Ah, Batman. The superhero that could easily solve a ton of the problems in Gotham just by redistributing a little bit of his billions in wealth, but instead chose to construct a giant man-cave full of gadgets and wear a cape to fight ludicrously silly crimes. We bloody love it.
And, since there's a new Batman movie out, with a brand-new man in the Batman bat-cape (Robert Pattinson), what better time could there be to rank every Bat-game on Nintendo systems?
Much like our list of every Spider-Man game, this here list is designed to celebrate the Batman by rating every single one of his games, from his Batman Begin-nings on the NES to his Batman Return-ings on the Switch, and every LEGO Batman, cartoon Batman, and gritty reboot Batman between.
The ranking will be done through each game's user rating on the site, which means that you can be the world's greatest detective by figuring out which games you enjoyed the most, and giving them a resounding 10/10 (or an 8 or a 9 — they're fine scores, too!), or you can be the caped crusader against bad games and give a bat-thumbs-down to the worst of them.
And yes, much like the Spider-Man games, the best Batmans are often found on the more powerful consoles of Sony and Microsoft... but that doesn't mean we haven't got a few bat-bangers of our own (although let's keep our fingers crossed that the Arkham Trilogy for Switch rumour is accurate). In fact, we've got 36 games to get through!
So, grab your Robins and your Alfreds and let's take a look at the Best Batman Games ever to grace Nintendo systems...
Note: Remember that ranking here is updated in real time according the each game's corresponding User Rating in the Nintendo Life game database. Even as you read this, it's entirely possible to influence the order below. If you haven't rated your favourites yet, simply click the 'star' of the game you wish to rate and assign a score right now.
36. Batman: Dark Tomorrow (GCN)
Oh boy… This wasn’t a great time for the caped crusader. Widely considered to be the worst bat-game of all the bat-games, Batman: Dark Tomorrow was so poor that a planned port for the PlayStation 2 was cancelled thanks to the overwhelmingly negative reception. Littered with bugs with repetitive gameplay and a botched camera system, Dark Tomorrow’s attempt at stealth-action gameplay would be nearly perfected just 6 years later with Arkham Asylum.
35. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (N64)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker tried to pay homage to titles like Streets of Rage and Final Fight with its side-scrolling beat-em-up gameplay, but ultimately the game failed to even come close to emulating the slick gameplay of its primary inspirations. It also happened to be an incredibly short game, with many folks beating it in just 1 - 2 hours, an issue exacerbated by the low difficulty on N64.
34. Batman Vengeance (GBA)
Like many handheld games from back in the day, Batman Vengeance was a heavily altered version of its GameCube counterpart. Swapping 3D environments for side-scrolling 2D action, the game featured Batman going up against a whole bunch of rocket launcher-wielding thugs. With some pretty nice visuals and some interesting Batmobile sections the game wasn't a total bust, but its home console sibling enjoyed a bit more praise.
33. Batman: Chaos in Gotham (GBC)
With a plot not entirely dissimilar to Batman: Arkham City, our brooding hero finds himself up against a bevy of escaped Arkham inmates running rampant around Gotham City, including The Joker, Poison Ivy, Bane, and Mr. Freeze. The game’s launch came just before the release of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance and featured a decent variety of locales, with some pretty cool boss fights to boot.
32. Batman Forever (SNES)
Okay, we all know that Batman Forever isn't great. But let's take some positives from the SNES beat 'em up. The music is pretty darn good - Tim Follin, Andrew Brock, and Geoff Follin did a fantastic job creating music that sounds appropriately Batman. And if you want a quick flashback to the '90s, then this commercial will teleport you straight there. But the SNES version of this game is disappointing. Long load times and objects that obscure your view are just the beginning.
31. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GBA)
With gameplay similar to Batman Vengeance for the GBA, Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu arguably boasted much smoother animations and visuals. Created specifically for the game’s plot, villain Sin Tzu would ultimately go on to appear in mainstream Batman comics, but his appearance here set the game apart from other tales in the Batman universe. Another fairly short title, this one can be beaten in about 2 - 3 hours, but its decent gameplay makes the effort worthwhile.
30. Batman Begins (GBA)
Here we go - the age of the scratchy throat Batman. Batman Begins for the GBA opted for a more realistic visual approach in keeping with the gritty nature of Christopher Nolan’s new Batman trilogy. Following the movie’s plot fairly closely, sections of the game let you play as Bruce Wayne in all his civilian glory, primarily during his training with Ra’s al Ghul. It was a distinctly average game overall, and the planned sequels were ultimately cancelled after a host of development issues.
29. Batman Forever (GB)
Although similar in terms of plot to its SNES counterpart (they are, after all, based on the same movie), the Game Boy version of Batman Forever is naturally heavily downgraded to function on Nintendo’s plucky handheld. Nevertheless, the action was reasonably well implemented and there are a few groovy tunes in the mix, but this one simply doesn’t hold a candle to its more accomplished sibling.
28. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (GCN)
The GameCube version of Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu featured some frantic beat-em-up gameplay; not exactly the kind of over-the-top action you’d necessarily expect from the Dark Knight, but it worked reasonably well. Players had the choice to control either Batman, Batgirl, Robin, or Nightwing, with the game featuring a kind of precursor to horde modes, throwing enemies at you without the need for a pesky storyline. Not a bad entry!
27. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (GBC)
Reception towards the Game Boy Color version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was slightly more positive than the N64 version, with particular praise given to the game’s cutscenes. Nevertheless, the gameplay was pretty choppy a lot of the time and its overall runtime came in at just over an hour if you’re a dab hand at beat-em-ups. Not a terrible game, but not a particularly good one, either.
26. Batman Vengeance (GCN)
Batman Vengeance put the focus once again on Batman’s most devious nemesis: The Joker. The game was a decent 3D action-adventure entry to the franchise that also - bizarrely - had a first-person view that can be activated at any time. The visuals leaned heavily into the cartoon aesthetic of the Batman: Animated Series before Nolan’s Batman Begins came along with a more realistic approach.
25. Batman Begins (GCN)
Batman Begins is the only film in the Christopher Nolan trilogy that ever got a video game release, and to be honest, it wasn't too bad. It gave a new generation of Batman fans the chance to become the caped crusader, and you can see a lot of what the Arkham games would perfect here, such as stealth segments, and a variety of staple weapons such as grenades and batarangs. But unique to Begins is the 'HF Transponder', which allows you to stun your enemies with "fear". For a movie tie-in, it's more than passable.
Comments (40)
I still haven't played any of the Arkham games, but I've only heard positive things about them. It's too bad they aren't accessible on the Switch though.
Absolute disgrace lego Batman isn’t number one. I have lost all faith in humanity.
Lego Batman on the ds was one of my first games as a kid and I loved it, kinda stung seeing it down that low lol
But to be fair, I played it a few days ago in years and it was so slow and repetitive idk how I played it as a kid, but the second one is still a masterpiece imo
Honestly, the Lego Batman series is definitely the go-to Batman games for me.
And I do own Lego Batman 3 on WiiU. I'm hoping that there will be a Lego Batman collection in the future. The Switch will definitely benefit from that.
When I was a kid, Batman, Robin, Joker, etc. were rich in color. Now it's just dark. Too dark.
@TenEighty
What do you mean. Everything needs to be dark,gritty or else it is for kids. At least that is what Twitter says.
@blindsquarel Many love it then and that's what made it famous. Times have changed, I guess.
Arkham City is the pinnacle of Batman games, so I'd have to go with the Wii U port.
The fact Batman on NES is number 2 on the lost speaks volumes about how good this game still holds up. It plays like it was released yesterday. Highly recommend it.
Totally disagree with the rankings. Arkham City ran better on Xbox 360 and PS3 which surprises me that it's number 1. Also Batman Returns on SNES should have been higher especially with the Danny Elfman score. But then again that's why I don't like these ranking pieces. It's just a popularity contest and most often the not the top game on the list is just because it's cool to vote for the most popular one rather then the best one.
I loved Arkham Origins on WiiU. The Christmas setting was splendid and largely reminded me of Batman Returns. The detective skills used the gamepad very well. The enemies were a nice change of pace from the main 3 or 4. Firefly was awesome. Where in Arkham City you felt like super powered Batman. In Origins you feel like Batman the detective. If you've never played it, don't listen to the nonsense that it's not a good game. Makes me wonder if whoever is making these claims on the game in the article ever actually played the game.
@TenEighty
To be clear I agree with you.
I've been playing the Gameboy version of Batman Forever for the last couple of days. And I think it's a pretty cool game now that I've gotten past the first screen (hint: there's a balcony/floor above you that you can reach by pressing down and then quickly up to do a giant leap upwards).
Combat is actually really fun too; it's sort of a baby fighting game system with B button being punch and A being kick. You can do floor sweeps and uppercuts (by pressing down and then A or B respectively) as well as normal punches and kicks etc.
You also have a quite large number of gadgets available to you (although you have to choose 2 at the start of the game/level).
The game also have some good (and pretty unique) music for a Gameboy game IMO.
The graphics were down converted from the home console versions I've heard. And it do look like Batman and his adversaries were digitized rather than drawn originally (early Mortal Kombat style).
That's not the only thing early/gameboy MK and this game has in common; to use gadgets you have to do quick button combination like in a fighting game.
For instance down - right (or down - left depending on which way you're facing) plus punch throws a batarang (if equipped), left - right - down plus punch activates the grapple hook in vertical direction (if you hold punch it keeps ascending until it hits a surface).
There's lots of button combinations to do different things, and thankfully there's a guide to the move list on the game's Gamefaq.com page.
Very underrated game if you ask me.
I agree with top 2.
Batman Forever (SNES) is easily the worst game on my entire collection, I don't think I've ever made it past the first area.
Lego Batman came out at that time where I was moving away from childish type of games, if it had come out on the GC I think I would've been all over it. Looking at some videos now it sure does look fun, sigh.
How is brave and the bold on wii before any of the NES games??? This is lunacy.
@AlienX Oh man, being a huge Batman fan I clearly remember going to Woolworths and purchasing the game with my hard earned pocket money. It looked cool, music was decent but it plays like a melted left shoe on a right hand.
@AlienX The Batman Forever SNES version is very different compared to the Genesis version, which I believe the Gameboy version was modeled after (in the SNES version you have Robin as your companion and it seems to have much more cramped level designs than the Genesis and the Gameboy versions).
I'm surprised my adventures of Batman and Robin on SNES made it this far to number 3#
I must profess to not have played a fair few of these as I dimissed them as below average license cash ins. Obviously that is completely not the case from every game there from Lego Batman 3 upwards IMO. Incidentally, I believe the Wii and Wii U Lego Batman games ought to be higher in the list, particularly Lego Batman 2. Batman The Brave and The Bold was an underrated gem and a genuinely fun playthrough. Difficult to argue with the stellar Batman Arkham City as number 1 and Arkham Origins near the top.
@blindsquarel me too, dont know if for the same reason but still #nofaith
@EriXz
What other reasons other than lego Batman not being the best Batman ga- no, best game in history, could you lose faith in humanity. Sounds petty to me.
So we can learn to pick ourselves back up
I don't think I have played city yet LOL.
@Half-ShellHero I used to defend Arkham Origins alot until I went back to it over Christmas. It's alot clunkier and ugly than Arkaham City that's definitely the best Batman game on Nintendo consoles by miles
@MatoFilipovic agree best batman game ever tok me 30 years to beat the joker, but i did it. And it still holds up today!
Arkham City on the Wii U was excellent. While it did have some performance issues, it was also able to display two separate views of Arkham City on the TV and on the Gamepad, it had gyro aiming, the map on the Gamepad was great and it had an excellent off-screen (handheld) mode.
@Big_Fudge Fair enough. I like the Snes version of Batman Returns the most followed closely by Origins and the NES Batman.
@blindsquarel You are right, silly me...
I really enjoyed the Brave and the Bold games. They're a tad on the easy side, but they are fun. I think the cartoon is very underrated.
The NES batman was one of the first games I played that had wall jumping
@bstoppel Just picked up the DS Brave and Bold game on eBay. Looking forward to it!
I haven’t played any Batman games besides the Lego ones, but I still think that 1 and 2 got snubbed.
Why was " LEGO Batman Dimensions Batman Movie Story Pack " game left off the list? Although I think Lego Batman 1 might have been better or on par with this one.
Batman: Return of the Joker (NES) was and still is pretty underrated, IMO. It's not as good as Batman: The Video Game (NES), but that's a pretty lofty goal for any NES game. It does it's own thing and it does it admirably.
I love Batman 89
@LEGEND_MARIOID "Lego Batman 2" is great...except for all the times you need to go anywhere in Gotham City itself. The game has one of the worst open worlds you'll ever find!
As often, a very weird ranking.
I absolutely don't agree with all these shovel ware Lego games ranked so high.
Batman Begins on GBA should be ranked way higher.
But I agree with Arkham City in 1st place.
At least on Nintendo systems.
I rate the Telltale games very highly in terms of story and characterisation.
"Best Batman Games"
Mentions Batman Forever and Batman Beyond
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