I'm not an expert on the Caped Crusader or his fan base, but I gather the television series Batman: The Brave and the Bold was controversial in certain sections of Nerdstanbul when it first aired. (Or was that Geekstantinople? It's some place where shares in deodorant are down, anyway.) This amuses me for a number of reasons. Mostly I just find it remarkable that we've gotten to a point where a relatively happy-go-lucky Batman who fights crime because it's the right thing to do - the Batman most of us first encountered when we were children - is more controversial than a psychotic one who beats up Robin and calls himself The Goddamn Batman. Oh, how the Dark Age of Comics did change the world. To put it simply, if you can only accept the story of a rich guy who dresses up like a bat to fight crime if it is taken as gravely seriously as it is in the Nolan trilogy, you gotta get some perspective, man.

Well, here comes the Brave and the Bold, swinging fresh perspective like the Hammers of Justice. What a breath of fresh air.


By its own words, the TV series was a love letter to the Silver Age of Comics, and it was pretty successful at duplicating the rambunctious fun of that era. Sure, there's a bit more irony and, sure, it's aimed more at kids than some previous Batman shows, but where's the harm in that? Have we really gotten to the point where superheroes can't be kid's stuff anymore?

Of course being a kid's show means you gotta have some licensed video game spin-offs. That's as important as crapping out a figurine of the Neon Talking Super Street Bat Luge. And, if you're lucky, you can get WayForward to design that game for you. Well folks, Batman got lucky. WayForward's DS version of Batman: The Brave and the Bold is, itself, a love letter to the Golden Age of Action Platformers. It's a fun little title that captures the spirit of the series well. While it lasts, anyway.

Generally speaking, this is one of those games where you run to the right of the screen and punch anything that moves. You've played this sort of game countless times before, but no big deal, because who doesn't love games like that? There's some rudimentary platforming, but nothing too tricky or complicated. For some reason this game reminds me a bit of Battletoads in feel, but with a straight 2D perspective and the difficulty dialed down from 10 to 2. And with Batman in it.

One of the main features of the TV show was how it teamed Batman up with relatively obscure Silver Age superheroes like Blue Beetle and B'Wana Beast. That's been brought over to this game to good effect. The main character is still Batman, of course, but each level comes with a guest star who you can switch out for Batman during play. Expecting Superman or Wonder Woman? Don't be silly. This is The Brave and the Bold we're talking about. Get ready to play as... Red Tornado!


Red Tornado? That's the guy who hates the ground, right?
It's all good fun. Each character has their own signature moveset that you'll have to use to complete their level. Plastic Man, for instance, can turn himself into a spring to jump higher. Green Arrow can use plunger arrows to make platforms for himself to climb. Aquaman swims really well and talks to fish, as you'd expect. These mechanics aren't complicated, but each character plays differently enough that it never gets stale. And, if you build up a combo, they'll team with Batman to perform a unique screen-clearing special move. Entertaining, even if you feel you've seen this sort of thing before.

The obscurity doesn't stop with Batman's team members. Apart from the Joker (who pops up for the tutorial) and the surprise final boss, it's mostly weirdo villains no one talks about these days. Get ready to throw down on Clock King. Gentleman Ghost. Gorilla Grodd. Scream Queen. These guys are about a step away from being featured in Wizard magazine's old "Mort of the Month" section. Some Batman fans might moan about all these cheesy characters popping up, but to me seeing these guys threaten Batman is half the fun. I've fought the Joker and the Penguin in video games many times before, so why not go deep into the catalog, for once? These wackadoodle villains really bring it. At some point you realize you're punching dinosaurs and shooting ghosts with explosive arrows. And you smile, because what cold-hearted person can resist this stuff?


Not the momma.
To keep Batman competitive with all these oddball side characters, you can upgrade his gear throughout the game. One batarang not enough? How about two? Three? Four? How about a rolling cape attack? How about smoke pellets? How about a, uh, beam sword? Ok, the utility belt gets a little out of control, but who cares?

The graphics and presentation are uniformly excellent. The characters have a pixellated SNES+ look that's immediately appealing to anyone who's ever played a video game. The animations are fluid and the whole package is just a joy to look at, from the Bat Cave to the custom title screens for each level. It's also a delight to listen to, with brassy, exuberant, big band music everywhere. It really suits the rollicking adventure, and makes me wonder why more games haven't exploited that genre.

So the graphics, gameplay and presentation are all tops. I must love the game, right? Well... Two significant problems: BTBATBDS is too easy and it's too short. And I mean it, this time. The clock on my 3DS says I completed the game in 2 hours and 17 minutes. That's pretty slight by any standard.

WayForward does try to expand the game with some decent extra content. There's connectivity with the Wii version, if you have that (I don't, but any DS connectivity is pretty novel to me). There are pixel trophies to collect, though they aren't particularly well hidden. And there are challenge modes that let you run the side characters through unique levels. This mode is fun enough, but I find it more notable for including possibly the greatest Game Over screen I've ever seen.


It's not so much that you failed to save the world. It's that you embarrassed Batman.
These extra modes are appreciated, but they don't make up for the scant material in the rest of the game. If this one was more of a challenge, maybe the short level count could be justified. But, as it is, this is a very easy game that's also very, very short. That said, it's also been out for a while. You might put on your detective's cowl and track down a copy for a decent price somewhere. I found mine for 5 dollars in a buy back store. At that price, it's a steal.

So that's my take. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is no classic. It's too short for that and probably too easy. But it is worth a look for fans of WayForward, fans of the TV series and fans of a Batman who isn't perpetually depressed. And it'd be a good, quick blast for kids, if you know any that like Batman. (Kids? Who like Batman?)

If nothing else, it's the only game you're ever going to play where Aquaman rides on the back of a gorilla version of Batman who, himself, rides on the back of a sperm whale. If that sounds appealing to you, then I wouldn't sit around waiting for the Arkham series to deliver the goods. This is your game.