Jaleco

January 1990

Sports

1-2 Players

Jaleco gives with one hand and takes with the other with this disappointing sequel to Bases Loaded.  On one hand, the sluggish fielding in the first game has been addressed, making it possible to catch pop flies that don't land right in front of your players.  On the other, there's an awkward new view of the field and the graphics seem less smooth than before.

Jaleco

September 1991

Sports

1-2 Players

The third game in the long-running but historically flawed Bases Loaded series goes a long way toward fixing the problems in the first two games.  The fielding has been completely redesigned... it's both faster than it was in the first Bases Loaded, and a lot prettier than it was in the second, with larger, more colorful characters.  All this makes Bases Loaded 3 the best NES game in the series.

Jaleco

April 1993

Sports

1-2 Players

The Bases Loaded series takes a step back with the fourth and final NES game.  It doesn't look much different from Bases Loaded 3, aside from some great artwork in the team select screen.  However, you'll quickly notice that something's gone terribly wrong when the game starts.  Your fielders are much less reliable than before, letting even the easiest grounders slip past them.

Sunsoft

February 1990

Action

1 Player

Batman was a refreshing treat at a time when video games based on movies were usually anything but special.  Sure, it didn't have much to do with the film aside from some nicely drawn cut scenes, but it was an entertaining and very challenging platformer, with an intense soundtrack and dark, moody graphics.  Fans of the film and comic will agree that this game does the Dark Knight justice.

Konami

January 1993

Action/Fighting

1 Player

The problem with side-scrolling fighting games is that they don't have enough depth or variety to keep you playing for more than fifteen minutes.  Batman Returns, a Konami release based on the Warner Bros. film, perfectly illustrates this point... it's got the same dark beauty as the movie, but that doesn't matter much when you've got nothing else to do but punch thugs.

Sunsoft

December 1991

Action

1 Player

It's the toughest game you'll ever love!  With its large, incredibly detailed characters and amazing special effects, Batman: Return of the Joker has some of the best graphics you'll ever see on the NES.  However, you'll have to work hard for this eyecandy.  It'll take serious skill to blow away the game's heavily armed foes with your reprogrammable wrist-mounted gun.

FAST FACT:  Ironically, there was a film called Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that was released nearly a decade after this game hit the NES.  However, Sunsoft's game and Warner Brothers' movie had absolutely nothing in common past the curiously similar title.  The film starred a new, futuristic Batman battling Bruce Wayne's most persistent foe, brought back to life with cutting-edge technology.

Data East/Interplay

July 1990

Strategy

1-2 Players

The NES isn't quite up to the task of capturing the look of this advanced chess game, originally designed as a showpiece for multimedia computers.  You get all the gameplay of the computer versions and even some of the digitized sound, but the graphics are a nightmare, and it takes forever for each piece to move (especially if other pieces are in the way).

Broderbund/Imagineering

December 1989

Action/Adventure

1 Player

Slather a little olive oil on Zelda II and you've got The Battle Of Olympus.  This Greek-flavored adventure replaces all the familiar landmarks of Hyrule with Mediterranean cities like Attica and Crete.  While the setting, level design, and cast of characters may be different, there's little else that seperates The Battle of Olympus from Link's second quest.