In Celebration/ Defense of Arkham Knight - Arkham Retrospective Elaboration 

I’m personally curious. Why did you decide to make another video? You’ve said for a long time that you had nothing else to say about video games, yet you clearly have a lot more to say. I’m absolutely thrilled by this prospect, but I’m curious about why you keep making vids.

This is a maturing video bro - critics are seldom as self-effacing and you are being honest and empathetic. It's definitely a positive rain drop in an ocean of sensionalist negativity.

It's so strange to find a video that perfectly encapsulates my feeling on this game, but here it is. I love every single Arkham installment for different reasons, and usually the answer to "which one is your favorite" is really just which ever one I played the most recently. However, Arkham Knight is truly the one I hold in highest regard. It's so refreshing to see someone challenge the nauseating and trite Jason Todd and Batmobile arguments in such a matter-of-fact way. Arkham Knight is such a gem of gaming and it's so unfairly raked over the coals for what amounts to poorly thought out regurgitated echo chamber talking points. This and your "Arkham Asylum is over" videos are incredibly thought provoking and fresh, and I appreciate the work you've put in. Adding this in after finishing the video, but wow what an ending. I've always felt like Rocksteady had something larger to say with Knight and that nobody had quite figured out what that was because everyone was too preoccupied complaining about the Batmobile they all begged for, and I think you've really done a good job putting it into words here. I'm very curious to see how this story continues with Batman in the Suicide Squad game.

Can I just say... I think something that went largely under-the-radar is the technical achievement of the Batmobile WRT to the rest of the open world. For example, in GTA you can drive around and knock things (and people) wreaking havoc which has always been fun. But in AK, it takes that dials it to 11. As in the previous games, if there's a lampost, or electrical wiring connecting two structures, or staircase baluster, batman can interact with these things (Sit on the baluster/lampo, tightrope-walk the wires etc.). However, with the batmobile you can now destroy all of these things--the batmobile butters through literally everything in its path. So now you have the portion of a marble baluster that batman can still interact with by crawling along its top, but it comes to an abrupt end because you yourself destroyed the rest of the ledge. Also, it's just amazing seeing the batmobile mow through an entire garden complete with benches and trees. Goddamn everything in that game was refined to a point of beauty.

I didn’t even care that I found out it was Jason at the beginning. The story drive me through the roof and it even drove my love for red hood and Jason Todd to a peak. I think after my play I ended up buying death in the family novel and just searched that shit. I played the red hood dlc like a religion. Man do I love red hood. And this game. Man do I love the Arkham series. Always including origins

when i found this channel i was saddened because i had just found a great channel just to see you wouldn't be uploading anymore. thanks for making my night a whole lot better by continuing to upload!

This is the best video on the Arkham series that exists on RU-vid. The game is a masterpiece that is still ahead of its time even today. Eventually another developer will create another piece of game art full of gripping gameplay seamlessly integrated to perfection with a brilliant and introspective story. The only difference will be that it won't be attached to a creative property so many people have intense preconceived opinions about. The main pieces of popular criticism are baseless if you're judging the game against itself and what the developers set out to do (as you did in the video). I am blown away by the detail and sheer beauty in the game five years later. I truly believe it is a game that the fanbase failed, not the other way around. Thank you again!

The Arkham series was my first interaction with Batman. I didn't know who the Arkham Knight was. I also enjoyed the game thoroughly.

Always appreciate your thoughtfulness Michah. Curious if you've read Toussaint Egan's piece on the architecture of Arkham in the zine "Heterotopias"- seems like it'd be right up your alley.

Your original retrospective convinced me that Arkham Knight is the best of the series, and reminded me how underrated it is by most fans.

I have only played Arkham Knight once ... I didn't understand it as much as you , but I could tell its main ideas , philosophy and that it was one of the best stories in gaming (in my opinion) . It didn't feel like a "video game plot" like the other three games , it went much deeper ... I feel really disappointed when I see "critics" not understanding this game's value and put its inferior predecessors on a pedestal

I watched this video at least twice, and 30:54 onwards multiple times, this video is fantastic. I already understood the thematic areas Knight's story was exploring but not to the depths you explained. I'm very into metephor in story and your explaination of symbolism in the story was so thoughtful it not only made me enjoy the game, even more than I than I did before, it actually helped me in the buliding and writing of my own personal story.

This is the best review I have ever seen. Subscribed.

So, I know it has been 3 years, but the RU-vid algorithms do their thing, so here we are I wanted to address Jason Todd's predictability. I wholeheartedly agree that it doesn't need to be unpredictable. We have seen Under the Red Hood, some of us even read the comics about Jason's return. It doesn't need to be a "twist". However, there's still something I did find unpredictable. Jason making at least some sort of peace with Bruce. There's been so many years with Jason Todd not getting any character development, and/or being inconsistent in different characterizations. Not this time though.

The greatest Arkham knight defense I’ve ever seen Great work man

While I disagree with your critiques of the other games in the series, I agree with your assessment regarding the common criticisms and talking points regarding this game, and I do fully believe there is more going on in Arkham Knight than people give it credit for, as well as those criticisms being blown way out of proportion in regards to the Jason Todd twist and Batmobile. Personally, I never saw the Jason twist coming, since, from my perspective, it was just like the Barbara flashback, reminding Batman of past failures, people he failed to protect when they needed him. It has been said by Batman in other media that failing to save Jason was what he considered his greatest failure.

this video has come out 3 weeks ago prior to my viewing so i don't know if you'll see this but i just wanted to sincerely say thank you. thank you for making this video. i always enjoyed arkham knight despite what people of the community have to say about it and subtly thought about some of the points you made in this video subconsciously upon further playthroughs , but i never really fully appreciated this game on the level you present. i love this series and because of this video i love it a little more. you presented your ideas in an intelligent and formal manner, you hooked my interest with this analysis in a thoughtful and positive way. specifically towards the end of the video you provided me with a new lens of interpretation to this game and to this character. i view this game as a work of art, and i view this video as a work of art. you can learn something from great art. so thanks.

I always loved Arkham knight more then the other games, I couldn’t find the proper words for why I loved it more, but I believe this explanation is why I love everything about this game. 10/10 everything I want in a Batman game

Knight is probably my second favorite arkham game overall. This game did have alot of ambition. The size if Gotham. No transitions from ending cutscenes or entering buildings? Thays big especially when it came out. This game polished all the existing mechanics of the stealth and combat sections really nicely. I will agree with what most people say that they forced the batmobile a little too much. The vehicle was a good introduction to an entire new mechanic. The world felt alive. You actually single handedly take down a fucking army from that city. And you feel the presence less and less as you take down more. That's a really cool part of this game imo.

I've been a huge fan of the franchise since playing the demo for Arkham Asylum at GameStop a bit before the game was released. I purchased a PS3 just for this game. I played through it a few times, then came Arkham City. It felt great to finally fly through the streets of Gotham. I've played through Arkham City probably at least 25 times total. Then came Arkham Origins... And well... Ya know. Then in 2015 came Arkham Knight. I purchased a PS4 specifically for this game as well in 2014 (around the original release date), then was at GameStop on release night. I played through the game and loved it, except for that damn Batmobile and those freaking Cobra Tanks, and ESPECIALLY the Cloudburst. It took me about a week to defeat the Cloudburst the first time. Beat the game and life went on. I played through it again, loved it a bit more. Now, at this point I've probably played through it upwards of 40 times (about 15-20 in the last two months alone). I freaking LOVE this game. I agree with pretty much everything that was said in the retrospective video. This is the only game that lets you "Be The Batman". I'm playing through it again right now, and am Happy to say that the Cloudburst usually only takes me about 10 minutes to beat nowadays. Love the retrospective. Would love to see more Batman Arkham videos.

I just bloody love the game. I can’t explain why.

I agree. This game as a few shortcomings (most game do) but the amount of works and care out into is not only astonishing but also clearly visible. People are unable to pick up on the subtlety of its storytelling and extremely good design. Good design is invisible I guess. Arkham Knights juggles with so many systems and yet manages to flow in between them flawlessly. My only nickpick is that the puzzles tend to be less qualitative than the older games, and because of that the gadgets are less useful outside of combat/predatory maps and we loose a bit of that Metroidvania feel while exploring. But it makes sense considering what they put their efforts on. ++ To your point about them doing exactly what fans asked

Great video. Most people who only talk about the negative without making ANY posstive to balance it out really annoys me after a while. Appreciate the effort. (This is also one of the most unique Batman:Ak videos ever btw😉) This has nothing to do with the video but because of my COUNTLESS hours of me playing Red Dead 2, Everytime I see the name Micah I read it like "MICAH!!!" With a southern growl. Everytime...

My biggest issue with the Arkham Knight being Jason Todd is that it felt like the story was written backward and I found that very distracting. Maybe I'm wrong but I can just imagine all the Rocksteady devs sitting around discussing "What are we going to call the next game? Arkham World? Nah. Gotham Asylum? Lame. How about the Arkham Knight? That sounds good but who is that? What if it's Jason Todd? That could work we haven't told that story in the Arkham games yet." Instead of deciding they wanted to make their game about Jason Todd they decided they wanted to make their game about Scarecrow and Batman going insane but needed the Arkham Knight to be in the game and to be an important character to justify the title.

Am I the only person who didn't know that arkham knight wasn't jason todd? I just played the game and I saw batman in a way that I've never seen him. Delusional and filled with regret and fear of failing himself, city and bat family. It was really beautiful. My favourite in the arkham series.

Hey Micah, thanks for these vids. Thanks for making me play Arkham Knight again. Thanks for helping me understand it and truly learn from it. Just thanks

Very happy to see a new video from you. I found your channel after all of your current videos had already been published, and honestly believed you had retired the channel or wouldn't be making any more gaming videos (I think that's what the Tomb Raider video said). Can't wait for what's next. Also, never noticed that 19:15 is possibly a reference to the Creation of Adam? Kind of like the painting at the beginning of City referencing the end of the game.

I always liked that this game tried to humanise Batman. "Joker" spell out Batmans fears all the time. Batman would never talk about them himself.

This game is so underrated and my fav arkham game imo, due to the fond memories I have with it

Seriously man you’ve opened my mind so much to how games are made in relation to other media and how it should be taken incredibly seriously as I’m currently studying film studies and I never realised how much you can relate theories of spectatorship and representations of mental health can be related to games, this just goes to show that comic book fans only see batman but people like you look at a incredibly detailed and interesting character that is finally getting the studying he deserves

I will Give Arkham Knight this It has the Best Cinematography out of all the games in the series

While I still disagree about the batmobile overall, this is a good faith defense of its implementation. I probably agree about Asylum's gameplay not aging well, but I'm not really sure about the Arkham City criticisms. Just as AK must be looked at for what it is doing, I think what Arkham City is aiming for, in a more comic-book vein and with overall different goals, a different telos, works. i'm not convinced that its storytelling was bad. But, that being said, I absolutely adore and will defend to the death the fact that Arkham Knight tells the best, most human and impactful story. It's one of my favorite stories in any video game. Your explanation of why it works, of the game's belief in human goodness and the persistence of the human spirit was beautiful. Your focus on the story's overall message, its themes, its focus rather than getting bogged down in questions of predictability is appreciated. I often tell people not to define the way they respond to a piece of media entirely by the way others are responding to it, and you hit on that idea well here. Find a way to engage with the work on your own terms, don't let others define that for you--great stuff.

Fantastic stuff man. Keep it up and I will be checking out other videos.

There is not a single thing in this entire video that I don't wholeheartedly, 100% agree with you on. You. Fucking. Nailed. This.

We need more people like you in the world, and especially the online one.

Please continue making things you enjoy. You're enjoyment is giving us enjoyment

16:54 Nah man he's just working on his cosplay of Shuma-Gorath

really happy to see another video from you.

I remember the excitement for this game , and looking back at the game , I believe it lived up to that hype. There was a video that came out I believe a week or so before the game released , that claimed the Arkham Knight was not Jason Todd, but Tim Drake. Jealous of Batman’s treatment of him and the way he’s handled the crime in the city, he becomes the Arkham Knight and joins forces with the scarecrow. I adored this theory about his identity and was so convinced it was true that it kind of disappointed me that it was Jason Todd. But in hindsight, the Jason Todd reveal was the best choice thematically. The game is about fear and how it manifests in all of us. Jason Todd is Batman’s greatest failure. He is afraid of letting that happen again, and must confront it. The game literally goes through every single one of Batman’s failures and greatest fears. His parents’ murder , Barbara Gordon’s paralysis , Jason Todd , the Joker’s death and the wellbeing of Gotham City. I loved every second of it, and want to replay it again.

WOW, just wow, first video i saw of you, 100% subbed and watching more :D

Thanks for making a game I love even better than it already was!! Have a good day!

we would be lucky as hell if ALL games where of the same quality as this game

On a plot level, I always interpreted the final ending with the nightmarish Batman as being about the lingering, long term effects of the fear toxin bombing, rather than being a case where this guerilla post-death batman is using fear toxin to scare people. The idea that he would even do that after going through the entire plot of AK is absurd to me. With it just being the long term sideeffects, the fear toxin serves as a device to demonstrate to the audience just how much Batman really still holds that power over the people of Gotham -- showing how, even as these thugs say they aren't afraid of him anymore, he still appears to them as absolute nightmare under the long term influence of the toxin. Do I struggle with how this seems to kind of put a positive spin on the fear toxin? Yes. But it's kind of much better than implying batman decided to start employing it for himself.

I expected to hate the Batmobile going into Arkham Knight because almost every person I heard speak about the game said they disliked it, but I think part of that reason may be because they were playing with a controller, I played with keyboard and mouse and the tank battles went by a lot quicker that I expect and were actually fun at times.

One thing I’m incredibly interested in is your thoughts of the soundtracks in the series overall as I believe its one of the most important pillars of a game, I remember you mentioning that you liked origins soundtrack but I can’t remember your thoughts on the rest of the games soundtracks. In my opinion asylums is the best as it adds tons of atmosphere to the game and for as much as I love Arkham knight I will admit while there some good tracks like all who follow the rest is kind of generic as even the main theme doesn’t come across like a batman theme and could easily be about any other character which is a bit shame as having a brilliant soundtrack would have just made that amazing game even better

So I agree with you on the Jason Todd predictability argument. It was plainly obvious and I don't think they tried hiding it. But to say I shouldn't pay too much attention to marketing and that its somehow on the fan for being annoyed at the marketing team lying isn't exactly a fair argument, If I want to know about a game what other choice do I have but the marketing? If I'm told a lie by the marketing department of a game studio am I not allowed to get frustrated with that, cause its not the game? That's a rough idea for me to wrap my head around since there is no other way to have info on a game. So if they say the Arkham Knight is an original character and then it's not, I feel people have the right to be upset by that choice, I personally wasn't but to completely dismiss that is a bit disingenuous

You know, I really loved this game. I think it’s about time I played it again.

Anyone know the ost that plays at 44:05 I love the quiet feel to it but can’t find what track it is?

My homie thinks arkham knight was trash so I'm sending this to him out of both spite and superiority.

What happened to that shadow of the colossus video you mentioned in this video

I honestly think you could take any game and have an honest, personal, human reading of some aspect of it. It's one of the reasons why I look forward to your videos. As for Batman, I use to think the story was serviceable. It wasn't anything special but it did a good job of pushing the story forward. You've convinced me that it is so much more than that. But I won't play it again because I'm simply not on board with the gameplay. Arkham Knight is antithetical to what I play Arkham games for. I want a small-ish hub world that houses entrances to several levels with gameplay that is a careful dance of stealth and fragility. I want smaller battles that feel like puzzles rather than reflex based brawls and metroidvania game design about revisiting these levels with new gadgets. Super Metroid's hub world that leads to the various areas is a great analogy to Asylum's design. I appreciate Knight's faster, chaotic battles. I love the tank sections game design, it's a fresh take on third person non-cover based shooting that focuses more on positioning than reflexes. I.....well, I don't like the open world but I don't like any open world so *shrugs* But I don't want those ideas when I boot up an Arkham game. I suppose a second playing would be better appreciated since I would be in the correct headspace for it, but the drastically different approach to design left a bitter taste in my mouth when I was expecting more of City -- which I already thought was a step in the wrong direction after Asylum. Anyways, thanks so much for making this. Even if I'm still not 100% on board with Knight, I do appreciate aspects of it more than I did before it.

Im so glad that i found your channel this genuinely make's me feel like an idiot for thinking that city was the best game in the series and not this one. You and another youtuber made me realise how good this game really is and have changed my perspective on this game. And I definitely am going to replay this game again soon. Dude seriously how do you not have at least 1million subscribers at this point it amazes me how you only have 4.23K subscribers at the time of me making this comment this. Like this is really got to be one of if not the biggest quality over quantity videos and channel iv'e ever seen. Great video and you have finally said what needed to said about this game and you'v now earn'd a new subscriber. And if you some how managed to see this comment since this video over 2 years old at the time of me typing this comment thank you for making this video and thank you for your time.

I just wanted to say something. Tank combat is only 20 percent of the entire game. It's actually been calculated by another person called That Boy Aqua. He mentions it in his video called "In Defense of Arkham Knight". It's just that video game "journalists" not good at math threw a random figure out there and that essentially coloured the opinion of players even without playing the game.

To be fair, I understand why people disliked or even hated why Jason Todd ended up being the Arkham Knight And it’s actually due to the context behind the antagonist When people first heard of the Arkham knight as a new villain, people were legitimately psyched for a brand new villain who knew all of Batman’s tricks. The question was who would it be? For months people speculated, but when the theory came out that it could be Jason Todd, people were actually in denial. Myself included. It would be extremely underwhelming seeing as it seems like a cop out to making a brand new character. So I think the anticipation behind the Arkham knight is what made the reveal so frustrating for many. Personally, I see why they did it, but the build up behind the antagonist in the beginning put them in a corner. People would either be okay with it or hate it. Even after playing this game to its 100% completion 3 times already, I still see that part of the story underwhelming. And yes you shouldn’t hold one aspect of the story as to why the whole game is bad, but to many to this day, it’s the one that sticks out the most. Not everyone is analytical. There are some that acknowledge other faults in the game besides it but as the main one that sticks out to many, it’s the go-to option. The game just like every other Arkham game has its flaws, but that’s okay. Everyone holds each game to their own platform, being either the best or worst based on the judgement of their experience. I have to say City is my personal favorite, but I end up replaying Knight way more. Something about the advancement in the gameplay since City/Origins feels much more better and natural to come back to compared to prior entries. I give Rocksteady huge compliments there, replay ability gives this game more ways to be revisited and enjoyed more so than the rest. On top of the fact for only 20 bucks the season pass offers more content than you could fathom for that price and the game itself being cheap now makes this game a must.

I'm an extremely small channel and I also hate it when my videos that I put the least effort into get heaps of views and when the videos that I am proud of get so much less views, I am still making videos that I put effort into at the moment even if no one sees it because it is my hobby and passion. I personally love all your videos and I am glad that you will be making more and better videos in the future.

Nice video , i fully agree with you, arkham knight is my favorite game from them all.

Excellent retrospective, couldn't agree more

I couldn't agree with you more. Obviously Arkham Knight is the best Arkham game, those other games are good but Rocksteady got better at making these as they went, so Knight is the culmination of that. If people are complaining it's likely because the PC port was shit when it first came out and people like to hold grudges. As far as the character "the Arkham Knight" is concerned, I think it worked great. People need to keep in mind that there are many Batman fans like me that grew up with the animated series but wasn't the super nerd type that had read all the comics. And so for me I hadn't heard the Red Hood story at that point. This game had the coolest suit, the most gadgets, the best open world, and the amazing Batmobile. And so for those reasons and many more its hands down the best Arkham game, Those other games are good for a change of pace no and then but if you really feel like embodying Batman then you play Arkham Knight! Mark my words in like 10 years or maybe less, Knight will be remembered as the best in of the Trilogy. As a fan of games like Windwaker and Majoras Mask at launch I am well aware of how people's opinion's shift over time when it comes to quality products that were disliked due to things like launch problems or pre-conceived notions, something not being status quo or what was expected at the time. And so later when the mob mentality's appetite is fed with something else then they soften and begin to see things in a more positive way. I guess we will see, but atleast we have made are opinions known here and now.

The reasons you listed are the reasons why this game is my favourite, it’s the only one I’ve 100% because it feels worth it in this game

I appreciate HOW they implemented the batmobile. We did ask for the car in the older games, but what we didn't ask for was to substitute at times substantial amounts of gameplay to be spent in a tank version of it. Don't get me wrong, they worked very hard on it, and I can tell, it controls well, feels well to drive, and looks cool. I know it's unreasonable to ask to remove it, as the tank is so crucially apart of the game, but I really would have preferred if the batmobile was just the batmobile, high-octane chases and speeding battles on the road sound much more exciting then a tank lazily sliding out of the way of automated fire.

What's the music at the end?

I loved the arkham series. I thought they couldn't get better than arkham city. But after playing AK, its a little hard for me to go back to the previous arkham games. Aside from arkham vr

This game is a masterpiece

This is an old analysis and I'm sure your perspective on your arguments and the way you articulated them has evolved a lot. Regardless, I think it's worth stating that, I would argue the drawback of the Arkham Knight's true identity being so "predictable" can be textual instead of just experiential. I didn't personally feel this way as I played AK, but I can understand an argument that it makes Batman, the detective in this mystery story, seem more clueless than usual in the face of all the foreshadowing. It's somewhat difficult to take how he seems to have three discussions regarding the Knight's identity, all with Alfred, to my memory, whereas a version of this story where Batman is much more proactive about trying to uncover this new threat is readily graspable. Speaking purely on an experiential level, it seems underhanded how, for instance, they so heavily downplay that Jason Todd was hidden away in "an abandoned wing of Arkham". I can't even remember if this fact is said at any point before the big reveal. In a universe with lazarus pits and with as unreliable a narrator as the Joker, it feels a bit like a connection Batman would have at least entertained...if only the writers had given him the reminder. That plays to how I can see this story feeling very out of character for Batman in a sort of contrived way. I bring all this up to add some much needed nuance to this overall analysis, even though I happen to be someone who agrees that AK tells a very good story basically as well as could possibly have been expected, with a wealth of fine touches that make it extra absorbing. Regarding these points, I actually think it plays into his characterization that he would have this blindspot for Jason Todd even being a possibility. It kind of shows, alongside his reaction to Barbara's death, and the lingering ghost of the Joker, and even the memory of his parents, just how much this version of Batman is so debilitated by death -- how much he refuses to process it

I totally agree 1000%

Keep it up man

I don’t understand what you mean about female representation as a problem; Poison Ivy’s powers are centred around seduction and her appearance reflects that(plus her death in AK was generally saddening), Oracle/Batgirl is not sexualised at all and apart from a confusing voice actor change and some terrible line delivery in Arkham knight she is a multi dimensional character. I agree that Vicki vale is there to flesh out knowledge of barman’s world and adds pretty much nothing, Talia is a waste of Batman’s time with terrible lines. Harley is a mixed bag as i feel that her presentation in Asylum is just sexy nurse but it makes sense in the context that she is trying to get attention from joker. In AC and AK she starts to break away from that but her dependence and infatuation with the joker is one of her pivotal character traits and flaws

Thank you finally someone that is not bashing the game. Thank you for putting into words what I felt while playing this game.

Great reading man

Thank You for this

dude, the batmobile is so bad ass!

I always felt the Joker hallucination is crueler and funnier than the real Joker. Am I alone here?

Really enjoyed it once you got into the flow...

Great points

It's okay, mate. It can feel very exposing to have a lot of people react at once to something you do. Just keep a level head and get outside as much as you can. Keep things in perspective and don't get trapped in the cave.

My ranking of the Arkham games is 1. Knight 2. City 3. Asylum 4. Origins

Thank you for giving me a new perspective, for this wonderful Game. I Tip my hat to you my fellow Batnerd.

First of all, great video. There’s really only one thing you said that I kinda disagreed with. I agree that the batmobile tank sections were well made, but i feel like just because an aspect of a game is good on its own doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t criticize it for its implementation as a whole. Personally every time a tank battle showed up it always felt disjointed to me. Obviously it didn’t feel that way for you, but I still think that calling any criticism of the batmobile petty, just because it is well made on a technical level isn’t really getting why people disliked it. Again, great video, and I’m sorry if this came off as rude because I really tried to make it not seem that way.

i realized something arkham knight deals with fear just like tdkr

I feel like the idea of the batmobile being overused comes from the fact that basically, every boss fight is a tank battle. I love the batmobile gameplay. & I don't think the batmobile bosses are negative contributions. The problem is that there are no melee bosses, which is, in my opinion, the primary flaw of the game. So, when I face Deathstroke after a ton of build-up, and am ready for an Arkham Origins style boss, & then I face him in a tank, it makes me irritated at the batmobile. I feel as though the batmobile robbed me of my boss fight. Thus, that feeling becomes "the batmobile is overused". It isn't, but that's why I think that argument comes up so often.

Makes me wonder his thoughts on GodzillaMendoza’s Video on AK

The batmobile may be in the game too much but at least it was well done. Dear God it could have been so broken and unplayable, I'm glad it wasn't. As for Jason Todd, I love him! I never had a problem with him, but I can see where people come from in regards to being a new batman lore fan and not knowing little things like Jason, he wasn't really established in the Arkham series, so yes, I can see how they make a point. And the combat is so good! Tbh I can't (really meaning it's more difficult to) go back and play Asylum and City the same 😂 the combat is juat too slow compared to AK

It's strange. I think you are almost the only creator on YT who has made a thoughtful analysis of the Arkham games. Most people really only give extremely surface-level criticism or analysis. "I KNEW IT WAS JASON!" .... uh, great job Sherlock. You pointed out something obvious that you can only be surprised by once. I think the creators made it obvious because it wasn't really a twist. That's why we never heard his voice in any of the previews. As soon as we heard his voice, we would know. The villain reveals of the game both occur early on. We meet the Joker hallucination and Arkham Knight at Ace Chemicals.

About the Batmobile stuff: I don't think people were really mad about HOW the Batmobile was implemented, rather then HOW MUCH it was. I think everyone would be happy as it is, just LESS of it. The major problem is how it feels like its SUBSTITUTING the old core-gameplay loop, rather then complementing it - thus taking away the fun from both, since the level-design for most main gamelpay segments had to be overhauled just by making the Batmobile a part of it, when they didn't have to be. This could be easily fixed just by making more IN-doors and ON-FOOT ONLY segments (something that was lacking a bit) with no Batmobile interference at all. The Batmobile could be more reserved for open-world and special locations that use both gameplay styles in conjunction (like the Ace-Chemicals bit, which i liked) and be less intrusive as a core-gameplay piller - AKA: don't make the riddler missions about races, AND DON'T oversimplify the puzzles JUST to include the Batmobile (a few solutions were kinda clever though, like that riddler trophy you get from pulling the thing out with the Batmobile, putting Explosive Gel on, pushing it back inside and exploding - those are cool and don't interfere). In other words, it should feel as an EXCEPTION, rather then the NORM. Think about how much more powerful would it be if used as a alternative/last resort situation for navigation/combat, making for special moments tossed throughout, rather then "oh, more of this again" like most felt when playing.

I for one maybe an idiot but I watched the redhood batman animated movie right before making this and I still didn't know it was Jason Todd. I didn't read the comic so maybe that'd why but I actually really like the arkham knight

You changed the thumbnail, also please provide a link for the game show you did where you played these games with your friend.

They need an Arkham game with the Batman who laughs

My biggest problem with the game has nothing to do with every single popular talking point when talking about the game's flaws, which I quickly got over (except for Riddler suddenly having an interest in making elaborate race tracks like what): it's the checkpoint predator scenarios in the open world and its lack of gargoyle surrogates cause a lot of the time when I just wanna grapple away after choking a goon out, instead of zipping away to a vantage point, I grapple to some building five blocks away

26:40 "If your telling me the tank battles dont make you feel like Batman something in your point of view is skewed, because that is Batman" I felt that💯💯

I don’t mind the Arkham Knight character twist but I don’t like how they made the Joker less scary and interesting by making his origin simply only have to do with chemicals instead of the turmoil he went through

For better or worse, the "problem" of Jason Todd's predictability has nothing to do with the game itself, but rather the insistence of Rocksteady that Arkham Knight was a completely original character even though someone with a basic, Sparknotes-level knowledge of Batman's history figured out what events were inspiring the story 10-20% of the way into the game. All they needed to say was that they were taking inspiration from some classic Batman stories everyone knows and loves, refuse to comment on the Arkham Knight and leave it at that. The negative reaction would have been much less than it was had they done this. I disagree tthat the marketing doesn't matter because it absolutely does. Marketing is all about the messaging being put out to the customer in order to sell you on the product, and they got a backlash because they weren't honest and, albeit innocently, insulted the intelligence of many of the people to whom they were selling the game. Still, you're right that whether or not it was predictable isn't so much of a problem so long as the story itself was well executed, which it was. Arkham Knight indeed had an excellent story, and it was the first Rocksteady Batman game that actually gave Batman a truly dynamic character arc, sonething Arkham Asylum and Arkham City didn't really do (and that Arkham Origins did first, and did it quite well at that). I completely agree with what you said about predictability. It literally does not matter so long as there's more to the story than the surprise. The people who put so much negativity on having a general idea of where a story is going to go are much too preoccupied with the destination to appreciate the quality of the journey it actually takes to get there. That's where the meat of story is, not its plot twists or whether or not you saw it coming. I can accept the criticism that the game overrelied on the batmobile to some extent, but the idea that you were forced to use it 24/7 is fake news. I myself got tired of using it halfway through the game, so I went and did hours and hours of content that did not once absolutely necessitate me getting into the car, at most using a button prompt to get it to remotely blow up a nearby wall or something. The story itself was majority out of the Batmobile, maybe 70-30, 60-40 at most, and for the most part, it was very well integrated into the story and the gameplay, and once you got the hang of it, it handled like a dream. Best video game vehicle ever, no contest. You were also not required to traverse in the car, so anyone feeling as though they were forced into the car if they just wanted to go from point A to point B weren't being creative (I feel the same way about people who call MGSV boring for offering the same kind of missions even though you could approach any given situation in multiple different ways to create a minute to minute experience unique to you compared to someone else playing the same mission). I swear, people forgot that you could just as easily and just as effectively traverse the map by cape glide for however long you wanted with little to no harrassment from the tanks roaming the streets provided you were a competant glider or didn't glide too close to them. Unless you wanted to complete everything in the game which then required you to complete all of the stuff with the batmobile, you could have spent the vast; overwhelming majority of the story and story-driven side missions that wasn't explicitly scripted for you to use the car outside of the batmobile and just glide around everywhere like in Arkham City and Arkham Origins. The only legitimately bad thing about thr Batmobile were the ill-conceived tank stealth battles. I get what they were going for, wanting to provide stealth and combat for the car as well as for Batman, but trying to be stealthy in a giany, tricked-out tank is stupid, and this was the one use of the Batmobile that felt unnecessary. I fully acknowledge the acknowledge possobility that i didn't fully understand how to "git gud" when fighting the Cobra tanks, but I genuinely despised those sections, and their challenge maps are the only reason why I refuse to platinum a game I otherwise loved. The tank battles, on the other hand, were a fun and challenging change of pace that made contextual sense within the story, and just driving around felt sooo satisfying. The story was phenomenal for all of the reasons you described, and it's why this is and will probably continue to be in my top 10 games of the console generation.MThe writing, the voice acting, the cinematography, the characterizations, character arcs and thematic messages were all great. The graphics and gameplay were polished to perfection (sorry PC master race), and although I don't think bigger is inherently better, and they could have and arguably should have made Gotham smaller, it felt like an actual place that was full of detail and believable scale (althiugh the idea that there were zero random civillians left behind and in need of saving is a bit contrived). It also did a good job of making the side stories feel like a more natural extension of the main plot, something Arkham City struggled to do. There are a small handful of things I didn't like as I previously described, genuinely not liking something being a first for a Rocksteady Batman game, but the remaiining 90% of it was undeniably excellent. If it weren't for those infuriating tank stealth sections and requiring me to do tank stealth challenge maps to get the platinum, Arkham Knight would unquestionably be my favorite of the series. The only reason it's even a question for me is because it was the onr Rocksteady game with a gameplay element I disliked. Literally everything else that carried over from previous games was refined to perfection. Nearly everything from the gameplay to the story was masterfully crafted and built upon everything that came before. The best thing about it is that it actually felt like a satisfying ending to that particular story being told across those 3-4 games on a thematic level without closing the door on the possibility of branching storylines throughout the timeline should Rocksteady or other developers decide to pick up and make use of those threads in the future.

wait, you *didn't* like Origins, City, OR Asylum? wha?

Can you explain your gripes on the series female representation? I always thought it was solid.

If Batman’s mind is creating the joker than how is he able to see those Jason torture scenes without much evidence to create them?

Good video but own your opinion bro no need to apologise for or justify your criticism of any games

I have 2 main problems with your defense of the Jason Todd twist: 1. It drives a wedge between the player and Batman. Instead of you and Batman working together to figure out a mistery, you're rolling your eyes at the "world's greatest detective" slapping his gob at things you figured out hours ago. 2. Twists absolutely contribute to stories on subsequent revisits. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Fight Club and I still find extremely subtle hints to the twist every time I rewatch it. When I replay Arkham Knight, I don't find any subtle hints, I only see Batman being beaten round the head with a stick with "JASON TODD IS THE ARKHAM KNIGHT" written on it.

This Dude talks just like Talos from Captain Marvel 😂

Ok, I liked the retrospective quite a lot, and still going through this one I will probably like it as well however. As some one who hated this game (PC launch buyer...) and is trying to get a better mindset around it. I do not think it is at all helpful, to tell people they should be ASHAMED of themselves, for pointing out that the twist the company outright LIED to us about to try and keep surprising, was painfully obvious. Really to me it is less about predictability, and far more about the utter lack of imagination shown with such a cool character (Red Hood) and the fact they felt they had to lie about this 'Totally new character!" In all the promotional material. I really think boiling all the arguments against that plotline to "IT WAS PREDICITIBLE!" then shaming anyone who has that opinion came off waaaaay to defensive and dismissive.

Really good vid, you're not popular enough

You have to make arguments when making such strong statements as "marketing is not the game." I agree with you on most stuff so don't get offended.