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BATMAN: RETURN OF THE JOKER
Walkthrough ver 0.1 by Kains D. (samael@merdenoms.net)
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REVISIONS
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Version 1.0 (02/28/01)
Added format and corrected a few mistakes.
Version 0.1 (unpublished)
Done while playing, pausing to write.
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INTRODUCTION
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This is a step-by-step walkthrough for Batman: Return of the Joker for
the NES (actually, the SNES version was never released). I expect this
document to be helpful for you to get through those difficult areas and
strategies on how to beat the bosses. I am not a native english
speaker, so email me (samael@merdenoms.net) if something turns out to be
wrong or confusing.
Skip the following paragraphs if you are a practical FAQ reader. For
the rest of nostalgic gamers around:
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ABOUT THIS WALKTHROUGH
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This was one of the first games I actually finished when I was a kid.
I borrowed it from a friend and finished it before he did. That
presumibly gave me confidence to become a Walkthrough writer. I'm kinda
surprised that no one had written something for this great game.
Perhaps it was the difficulty of the last bosses (yeah I got stuck there
and stage 3-1 was a nightmare).
Altough hardly superior (and easier) than the Megaman series, this
game is fun to play. Just forget about replay value. That makes me
think that the last Sunsoft programming team cared more about the looks,
sound, controls and fun factor about the game than its replay value (the
same with the Gremlins 2 game, which was also one of my favorite games
that I finished, and was made by the same team of this game). Remember,
have fun, that's what gaming is about.
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GENERAL TIPS
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-Scroll the screen before doing anything.
-Sliding is a good way to move faster. However...
-Don't act hastily or you'll end deep into hell.
-Duck, then shoot; most enemy projectiles will miss you.
-The C Gun is your best weapon after sliding, once you have it never
open any other item box.
-I refer to item boxes to those crates and boxes that conceal items
inside of them. If you shoot one, it will release another power-up of
the same type you have.
-Never slide against two enemies or bosses.
-Blast ground enemies as soon as they appear or after they shoot, NEVER
when they shoot.
-Try to be at the edge of any platform to jump to the other side with
ease.
-Charging is an unnecessary thing almost any time, so concentrate on
your jumping and aiming.
-Anything that moves (except for conveyor belts and running water) can
hurt you and can be destroyed (except for shots).
*Whenever I end a paragraph, means the screen changes (fades out or the
scenery changes drastically).
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WALKTHROUGH
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STAGE 1-1
PASSWORD: LPRZ (What's the point of this password?)
Fire the box, it will release a power up. Fire it multiple times until
you get a C bonus. Grab it, it's the best weapon of the game. Now
blast the enemy, grab the Batman Power-up and proceed with caution to
avoid getting hit by the spiked balls. Walk a little after the first
one to have the second one attack. The third one can be seen.
Ignore all boxes and blast every enemy as soon as it lands on-screen.
Use the elevators to go up. You'll find three motionless elevators,
jump on them until you can reach the next one.
Approach the gargoyles and blast them as soon as their eyes shine.
STAGE 1-2
PASSWORD: MDRR
Beware of the screen scrolling, it can crush you against the walls. Go
to the right side of the screen to avoid the cannonballs. Duck and
blast the gunman. When the cannons go ballistic, go to the left jumping
to dodge the explosions. A platform will appear for you to step in.
Let the scrolling carry you, jumping whenever it is necessary. Remember
to dodge to kill enemies.
STAGE 1 BOSS
Get near him, duck and fire continuously. If he jumps, slide or he will
stomp on you. Keep ducking and the flying devices he calls won't hurt
you. Repeat to win.
STAGE 2-1
PASSWORD: NMLL
Scroll the screen before you leap so you'll know where to land,
specially when you get on the moving platforms. As you may have
noticed, they follow the track on the wall.
Jump from the first moving platform to land right next to the knife-
throwing enemy and blast him (hope you still have the C weapon, if not,
get it at the item box). Scroll the screen, jump the knife the enemy
throws at you and high-jump (hold A) over the electric trap AFTER you've
killed the second enemy. Careful with the airborne guys, shoot them
after they've shot.
In the next level, blast the first gunman, slide against the second
(just to be cool). Get on the platform, continue to the left, get on
the platform, wait for the enemy to shoot then blast him. Proceed. As
soon as you get on the platform, hop to the right or you'll be hurt by
the electric wire.
Walk forward to fall and avoid the bullets. Kill the guy on the moving
platform. Scroll to find another enemy, blast him and high-jump to the
next platform and then to the ground. Funny enough, you may get to the
other platform if you stand at the edge of the first one. Wait for the
fast moving platform to appear and jump on it ASAP.
STAGE 2-2
PASSWORD: NWKL
If you want to kill enemies, charge (hold down B button) your shots.
If not (there is no score, anyway) you can avoid the first swarms by
moving to the upper-left corner of the screen, descending only when
needed. Charge and do not get close to the spikes or they'll hurt you
even if they do not seem touch you. When the white cannons appear,
release and the three will be destroyed (yay!). Move a little towards
the middle. When the enemy appears, release your shot. Forget about
the swarms and charge to fire against the flying motorbike; to avoid its
shots keep yourself at the same level or above it. The two flying
gunmen can be taken care of with one stone, er, shot. Voila!
STAGE 3-1 (Argh! I still have seizures whenever I remember this stage)
PASSWORD: LGZQ
Scroll (remember to scroll _always_) or you'll kiss two missiles (one on
the item box and the other to the right). Jump again after you've
jumped the gap, fire and jump the whirlwind again. *whew*. You'll see a
"staircase", jump on the first step or you'll be hit by the whirlwind;
wait for two of them then shoot the enemy. Notice the missing logs of
the bridge? Then, skip the gap. Scroll slowly and the missiles won't
hit you. Wait for the third to miss you before you attempt to jump the
gap -land at the right edge of the log platform-. Once you've jumped,
you'll be hit by a %/#% whirlwind (I've still have to find a way to
avoid it) and so, during your "invencibility flickering" kill the enemy
(ah, the sweet taste of revenge). Fall to the left the second frozen
waterfall to scroll the screen and make the enemy appear unable to hurt
you with his first two attacks. Blast him before he attacks once more.
When you get to another frozen waterfall -a small one, at the right edge
of the ground- jump as soon as you step on it. Now, don't move until
the missile lands, immediately jump the whirlwind when it's about to
touch you, blast and jump the second whirlwind. Scroll with caution to
have the first missile miss you, walk a little and jump or you'll eat
the second one. Carefully walk and jump to safety. Again, get hit with
the whilrwind and blast the $%/&! enemy. Walk from the top frozen
waterfall to the lower one to scroll slowly and make the enemy appear.
Pause and sigh with relief.
STAGE 3-2
PASSWORD: GPTW
When you land on the conveyor belt, jump again and rush to get past the
fire gyre. Check the "ceiling" for boulders of different colors; they
fall when you get close to them and hit you with their remains (two
smaller rocks). To avoid them, jump to your left when they are going to
smack you or walk to make them fall and walk to your left. Once you HOP
(jump too high and you'll die) on the platform hop and hold right on the
directional pad or you'll be hit -probably falling-. Blast until you
kill the enemy. After the fire gyre you'll meet an enemy with certain
gorilla tendencies. Fire as you jump, jump again to dodge the barrel
and kill him with another shot. Now walk to make the boulder fall.
Once the enemy throws the knife at the item box, blast it, grab the
weapon, kneel and blast the guy. Another item box will be laid for you,
ignore it, jump the knife and shoot two times, then proceed.
Check the ceiling and position yourself near the magma pit, kneeling to
avoid the spikes. Walk when they are ascending and almost on the top
and you'll get on the platform. Blast the spider when it appears or
wait for it to appear again. Proceed noticing how near the ground the
spikes are and blasting spiders before advancing.
STAGE 3 BOSS
Hop to the left and jump over the enemy to attack him from behind (how
treacherous!). Now go the right platform and wait for him to land near
you and jump over him again. Repeat, that is the safest way. You may
also slide under him while he hovers. and it's better to touch him than
to get hit by the lasers.
STAGE 4-1
PASSWORD: GNXF
Try to be in the middle of the screen to shoot faster (and old trick in
almost any side-scrolling game). On the second wagon jump and fire
'till you kill the flying enemy. Almost immediately another one will
appear, then a third. You know what to do. Kneel and blast the green
enemies that rise from the trash. When you get to two item boxes, keep
yourself on the first one to blast the flying enemy. Wait to jump and
dodge both the green guy and another flying one.
STAGE 4-2
PASSWORD: KHCN
Kill the barrel brute while standing on the second box before he throws
a barrel. If he does, jump. Do not stand too longer on the white
platform.
Dodge the shots from the rail machine by sliding or jumping. Fire on
the walls to hit the helicopter. You may go ballistic on the right wall
(stand near it, not right next to it) to hit anything in that angle very
fast. Do that after you've blasted the first gunman and you'll blast
the helicopter and the second gunman. Laugh with me kids,
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The next elevator is mainly the same, the only threat are the rail
cannons. Just jump and slide and blast any gunmen that lands on screen.
STAGE 4 BOSS
Go to the right, fire to the left wall if the cannon moves to the left.
Whenever it doesn't, turbo blast (that means spaz on button B) the right
wall to hit the cannon. NEVER let the bar on the top of the screen to
be full or you'll regret it. Destroy the small enemies that appear from
side to side. Keep firing and it'll be over sooner than you think.
STAGE 5-1
PASSWORD: QGVN
We start with trouble: Land where the "waterfall" is (so you won't be
dragged by the flow), duck and shoot. Take a step then jump so you
reach the edge and avoid the mines (or whatever they are. Cross when
the mine on the ground is falling, duck and shoot the diver, walk to the
edge and jump. On the item box blast while ducking, both the enemy and
the item box will be destroyed. Careful with the mines falling on the
next platform -jump to reach the edge faster-. Hop to the platform and
duck to dodge the enemy shot. After the second platform more mines will
fall, jump past them, duck and shoot. You'll get to a dry platform
where two divers will attack, kill both with one blast (ha, ha, ha,
ha... yeah!). Later, an item box lies on a long platform after which
you'll face a knife throwing enemy. Blast the item box, jump the knife,
duck and blast. Jump ASAP or kiss your life goodbye. On the first step
of the "stairway" another diver will attack; after the waterfall wait
ducking for the enemy. BLAM! Again, duck on the platform and kill the
last enemy to exit.
STAGE 5-2
PASSWORD: WBZT
Dodge the swarm by going up. Destroy the above white cannon then keep
yourself in the middle of the screen while blasting to safely eliminate
both airbikes. Go to the left, in the middle, to avoid the swarms
(don't move while passing between them or they'll attack). Blow the
white cannon. Go down to avoid the first swarm, then up to avoid the
second and destroy the cannon. Remain near the top because two flying
enemies will appear; the first one can be dodged, the other has to die.
A third one will appear in the middle, blast him to smithereens if you
want.
STAGE 6-1
PASSWORD: FFHG
Well, you know the deal, if it moves it can hurt you. Walk on the
conveyor to face a berserker gunman. Kill him as he appears and you'll
have no headaches. Scroll and blast on the second conveyor belt to kill
a knife-thrower. Duck if he managed to attack (don't worry, enemies
don't reappear once you kill them). after you've disposed of the second
knife-thrower, charge your weapon to blast the following berserker
gunman ASAP.
Slide in the middle to dodge the first beam, immediately walk against
the flow up to the beginning of the conveyor where you should slide only
to be hit by the third beam. Get through, quickly. Just don't take too
much time or the cannons will shoot faster making it impossible to pass
unharmed. Enter the platforms-that-cannot-support-your-weight-and-will-
fall-a-second-after-you've-stepped-on-them. Hop your way without
hesitation and you'll make it.
STAGE 6-2
PASSWORD: CKQG
When it starts, jump and blast the enemy (another headache saver). Keep
yourself near the left to have the spiked-balls fall before they can get
you into trouble. After the first one wait for another enemy to appear
and kill him, then jump the second spike-ball. You'll repeat this for a
looong time. Check the ceiling for spikes.
STAGE 6 BOSS
Your first encounter with the Joker. Those good reflexes you have
developed throughout the game will help you to win this battle easier
than it may seem. The Joker will throw bubbles (!) at you which take
5000 of your Hit Points (ouch!). Remain at whatever edge of the screen
you like -or end-. The bubbles are easy to dodge by sliding; while
damage to the Joker can be done at every time by jumping and firing.
Simple.
STAGE 7-1
PASSWORD: GPZT
The last stage (and a very annoying one, too)! A berserker gunman will
appear, blast him then duck in front of the candle until the swarm has
passed. Another maniac will land on the ground right next to the item
box. Kneel before the lamp (remember to scroll). Walk to fall on the
next platform and avoid another swarm. Duck when a third berserker
gunman appears sitting on a pillar, just after the two pillars or you'll
be damaged by the mechanic insects. Once they pass, the gunman will
attack.
Get on the platform past the bubbles walking and holding right on the
directional pad or hopping if it is too far -careful with that laser,
though. It seems you can't pass unharmed. The second laser is easier
to dodge.
Argh, this part is pretty anoying! Get on the platform and duck to
avoid the spikes. Then release down and jump or you'll kiss the
piercing metal... which will mash your brains if you don't walk to fall
on the conveyor belt. quick reflexes is everything. The third platform
will fall when you step on it so jump at the appropriate distance.
Proceed...
THE JOKER
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When the electric buzz-saws fall attack the green crystals fiercely.
Blasting the four will make things easier because you have to attack the
cabin up there -which will be hit when you attack the low green
crystals-. You only need to blast the cabin, but go ahead and try it
without disposing of the cannons. Slide to the walls, NEVER to the
middle, to dodge the red shots. The buzz-saws will fall about every 3
seconds, so press up and fire up to two times when they are gone. After
a few blasts, the shield will be destroyed and the Joker will receive
the full impact of your gun (his hit points should be less than 180
000). I know I'm asking too much, but try to win the first part of this
battle with your full HP. (Practice. Memorize stage 7-1 to get to the
Joker more easily. until you can win flawlessly -at least for the first
part.)
Hope you've trained your quick reflexes 'cause you are going to need
them as never before. The Joker now has two attacks, both which he does
shortly after he maniacally laughs. First, position yourself a little
to the right or left under the Joker NOT directly in the middle. Dodge
the fire by sliding to the opposite direction (if you were a little to
his left, slide to the right and viceversa). The second attack is
trickier to avoid. Now do position yourself in the middle and duck.
Two buzz-saws will bounce around the screen at random. They are not
easy to avoid. Once they near the Joker you may continue your attack.
Keep it up!
If you need any help, comment or advise, email me.
"Temporarily pacify this hungering."
-A Perfect Circle, "The Hollow"
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THANKS
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A Perfect Circle (http://www.aperfectcircle.com)
One of the best bands of the whole world.
My brother
Gracias por todo, bro.
You
For reading this useless lines.
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COPYRIGHT AND LEGAL DISCLAIMER
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This document is not meant to be used for profitable purposes. It is
meant to be for personal and private use only. It can only be posted by
electronic means without any kind of alteration.
(c) this document, Kains D. (samael@merdenoms.net)
All characters contained herein are or may be copyright or trademarks of
their respective owners.
"The Hollow" lyrics are copyright A Perfect Circle
(http://www.aperfectcircle.com)
Well. It seems you can't beat the Joker, right? Sigh... Just approach
the right wall, duck and shoot your C weapon as rapid as possible. It
doesn't matter if the Joker hurts you, you'll win. Is that easy, making
the Joker the easiest boss of the game.
