19. Batman: The Animated Series (GB)
With typical platforming gameplay, the Game Boy Color adaptation of the popular cartoon series lets you switch between Batman and his plucky side-kick Robin, with each character featuring unique abilities to aid them. It was pretty well received upon release and holds up as a decent - albeit short and sweet - platformer to this day.
18. Batman: Return of the Joker (NES)
Boasting some pretty gorgeous visuals for the humble NES, Batman: Return of the Joker borrowed a few elements from Tim Burton’s 1989 movie, but was ultimately an entirely separate take on the caped crusader. Its gameplay is an odd blend of ‘Castlevania meets Contra’, and with only 7 main levels clocking in at less than an hour (if you’re good), this is nevertheless a pretty cracking game.
17. Batman: The Brave and the Bold (DS)
Just like its Wii counterpart, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is the only non-Lego Batman game on the system, but it’s a fair bit different from its console sibling. Multiplayer might be stripped out, but this handheld take on the 2010’s cartoon shifts the emphasis from beat ‘em up to platformer with tight controls, and WayForward’s impressive visual style is on full show here, with bombastic special effects and beautiful comic book-style art on the bottom screen.
16. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (3DS)
As with many handheld ports of multi-platform offerings, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes falls short of its console iterations. The handheld version loses the multiplayer aspect and doesn't bring any touchscreen controls or improvements with it. This is one definitely best experienced elsewhere.
15. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U)
Expanding the roster across the DC universe even more, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is Lego and Batman at their most ambitious. But while the series had been steady for a while, poor technical issues and gameplay aspects that were occasionally confusing, or otherwise streamlined, undermined what was otherwise a hilarious, jam-packed adventure. Maybe next time, eh Bats?
14. Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Wii)
Taking on a more of a cartoony aesthetic, Batman: The Brave and the Bold was based on the Cartoon Network TV series of the same name. Outside the LEGO games, it was the only Batman game to grace Nintendo’s motion controller marvel, but with its more family-friendly tone and simplistic gameplay it’s a respectable entry that may prove a good gateway to the world of Batman for younger audiences.
13. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii U)
The Wii U release of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes may have been the last version to launch, but the ever-fun LEGO games always win through with their charm and co-op gameplay. Even when this port is virtually the same as the Wii and 3DS ones, smashing up LEGO bricks and seeing the pieces shatter all across this blocky, bricky Gotham is all simple, addictive joy. It's a bit of a shame nothing was added, and the GamePad functionality was subpar at best.
12. Batman - The Telltale Series (Switch)
While Batman isn't Telltale's best comic book or graphic novel adaptation, Batman - The Telltale Series does a great job of balancing both the Dark Knight and the man behind the mask. You get to see Bruce Wayne the man, not The Bat, more than in any other video game. And the developer's choice and consequence formula work in perfect harmony with the moral struggle Batman often encounters. The Worlds Greatest Detective had a pretty good home with Telltale for a while.
11. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii)
It's hard not to get excited for a game with the tagline "Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman — they're all here!", and the second LEGO Batman game does an excellent job of building on that excitement. This was the most open LEGO game to date, with tons to explore, and a bevy of DC characters to play as. For pure, unadulterated joy, the LEGO games are always the place to go, especially if you have someone else to play with.
10. Batman: The Enemy Within (Switch eShop)
It was only natural that a sequel would follow Telltale's first stab at The Bat's adventures. Batman: The Enemy Within doesn't do much to expand on the established formula, but it does improve on its predecessor in terms of story and technical issues. An iconic villain also made a return, and they stole the show with how the choice-based gameplay worked in the Batman encounters. We won't spoil it for you, but outside of a certain other huge series, this is the best depiction of this particular villain across Batman video games.
Comments 52
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.
@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
I wish they would bring the Lego batman trilogy games to the switch
NES Return of the Joker deserves to be way higher on the list.
NES Batman. That is all.
Further to my comment from March 2022, lol, I'd like to add the Telltale series games. I liked them too. I have Arkham Asylum Switch on my backlog
I am not a batman fan (loathe him actually) but his games were often one of the few options when you wanted to play a decent superhero game (until xmen legends showed up….somebody revive that series! So I have a number if these, especially the ones based on TAS or Batman Returns but didn’t realize that there was another game that let you play as Batgirl (beyond gotham knights which I enjoyed). So gotta dig out the wii and a gamecube controller. Lol.
I know homebrew doesn't qualify for the list, but check out the homebrew GBA port of the 8-bit isometric Batman game, which was originally by the same devs as Head over Heels.
edit: the GBA port is called GWatman.
Frickin’ Lego, I swear to god…
My favorite is Batman: The Video Game on Game Boy. I still play through it like 3 times each decade.
Latest play through was on the Steamdeck. The game has so many details that just pops up on the Steamdeck screen
I really enjoyed Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate on 3ds. Loved the 3d effect and setting. I bought the WiiU version before eShop closed, but have yet to play it.
There is a error on the Batman The Animated series for the GB. It's not a game boy color game, and sadly, you can't just switch between the characters at whim, though when it was released it was billed that way, you do play as Batman thru most of the game, but it has 2 Robin sections that I remember, it's been a while, still enjoy that game though.
Batman vengeance was one of two games I got with my GameCube on launch day. I LOVED that game as a kid. Loved the cartoon as the best cartoon out there at the time as well, so that helped.
Batman: Arkham Asylum and City are my two favorite superhero games of all-time. Happy the Switch ports turned out well enough, it's nice to be able to play them at home or on the go.
After those, my favorite Batman game is the NES version of the one based on the 1989 movie, which holds up surprisingly well. I remember opening it up on Christmas morning in 1990 and playing all day. I've always been a huge fan of the Batman universe so that Christmas is one of my most cherished childhood memories.
hello this delete
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...