PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - Part 4 of 4

This is it. It's just this stage between you and The Joker...and beating The Joker is no easy task.

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Stage 4: Limestone Caverns

When you run to the right at the start, keep holding Right and do not jump. Crouch punch the guy with the rocket launcher away from you. Drop straight down where the water fall is, then make your way to the right. When you approach the elevator platform, duck down to avoid being shot by the guy with the rocket launcher. Take the middle path and keep jumping off the platforms to reach the next area. Punch the rocks to break them, then get the rocket launcher guy out of your way. Take the platform to the right and crouch down to avoid being blasted by another rocket launcher guy. Knock him into the pit (or beat him up), then go right, wall jump and take the platform down. Be ready to wall jump to the left to avoid being blasted by - you guessed it - another rocket launcher. The end of the section is to the right.

For the second section, stick to the bottom and watch out for falling rocks and ninjas. At the two falling platforms that are coming up next, hold right on the second one to go through the wall for the final health extension of the game. You should have eight units of health at this point. Keep going right. The ninja on the next platform will jump away. Keep jumping carefully to the right once you reach the top. Use the Batarangs you got with the health extension to keep the ninja away when you drop down to the end, and watch for falling stalactites. When the ninja is gone, head to the right to face The Joker, who does a little dance at the beginning of the battle..

The Joker has two phases. You'll also have a magnet that doesn't show up on Easy, and that magnet not only slowly follows you around and absorbs any thrown Batarangs, but also carries you up, forcing you to hold Left or Right in order to slowly struggle free. 

For the first phase, get in close and punch him. If he jumps, you'll want to jump with him. If you're inside where his sprite is standing, do a crouch punch. He will shoot a boxing glove at you at times; jump over it. If you manage to get away from him, stay there and get the magnet to come to you. If you're far enough away from The Joker, The Joker will just stand there, and you can use this as an opportunity to change the pace of the battle. From there, approach The Joker and get your shots in again. Whatever you do, don't just run at him; he will smack you with his cane, which has more of a reach than you would think. Also, keeping your health high during the first phases is absolteuly essential; you'll need all that health for phase two.

Once he goes down, it's time for the second phase. The Joker will be moving around no matter what this time, so you'll have to be a little more creative with him. You may have to use the magnet to your advantage by hitting him while you're in mid-air, and other times, you'll have to use the same tactics as the first phase to get your shots in.

During both phases, if you can trap The Joker in the corner and punch him multiple times, do it. It'll make the battle easier. Just don't expect it to happen very often.

Once you beat The Joker again, The Joker is down and heading for another trip to the Arkham Asylum. You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - Part 3 of 4

After the craziness of the Machine Shop, the Train ends up being the easiest part of the game.

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Stage 3: The Train

The only enemy you will be meeting here is the football player that will run at you. While you can punch them as they run at you, you can also jump over all of them and hurry through the stage if you know how. There is a big heart pick-up at the end of the second section, the hard part is keeping all the enemies at bay so you can get to it.

The boss here is Foul Ball, who looks like the enemies from Stage 1 and is super easy to fight. To beat him, all you have to crouch punch him, jump over him as he slides, jump over him as he slides again, then crouch punch him again. Repeat until he's dead.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - Part 2 of 4

Manami Matsamae, who worked on the music for this game - if the stage select music is any indication - came up with some interesting music for this game, and the music here is a frantic little number. Also, this is where things get a little more difficult.

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Stage 2: Machine Shop

Be careful and gently tap A while running to avoid the crushers. After the crushers, stay low and jump off the exploding blocks as soon as you get on them to get the health extension. Once you get it, make your way up through the next pipe and be ready to jump as soon as you come out. Make sure you get the Batarangs, you'll need them soon.

The ninja enemies all over this stage will throw kunai at you and move around a little strangely when you approach them. This can make tangling with them a pretty odd thing to do, so if they somehow get close, hit them. They can also block your Batarangs, too.

Go up near the end of the first section for a big heart pick-up.

Next up is the tank. Stand at the front of the tank and throw Batarangs at the guy driving it until he goes down. That's it. Otherwise, you're getting in close and taking a lot of damage.

Stay up high in the third section. Wait for the block stacks to form to jump across them, and use the grappling hook to get past the last guy at the end. There is a big heart pick-up in one of the pits near the end.

The boss here is the Shogun Warrior. Your best bet is to corner him as quickly as possible and keep punching him. He can hit you with his sword and also throw shurikens at him. You have to get inside of his sprite and punch him from within to avoid getting hit if you can't do that, and he can hit you more easily than Dark Claw could. With practice, you'll definitely be able to beat him, but he is the hardest of the first three bosses in the game.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - Part 1 of 4

The Joker has returned again, this time on Game Boy. Guess we gotta stop him.

Next | End

You can play the first three stages in any order, but you must beat them all to get the fourth and final one.

Stage 1: The Sewers

Left and Right let you move around, Down ducks, B punches, A jumps, and Up lets you fire the grappling hook up and forwards. Batman is pretty slippery and does not stop on a dime, so you want to be careful as you move around and not force things.

If you are near a wall and facing it while in mid-air, you can press A to do a wall jump.

Batarangs give you a limited amount of Batarangs to throw. The game never tells you how many you have; you'll need to keep track of that mentally. Also, they end up being sort of useless, as you can't use them against bosses and there are quite a few enemies who can block them.

The guys in the hats are enemies and have to be hit several times to beat them. Sometimes, they will drop a small heart to refill one unit of health. Meanwhile, there are big heart icons that recover three units of your health.

Using the grappling hook is easy if you know how. If you can keep off ceilings, floors and walls, you can keep using A and Up to keep swinging forward on ceilings and reach stuff you may not otherwise be able to find.

Eventually, the water will start rising and falling. If you touch it in any way, it will hurt you.

The waterfalls that fall down every so often just push you back, but they can damage enemies. They can, however, also push you down into bottomless pits if you don't time your jumps right.

If you know what you're doing in the second section, you can get to the pick-ups in the upper-left corner. Also, if you stay high in the third section, you can find an icon with a heart on it and the word "UP" on it. This increases your health maximum by one point. Also, you have continues for lives, and if you die, you'll have to use a continue. Use all your continues, and it's back to the beginning of the game if you die again.

As for the third section, there are crates you can break and get small hearts out of, and there are also conveyor belts that will push you back.

Get rid of all your Batarangs before facing the boss. While it looks like you may be catching your Batarangs after throwing them, you're actually using them up. Again, all bosses block the Batarangs, as do some of the normal enemies in the game.

The boss is Dark Claw. Interestingly, normal enemies can do contact damage, but bosses cannot; they actually have to actively attack you in order to hurt you. As Dark Claw is jumping around, you want to jump towards him and punch multiple times. Another thing that you can do is get him in the corner and keep punching him. Since Dark Claw (and the rest of the bosses) don't have invincibility frames, trapping him in the corner and repeatedly punching can do a ton of damage. 

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 7 of 7

It's time for the final battle with The Joker!

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Stage 7-1

Password: GPZT

Every so often, you'll see a bunch of flying robots come out of the ground and fly over your head in a semi-circle before going back down. Go slow through this stage so they don't get a jump on you. After enough trial and error, you'll know exactly when they'll show up and where you need to stand (and sometimes duck) when that happens. You'll need to duck at the first two torches, then jump back at the third. Between the fourth and fifth, you'll need to duck. Also, the snipers will jump back when you get near them, even if they're someplace high up where you can't reach them, so take them out on sight.

The second section (complete with a shaking computer-board style background, which is amazing considering the NES system specifications) will test your patience to the max. The first part is simple compared to the second part, where you'll jumping on platforms and ducking under spikes.

You'll also have to watch out with some part of the ceiling, especially at the last jump of the stage. Bubbles will come out every few seconds, and they will damage you if you touch them. Take out as many as you can before moving on.

On the last bit, duck under the spikes on the first platform, jump to the second platform, jump to the right immediately, jump to the third platform and then jump to the right before you fall into the pit. 

Stage 7-2

It's Batman vs. Joker, round two! This time around, it's going to be somewhat more difficult.

The first fight is really, really easy if you have the Cross Bow. Walk up to the right wall, duck down and keep firing at the wall. The Cross Bow weapon's shrapnel will ricochet right into the Joker's machine's weak spot, which happens to be where the control panel is. You'll take damage, but Joker's health meter will go down really quickly as long as you keep mashing the fire button.

If you don't have the Cross Bow, you'll have to slide around a whole lot and avoid the center, then shoot down the orbs before shooting down the head. If you can be in the air when the orbs fire at you, that's great.

I go the hard way for the second part, though. I stand off center, then slide towards The Joker just before The Joker shoots down the fireballs. When he he has his hands up in the air, the fireballs are about to come down. As for the twin shurikens, I jump over one of them when they come down towards me, then go back to the center without getting hit. I could have kept to the side and 

Once you beat the Joker here, that's it. There's no second form. You've done it. Enjoy your ending.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 6 of 7

I did so well with this boss with and without the Crossbow that I ended up posting both battles here. Cool thing, as this game isn't getting any easier.

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Stage 6-1

Password: FFHG

For the first section, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts and well-animated rotating spikes, and be ready to shoot down enemies. This is easy compared to the second section. For the red beams, wait for them to hit the bottom of the beam field before sliding past them (which is something I don't do here, because they never gave me trouble). You'll soon three of these beams next to each other. You'll have to move slowly and careful to get past them in one piece. The platforms you'll see shortly after that will turn red and fall when you stand on them, so you'd better be able to make it to the right without having much time to think.

When you enter the third section, the music stops. The tank in the background will rev up and start moving. This is the build-up for the next level.

Stage 6-2

Password: CKQG

Here, you'll be keeping up with the tank in a slow auto-scrolling segment. As it moves to the right, stay next to the tank near the "329" to avoid the firebombs, and jump over any of the spiked balls that hit the ground. If some guy pops his head out of the tank and starts throwing bombs at you, look up and take him out.

Don't be too far to the right as the tank moves to the left through this section, as the ground behind the tank will fall.

If the guy in the tank hits a low ceiling as his head is exposed, he'll take a hit.

Stage 6-3

This is the first fight with the Joker. Oh my gosh, he's so detailed along with most of this game that this could have been ported to the Super Nintendo instead of the Genesis/Mega Drive (where it was titled "Revenge of the Joker" and released by another developer, Ringler Studios). Actually, a Super Nintendo version was in development - and completed - but was been released. Thankfully, somebody found the ROM and it's easily available.

Avoid the bubbles he shoots out from the sides, as they can take you out with just a few hits. Stay on one side of the screen and nail him from there by jumping and firing. That's it, really. When you beat him, Joker flies away on a mini-copter strapped to his back.

Enjoy the two boss battles: one with the crossbow, and one with the default shot. Good luck trying to do that second one; that's gonna hurt your hand!

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 5 of 7

The top video is the old upload; the bottom video is the fixed upload with the correct audio levels.

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Stage 5-1

Password: QGVN

Enemies will jump out of the water at the bottom of the screen when you least expect it, and mines will drop from the water running from the pipes at the top. You'll also have water acting as conveyor belts here, making it almost like like there are threats on all sides. Just be patient here and pay attention to your surroundings.

Thankfully, the waterfalls are the only parts of the running water that do not push you around.

Stage 5-2

Password: WBZT

Believe it or not, this stage is just like 2-2, even down to the enemies. This one is pretty fast paced, and if you knew what you were doing in 2-2, you'll know what you're doing in this stage. Once again, avoid the missiles that come out of the bikes in sets of three, since they're just as annoying as last time.

For best results, get the S weapon and fire away. You'll be able to tear though this 

Also, just like 2-2, there isn't a boss here. Rejoice!

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 4 of 7

We've got some more auto-scrolling action, and this time, conveyor belts are involved. As least the boss is easy if your weapon is powered-up.

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Stage 4-1

Password: GNXF

Another auto-scrolling level!

This time around, however, you'll be on the top of a train. Aside from the jetpack guys at the beginning, you'll also fight off what look like lizardmen in the coal bins. Whenever the lizardmen duck down, they're indestructible, so wait for them to stop crouching and them before they breath fire.

Stage 4-2

Password: KHCN

In the first section, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts and more guys that throw barrels. Slide to avoid the knives from the knife throwing guy.

The second section will be an elevator. Shoot up at the battle copter that tries to kill you with its machine gun, and avoid the fire from the moving turrets on the walls. Thankfully, the shrapnel from the crossbow shot makes it easier to defeat it. There are also two conveyor belts on this elevator. The left one pushes you left while the right one pushes you right.

The third section is easy, but the fourth section is another elevator, and it's anything but easy, especially when most of the elevator's floor is one big conveyor belt pushing you to the left and the wall turrets move in more complex patterns. You'll also have a few When you make it to the top, the stage ends.

Stage 4-3

The boss here is the Master . Shoot at the big cannon in the center, and don't let the gauge above it fill up unless you want to get hit with a screen-clearing blast.

Besides the two smaller cannons at the side that fire downwards at 45-degree angles, you'll also have robots spanning the floor every so often. Charging up the Cross Bow and firing at the ceiling will get rid of everything, and even though you'll take damage, the boss will fall before you do. Heck, even not charging it up can help, as the diagonal shrapnel will keep the laser cannon in the center. Just make sure the smaller cannons don't hit you.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 3 of 7

This is where the difficulty in the game picks up, due to the odd ice physics and everything falling out of the sky. You'll want to be careful here.

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Stage 3-1

Password: LGZQ

Go slow as you progress through this stage, as small pink missiles will fall out of the sky from out of nowhere. Also, enemies will pop up out of nowhere as soon as you make it over a pit. You may have to charge your weapon up before leaping over a pit if you know an enemy is going to be there (which is something I forgot you can do).

Remember to jump over the gaps in the wooden bridges, as the snow is there for show and show only.

The green kimono guys that throw tornadoes can be picked off from far away. Also, their tornadoes will arc upward shortly after being thrown.

You can walk on the frozen waterfalls, believe it or not. You might want to jump before moving so that you can actually move. Otherwise, you'll move in place for a step before Batman gets going.

Stage 3-2

Password: GPTW

Besides the obvious revolving blades, you'll also have rocks that will fall down from the ceiling when you get close enough as well as men that throw explosive barrels at you. The barrel throwers have a predictable pattern, but the explosion has some good coverage. You'll want to get back a bit before hitting them if you can.

When you get on the first moving platform, jump straight up so the guy on the other side doesn't hit you with a knife. As for the guy behind the crate, destroy the crate, jump back to the left to off-screen the power-up and make it disappear, then jump back to the right and destroy him.

For the second section, move slowly and duck whenever the spikes come down. Duck down so you can shoot the spiders. Make short hops across the pits.

The boss here - some flying robot called the Minedroid - is really easy. Wait for it to fly around, and stay next to the edge to the right near the lowest part of the ground. He will land to the right of you. Back up, then hit him. When he flies left, go all the way left. Jump over him when he lands, then shoot at him. If you get hit, especially with the lasers it fires after touching the ground again, get behind it and shoot.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 2 of 7

After some more platforming - which the game really loves to do, if you couldn't already tell - we get to fly around and shoot things.

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Stage 2-1

Password: NMLL

The platforms are pretty fast, so be careful. This is especially true when you're trying to jump onto the next platform and take care of an enemy at the same time.

The gray platform at the end of the first section sinks when you land on it, so get on and leap to the right quickly.

As you make your way through this stage, you'll be seeing electric barriers along the floor as well as in the most inconvenient places. They get even nastier in the second section as they act like pits of death. The platforms get worse, too, as they move around in a loop and sometimes have enemies riding on them. Duck, then jump to get past the last platform.

Sometimes, enemies will drop power-ups, so be ready to get one when that happens.

For a game with short levels and stages, these levels can be pretty unforgiving unless you know what you're doing.

Stage 2-2

Password: NWKL

Now you're flying, and you can move anywhere you want with the Control Pad.

Watch out for the human enemies. If they're not on jetpacks and shooting a laser gun at you, they're on a hoverbike and shooting series of missiles at you. To take out the guy on the motorbike, bring the B power-up with you, stay on the upper-right corner of the screen and keep shooting.

The blue things with the flashing lights underneath hold the power-ups, in case you're wondering.

Your shots will bounce off the spiked balls, so don't even bother.

PrinceWatercress plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 1 of 7

Fun fact: the game was known as Dynamite Batman in Japan.

Next | End

The story in seven words: The Joker returns. Batman whups his ass.

Anyway, you shoot at stuff with a wrist projector instead of punching this time around. Weird. Isn't Batman known for primarily punching people?

Stage 1-1

Password: LPRZ

The box at the beginning has a weapon power-up, and you can shoot at it to choose from four different weapons. To the manual!

C - Cross Bow

Blasts out a powerful arrow. When this hits the enemy it will explode.

B - Batarang

Standard boomerang-style weapon which automatically chases the enemy.

N - Sonic Neutralizer

Shoots two sets of Batarangs in a criss-cross pattern.

S - Shield Star

Throws a star-shaped dart in three directions.

A jumps, B shoots, Left and Right move, Down ducks and Up lets you aim upwards when firing.

The power-up with the heart on it is an energy capsule. Collect eight of them to turn Batman gold. When Batman is gold, he's temporarily invincible, and you'll be able to destroy everything on the screen by holding down the Fire button.

You can pick up multiple copies of a weapon to ensure that you keep it, if you wish.

The Cross Bow is considered the best weapon power-up in the game due to its immense power and angled shots that can be performed when you hold the B button down.

You can also slide by holding Down on the D-Pad and pressing A. This makes you move faster and get past certain traps, such as the ball and chains that will try to drop down onto you at the beginning. (You can also wait on them, if you choose.) However, only certain enemies can be attacked with this move, so be careful.

Don't jump into the undersides of the platforms on the way up; you will hurt yourself. Watch out with the platforms near the end of the tower, as they slowly sink as you stand on them. You'll have to keep them high in order to reach the exit here. You'll also be dealing with men who crouch down and throw knives.

You can charge up your shots by holding B if you have the Cross Bow weapon. This makes quick work of the gargoyle statues, which will shoot beams at the floor at whatever's in front of it. (I forgot all about this when I finally played the game.) If you're right in front of the statue, the beam won't hurt you.

You'll then see a blimp.

Stage 1-2

Password: MDRR

The blimp at the top of the screen has cannons that will fire at you. Watch the skies so the cannonballs don't get you. You'll have to be slightly right of center in order to avoid most of the shots. Just watch out for enemies.

The screen will also be auto-scrolling, which makes this one of the hardest beginnings to a game that I've ever seen.

You'll see men with guns who shoot at you every so often. Take them out, because they will follow you around.

When the cannons go nuts near the end, stay to the left side.

Stage 1-3

There is where the game gets different, but not too different. The controls are the same, but it's more of a fighting game where you have to bring the boss's health meter to 0 before he does the same to you.

The boss here is pretty easy. When he shoots straight ahead, just keep on shooting. Be careful not to jump when he shoots into the air. When he holds up a walkie-talkie and speaks into it, he'll send out some flying robots that you'll have to destroy. Sometimes he'll destroy them himself when he fires into the air.

When the boss jumps around, slide under him to get out of the way.

This boss isn't too difficult. Just be careful not to slide while he's shooting at you.

Batman: Return of the Joker - Credits, plus the music

The credits and ending.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 7

Finally! Stage 7! We fight The Joker at last!

Stage 7-1

Password: GPZT

Every so often, you'll see a bunch of flying robots come out of the ground and fly over your head in a semi-circle before going back down. Go slow through this stage so they don't get a jump on you. Also, the snipers will jump back when you get near them, even if they're someplace high up where you can't reach them, so take them out on sight.

The second section (complete with a shaking computer-board style background, which is amazing considering the NES system specifications) will test your patience to the max. The first part is simple compared to the second part, where you'll be jumping on platforms and ducking under spikes.

You'll also have to watch out with some part of the ceiling, especially at the last jump of the stage. Bubbles will come out every few seconds, and they will damage you if you touch them.

Stage 7-2

It's Batman vs. Joker, round two! This time around, it's going to be somewhat more difficult.

The first fight is really, really easy if you have the Cross Bow. Walk up to the right wall, duck down and keep firing at the wall. The Cross Bow weapon's shrapnel will ricochet right into the Joker's machine's weak spot, which happens to be where the control panel is. You'll take damage, but Joker's health meter will go down really quickly as long as you keep mashing the fire button.

Once you beat the Joker here, that's it. There's no second form. You've done it. Enjoy your ending.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 6

Oh, hey, we're fighting a tank with a wrist gun.

Stage 6-1

Password: FFHG

For the first section, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts and well-animated rotating spikes. This is easy compared to the second section. For the red beams, wait for them to hit the bottom of the beam field before sliding past them. You'll soon three of these beams next to each other. You'll have to move slowly and careful to get past them in one piece. The platforms you'll see shortly after that will turn red and fall when you stand on them, so you'd better be able to make it to the right without having much time to think.

When you enter the third section, the music stops. The tank in the background will rev up and start moving. This is the build-up for the next level.

Stage 6-2

Password: CKQG

Here, you'll be keeping up with the tank in a slow auto-scrolling segment. As it moves to the right, stay next to the tank and jump over any of the spiked balls that hit the ground. If some guy pops his head out of the tank and starts throwing bombs at you, look up and take him out.

Don't be too far to the right as the tank moves to the left through this section, as the ground behind the tank will fall.

If the guy in the tank hits a low ceiling as his head is exposed, he'll take a hit.

Stage 6-3

The fight goes unrecorded from the middle to close to the end for some inexplicable reason according to the uploader. Weird.

Anyway, this is the first fight with the Joker. Oh my gosh, he's so detailed along with most of this game that this could have been ported to the Super Nintendo instead of the Genesis/Mega Drive (where it was titled "Revenge of the Joker" and released by another developer, Ringler Studios). Actually, a Super Nintendo version was in development - and completed - but has never been released. Thankfully, somebody found the ROM and it's easily available.

Avoid the bubbles he shoots out from the sides, as they can kill you in just a few hits. Stay on one side of the screen and nail him from there by jumping and firing. That's it, really. When you beat him, Joker flies away on a mini-copter strapped to his back.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 5

From here on out, the videos will be lightning fast. Apparently frkonalsh2009 knows what they're doing.

Stage 5-1

Password: QGVN

Enemies will jump out of the water at the bottom of the screen when you least expect it, and mines will drop from the water running from the pipes at the top. You'll also have water acting as conveyor belts here, making it almost like like there are threats on all sides. Just be patient here and pay attention to your surroundings.

Stage 5-2

Password: WBZT

Believe it or not, this stage is just like 2-2, even down to the enemies. This one is pretty fast paced, and if you knew what you were doing in 2-2, you'll know what you're doing in this stage. Once again, avoid the missiles that come out of the bikes in sets of three, since they're just as annoying as last time.

Also, just like 2-2, there isn't a boss here. Rejoice!

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 4

Boy, do the bosses here differentiate from the Batman norm or what? Especially the one at the end here!

Stage 4-1

Password: GNXF

Another autoscrolling level!

This time around, however, you'll be on the top of a train. Aside from the jetpack guys at the beginning, you'll also fight off what look like lizardmen in the coal bins. Whenever the lizardmen duck down, they're indestructable, so wait for them to stop crouching.

Stage 4-2

Password: KHCN

In the first section, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts and more guys that throw barrels. The second section will be an elevator. Shoot up at the battle copter that tries to kill you with its machine gun, and avoid the fire from the moving turrets on the walls. There are also two conveyor belts on this elevator. The left one pushes you left while the right one pushes you right.

The third section is easy, but the fourth section is another elevator, and it's anything but easy, especially when most of the elevator's floor is one big conveyor blet pushing you to the left and the wall turrets move in more complex patterns. When you make it to the top, the stage ends.

Stage 4-3

The boss here is a laser cannon system. Shoot at the big cannon in the center, and don't let the gauge above it fill up unless you want to get hit with a screen-clearing blast.

Besides the two smaller cannons at the side that fire downwards at 45-degree angles, you'll also have robots spanning the floor every so often. Charging up the Cross Bow and firing at the ceiling will get rid of everything, and even though you'll take damage, the boss will fall before you do.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 3

This is where it starts getting hard. Missiles that rain down without warning, crappy enemy placement, and more boss cheapness.

Stage 3-1

Password: LGZQ

Go slow as you progress through this stage, as small pink missiles will fall out of the sky from out of nowhere.

The green karate guys that throw tornadoes can be picked off from far away. Also, their tornadoes will arc upward shortly after being thrown.

You can walk on the frozen waterfalls, believe it or not. You might want to jump before moving so that you can actually move. Otherwise, you'll move in place for a step before Batman gets going.

Stage 3-2

Password: GPTW

Besides the obvious revolving blades, you'll also have rocks that will fall down from the ceiling when you get close enough as well as men that throw explosive barrels at you. The barrel throwers have a predictable pattern, but the explosion has some good coverage. You'll want to get back a bit before hitting them if you can.

For the second section, move slowly and duck whenever the spikes come down. Duck down so you can shoot the spiders.

The boss here - some flying robot - is really easy. Wait for it to fly around, then slide out of the way when it's right above you. Then, turn around and fire again. Don't forget that you can also look up with Up on the D-Pad and fire in that direction, too. It really starts becoming useful here. If you get hit, especially with the lasers it fires after touching the ground again, get behind it and shoot.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 2

In this stage, you'll be dealing with quick platforms and a flying section.

Stage 2-1

Password: NMLL

The platforms are pretty fast, so be careful. This is especially true when you're trying to jump onto the next platform and take care of an enemy at the same time.

As you make your way through this stage, you'll be seeing electric barriers along the floor as well as in the most inconvenient places. They get even nastier in the second section as they act like pits of death. The platforms get worse, too, as they move around in a loop and sometimes have enemies riding on them.

Sometimes, enemies will drop power-ups, so be ready to get one when that happens.

For a game with short levels and stages, these levels are pretty unforgiving.

Stage 2-2

Password: NWKL

Now you're flying, and you can move anywhere you want.

Watch out for the human enemies. If they're not on jetpacks and shooting a laser gun at you, they're on a hoverbike and shooting missiles at you.

The blue things with the flashing lights underneath hold the power-ups, in case you're wondering.

Your shots will bounce off the spiked balls, so don't even bother.

frkonalsh2009 plays Batman: Return of the Joker - Stage 1

Fun fact: the game was known as Dynamite Batman in Japan.

YouTube's kinda funny, so a lot of things that are supposed to flash seemingly don't. They are, though.

The story in seven words. The Joker returns. Batman whups his ass.

Anyway, you shoot at stuff with a wrist projector instead of punching this time around. Weird. Isn't Batman known for primarily punching people?

Stage 1-1

Password: LPRZ

The box at the beginning has a weapon power-up, and you can shoot at it to choose from four different weapons. To the manual!

C - Cross Bow

Blasts out a powerful arrow. When this hits the enemy it will explode.

B - Batarang

Standard boomerang-style weapon which automatically chases the enemy.

N - Sonic Neutralizer

Shoots two sets of Batarangs in a double helix pattern.

S - Shield Star

Throws a star-shaped dart in three directions.

You can pick up multiple copies of a weapon to ensure that you keep it, if you wish.

The Cross Bow is considered the best weapon power-up in the game due to its immense power and angled shots that can be performed when you hold the B button down.

You can also slide by holding Down on the D-Pad and pressing A. This makes you move faster and get past certain traps, such as the ball and chains that will try to drop down onto you at the beginning. However, only certain enemies can be attacked with this move, so be careful.

Watch out with the platforms near the end of the tower, as they slowly sink as you stand on them. You'll have to keep them high in order to reach the exit here. You'll also be dealing with men who crouch down and throw knives.

You can charge up your shots if you have the Cross Bow weapon. This makes quick work of the gargoyle statues, which will shoot beams at the floor at whatever's in front of it. If you're right in front of the statue, the beam won't hurt you.

You'll then see a blimp.

Stage 1-2

Password: MDRR

The blimp at the top of the screen has cannons that will fire at you. Watch the skies so the cannonballs don't get you.

The screen will also be autoscrolling, which makes this one of the hardest beginnings to a game that I've ever seen.

The power-up with the heart on it is an energy capsule. Collect eight of them to turn Batman gold. When Batman is gold, he's temporarily invincible, and you'll be able to destroy everything on the screen by holding down the Fire button.

You'll see men with guns who shoot at you every three seconds. Take them out, because they will follow you around.

When the cannons go nuts near the end, stay to the left side.

Stage 1-3

There is where the game gets different, but not too different. The controls are the same, but it's more of a fighting game where you have to bring the boss's health meter to 0 before he does the same to you.

The boss here is pretty easy. When he shoots straight ahead, just keep on shooting. Be careful not to jump when he shoots into the air. When he holds up a walkie-talkie and speaks into it, he'll send out some flying robots that you'll have to destroy. Sometimes he'll destroy them himself when he fires into the air.

When the boss jumps around, slide under him to get out of the way.

This boss isn't too difficult. Just be careful not to slide while he's shooting at you.