Bat Boy
This review was supposed to be yesterday's featured article. A charming little treat I had sitting in my library for a few weeks that I finally had the chance to play as my backlog dwindles down, Bat Boy, was a very humbling experience. Partway through my playthrough, I decided "Hey, rather than using a controller how would using a leverless controller would be instead?" After all, action platformers and using an arcade stick is not the most uncommon thing in the word, especially for games with "beat 'em up" elements like Bat Boy. But then I got carried away and somehow it transitioned into playing rhythm games on a Snack Box Micro!?
Well, regardless we're finally here now and I have quite a few to talk about this charming indie game from Japan. It's not the first modern Japanese indie title I've played this year, giving Meg's Monster considerable praise as my favorite game of 2023 at one point. Based in Osaka, Sonzai Games and X PLUS GAMES created Bat Boy, a platformer that offers many influences from various titles and not a specific one in general. Upon first glance, Bat Boy is very "Mega Man" in appearance, a sentiment that I've shared quite a bit lately! With news of one game's return on Steam, this makes this the perfect transition to talk about how Bat Boy is very much not Mega Man.
The story involves the titular character and his friends from school who are fighting evil at moonlight and trying not to fail classes at daylight. However, while they didn't run away from a real fight, all but one gets captured by the big bad villain. All except Bat Boy, who masterfully swats one of the minions away. As it turns out, the minion isn't a "minion" but was the result of the main villain's brainwashing. Named Garuda and serving as the "tag-a-long partner," it's up to the unlikely duo to save Bat Boy's friends as well as stop the danger from a different dimension.
What impressed me the most was the art style of the cutscenes, reminding me of Cyber Citizen Shockman and its aesthetics. The difference that a game released in the 1980s versus a game based on games from that era makes was evident from the first level. Despite the rather high rating I gave Shockman, the game didn't age well especially when it comes to its repetitive levels, bosses, and overall inconsistencies. Bat Boy may be based on that era but the gameplay and platforming is as smooth as a modern game.
Bat Boy doesn't begin with many powerups, but eventually he'll have access to abilities including one that causes his sword to spiral in place. He can then jump on the sword and use it as a makeshift trampoline, yet the idle sword can also be used as a stationary projectile. Keep this in mind. Another ability that he has access to, upon defeating one of the early bosses, is the ability to slice through enemies in the air. This also doubles effectively as a "makeshift" air dash.
Most abilities in Bat Boy have their uses as both attacks and utility purposes. There are a lot of levels that require abilities to access hidden areas and like those found in Metroidvania games, they do a good job at teasing the player. While Bat Boy has a seemingly infinite number of lives, the player will need every single one of them. I'm playing a patched version of Bat Boy, which addressed several broken aspects of the game and toned down the unfairness according to the patch notes. Recently, they even added a "Speedrun+" mode that begins the player with all skills and tools needed to make the "perfect Speedrun."
So while the game is catered to the speedrunning crowd, it's also good for "middle-of-the-road" players like myself who may not "speedrun" but are savvy enough to pick up on certain things. Careful use of basic platforming skills will reward the player with bonus gems that are seemingly out of reach. Boss fights that I thought were unfair were also trivialized by simplifying a complicated solution. The best example was the game's second boss, one of Bat Boy's brain-washed friends who is also a master swordsman.
During this fight, I noticed he liked to do that signature "air dash" that I learned from defeating him, so I would use my twirling sword ability often. As expected, he would run right into the sword and if I spaced myself properly, he would run back into the sword trying to slash me once more. He does have a second phase and it was scary at first, but once I realized it was more of the same but with added theatrics, it was easier to defeat him...after the tenth time or so.
There's nothing wrong with taking many retries to finish a level or boss. I recall Crash 4 being one of the most difficult games to complete 100% for this same reason. However, the difficulty is fair and the biggest positive I can give Bat Boy is that it's not a roguelike! I have nothing against roguelikes but I've played so many I forgot what it was to play a game with a simple progression and not having to worry about losing my progress. Sometimes I don't want to do "a little better" next time, I just want to overcome a level and be done with it.
In that regard, Bat Boy may be the best traditional retro platformer for those like myself who are looking for a challenging game that doesn't hold your hand, but doesn't slip the rug under your feet and blame it on a bad roll. You will perish, a lot, but the game's style, music, and gameplay is too great to ignore.
Bat Boy is available on the Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. This review was possible thanks to the developers and publishers!