1. Panarama Cotton
2. Ranger-X/EX-Ranza
3. Ristar
4. The Adventures of Batman and Robin





I'm gonna say quite a bit on this one being the Bat fan that I am. Not everyone is aware that the SNES and Genesis versions of this game are both very different. There's also yet another completely different game going by the same name on the Sega CD that contains so-called "lost" animated footage not seen in the cartoon. Anyway, for a real BATMAN game, seek out the SNES game. For one of the best run n gun games on the Genesis that just happens to have Batman characters shoe-horned into it, seek out this game. I always love to point out the irony of a run and GUN game about a hero who hates guns and never kills. Anyway....
This game seems like a cousin to Gunstar Heroes in a couple of ways. In addition to your "bullets", which are actually batarangs, you have melee moves at your disposal. You also have a health bar and, also like Gunstar Heroes, there is a scrolling shooter level where you use the Bat Glider. Plus, your weapons are upgradeable so you can have a souped up version of a certain "gun" like you can in GH. The game certainly draws more from Treasure's masterpiece than it does from Contra or Metal Slug. In fact, it basically is just Gunstar Heroes with Batman. Fortunately, that means there's two player co-op and that also means you can play as Robin. The game is notoriously difficult. However, speaking as someone who has beaten it years ago, it's doable if you power up the right weapon and keep it throughout the game. If you die and lose your powered up gun, just reset the game. Memorizing the stages a bit helps too. The game is worth playing all the way through for its graphics and sound, which I'm getting to next
The graphics, while not beautifully animated in the style of the cartoon like the SNES version, are still pretty damn impressive. This is another one of those technically impressive Genesis titles that shows off what the system can do with some cool visual effects. A nice showcase game for the system. If there's one thing I can say for both the SNES and Genesis versions of this game, there are among both systems' best looking games
The music is great stuff. It's done by Jesper Kyd who has worked on movies and other games like Borderlands and Assassins Creed II. It's an electronic sounding soundtrack that is very dark, sinister, manic and edgy. I'd say this is the one aspect of the game that fits the license the most as the feel of the music really fits the kind of insane, dangerous city that Gotham is. Why the hell do people live there? This is the kind of edgy sounding music that sounds right at home on the Genesis too. The console's always had a certain rawness and edginess that made it different from the SNES.
Overall, I'd say this is one of the best Run n Guns on the system. Why it doesn't get as much attention as Contra Hard Corps or Gunstar Heroes is either because of the false myth that most Batman games suck, or perhaps because most people could never get past the game's high level of difficulty. For me, this is one of those games where beating it felt like a badge of honor (and I did it with the boy wonder too!)
A few videos to show off the nice visuals:
Check out the building fires in the first level. They look awesome
One of the game's best boss battles(Amazing music track in this fight too)
Another cool boss featuring another one of my favorite songs from the game
Those videos show some skilled play too, just to prove that this game isn't impossible to play through
Kickass song from the OST: