7] It was built on Sega's "Titan" technology, the hardware which formed the foundation for the Sega 32X and Sega Saturn.[8] Even though the arcade version was only released in America, it can also run on Japanese and European Titan systems.
Prior to the release of the arcade and home versions, an Atari Jaguar CD port was in development by Probe Entertainment after Atari Corporation and Acclaim announced their partnership in 1995 that included plans to release three titles for the system, but Batman Forever: The Arcade Game was later licensed to Atari Corp. a few months later after the announcement of the partnership and was going to be based upon the PlayStation version that was also in development at the time.[9][10][11][12][13] The port was originally slated to be published around the third quarter of 1995 and was later rescheduled for an April/Q1 1996 release,[14][15][16] but work on the port was discontinued sometime in 1995 and was never released.[17]
Batman Forever: The Arcade Game was also in the prospect of being converted on arcade hardware using technology based on the then-upcoming Panasonic M2.[18]
Reception[]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| EGM | 4.75/10 (SAT)[19] |
| GameSpot | 5.6/10 (SAT)[20] |
| Next Generation |   (ARC)[21] (SAT)[22] |
| Sega Saturn Magazine | 63% (SAT)[23] |
Reviewing the arcade version, a Next Generation critic praised the large selection of elaborate moves and combos, likening it to the Street Fighter series in this respect, as well as the use of sprite scaling to enable a wider range of movement and deeper gameplay, but still argued that the game lacks sufficient innovation to save the aging 2D beat 'em up genre. He also criticized the predictable level design and the gloomy graphics, saying they make it difficult to follow the action.[21]
The Saturn conversion received mediocre reviews. Criticisms widely varied from review to review, but the most commonly cited problems were that the gameplay is too repetitive[19][20][23] and the character graphics are blocky.[19][23][24] Critics mostly assessed the game on its own terms rather than its quality as a conversion, though a Next Generation critic noted that the Saturn version is missing frames of animation from the arcade version. He summarized the game, and beat 'em ups in general, as "All flash, and absolutely zero substance."[22] Lee Nutter of Sega Saturn Magazine called it "a poor man's Guardian Heroes, except that it is actually quite expensive."[23] GameSpot's Glenn Rubenstein and Electronic Gaming Monthly's Shawn Smith and Dan Hsu were somewhat more positive, remarking that while the game is objectively weak, its sheer loudness and chaotic energy are not without a certain charm.[19][20] GamePro's The Rookie, while having little but criticism for the game, said that fans of side-scrolling beat 'em ups should try the game as a rental, since the genre had largely died out by the time of the game's release.[24]
In a feature on the game, Electronic Gaming Monthly stated that the Saturn and PlayStation versions are identical aside from minor cosmetic differences, such as differing loading screens and the PlayStation version lacking the Batmobile intro's screen blurring effect.[4] In his review of the PlayStation version, GamePro's Gideon said it was a faithful conversion, but that the fun of the arcade version simply does not translate to the home console experience.[25]
References[]
- ↑ "SEGA SATURN Soft > 1997". GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "PlayStation Soft > 1997". GAME Data Room. Archived from the original on 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Batman Forever". arcade-history.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Batman Forever: I Whupped Batman's Butt". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (90): 176–9. January 1997.
- ↑ "Preview: Batman Forever". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (15): 26–27. January 1997.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sherman, Christopher (May 1996). "Acclaim Makes Coin-Op Debut". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (17): 24.
- ↑ "Batman Forever". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (79): 81. February 1996.
- ↑ "Acclaim Activity Report". GamePro (IDG) (60): 168. July 1994.
- ↑ "ATARI AND ACCLAIM JOIN FORCES IN MAJOR SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT". Nine Lives. March 22, 1995. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Reportaje - Jaguar ya ruge en España -- Asómate al futuro". Hobby Hi-Tech (Axel Springer SE) (3): 27. May 1995. https://archive.org/stream/HiTechMagazine/HiTech%2003#page/n26/mode/1up.
- ↑ "Acclaim join Atari for a bit of a Jag 'n' Jam". Ultimate Future Games (Future Publishing) (7): 23. June 1995. http://retrosprite.proboards.com/post/34/thread.
- ↑ Vendel, Curt (August 26, 1995). "Payment Schedule for Jaguar games to Developers" (PDF). atarimuseum.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Atari Jaguar - Batman Forever - The Arcade Game". atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Feature - XT Generation Report - Atari Jaguar". MAN!AC (Cybermedia) (20): 40. June 1995. https://archive.org/stream/MANIAC.N020.1995.06/MANIAC.N020.1995.06-DURiAN_Searchable#page/n39/mode/1up. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ "Release Liste". Video Games (Future-Verlag) (46): 43. August 1995. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:VideoGames_DE_1995-08.pdf&page=41. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ Gore, Chris (August 1995). "The Gorescore - Industry News You Can - Upcoming Jaguar Software Titles". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine (L.F.P., Inc.) (79): 14. https://archive.org/stream/Video_Games_The_Ultimate_Gaming_Magazine_Issue_79_August_1995#page/n13/mode/1up. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ↑ Dragon, Lost (July 5, 2017). "The Ultimate Jaguar Unreleased/Beta/Source/Dev Master List! - Page 5". atari.io. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Cutting Edge - 3DO buoyant as M2 picks up speed". Edge (Future Publishing) (23): 6–7. September 1995. https://archive.org/details/Edge_UK_024. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 "Review Crew: Batman Forever". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (90): 62. January 1997.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Batman Forever: The Arcade Game Review". GameSpot. 3 January 1997. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Batman Forever". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (19): 89. July 1996.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Batman Forever: The Arcade Game". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (25): 178, 180. January 1997.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Nutter, Lee (February 1997). "Review: Batman Forever". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (16): 68–69.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Saturn ProReview: Batman Forever: The Arcade Game". GamePro (IDG) (101): 82. February 1997.
- ↑ "PlayStation ProReview: Batman Forever". GamePro (IDG) (102): 75. March 1997.
External links[]
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game at GameFAQs
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game at Giant Bomb
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game at IMDb
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game at Killer List of Videogames
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game at MobyGames
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game can be played for free in the browser on the Internet Archive
Template:Iguana Entertainment
| Batman video games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arkham series | Arkham Asylum • Arkham City (Lockdown) • Arkham Origins (Mobile • Blackgate) • Arkham Knight | |
| Lego series | Lego Batman: The Videogame • Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes • The Lego Movie Videogame • Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham • Lego Dimensions | |
| Film-based | Batman (PC, 1989) • The Video Game (NES, 1989) • Batman (MD, 1990) • Batman (arcade, 1990) • Returns • Forever • Forever: The Arcade Game • Batman & Robin • Begins • The Dark Knight (cancelled) | |
| Animation-based | The Animated Series • The Adventures of Batman & Robin • Beyond: Return of the Joker • Chaos in Gotham • Gotham City Racer • Vengeance • Rise of Sin Tzu • The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame | |
| Other games | Batman (1986) • The Caped Crusader • Return of the Joker • Dark Tomorrow • DC Universe Online • Gotham City Impostors • Batman (2013 arcade) | |