Batman: The Video Game

バットマン (Battoman)NES1989

  1. JP1989
  2. NA1990
  3. EU1990
  4. RU—

Sunsoft's NES Batman, often called Batman: The Video Game, was released in Japan simply as バットマン (Battoman) on the Famicom. The Japanese version differs only slightly: the music of the first two stages is swapped and the first boss is tougher.

Batman: The Video Game is Sunsoft's NES adaptation of the 1989 film. It came out on the Famicom in Japan on 22 December 1989, in North America in February 1990 and in Europe on 14 September 1990. Sunsoft licensed Batman from Warner Bros. for US$1 million (about ¥150 million), and its staff visited Tim Burton's London set to study the film's look, yet the plot has very little to do with the movie.

The five levels lead from the streets of Gotham City through Axis Chemical Plant to the Gotham Cathedral belltower, where the Joker waits. Batman can wall jump, a move then unusual in side-scrollers, and fights with the batarang, batdisk and batpoon, powered by pellet cartridges. Naoki Kodaka wrote the music.

Sunsoft's Mega Drive/Genesis Batman is a different game that uses a grappling hook instead of the wall jump.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Batman: The Video Game NES February 1990 Sunsoft 1
JP バットマンBattomanFamicom NES Dec 22, 1989 Sunsoft 1
EU Batman: The Video Game NES Sep 14, 1990 Sunsoft 1

Also known as: バットマン JP1Battoman JP1

Box art by region

  • Batman: The Video Game box art, North America release
    NA Batman: The Video Game
  • Batman: The Video Game box art, Europe release
    EU Batman: The Video Game

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • AudioFamicom (JP)

    The music for stages 1 and 2 is swapped in the Japanese version.2

  • DifficultyFamicom (JP)

    The stage 1 boss has twice as much health in the Japanese version.2

  • ContentPrototype

    An earlier prototype had completely different cutscenes, ended with a fight against Firebug and never let the player face the Joker; the final game reworked the art and dialogue to follow the film more closely.1

All differences (4)

Reception

Reviews were generally favorable: Famitsu scored it 6, 7, 7 and 7 out of 10, and Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it its Best Movie to Game award for 1989. Famitsu reported about 78,437 copies sold in Japan, and IGN ranked it 33rd on its 2009 list of the top 100 NES games.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2tcrf.net

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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