Highlights
- DC games from the 1990s have been overlooked and forgotten by many gamers, despite some beloved characters and treasured titles.
- Games like Superman for Sega Genesis and Catwoman for Game Boy Color were underwhelming due to limitations in gameplay, weak design, and poor animation.
- However, there were some standout games like The Flash for Sega Master System and Batman: The Animated Series for Game Boy, which captured the essence of their respective series with impressive graphics and enjoyable gameplay.
The DC license has offered an ample selection of superhero protagonists ready-made for video game adaptation. Starting with Superman for the Atari 2600 in 1979. Various developers have brought the Justice League figures to the hands of gamers over the decades. Among the most modern adaptations is Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham series bringing commercial and critical success across the 2010s. Prior decades would see mixed results in bringing the DC licenses to life in video game format.
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However, the DC universe does include beloved figures like The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel and has produced some treasured titles. Below are some DC games from the 1990s that have received little retrospective attention and have been lost in the collective memory of many gamers.
7 Superman – Sega Genesis
Following the success of their Batman release on the NES, Sunsoft was given another DC license to make Superman for the Sega Genesis in 1992. The platform gameplay is a curious blend seemingly taking elements of what made Batman a success and bringing it to the 16-bit graphics and arcade pacing the Genesis was famed for. Strangely, the game limits the use of Superman’s powers with only punching, kicking, and jumping available throughout the game's stages. His powers are limited to certain actions and collecting certain items and flying is only seen in cutscenes.
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The graphics are good for a 16-bit title and the start of each level beginning with a Daily Planet front page is inspired. Yet the lack of superpowers makes a difficult game design more so and Superman left feeling profoundly human.
6 Catwoman – Game Boy Color
Many games of the past are forgotten due to their time of release, being overshadowed by other titles, and their quality being underexposed to the public. However, many games of yesteryear are forgotten due to an abundant lack of quality, Catwoman is very much the latter. Released in 1999, the premise has the player traverse 9 layered stages as Catwoman to escape with a stolen artifact. The plot is arguably the only redeeming feature of the game; Catwoman is hired by criminals to lift a precious antique, but she’d rather take it for herself.
It’s entirely fitting the intriguing comic book villain, but the rest of the game is not. Weak art design, stiff controls, and poor animation leave this title entirely forgotten for good reason.
5 Superman – Game Boy
Based on Superman: The Animated Series TV show, the Game Boy release Superman arrived a year after the show’s debut. Developed by Titus Software, this action side scroller is a strange blend that often seems to bite off more than it can chew. Superman can fly and there are entire levels based around the mechanic, yet the controls and combat around this leave a lot to be desired. Much like the animated series, the player takes the role of Superman across 10 levels as Lex Luthor threatens Metropolis in his bid to bring down the Man of Steel.
Something of a missed opportunity for the Superman franchise on handheld, the minimal art design, poor hit detection, and awkward controls hold back this imaginative title.
4 Justice League Task Force – SNES
The mid-90s was a golden era of fighting games and the genre was seminal in translating the arcade experience to the home console. Among many titles fitting the genre was Justice League Task Force released in 1995 for the SNES and Sega Genesis. Based on the monthly comic book series from the time, the game’s playable characters include Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and The Flash among others. Unfortunately, the fine animation of these famed superheroes and many stages is where the promise of this title ends.
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Guilty of being something of a Street Fighter 2 clone, all the characters feel the same in gameplay and are all about the same size. Those looking for a chance to play an old-school fighter full of superheroes may well enjoy this, but as a fighting game, it is lacking.
3 The Flash – Sega Master System
A release exclusive to the Sega Master System in Europe, The Flash was a 1993 release based on a 1 season CBS series from 1990. A thoroughly unique title for its generation, The Flash offers some of the fastest gameplay available on an 8-bit system comparable to the likes of Ninja Gaiden. The pixel art is remarkably detailed and colorful and the animation is solid in this frenetic 2D action platformer.
Each level is presented as an ‘episode’ akin to the TV series, where the player must locate a lever to the level's exit and then make it to the exit in a limited time frame. Due to its region exclusivity and release after the Master System was discontinued across the US and Japan, The Flash has become something of a collector's item.
2 Batman The Animated Series – Game Boy
Among Konami’s many 90s hits was a quietly dropped classic on the Game Boy, Batman: The Animated Series. Released in 1993 to coincide with the popular TV series, this side-scrolling platformer takes cues from the successful NES Batman. Wall jumping and a grappling hook for traversal return as the player guides Batman or Robin, through several stages of Gotham’s underworld and famed villains. Where this Gameboy title succeeds is the remarkable capture of the animated series tone with brilliantly designed sprites, pixel art, and an atmospheric soundtrack.
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The game would receive a home console release of sorts in The Adventures of Batman and Robin on both the SNES and Sega Genesis. It was rebranded as the animated series also faced a title change, yet this handheld release is a brilliant side-scrolling with a surprising quality of animation.
1 Batman: Return of the Joker – Game Boy
Arriving in 1992, a handheld follow-up to the NES title, Batman: Return of the Joker presents one of the best-looking platform titles on the Game Boy. Whereas the original 1990 Batman title on the handheld used Super Mario Land as source material for level and game design, this sequel gives the first truly Batman-feeling game on the platform. Blessed with detailed and inspired animation, Batman: Return of the Joker takes the caped crusader through short, tightly designed levels packed with obstacles and enemies.
A game that’s ultimately for handheld and franchise enthusiasts, a lot of the game is let down by hit detection and clunky combat controls. This being said, the game remains one of the most graphically impressive on the original Gameboy.