You Can Now Play SNES Batman Returns On Your Sega Genesis, For Free

Always find it so weird on this British based website from a English writer the persistent use of the name Genesis. Sure that's it's name in the good ol USA but personally never liked it.
Megadrive much cooler IMHO.
Gotta get those American clicks I guess...

No matter, this looks impressive!

@bring_on_branstons Well, it's the NAME we, Americans, are familiar with. So really, it can't be helped. Just a fact that you have to get used to.

I'm, personally, am fine with using both names. They're both cool either you shake it.

I was so let down in 1992 being a Sega fan and renting their "in-house" take on RETURNS. I rented Konami's SNES version and took it over to my friends' house so I could play it. So much better! While I did get the Sega CD games years later, I always wanted this game on my Genesis. Hope to give this a try.

So was the SNES version not 60fps? Most 2D pixel games of this era were typically 60fps as standard I thought?

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot I’m guessing their point was that as this is a UK site and the writer is from the UK, it seems odd they would use the US name for the console. I would agree. I’m British and would never refer to the console as the Genesis, even though I know what the Genesis is.

I remember playing the Genesis version as a kid. Not one of the finest mind you. Combat & movement felt clunky.

I’ve got the Mega cd version, the driving sections are cool. Really would like Batman and Robin game but that’s probably still way out of my budget

Just checked Ebay, blimey.

1:00 They really took the Streets of Rage "laugh" sound effect?

Konami made a similar NES game but I guess that one wasn't considered nearly as good (considering that for Japan, Konami went as far as making a PV with a release date but it never made it out over there).

You might want to update the headline and article to mention the fact that this is illegal. You'll be able to ILLEGALLY play this

@bring_on_branstons the Genesis sold most of its units in North America, so it makes sense to use the name thar most owners of the system knew it as. Nearly 66% of the systems sales came from North America (the system sold 30.75 million worldwide and over 20 million of those were in North America, where is was called Genesis)

@Damo Sounds like a perfect opportunity to right that wrong!

I've been in a Batman mood lately and I've played quite a few of the various Batman games. I played the SNES original of this a few times a bit over a week ago. I had trouble getting into it initially, but I ended up really liking it aside from some small things I'd change. I thought Batman took too much damage in the game, and I would have preferred music more along the lines of Sunsoft's Batman games as they're more dynamic and are a better fit in a game. While I was playing it, I did observe that the game was pretty standard technically and wasn't doing things the Genesis could not in terms of performance(sprites on screen, etc). That's not to make this into Genesis vs. SNES. The game exists officially on the SNES and is very good there.

As I alluded to, the timing of this is interesting because I just played the SNES game. Also interesting to see some of the changes for this including using the 320-wide mode. Two players and nine enemies on screen may be too ambitious though as I'm already seeing some noticeable sprite drop out in the trailer. I also wonder if the game balance is any different due to those changes.

I also played a good bit of Konami's NES Batman Returns and that was rather good as well. It's one of the best beat-em-ups on the system, in my opinion. I'd take both Konami games over the film they were based on though.

@sdelfin Try the Batman game for the PC Engine. It;s fun!

One of my favorite beatemups as a kid but I don’t think I ever beat it.

Have the Konami classic on Snes, amazing game. Will definitely get this on Megadrive. I assume I'll need an Everdrive to play though?

I might just give this little demo a try on my SNES Mini.

Probably the most random article I’ll see all month.

@Null2 I always appreciate a recommendation, so thank you. However, I've already played that one. You're right. It is fun. It's not a great gameplay concept for a Batman game, but getting past that, it's a fun maze-action game with a Batman coat of paint and killer music.

@Axelay71

Yes.
That's how I plan to play it.
On a Hyperkin Megadrive clone.
No original hardware here whatsoever
( well i got a megadrive II, with a sega cd attached to it, but that's in storage)

@TJSpyke
Romhacks and fan ports are not illegal, they fall under fair use.
As long as no money changes hands.

I’m. Mixed on this.
Gameplay looks near perfect to how the snes version played, no complaints there.
But man, the random metal slug and streets of rage sound effects really take me out of the whole thing, the game was perfectly fine without them and if they REALLY wanted to give enemies voice lines, they should’ve used actual grunts and laughs from the movie.

Also I hope the strongman being at the end of the first screen is just a thing for the trailer/demo and not the final game cause if the levels are gonna be shortened and mixed around like that it’ll be a HUGE turnoff from me

Still super invested in this tho! Cool to see ppl bringing one of the best Batman games to more platforms and the Christmas release date is just perfect😂

@PinballBuzzbro Sound design and music are really taken for granted across all media unfortunately. I didn't notice anything in this(I'll take your word for it) but I totally get what you mean.
Anytime I hear the BFG sound or the dragon sounds from War Craft 2 in a movie or when sound/music/dialogue is arbitrarily changed, it grinds my gears.

Not that this game sounds bad in any way, I'll be downloading this for sure. Batman Returns has a special place in my heart.

People keep saying audio is from this or that source, a lot of audio is from asset packs, even back in the day. You could purchase CDs and tapes with a collection of royalty free audio samples for any project, game developers wouldn't have try and make their own. Why you and I hear sound effects we associate with games we played, I keep hearing sound effects used in Daggerfall, like the bat "eee" sound FX.

I was hoping Konami would release the SNES game as part of some Batman classic compilation.

I think this is so cool. Thank you, Pyron, TiagoSC, InglebardMusic‬ and vectororbitex7866!
I’m definitely going to be giving this a go!

@SilentBluntman The counter to that would be that a majority of systems sold had Genesis written on them and their boxes.

@TJSpyke exactly what I was thinking as I read this article.

We need a vote what to call Sega’s 16bit console going forward from here, it’ll be a fun weekend pole on a low news week.

Genesis is a crap name for a system though, eh? Sega should retcon it out of existence. Just like Nintendo should retcon the god ugly US SNES design.

Looking good actually, man I want to play this on modern console, ps5 and switch 😃

@KitsuneNight have you got an everdrive then, are they any good?

@bring_on_branstons
I once heared Mega Jennidrive, sounds kinda legit and cute.

@Axelay71
I got a very basic one.
And a clone on top of that ( i tend to call it a fakerdrive)
It has none of the advance features like save states.

But it does what its supposed to do and play the games.
So it's decent enough.

I've been really impressed by this. Such a shame we never got this back in the 90's.

@Yojimbo Agreed!

@Tasuki It sounds pretentious.

@TJSpyke They report on rom hacks all the time. So?

@bring_on_branstons Yeah I don't understand that. It's a Mega Drive, not a Genesis. 😆

And technically speaking there are legitimate rom hacks released on the platforms as well

Mario Bros 2 is a rom hack of Doki Doki Panic
Probotector is a rom hack of Contra
And Sonic Mania is a rom hack as well.

Rom hacks are nothing new.

Wow so it can be done! Now I will anxiously wait for an article letting us know the Sega Jurassic Park was converted to the SNES.

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot Wouldn't it make more sense for "you Americans" to get used to what the device is called literally everywhere else in the world instead of the rest of us having to accommodate your quirks?

@MrPeanutbutterz
No see, the USA is the centre of the universe so we have to adjust to them not the other way around.

( thats sarcasm people )

@bring_on_branstons not American, but Megadrive is a way worse name than Genesis. Saying Megadrive is cool is such an absolutely wild take.

@AJB83
Friendly discourse.
Even if the Megadrive is a better name and the machines original name it was only called genesis in the USA because of Mega Drive Systems inc.
And the dispute that followed.

But it's also suggested that Sega founder David Rosen* didn't like the name Megadrive and pushed for Genesis.

And we are at least not arguing about blast processing.
Very blasty.

( *Sega started as an American company in around 1949 before moving to and being incorporated in Japan.
The company provided entertainment avenues for US soldiers station in Japan, pinball machines and the like.)

@AJB83 Genesis vs. Mega Drive: the REAL console war!!

@Blast16
Or Megadrive VS Mega Drive.
A skirmish !

@KitsuneNight Haha I like it! 😊 I can’t believe what I’m reading up there 😳😱😂

@SilentBluntman I know. That was your point originally. My point is you can make a good argument for both names.

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot I think they referenced the fact that this is a UK website but at times calls the 16-bit Sega console a Genesis instead of Megadrive which is the name of the console in their region.

@MrPeanutbutterz @Elthesensai @SilentBluntman @bring_on_branstons
Lets check the UK web that sits atop Big Ben... hold on, it's actually called the world wide web and it says that Sega was started in the US and it eventually became a joint US-Japanese venture... 50 years before Sega Europe even existed. It also says that the Mega Drive came out in 1988 in Japan and the Sega Genesis came out in August of 1989 and it didn't come out in the UK until September of 1990, a full year and a month after North America.

So the black/grey grid motif that we all know and love came from Sega of America, which contributed to the success of the Sega Genesis while it was failing as the Megadrive in Japan. The same style that's often erroneously referred to online as the "European theme".

It wasn't Genesis replacing Megadrive on the box, it was Megadrive logos replacing the Genesis logo. If anything, the Genesis is the true name of the console since it was the success of the NA market that made it a global contender.
So it seems that "you Americans" have to accommodate your British "quirks" because without us you wouldn't even have your Virgin Mastertronic Mega Drives.

I do like the name Mega Drive but journalists and fans can call it whatever they like. It's ironic no one here is whingeing about the SNES not being called the Super Famicom in the article.

@SilentBluntman I never said it wasn't called the Megadrive in Japan first. However you said the name Genesis was "inaccurate" which is false.

I often feel like there should be more of a focus on bringing ports of Arcade games from the mid '80s through early '90s. Games that should have been released on the Genesis/Mega Drive back in the day. And I'm glad there's some of that going on with R-Type, Robocop, Splatterhouse and Final Fight MD all getting fan-made ports. And I would love to see the Batman arcade based on the first Tim Burton film be ported to Genesis.

With that said, it's still cool to see this game being ported from the SNES. I like that they're actually improving things and not just doing it just to show that the Gen was capable of handling it all along. The more enemies at once is appreciated and the two player mode sounds awesome.

Some suggestions: It would be cool if they make Catwoman a playable character in the two player mode. And also tone down the difficulty in some of the easier modes.

@Daze_of_Reality
Some suggestions: It would be cool if they make Catwoman a playable character in the two player mode. And also tone down the difficulty in some of the easier modes.

I totally agree with that.
That would be really cool.

@Hexapus That doesn't change the fact that the device existed as "Mega Drive" on its initial release in Japan, and is know as that everywhere else in the world bar NA where they decided to name it after a book from the Bible (or an English prog rock band).

@KitsuneNight You should see how fast that freedom is rendered via Blast Processing!

@MrPeanutbutterz
Is it rendered at fifty freedoms per second by blast processing ?

@MrPeanutbutterz I'm aware. It was either a copyright issue or SoA just wanted a different name. I've read conflicting stories but I'm guessing it was a little of both.

As much as I love all things Japanese and would like to side with SoJ, the fact is that SoA made the Genesis a success by taking Nintendo head on in a way SoJ wouldn't. SoA is largely responsible for Sega's glory days and we got to reap the benefits of the 16bit rivalry they started.
It should be celebrated even if you prefer the name Mega Drive.

Like I said, I do like the name Mega Drive, but "Genesis does..." and the name is not going away anytime soon.

I'll let slide people of a certain generation continue calling it the Genesis, but anyone who still says Final Fantasy III when they're talking about VI should be banned from every game.

@Damo That isn't a requirement tho

@MrPeanutbutterz Imagine thinking the word "genesis" only refers to a bible or rock band. Where's the Star Trek love?

@SilentBluntman So do you say Geneziz?

This is a pretty great news and all the comments can talk about is how the Brits and the EU-like are miff'd that the Sega Genesis is the Sega Genesis. lolol

@turboxray "I shall leave you as you left me, marooned for all eternity, in the center of a dead Mega Drive... buried alive.”

@bring_on_branstons American here, I always find it weird when I read "Mega Drive" 😜

@bring_on_branstons Let's just compromise and call it the Mega Genesis from now on.

@KitsuneNight was it an Aliexpress purchase, hey if it does the job.

@turboxray

It's almost like this is a UK based website with a uk and European centric view where we are used to calling the machine Megadrive or something.

@Axelay71
No it was an ebay purchase.
From what I understand its a clone of one of the earlier basic Everdrives.

I generally prefer Real carts but I don't have much connection with the Megadrive.
Even though the Megadrive II was my first console.

I dont really care much for nostalgia.
I'm aware how weird that sounds considering where i am.

@KitsuneNight yes it's weird your here, but hey each to there own. I love retro gaming, prefer to have original tech & carts obviously games like this won't be on physical.

@montrayjak Not Genesis Drive?

@turboxray Nice! That works too.

Though, I think "Sega Mega Genesis" is fun to say out loud lol

So just how much of the game is actually here? Only the first stage? Half the game? Most of it?

Just gave it a go on both my SNES Mini and PC emulator. A short but quite enjoyable taster of what could have been back in the '90s if the game had been on genesis.

@AJB83 Exactly this, Im from UK and I don't really mind what anyone calls it. Obviously to me its Megadrive but its no big deal

Gave the demo a try last night, it’s just the first section of the first level but it’s pretty impressive, especially as I think I counted 6 enemies on screen at once (albeit with some flicker caused by too many on a single scanline). It’s missing the big skull clowns on motorbikes but the rest of the enemies are there and you can smash enemies against the windows like the SNES version.

I wonder if the SNES could have displayed more enemies if they’d used a FastROM cart? I know there’s a mod for Final Fight 2 that ups the number of simultaneous enemies from 3 to 5 also with some sprite flicker.

@Fake-news I tried it again just mere days ago, and man. It looks pretty, but it just plays like arse. I'm not talking about the difficulty even (although that is another turn-off). It just feels really imprecise and the small sprites make it difficult to get a good 'feel' for the gameplay. Maybe it's just me. I really want to love this, but so far I can't even like it.

@BulkSlash "I wonder if the SNES could have displayed more enemies if they’d used a FastROM cart? I know there’s a mod for Final Fight 2 that ups the number of simultaneous enemies from 3 to 5 also with some sprite flicker."

It's not a FastROM related challenge, but I think the answer yes, and on stock hardware too.

If similarly updated in modern times, I think it would be possible to display more enemies on Super Nintendo if we're okay with some more sprite flicker as seen in the genesis demo level above. There's plenty of examples to demonstrate how this might be achieved on Super Nintendo today, such as the Final Fight 2 hack you mentioned and the Turtles in Time Arcade Edition hack that I've seen display up to eleven characters on-screen but with a lot of flicker for example.

And further improvements could be made in the Super Nintendo version too, from the use of colour to the HUD and beyond, so there's plenty room for more there. It's really just a matter of someone actually doing it.