#caped crusader

Batman: The Caped Crusader video game

Released by Ocean Software Ltd in 1988, Batman: The Caped Crusader was the second computer/video game to utilize the Batman license Ocean Software acquired from DC comics in 1986.

Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (1986) revitalized the Batman franchise which suddenly turned Batman into a serious contender as a merchandising gold mine for DC comics. I don’t know if Ocean Software heard of the upcoming Batman film in the works and decided to pick up the license before it became a hot property, or if they were in the right place at the right time and the cards just fell in to place. The former would not surprise me.

As you have probably guessed from the ad, Batman’s main antagonists in this game are the Penguin and the Joker. Including the Joker was more or less a no-brainer since he is the pen-ultimate Batman villain (also: Moore’s Batman: the Killing Joke was published in 1988), but I’m kind of stumped as to why the Penguin was selected to be the second villain. I guess he was a popular character at the time?

The game itself was well-received by fans. It was pretty innovative in terms of game-play: the player had to solve the mission by finding items in-game and then make them interact with the correct in-game components - all while dodging villains and other obstacles. If you were old enough to remember owning this game, you probably also remember the interface was set up so that it looked like Batman was entering a new comic book panel every time he entered a new in-game area.

Another detail of the game that may resonate some nostalgia with old microprocessor owners is that Batman: The Caped Crusader was released on a magnetic tape for the 8-bit and 16-bit processors of the day. Side A of the magnetic tape had the game where you battled the Penguin, and side B contained the more difficult game where you had to battle the Joker.

The art for this ad came from BobWakelin.Wakelin was a UK artist who illustrated many covers for UK comic books in the 1980s. Coincidentally, Wakelin also created the famous ‘Ocean’ logo for Ocean Software Ltd (visible in this ad).

I don’t believe this ad appeared in any DC publications, just computer gaming/hobbyist magazines.

Batman: The Caped Crusader was available for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum.

If you’d like to know more about the history of Ocean Software Ltd, check out http://www.oceanthehistory.co.uk/.

NEW BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES! Batman: Caped Crusader, an all-new animated series and reimagining of the Batman mythology through the visionary lens of executive producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves.

READ FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

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