Batman accomplishes what I could only dream about....he beats on circus freaks.
The game does all of this well. It makes you feel like you are actually playing a game based on a movie. And it doesn't disappoint...at least for back when the game was created. You get to play as Batman and can use a few moves to hurt the Penguin's freakish henchmen. You also have a few bat-weapons at your disposal...namely Batarangs, and a grappling gun.
The level designs do a good job for recreating the Burton based Gotham. Certain landmarks from the movie make their appearance here, again giving you the feel that you are living in this world from the movie. The graphis are great, especially the cutscene graphics. Actually, the cutscene graphics are amazing for the NES. They look nearly 16 bit quality. I know ..."oooooooh 16 bit graphics...how impressive!!" ....jerks. Well, back when we were kids, it WAS impressive. It was awesome to see Catwoman and the Penguin on our little video game. We were happy to move a batman of our very own across the screen. We were grateful to have a total of two buttons to control our character!! So there.
The game does a lot to mix up the gameplay too. You of course fight hordes of circus midgets, but you also get to fight mini-bosses, grapple into open windows, drive the Batmobile, and drive the bat-boat-sewer -skimmer-thingy.
For an NES game, it's awesome. And it's really hard. Sometimes it gets so hard that you want to take the controller and toss it in a blender...just like in the olden times. You feel embarrassed that you just got your ass handed to you by a couple of sultry, knife-tossing, yack ladies. But despite all that, it's still a fun game.
I recommend this game for a bit of nostalgia. It reminds you of the good old days when superhero movies were new, and going to the theater was a pleasant experience you looked forward to. I no longer look forward to going to the movies...I now look forward to going to the circus and busting some heads.