History of Batman Games (1986 - 2023) | Documentary

A full history of the Batman game franchise. From Ocean Software's original Batman game in 1986, to his upcoming appearance in Rocksteady's highly anticipated "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League."

Celebrate 37+ years of one of the most iconic heroes in all of video gaming. Batman has evolved significantly in gaming form, starting off as a series of movie tie-in platformers and beat-em-ups, into the massively popular Batman Arkham series by Rocksteady. This documentary will cover it all, including: Batman the Movie, Batman Returns, Batman Begins, every mainline Arkham game, and everything in-between!

(The following were excluded either because they weren't relevant to the discussion, or because I plan to feature them in a separate video: Batman: Brave and the Bold on Wii, Lego Batman 1-3, Justice League games, and the Injustice series.)

Join me as I detail each and every game, breaking down their development history, storyline, gameplay features, visuals, and their critical reception, all backed with each game's original soundtrack.
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GOGcom Sponsorship Information:

This video is brought to you in part by GOG.com. Use the link to buy several Batman games for cheap! Any purchases made using the following link will help support this channel.

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Twitter: @nick930gaming

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Even the smallest donations help me make these videos! (I record all of my own footage and need to purchase several old games for the footage)

This video was an immense undertaking, more so than any other video I've ever worked on. I initially planned to only cover the Arkham games, but decided that you all likely expected to see more - so I went out and purchased dozens of classic Batman games, read through hundreds of comics, watched EVERY batman film, EVERY television show, and poured countless hours in to make sure things were accurate. But even so, there are bound to be errors as I'm doing all of this work solo. Please feel free to let me know in the comments if you spot one! Now sit back, grab a drink and enjoy the ENTIRE History of BATMAN!

This one's for you Kevin Conroy.

Table of Contents
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00:00 Intro
01:17 Summary
02:46 Batman in Comics
05:48 Batman in Television
06:40 Batman in Film
07:41 Bat-Man (1986)
08:48 Batman the Caped Crusader (1986)
09:17 Batman: The Movie Videogame (1989-1990)
12:17 Batman: Return/Revenge of the Joker (1991-1992)
15:20 Batman Returns (1992-1993)
17:01 Batman the Animated Series (1993-1994)
19:56 Batman Forever (1995-1996)
22:01 Batman & Robin (1998)
23:59 Batman PS2 Games (2000-2005)
24:53 Batman Vengeance (2001)
26:00 Batman Rise of Sin Tsu (2003)
26:47 Batman Dark Tomorrow (2003)
31:30 Batman Begins (2005)
36:55 Rocksteady's Origin
39:31 Batman: Arkham Asylum Development
46:38 Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
01:01:26 Batman: Arkham City Development
01:04:43 Batman: Arkham City (2011)
01:20:18 Batman: Arkham Origins Development
01:24:27 Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)
01:36:55 Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013)
01:43:30 Batman: Arkham Knight Development
01:46:41 Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)
02:04:31 Batman: Arkham VR (2016)
02:09:40 Batman: The Telltale Series (2016)
02:13:12 Batman: The Enemy Within (2018)
02:15:49 Gotham Knights Development
02:17:44 Gotham Knights (2022)
02:25:50 Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2023)
02:27:31 Conclusion
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Special thanks to:

Digital Foundry's John Linneman - we discussed putting in a cool Scarecrow sequence, but I came down with an illness in the last week and had to shelf the idea.

#Batman #Documentary

[Nick]

Corrections/Notes:

-copyright claim has forced me to mute a small 2min section of the arkham city section. Cool Warner. Real cool..
-LEGO Batman, Injustice, and Batman: Brave and the Bold are not included either because I plan on covering these in separate documentaries, or because they weren't relevant to the evolution of Batman in gaming.

Special GOG.com Batman Sale:

[brainbirdtm]

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a new 2 hour + video from you, Nick. Absolutely love these retrospectives and documentaries, thank you so much for the work you put into them!

[spigui]

I appreciate the Kevin Conroy dedication. Still pretty hard to accept he's gone with how massively he shaped my childhood.

[SalazarKnight]

Another fun fact about Arkham Origins: it does feature one of the original voice actors from the animated series and that's Robert Costanzo as Harvey Bullock!

[eiadtarabulsi]

The tribute to Kevin Conroy brought a tear to my eye. That was absolutely beautiful! He gave me, and a lot of people so many amazing, and unforgettable memories over the years. R.I.P. Kevin Conroy. God rest his soul. He was an amazing, humble, and talented human being with a big heart. Truth, vengeance, and justice. He was the definitive Batman. Out of the shadows, and into our hearts. He was a living legend until his last breath. I can't believe that he passed away. My mind still can't process the fact that he's gone. I never met him but, I feel like I lost a great friend. He was kind, talented, and an absolute gem of a human being, and a diamond in the rough. I miss you so much! Thanks for the wonderful memories! Thanks, once again Nick for another stellar video! It was awesome from beginning to end. I'm sure that it took you a long time to make it, but it was well worth the time, and effort. I'm currently playing a few games (A Plague Tale Requiem, Spider-Man, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Mad Max). I'm going to start playing Batman: Return to Arkham as soon as I'm finished with those 4 titles. Having said that, Thanks, once again Nick for everything that you do, and for the continued hard work! It really means a lot! God bless and stay safe!

[mellangard]

I've watched 10 minute videos that feel like 30 and 4 hour videos that feel like 3 but I've never experienced watching a 2 and a half hour long video in what felt like 20 minutes, this video is probably your best work yet!

It was concise and straight to the point while at the same time delving into important and interesting details, the research needed to create something like this is out of this world. Well done Nick!

[DanAllenGaming]

Quality content! Great job and RIP Kevin! ❤️

[FitchTV]

rest in peace Batman, we know, no matter how far you are, you're always here when the night falls, Kevin, Adam. there will never be any other actors that did the job of batman so well it arguably helped form who the character is today more than any other pieces of non-paper media. God Bless, Rest. From all of us who feel hope, and have our hair raise when see a bat signal, we love you both so much. rest in peace, our batmen.

[after-hours]

Rest in peace Kevin Conroy you were the vengeance you were the knight you are Batman

[michaelolsen]

My god i love the Arkham trilogy. I wasn't a Batman fan at any level but Arkham asylum changed that. I love these games to death. I complete at least one of them every year.
It pains me to think i will never get a new Batman arkham game.
R.I.P. Kevin. You were and will always be the Batman.

[nathandrake]

Immediately want to say thank you for this work Nick. One of my all time favorite series and I've been so excited for this video

[psychotropictraveler]

Another banger. The fact that you don't have AT LEAST 1 million subs is actually criminal. Your Docs are simply fantastic man. In my opinion, you and Gvmers are the best of the best when it comes to these kinds of videos. Can't wait to see what you have in store next.

[WarpingFist]

I always have huge respect for creators who put so much effort into creating these documentary style videos. Especially when it comes to superhero media like Batman 😁 thank you for making this.

[ardent]

Wow, what an absolutely legendary documentary! I remember playing the Acclaim video game based on the first Joel Schumacher film, I was never able to finish it, there was a level where you go to the circus and I could never get past that level. I also remember playing the semi-open world game based on the second film where you get to drive the batmobile, the one that was pre-GTA, I never finished that either as it was a pain to play. Of course I've also played the Arkham series and I've completed Arkham Knight 100% 3 times, once on Xbox and twice on Playstation, I've also completed the two telltale games thanks to them being on Xbox Live Gold. This documentary really brings it all home, what a long history Batman has had. This documentary should be on more than just youtube, it could be on television, it's just so outstanding. Thank you for making this as well as all your other documentaries, the passion you put into making these really makes gaming worth it.

[TampaTec]

This is the most in depth documentary for batman games. Seems like near end of 2d batman games Era were masterpieces but that transition from 2d to 3d batman games was rough. My favorite batman games was batman nes, arkham city and arkham knight.

[jgamer]

I still remember watching the animated series with my sis. It not only introduced us to Batman but super heroes as a whole. RIP Kevin. You'll always be Batman to me.

[adamfrazer]

Appreciate the massive lengths you've gone to (as you never fail to)in covering such a legacy and all the stops along the way.

Many thanks 👍🍻🇨🇦

[ALL_that_ENDS]

Oh my goodness, Nick930 is back! And with an intro dedicated to the one true Batman, im all in.

[daviesnp]

An INSANE amount of work went into this video, just wanted to say I really appreciate your work! Really enjoyed it! 🤘

[mskiara]

Thank you for taking the time to create this lovely documentary and provide a detailed history of Batman in general. I have not played the Batman Arkham or Injustice series yet, but have got the chance to play Batman on SNES as a child.