PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 8 of 8

All of the criminals we've beaten have escaped, and with a few that we've never faced before tagging along to boot! Now we have to face them all in one final confrontation before Gotham City is safe...for now...

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The Gauntlet

When the Batsignal shows up, Commissioner Gordon tells Batman that The Joker has escaped with the others from Arkham Asylum, and want Batman to meet them at the old warehouse by the Gotham Harbor. He warns Batman that they are trying to lure him into a trap, but Batman still cannot let them get away.

Do not take the Spray Gun or the Smoke Bombs with you; they will be absolutely useless in this stage.

This whole stage is a boss rush. You will want to fight well, and that will take some practice. After all, you will have limited opportunities to refill your health. Unlike other boss battles in other games, however, this one has a few surprises...

The first person you face is The Penguin. The same strategies from the first time around still apply. At least there is no attack helicopter this time around.

Next up is Scarecrow, and thankfully, there is no airplane to fight on. Use the Batarang to stun him, then hit punch him. Follow him when he jumps to the other side and punch him there. It is possible to get him in a pattern where he jumps, you follow and punch, he jumps in the other direction, you follow and punch, lather, rinse, repeat until he dies. If he gets too far away, throw the Batarang at him to stun him, then roll forward and hit him.

Next up is...Clayface?!? Wait, we haven't seen him at any point in the game! Duck to avoid the block of clay he throws at you, then get ready to duck his two-way shot. If you see an upper shot, duck; if you see a lower shot, jump. When Clayface rolls around, jump over him until he stops. If you can stay near him as he stops in the corner, you can keep hitting him with crouching kicks, and you can keep close to him and crouch kick him until he dies.

In the next section, keep wall-jumping off the walls. You'll get a heart at the top. Make your way to the right and use the Grappling Hook to get over the wide bottomless pit. You'll face Catwoman. The battle against her works the same way as it did at the end of Stage 4: keep your distance, use your Boomerang and don't get cornered.

After some more wall jumping, you'll face...Man-Bat?!? We never saw him either! In Mode 7 fashion, he swoops by and threatens to end your adventure on top of the old warehouse. Step back and punch him twice, then be ready to punch him as he shows up from the side. Since you can punch him when he flies towards the background, he can and will go down pretty quickly when you know what to do.

The final boss is The Joker. This time around, The Joker fights on a jetpack. Stand in the middle and punch him. You don't even have to move; Batman will face the direction that Joker flies in from automatically. Just punch once when he gets close enough. That ends the first form.

The second form has Joker throwing bombs. Jump over the bombs and hit him with a Plastic Explosive if you have one. If he gets close due to you not having any, punch him before he hits you with the spray gun. If you can get close enough, he'll jump from one direction to the other.

Just like last time, you can use the Batarang to stun him to get a jump kick on him, and you can also punch the bombs back at him for some damage from a distance. However you do it, if you know what you're doing, you'll finish Stage 8 and finally beat the game. Alfred will congratulate you on a job well done, and the ending you get will depend on what difficulty you beat the game on. Hard has the best ending, obviously, but there are different endings for Easy and Medium. Hard, however, gives you an extended cast of characters list at the end. Enjoy the ending!

Also, if you die at any point in the second section of this stage, you'll have to face Catwoman and Man-Bat again, and if you collected either of the hearts, the hearts don't re-spawn. Thanks, game.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 7 of 8

We go back into the Maze of the Minotaur for Hard mode, and once again, The Riddle gives us a harder time than we bargained for when it comes time to take him on. Thankfully, we're near the end of the game...

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Riddle Me This...

This stage begins with The Riddler sending a message to Batman, saying he has presented the completed version of his "Maze of the Minotaur" cyberspace game to the Police Department. Somehow, Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, seems to have become lost in it and that she will be in there forever unless someone is clever enough to solve his labyrinth. He asks Batman if he wants to give it a try.

Batman uses a computer to network with the one at the police station in order to access the maze. Alfred asks Batman to be prepared in case he needs to blast through some walls. Bring the Plastic Explosives and the X-Ray Goggles, or else you will be unable to beat the level.

Unlike other stages in the game, this one gives you a map in the upper-right corner of the screen, which you can consult at any time. You will need this to see where you are as well as which direction you are facing in the maze. Getting around this level is very similar to movinga round in the museum in the second stage, but you will also be able to move downwards by pressing Down on the Control Pad. You will notice this when you see a square that you can easily see through. Just press Down at it, and you'll head towards the foreground.

When you enter the maze, you will be met by The Riddler. If you can solve the riddles of the maze, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon will both be freed (even though the Commish is not even mentioned in the opening cutscene and you don't know he's there until you near the end). From here, you will be fighting enemies.

Move right at the start. When you see a corridor in the background, go into it. Keep going right, and you'll see a square indicating you can move downwards. Press Down, then head right again. If you use the X-Ray Goggles at the dead end, you will learn that this is a fake wall. Use the Plastic Explosives to blow a hole in the wall. The wall will disappear and you can keep moving right.

Press Down at the next square, then go left and press Down at the next square. Head right, and fight the enemies as you go. When you see another square, press Down, then go left and press Down at the next square. You will come across a green circle with a yellow question mark on the floor. Walk up to it, and you will be asked a question by The Riddler. When he asks what the shortest distance between a point in Nome, Alaska and a point in Miami, Florida is, the answer is a curved line. If you pick the wrong answer, you will end up in the Waste Land. You will also end up in the Waste Land if you lose a life at any point in the maze. From here, go left and press Up, then go left for more energy for the Plastic Explosives. From here, go right and you'll be back on the path to the first question.

When you get the question right, you'll end up in a new area. Go left, and The Riddler will tell you that the curved line is currect because the earth is round. You'll then encounter another green circle, but if you walk onto it, you get warped to the southeast corner of the maze.

From here, go left, then go up at the corridor. Go left and fight the enemies as you go. As soon as you see another corridor in the background, press Up. Head to the right and get some energy for the Plastic Explosives, then go to the corridor in the background and press Up again. Head to the left and fight enemies, then press Up at the dead end. Go right, then press Up when you reach the wall. Go to the left and fight more enemies. You will eventually reach another green circle, which teleports you elsewhere.

Head to the left, and keep going until you reach a locked door. There are three keys nearby to choose from, and if you pick the D Key just like in the animated series, you will have to duck under one giant circular blade and duck under a second that both come in from the right. Grab the C key instead, otherwise you'll be dodging three giant circular blades. (Duck under the third one.)

When you open the locked door, go into it. Touch the green circle. The Riddler tells you that in sheet music and on the musical scale, the C has no sharps, while A has three and D has two. (Gee, way to take it literally.) You'll then be warped again.

Head to the right, then go up at the wall. Go left while fight enemies, then press Up at the wall. Walk up to the green circle to get warped again.

Head left while fight enemies, but don't go into the corridor in the background yet. Keep going left to get a health pick-up, then go back to the corridor and press Up. Head right while fight enemies and press Down at the first set of corridors. You'll be back in familiar territory. Head back to the southeast corner of the map and step on the green circle. Follow the path here, then use the X-Ray Goggles. The wall to your right is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw a Plastic Explosive at the wall, then head right. Go to the next green circle you see to warp again.

Head to the left to another green circle. Use the X-Ray Goggles to find out that the wall to your left is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw the Plastic Explosive at the wall, then walk into the next green circle you see to get warped yet again.

Head to the left and press Up at the wall, then head to the right and press Down at the wall. Head to the right and fight even more enemies, then press Down at the wall. Go left and press Down at the wall, and you'll find Barbara Gordon, the Commish...and the Minotaur!

The Riddle poses another riddle: I have billions of eyes, yet I live in the darkness. I have millions of ears yet only four lobes. I have no muscles yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?

The answer is H.B., which is short for "human brain." Batman explains his answer, and says it is the only thing The Riddler respects. The Riddler is both impressed and angered to the point that he sics the Minotaur on you.

To beat the Minotaur, throw a Plastic Explosive at him if you have any left, and use the wall jump to vault over him if he corners you. When the Minotaur swings his sword at the wall, punch at him until he turns around. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you run out of Plastic Explosives, run back and forth and get hits as you do, and don't use the Batarang...it's completely useless.

After this, The Riddler thanks you for getting this far, but says that everything so far has just been a test. The real game begins now, and you'll eventually be in a different area in the world. You'll end up in a virtual chess board, and The Riddler is in the mood for a relaxing game of chess. It's relaxing for him, but it's anything but for Batman!

Head to the right. Watch out for any pawns that attack you with spears. When they stop striking, roll to the right. Grab the heart if you need health, then punch the rooks four times to get rid of them. Keep running to the right, and The Riddler will show up. He will present you with something he thinks Batman will get a real charge from.

Keep heading right. Jump to the right as the right hand zaps, and jump over the pits the lasers create. Keep jumping as you go to the right, as it allows you to travel to the right a little more quickly than just running alone. Also, don't stay in one place for too long, as the floor will still break under your feet and drop you into a bottomless pit. Be sure to make small hops with the jump button as you keep moving right, so you can give yourself a bit of a lead against the floor; otherwise, you won't be able to make it, especially when you have to punch rooks out of the way.

After the second rook, keep making a few short hops, then keep going right. When the right hand fires a laser, immediately jump to avoid falling. Remember that The Riddler will only zap orange tiles.

When The Riddler sends a rook at you, duck down, then head to the right. Be ready to roll to the right when the pawns stop attacking, and keep running right until the rook explodes. You'll then face The Riddler himself...almost.

The Riddler fights you with two chess kings. White goes first, and he switches between White and Black. Attack the kings whenever you can, and stay on the move so the kings don't crush you. The best strategy is to trap yourself in one side of the room. You'll have less room to move, but you'll be able to hit two jump kicks on a king instead of one. When you destroy one of the kings, be ready to run to the right and jump over to the right whenever the right hand fires a laser. As this goes on, the king you did not destroy will be pushed to the right, and you can wall jump off of it if need be.

You'll eventually have to fight the other king. Fight it just like you did the first king, and remember to wall jump. You'll eventually beat the second knight, and beat Stage 7. On to the toughest challenge yet...!

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 6 of 8

In this entry, we face off with the scarecrow. Make sure you're well-prepared for this stage so you don't have to pause, return to the Batcave, equip items and start the whole level over.

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Perchance To Scream

The stage begins with a report from Summer Gleeson in front of the reception hall of Gotham State University where a party is being held in honor of the school's professors. However, there is a great sense of uneasiness here because of a large blimp in the sky. Batman immediately believes that this is the work of Scarecrow, as he has a grudge against the University, has been planning his revenge and has readied a blimp for one of his gruesome experiments: releasing gas in the air that will mess up a person's mind to the point that they become a criminal...or in this case, a whole large crowd's worth of people.

As far as the equipment screen goes, the most important things to bring here are the Stars, the Spray Gun and the Gas Mask.

At the beginning of the stage, Batman will warn everyone to get out of the building as the Scarecrow is on his way. Unfortunately, his warning comes too late, because Scarecrow's fear toxin fills the building. Scarecrow then shows up, and tells you that everyone will view you as the enemy and you won't be able to hurt them. This is where the Spray Gun comes in handy, as it will knock the civilians out as they try to run up to you and grab you in an attempt to drain your health. Strangely, some of the people look like the enemies from the first level, while others actually look like civilians. Not surprinsgly, the ones that do look like past enemies do try to attack you, and at this point in the game they take one more hit than they did in the past. Attack them, but save the Spray Gun for the civilians.

In the second section, equip the gas mask so you don't have to worry about the gas draining your health in case you forget to duck when it lowers every few seconds.

In the third section. the guys on the balconies just stay in one place and punch the whole time. Thankfully, there are no civilians in this room, so beat everybody in here up.

In the fourth section, come in with the Gas Mask equipped. This section is much like the second one.

In the fifth section, you'll be moving to the right and dealing with more people before you finally meet up with Scarecrow on the roof. Scarecrow will get away on his roof, but Robin will show up in the Batplane. Sadly, you won't be able to get close to the blimp with the Batplane, you will have to use the Grappling Hook to get aboard.

On the Batplane, use the Batarangs to attack the balloons, which are filled with dangerous gas. You can avoid them, but if you run into them or hit them too late, they will hurt.

You'll eventually be on top of the blimp. somewhere. Run to the left and beat up enemies as you go, and you'll make it to the front of the blimp. Drop down, face right and use the Grappling Hook to swing your way to the control room.

Beat up the enemies here, and avoid the fire that is in your way. Equip the Stars so you can take out the machine gunners from a distance. You'll get some health at the end, where Scarecrow will escape for a second time on a single-person aircraft. Batman and Scarecrow will fight on this aircraft, and Scarecrow refuses to let you live to interfere his plans again. (Also, this reminds me of [i]Contra: Hard Corps[/i].)

Scarecrow will fire his gun at you twice, then walk up to you and punch you. He also jumps around much like The Joker did. Use the Batarang to stun him and get some hits in with some crouching kicks. Be careful while doing this, as sometimes the Batarang may hit the wings of the aircraft. Use a crouching hit if you're higher than he is,  and use the roll to avoid the bullets. Just make sure you don't roll into the lower bullet of Scarecrow's three-way shot. Scarecrow will eventually go down, and you'll head to Stage 7.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 5 of 8

You want to know what the best part of making this video was? That I didn't have to spend as much time figuring stuff out in order to get through this the second time around.

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Trouble In Transit

The stage begins with Two-Face fleeing and firing a machine gun after committing a heist. You will then see Summer Gleeson reporting on a robber at the Gotham City Bank and how Two-Face and his men have fled by car. Batman and Robin go after them in the Batmobile, which starts a top-down driving stage. What, no rear-view Mode 7 like in Batman Returns?

Use Left and Right to turn in the respective direction. The B button accelerates, the A button brakes, and Y fires the guns. L and R will allow you to rotate the Batmobile (and the screen, hello, Mode 7) to make intersections and the like easier.

When you see yellow signs with white arrows telling you where to go, be ready to go in those directions. Be careful when turning, as you will crash if you take turns full speed. Instead, take your thumb off the accelerator for a brief moment, then take the turn. Try to avoid other vehicles if you can, since that is easier than shooting them. You will need to be on the right side of the road if you have to turn left, and on the left side if you have to turn right, as it is the only way to make all the turns without hitting walls too many times. This section does not play at all.

Also, there is a time limit. If you crash too many times, you're not going to make it to the next important point in the stage before time runs out.

If you make it to a yellow car that suddenly screeches onto the screen, you made it to Two-Face! Try not to crash as you shoot at all the cars. You can either inch towards the direction that the game tells you to go so you can make the turn more easily, or you can make a wide turn at the last second. However you do it, just don't hit any walls. Thankfully, turning is easier on the freeway.

You'll eventually catch up to Two-Face. Thankfully, this part is not timed. When Two-Face is in front of you, he will lay down bombs that will blend in with the road. Stay to the side of him when you shoot at him. When Two-Face is behind you, he will shoot rockets. You can either avoid the cursor and keep firing to lay bombs behind you, or you can use the brake to get back behind him. Just don't let him you; that will do a lot of damage. When you start seeing shards of glass come out of Two-Face's car, you're close to ending the battle. After this, it's on to Stage 6.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 4 of 8

This level doesn't get any easier the second time around...especially the part where you have to nail the grappling hook part or else you're losing a life.

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Tale of the Cat

Batman goes into Gotham City to make sure everything is okay, as he has a feeling that something is going to happen tonight. Alfred asks him to be careful.

At the equipment menu, you'll be able to choose anything you want again. Be sure the bring the Stars, though.

At the start of the level, you will be wall jumping between two walls. The fans will damage you if you touch them, and the platforms will be there to break your fall in case you slip up so you won't have to start all the way back at the bottom.

At the top of the shaft, you'll see Catwoman climbing up a building in the background. Head to the right, and you'll eventually see Catwoman moving around on the rooftops.

The next section is an elevator, and Batman will catch up with Catwoman - and a cat - at the elevator. Catwoman tells Batman to stay out of her way, then they will fight. Throw a Batarang at her, jump forward, hit her with a jump kick, then jump back. You can also walk up to her and punch her until you hit her, then jump back, in case you can't get the timing for the jump kick down. Rinse, lather, repeat. You'll be able to avoid her attacks, and in case she gets close with a dashing swipe, you can just punch her out of it. If you try to throw her, she will just jump up and kick you.

After hitting Catwoman enough times, the elevator will stop. This time, Catwoman will jump off a building, and Batman will jump off in pursuit. In this section, you need not hit her with any attacks, although if you punch Catwoman, she will be stunned and moved upwards a bit as a result. You'll also get points out of every strike, too. The both of you will eventually geat near the bottom, and Catwoman will eventually latch onto a building. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point on it, have the grappling hook ready and latch on to one of the poles on the right to save yourself from certain death and head on to the next section.

In the next section, keep following Catwoman, and use the roll to get past the falling signs. Watch out with the jumps between buildings, as you will have to jump at the very edge to get past them all. Luckily, Batman can grab onto ledges if you come close enough.

If you fall too far behind, Catwoman will wait for you to catch up.

You'll eventually chase Catwoman down the building. The second door on the way down has a health refill, but the third door contains a cat. This is Catwoman's cat Isis, and she will serve a purpose later on. The door at the bottom takes you to a back alley where you will face Catwoman again.

Just like with the elevator fight, use your Batarang to stun her, jump forward and kick her, then jump back. If you have any Stars in your inventory, throw those at her, too. Eventually, you'll beat Catwoman again, and if you found Isis before this battle, she will thank you for taking care of her. After that, it's on to Stage 5.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES. Hard) - Part 3 of 8

Despite the randomness and non-linearity of this level, I like it.

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Fowl Play

The third stage starts with Batman getting an emergency call from Robin concerning a break-in at the Gotham City Museum. He says that it is the work of a large gang. Batman asks Robin to meet him at the museum, as he will need his help. Alfred will call to tell Batman to make sure he has all the tools he needs as there have been power outages.

At the equipment screen, bring your Flashlight. It will be absolutely essential. Also, bring the Plastic Explosives.

After Batman and Robin split up, equip and use the Flashlight. As you go to the right, you will see these dark dots on the floor. These are mines, and if you step on them, they will hurt. Jump over them. Believe it or not, you can sweep the room by repeatedly pressing A. Make sure that you have the light down and ahead so you can see what's about to be in front of you.

At the right-most end of the room you start in, there will be a staff member. Walk up to him and press Down on the Control Pad to free him. He will tell you that the staff were attacked by some kind of bird-like thing. He also asks you to help the rest of the staff and that tells you that there is an elevator down the middle corridor. From there, go down to the security room in the basement.

Unlike the first two levels, this one is not linear. Here, you're going up and down in addition to left and right. So be careful.

Head left. Jump over the mines again and enter the first corridor in the background that you see. (There is a sign with a pair of red arrows and "B" and "A" on it. Remember it for later.) Go into the elevator and go down, then go left. Go further left, and keep the Flashlight on to jump over some mines. Go up at the half-opened door that you see, then go right and free the security guard. He will tell you that someone suddenly burst into the room, knocked him out and stole the master key. He will also tell you that the Curator and four other workers are still in the museum. After this, the lights will come back on, and if you go left, you will meet Robin and the curator. The Curator will give you the master key, which will open just about any door in the museum. He also says that he and Robin have a rough idea of where everyone else is, and to use the intercom to stay in contact.

Robin will tell you where the two workers you need to rescue are. The locations of the workers are completely random, so pay attention to what Robin says in your playthrough and not in the video, and don't forget to use that intercom! 

Now that the lights are back on, watch out for grey dots. Those are the mines. Also, there will be enemies much like the ones in the first level. Take them out as you head right to the open corridor where you came in before. Take the elevator back up to the first floor. From here, you can either go left to Block B or back to the right for Block A.

We're going to Block A. Equip the Master Key (which is an ID card) and beat up enemies and jump over mines as you press Up with the Master Key equipped at every door you come across. It won't be long before you enter one of them and find the worker who is there. Free him. If you go to the intercom in the open corridor and press Up (it's the telephone mounted on the wall), Robin will repeat where you need to go.

The heart obviously refills your health.

There are three types of enemies: guys who attack with their fists, guys who shoot at you with pistols and guys who shoot at you with machine guns. If you stun the gun-toting enemies with the Batarang, they will drop their weapons and will be forced to fight you with their fists, making them easy pickings.

The door to the left of the intercom in Block A of the first floor leads to a hallway with a reflective floor. You can get some energy for one of your weapons as well as a heart here. This hallway lets you cross over to Block B of the first floor without going to the elevator.

Throwing an enemy into another enemy will kill both of them. Also, guys with guns cannot hit you at close range, for some weird reason.

If you use the intercom after rescuing all the workers, Batman will let Robin know. Robin will tell you to come back, and he and Batman will come to the conclusion that The Penguin is the one responsible for what is going on here, as he is trying to steal the artwork being displayed on the second floor. Unfortunately for him, his master key will not open the door to the room containing the artwork as the door has a four-digit combination lock. Before he can ask the Curator what it is and relay it to Batman, however, he is suddenly attacked by The Penguin, who makes his presence known before turning the lights back off.

If you take too long to get to the intercom and talk to Robin, the lights will go out anyway. (If you do this, it messes with the continuity of the in-game conversations a little bit, as no alternate dialogue exists in case you don't talk to Robin on the intercom.)

Regardless of what happens, go back to Block B of the basement and head to the security room. Robin will be tied up. Free him. Robin will tell you that The Penguin has kidnapped the Curator. After Batman says he will rescue him, Robin will tell him where the Curator is as well as your current location. The lights will then come back on.

Just like with the museum staff, the Curator's location will be random each time you play, and you will have to look through all the doors to find him. When you find and free him, he will tell you the secret combination (which is also random) to the door to the art on the second floor.

There is not much to the second floor at all, and the combination look door is pretty easy to identify. Press Up at the door, enter the combination, and there you go. You'll eventually come face-to-face with The Penguin, who sends Scrap the vulture after you. When Scrap dives at you, punch it so it gets knocked down, back up, then punch Scrap again when Scrap comes after you. After seven punches, the vulture goes down. You can also use the Batarang.

After you beat Scrap, keep going right and go up the stairs. You'll finally fight The Penguin.

To beat The Penguin, avoid the gunfire from the Raven XJ-11 Attack Helicopter in the background by staying underneath the center of the plane, then throw a grenade at The Penguin to get some early damage. From here, block and punch (or throw) until The Penguin goes down. After a while, The Penguin will fly in the air. Don't worry about The Penguin; just dodge the helicopter's machine gun fire by jumping over it. When he lands on the ground, block, then attack. Keep doing this until he goes back into the air.

If you are too far away from The Penguin, he will shoot you with a machine gun. Thankfully, you can throw a grenade at him if you do that, and you can duck the attack to avoid it completely. Eventually, he'll go down, and it's on to Stage 4.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 2 of 8

Now that we've beaten The Joker - for now - it's back to the park to face Poison Ivy. Let's see how much harder this gets on Hard.

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No Green Peace

The second stage of the game starts with Batman heading to the forest in the Gotham City suburban district, as there has been an unusual increase in the number of trees in the area. There have also been reported sightings of bizarre plant life. If it is revealed that Poison Ivy is behind this, there will be a major panic in the city. Batman must take on Poison Ivy before this can happen.

When you make it to the equipment selection screen, you will notice that there is an X next to the Star and the Plastic Explosive options. You will not be able to use anything that has an X to it in the current stage. Be sure to bring the Spray Gun and Smoke Bombs; they will be extremely useful.

The women in the blue and black armor are the generic enemies for this stage. Duck down to avoid their attacks, as they will try to spray you with some sort of gas. You cannot defeat them, sadly; you can only stun them with the Batarang. Holding Down and pressing B to roll will make it easier to get away from them. Also, be ready to avoid red spiky balls that fall from above.

You'll eventually come face-to-face with a few giant tree roots. Hit them with three Batarangs in the red, pustule-laden area to defeat them. Remember to block so the tree roots don't damage you.

In the next section, you will be doing some platforming. Be ready to use the Grappling Hook, and use the Smoke Bombs to take out some of the female enemies from afar. As you make it to the top, be ready to jump from tree to tree as the ones with the diagonal branches start falling down from under you. When you see a vine at the top of the screen, be ready to grab onto it with the Grappling Hook to make it to the end of this section.

In the third section, the vines will collapse if you stand on them for too long, so leap your way across them. Use your grappling hook when necessary after this, watching out for branches that fall when you put your weight on them, and you will eventually make it onto solid ground. As long as you keep jumping to the right, you'll have no problems here.

As you make your way to the right, the terrain will transform. The worst it can do is slightly irritate you, since no bottomless pits are made and there are no enemies in this section.

In the fourth section, you'll finally be in a huge greenhouse. Use the spray gun on enemies if you need to if you need to refill items, as the battery icons the enemies sometimes drop from being hit by the spray gun will do just that.

There are also trap doors in the floor, and you can either speed through them or take your time. Thankfully, the enemies here come to a dead stop and never walk where they are, so you can figure out where some of them are. Thankfully, the pits are not instant death traps, and if you feel like it, you can stun an enemy and then throw them into the pits, killing them!

You'll eventually catch up to Poison Ivy, who says the Human World does not understand the feelings of the Plant World. Batman chases after Poison Ivy, and tells her that while damage to the environment is a tragedy, it is still wrong of her to threaten the Human World. Poison Ivy does not car eabout the Human World, and sics an evil Venus flytrap-like monster on Batman.

Duck to avoid the arm as it whips at the air three times, then throw a Batarang at it when it opens its mouth before moving. After three this, be ready to move to avoid the yellow stars that come out of the arm as well as the arm itself when it strikes the ground. Again, throw Batarangs at the mouth when it is open, and stay on the move. When Poison Ivy comes out from behind the boss, duck to avoid the arrows she shoots from her crossbow. After dealing enough hits, you'll eventually take this thing down.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES, Hard) - Part 1 of 8

So, anybody remember The Adventures of Batman & Robin, the animated Batman series from the 1990s? Well, it had a few games. This is one of them. And it's not that bad, either.

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Amused To Death

The game begins with Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred alerting Bruce Wayne to having picked up a suspicious sounding broadcast. The broadcast is of Harley Quinn and "The Joker Channel." Harley Quinn introduces The Joker, who hopes Batman is watching as he has some very special attractions at the Gotham City Amusement Park for all the children of Gotham City. He says tomorrow should be "a real scream" before laughing.

Alfred warns Bruce that this is a trap of some time. Bruce, who is Batman at this point, says he still has to go, and asks Alfred to get the equipment ready.

At this point, you will go to the equipment menu. You can chose which weapons you can bring with you, and thankfully, you can toggle between them all in-game. The Batarang and the Grappling Gun will always be equipped and cannot be removed.

The beginning of the stage has you running to the right and punching goons. You can also throw them into other goons, if you wish. There will be some guys jumping out of windows, as well as guys with guns. If you have Batarangs on your person, you can toss them at the armed men to disarm them.

You can attack with your punches and kicks with the Y button, jump with the B button, cycle through all your equipped gadgets with the X button and use the currently equipped gadget with the A button.

Pausing the game allows you to see how many lives you have left and allows you to return to the Batcave. If you do that, you'll start the whole level over, but you'll refill all your health and special items. Despite what I say about using the Batcave, only the "last life of the last continue" part works; if you go back to the Batcave on the last life of your last continue, you'll get all your continues back. Discretion really is the better part of valor!

After the stairs leading to the door that you can't open, you can take either the ground path or the upper path via the platforms on the building. The upper path will let you avoid the enemies altogether, but since this is the first stage, it doesn't really matter much which path you take.

You'll eventually enter the amusement park, where you will meet Harley Quinn. She will welcome you to The Joker's Funhouse, which is somehow built in his image (because Batman) and runs inside, with Batman chasing her inside.

Once inside, you'll see some new traps, such as the Joker robots that will shoot at you. Duck down and roll forward to avoid the gunfire, then keep doing crouch kicks on them until they die. To roll, hold Down on the Control Pad and keep pressing B.

Shortly after the beginning, you'll notice that some of the floors and ceilings will move up and down. Thankfully, you can wall jump in this game. Just jump towards the wall, then keep holding the Control Pad towards the wall and press B again to jump off the wall.

Be sure to have your grappling hook equipped, as it has infinite uses and you can use it to make it pass tall walls that you can't jump up and grab the ledge of. Also, spikes will be exposed as floors and ceilings move up and down, and they can do quite a bit of damage. Use the grappling hook to get past them.

In the next section, keep moving to the right to avoid the crushing ceiling. You will then come face-to-face with a giant nutcracker-like toy soldier! Wait for him to come to you, and when he rears his bayonet back, be ready to jump so you land on top of the toy rifle. Run up to the soldier's body, then jump up and kick the soldier in the face. From there, move back. After several jump kicks, you'll be able to take this giant soldier out without a problem.

You'll then meet The Joker, who refuses to give up without a fight. He runs off, and Batman gives chase. The Joker will then try to escape onto a roller coaster, and Batman chases him on another set of cars. Stay on the cars, and attack or avoid the bombs, making sure they do not touch you. If you duck between the first and second cars on the left, you'll be able to take out just about every bomb. Also, make sure to keep ducking on the loop-de-loop, as the white circles with the stars on them will do a lot of damage if Batman smacks into them.

You'll eventually switch to a Mode 7 view where The Joker will be next to Batman while standing on his own car, throwing bombs at Batman. While you can punch The Joker while both cars are right next to each other, you can punch the bombs back at The Joker and hit him with them.

You'll eventually go back to side-scrolling view. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point in it, be ready to jump to The Joker's car. After some fighting words, be ready to duck down in the center of the car at the beginning of the battle. Attack The Joker if you can, and take as little damage as possible. You want to make sure those white spheres in the path of the loop do not smack into Batman. After the loop-de-loop, stop ducking, then run up to The Joker and punch him. When he leaps to the other side of the car, be ready to follow him there and punch him. Keep following him from one end of the car to the other as he jumps to and fro after each attack. A crouching kick is best, as The Joker can hit Batman with a spray of some sort, stunning him for a few seconds.

After Batman deals enough damage, The Joker gets away by jumping off the roller coaster, possibly jumping 40 feet to his demise in the process. So ends Stage 1.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 8 of 8

The last stage is a boss rush...and Konami turns the idea of one on its head with a few new enemies that didn't even show up in the game!

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The Gauntlet

When the Batsignal shows up, Commissioner Gordon tells Batman that The Joker has escaped with the others from Arkham Asylum, and wants Batman to meet them at the old warehouse by the Gotham Harbor. He warns Batman that they are trying to lure him into a trap, but Batman still cannot let them get away.

Do not take the Spray Gun or the Smoke Bombs with you; they will be absolutely useless in this stage.

This whole stage is a boss rush. You will want to fight well, and that will take some practice. After all, you will have limited opportunities to refill your health. Unlike other boss battles in other games, however, this one has a few surprises...

The first person you face is The Penguin. The same strategies from the first time around still apply. At least there is no attack helicopter this time around.

Next up is Scarecrow, and thankfully, there is no airplane to fight on. Use the Batarang to stun him, then hit punch him. Follow him when he jumps to the other side and punch him there. It is possible to get him in a pattern where he jumps, you follow and punch, he jumps in the other direction, you follow and punch, lather, rinse, repeat until he dies. If he gets too far away, throw the Batarang at him to stun him, then roll forward and hit him.

Next up is...Clayface?!? Wait, we haven't seen him at any point in the game! Duck to avoid the block of clay he throws at you, then get ready to duck his two-way shot. If you see an upper shot, duck; if you see a lower shot, jump. When Clayface rolls around, jump over him until he stops. If you can stay near him as he stops in the corner, you can keep hitting him with crouching kicks, and you can keep close to him and crouch kick him until he dies.

In the next section, keep wall-jumping off the walls. You'll get a heart at the top. Make your way to the right and use the Grappling Hook to get over the wide bottomless pit. You'll face Catwoman. The battle against her works the same way as it did at the end of Stage 4: keep your distance, use your Boomerang and don't get cornered.

After some more wall jumping, you'll face...Man-Bat?!? We never saw him either! In Mode 7 fashion, he swoops by and threatens to end your adventure on top of the old warehouse. Step back and punch him twice, then be ready to punch him as he shows up from the side. Since you can punch him when he flies towards the background, he can and will go down pretty quickly when you know what to do.

The final boss is The Joker. This time around, The Joker fights on a jetpack. Stand in the middle and punch him. You don't even have to move; Batman will face the direction that Joker flies in from automatically. Just punch once when he gets close enough. That ends the first form.

The second form has Joker throwing bombs. Jump over the bombs and hit him with a Plastic Explosive if you have one. If he gets close due to you not having any, punch him before he hits you with the spray gun. If you can get close enough, he'll jump from one direction to the other.

Just like last time, you can use the Batarang to stun him to get a jump kick on him, and you can also punch the bombs back at him for some damage from a distance. However you do it, if you know what you're doing, you'll finish Stage 8 and finally beat the game. Alfred will congratulate you on a job well done, and the ending you get will depend on what difficulty you beat the game on. Hard has the best ending, obviously, but there are different endings for Easy and Medium. Hard, however, gives you an extended cast of characters list at the end. Enjoy the ending!

Also, if you die at any point in the second section of this stage, you'll have to face Catwoman and Man-Bat again, and if you collected either of the hearts, the hearts don't re-spawn. Thanks, game.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 7 of 8

The seventh level of the game takes us into the cutting edge of cyberspace as we rescue Commissioner Gordon and Barbara from The Riddler's twisted maze.

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Riddle Me This...

This stage begins with The Riddler sending a message to Batman, saying he has presented the completed version of his "Maze of the Minotaur" cyberspace game to the Police Department. Somehow, Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, seems to have become lost in it and that she will be in there forever unless someone is clever enough to solve his labyrinth. He asks Batman if he wants to give it a try.

Batman uses a computer to network with the one at the police station in order to access the maze. Alfred asks Batman to be prepared in case he needs to blast through some walls. Bring the Plastic Explosives and the X-Ray Goggles, or else you will be unable to beat the level.

Unlike other stages in the game, this one gives you a map in the upper-right corner of the screen, which you can consult at any time. You will need this to see where you are as well as which direction you are facing in the maze. Getting around this level is very similar to moving around in the museum in the second stage, but you will also be able to move downwards by pressing Down on the Control Pad. You will notice this when you see a square that you can easily see through. Just press Down at it, and you'll head towards the foreground.

When you enter the maze, you will be met by The Riddler. If you can solve the riddles of the maze, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon will both be freed (even though the Commish is not even mentioned in the opening cutscene and you don't know he's there until you near the end). From here, you will be fighting enemies.

Move right at the start. When you see a corridor in the background, go into it. Keep going right, and you'll see a square indicating you can move downwards. Press Down, then head right again. If you use the X-Ray Goggles at the dead end, you will learn that this is a fake wall. Use the Plastic Explosives to blow a hole in the wall. The wall will disappear and you can keep moving right.

Press Down at the next square, then go left and press Down at the next square. Head right, and fight the enemies as you go. When you see another square, press Down, then go left and press Down at the next square. You will come across a green circle with a yellow question mark on the floor. Walk up to it, and you will be asked a question by The Riddler. When he asks what the shortest distance between a point in Nome, Alaska and a point in Miami, Florida is, the answer is a curved line. If you pick the wrong answer, you will end up in the Waste Land. You will also end up in the Waste Land if you lose a life at any point in the maze. From here, go left and press Up, then go left for more energy for the Plastic Explosives. From here, go right and you'll be back on the path to the first question.

When you get the question right, you'll end up in a new area. Go left, and The Riddler will tell you that the curved line is correct because the earth is round. You'll then encounter another green circle, but if you walk onto it, you get warped to the southeast corner of the maze.

From here, go left, then go up at the corridor. Go left and fight the enemies as you go. As soon as you see another corridor in the background, press Up. Head to the right and get some energy for the Plastic Explosives, then go to the corridor in the background and press Up again. Head to the left and fight enemies, then press Up at the dead end. Go right, then press Up when you reach the wall. Go to the left and fight more enemies. You will eventually reach another green circle, which teleports you elsewhere.

Head to the left, and keep going until you reach a locked door. There are three keys nearby to choose from, and if you pick the D Key just like in the animated series, you will have to duck under one giant circular blade and duck under a second that both come in from the right. Grab the C key instead, otherwise you'll be dodging three giant circular blades. (Duck under the third one.)

When you open the locked door, go into it. Touch the green circle. The Riddler tells you that in sheet music and on the musical scale, the C has no sharps, while A has three and D has two. (Gee, way to take it literally.) You'll then be warped again.

Head to the right, then go up at the wall. Go left while fight enemies, then press Up at the wall. Walk up to the green circle to get warped again.

Head left while fight enemies, but don't go into the corridor in the background yet. Keep going left to get a health pick-up, then go back to the corridor and press Up. Head right while fight enemies and press Down at the first set of corridors. You'll be back in familiar territory. Head back to the southeast corner of the map and step on the green circle. Follow the path here, then use the X-Ray Goggles. The wall to your right is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw a Plastic Explosive at the wall, then head right. Go to the next green circle you see to warp again.

Head to the left to another green circle. Use the X-Ray Goggles to find out that the wall to your left is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw the Plastic Explosive at the wall, then walk into the next green circle you see to get warped yet again.

Head to the left and press Up at the wall, then head to the right and press Down at the wall. Head to the right and fight even more enemies, then press Down at the wall. Go left and press Down at the wall, and you'll find Barbara Gordon, the Commish...and the Minotaur!

The Riddle poses another riddle: I have billions of eyes, yet I live in the darkness. I have millions of ears yet only four lobes. I have no muscles yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?

The answer is H.B., which is short for "human brain." Batman explains his answer, and says it is the only thing The Riddler respects. The Riddler is both impressed and angered to the point that he sics the Minotaur on you.

To beat the Minotaur, throw a Plastic Explosive at him if you have any left, and use the wall jump to vault over him if he corners you. When the Minotaur swings his sword at the wall, punch at him until he turns around. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you run out of Plastic Explosives, run back and forth and get hits as you do, and don't use the Batarang...it's completely useless.

After this, The Riddler thanks you for getting this far, but says that everything so far has just been a test. The real game begins now, and you'll eventually be in a different area in the world. You'll end up in a virtual chess board, and The Riddler is in the mood for a relaxing game of chess. It's relaxing for him, but it's anything but for Batman!

Head to the right. Watch out for any pawns that attack you with spears. When they stop striking, roll to the right. Grab the heart if you need health, then punch the rooks four times to get rid of them. Keep running to the right, and The Riddler will show up. He will present you with something he thinks Batman will get a real charge from.

Keep heading right. Jump to the right as the right hand zaps, and jump over the pits the lasers create. Keep jumping as you go to the right, as it allows you to travel to the right a little more quickly than just running alone. Also, don't stay in one place for too long, as the floor will still break under your feet and drop you into a bottomless pit. Be sure to make small hops with the jump button as you keep moving right, so you can give yourself a bit of a lead against the floor; otherwise, you won't be able to make it, especially when you have to punch rooks out of the way.

After the second rook, keep making a few short hops, then keep going right. When the right hand fires a laser, immediately jump to avoid falling. Remember that The Riddler will only zap orange tiles.

When The Riddler sends a rook at you, duck down, then head to the right. Be ready to roll to the right when the pawns stop attacking, and keep running right until the rook explodes. You'll then face The Riddler himself...almost.

The Riddler fights you with two chess kings. White goes first, and he switches between White and Black. Attack the kings whenever you can, and stay on the move so the kings don't crush you. The best strategy is to trap yourself in one side of the room. You'll have less room to move, but you'll be able to hit two jump kicks on a king instead of one. When you destroy one of the kings, be ready to run to the right and jump over to the right whenever the right hand fires a laser. As this goes on, the king you did not destroy will be pushed to the right, and you can wall jump off of it if need be.

You'll eventually have to fight the other king. Fight it just like you did the first king, and remember to wall jump. You'll eventually beat the second knight, and beat Stage 7. On to the toughest challenge yet...!

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 6 of 8

Now that we have the driving stage out of the way, it's back to side-scrolling action as we take on Scarecrow.

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Perchance To Scream

The stage begins with a report from Summer Gleeson in front of the reception hall of Gotham State University where a party is being held in honor of the school's professors. However, there is a great sense of uneasiness here because of a large blimp in the sky. Batman immediately believes that this is the work of Scarecrow, as he has a grudge against the University, has been planning his revenge and has readied a blimp for one of his gruesome experiments: releasing gas in the air that will mess up a person's mind to the point that they become a criminal...or in this case, a whole large crowd's worth of people.

As far as the equipment screen goes, the most important things to bring here are the Stars, the Spray Gun and the Gas Mask.

At the beginning of the stage, Batman will warn everyone to get out of the building as the Scarecrow is on his way. Unfortunately, his warning comes too late, because Scarecrow's fear toxin fills the building. Scarecrow then shows up, and tells you that everyone will view you as the enemy and you won't be able to hurt them. This is where the Spray Gun comes in handy, as it will knock the civilians out as they try to run up to you and grab you in an attempt to drain your health. Strangely, some of the people look like the enemies from the first level, while others actually look like civilians. Not surprisingly, the ones that do look like past enemies do try to attack you, and at this point in the game they take one more hit than they did in the past. Attack them, but save the Spray Gun for the civilians.

In the second section, equip the gas mask so you don't have to worry about the gas draining your health in case you forget to duck when it lowers every few seconds.

In the third section. the guys on the balconies just stay in one place and punch the whole time. Thankfully, there are no civilians in this room, so beat everybody in here up.

In the fourth section, come in with the Gas Mask equipped. This section is much like the second one.

In the fifth section, you'll be moving to the right and dealing with more people before you finally meet up with Scarecrow on the roof. Scarecrow will get away on his roof, but Robin will show up in the Batplane. Sadly, you won't be able to get close to the blimp with the Batplane, you will have to use the Grappling Hook to get aboard.

On the Batplane, use the Batarangs to attack the balloons, which are filled with dangerous gas. You can avoid them, but if you run into them or hit them too late, they will hurt.

You'll eventually be on top of the blimp. somewhere. Run to the left and beat up enemies as you go, and you'll make it to the front of the blimp. Drop down, face right and use the Grappling Hook to swing your way to the control room.

Beat up the enemies here, and avoid the fire that is in your way. Equip the Stars so you can take out the machine gunners from a distance. You'll get some health at the end, where Scarecrow will escape for a second time on a single-person aircraft. Batman and Scarecrow will fight on this aircraft, and Scarecrow refuses to let you live to interfere his plans again. (Also, this reminds me of Contra: Hard Corps.)

Scarecrow will fire his gun at you twice, then walk up to you and punch you. He also jumps around much like The Joker did. Use the Batarang to stun him and get some hits in with some crouching kicks. Be careful while doing this, as sometimes the Batarang may hit the wings of the aircraft. Use a crouching hit if you're higher than he is,  and use the roll to avoid the bullets. Just make sure you don't roll into the lower bullet of Scarecrow's three-way shot. Scarecrow will eventually go down, and you'll head to Stage 7.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 5 of 8

This stage is a driving stage, and this is quite possibly the shortest of the stages. Unless your driving is good, however, you're gonna have a tough time with this one.

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Trouble In Transit

The stage begins with Two-Face fleeing and firing a machine gun after committing a heist. You will then see Summer Gleeson reporting on a robber at the Gotham City Bank and how Two-Face and his men have fled by car. Batman and Robin go after them in the Batmobile, which starts a top-down driving stage. What, no behind-the-Batmobile view like in Batman Returns?

Use Left and Right to turn in the respective direction. The B button accelerates, the A button brakes, and Y fires the guns. L and R will allow you to rotate the Batmobile (and the screen, hello, Mode 7) to make intersections and the like easier.

When you see yellow signs with white arrows telling you where to go, be ready to go in those directions. Be careful when turning, as you will crash if you take turns full speed. Instead, take your thumb off the accelerator for a brief moment, then take the turn. Try to avoid other vehicles if you can, since that is easier than shooting them. You will need to be on the right side of the road if you have to turn left, and on the left side if you have to turn right, as it is the only way to make all the turns without hitting walls too many times. This section does not play at all.

Also, there is a time limit. If you crash too many times, you're not going to make it to the next important point in the stage before time runs out.

If you make it to a yellow car that suddenly screeches onto the screen, you made it to Two-Face! Try not to crash as you shoot at all the cars. You can either inch towards the direction that the game tells you to go so you can make the turn more easily, or you can make a wide turn at the last second. However you do it, just don't hit any walls. Thankfully, turning is easier on the freeway.

You'll eventually catch up to Two-Face. Thankfully, this part is not timed. When Two-Face is in front of you, he will lay down bombs that will blend in with the road. Stay to the side of him when you shoot at him. When Two-Face is behind you, he will shoot rockets. You can either avoid the cursor and keep firing to lay bombs behind you, or you can use the brake to get back behind him. Just don't let him you; that will do a lot of damage. When you start seeing shards of glass come out of Two-Face's car, you're close to ending the battle. After this, it's on to Stage 6.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 4 of 8

In this episode, we face Catwoman. At least she isn't as difficult as she was in Batman Returns.

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Tale of the Cat

Batman goes into Gotham City to make sure everything is okay, as he has a feeling that something is going to happen tonight. Alfred asks him to be careful.

At the equipment menu, you'll be able to choose anything you want again. Be sure the bring the Stars, though.

At the start of the level, you will be wall jumping between two walls. The fans will damage you if you touch them, and the platforms will be there to break your fall in case you slip up so you won't have to start all the way back at the bottom.

At the top of the shaft, you'll see Catwoman climbing up a building in the background. Head to the right, and you'll eventually see Catwoman moving around on the rooftops.

The next section is an elevator, and Batman will catch up with Catwoman - and a cat - at the elevator. Catwoman tells Batman to stay out of her way, then they will fight. Throw a Batarang at her, jump forward, hit her with a jump kick, then jump back. You can also walk up to her and punch her until you hit her, then jump back, in case you can't get the timing for the jump kick down. Rinse, lather, repeat. You'll be able to avoid her attacks, and in case she gets close with a dashing swipe, you can just punch her out of it. If you try to throw her, she will just jump up and kick you.

After hitting Catwoman enough times, the elevator will stop. This time, Catwoman will jump off a building, and Batman will jump off in pursuit. In this section, you need not hit her with any attacks, although if you punch Catwoman, she will be stunned and moved upwards a bit as a result. You'll also get points out of every strike, too. The both of you will eventually geat near the bottom, and Catwoman will eventually latch onto a building. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point on it, have the grappling hook ready and latch on to one of the poles on the right to save yourself from certain death and head on to the next section.

In the next section, keep following Catwoman, and use the roll to get past the falling signs. Watch out with the jumps between buildings, as you will have to jump at the very edge to get past them all. Luckily, Batman can grab onto ledges if you come close enough.

If you fall too far behind, Catwoman will wait for you to catch up.

You'll eventually chase Catwoman down the building. The second door on the way down has a health refill, but the third door contains a cat. This is Catwoman's cat Isis, and she will serve a purpose later on. The door at the bottom takes you to a back alley where you will face Catwoman again.

Just like with the elevator fight, use your Batarang to stun her, jump forward and kick her, then jump back. If you have any Stars in your inventory, throw those at her, too. Eventually, you'll beat Catwoman again, and if you found Isis before this battle, she will thank you for taking care of her. After that, it's on to Stage 5.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 3 of 8

The third level of the game takes us to the museum, where The Penguin is stealing art and making havoc.

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Fowl Play

The third stage starts with Batman getting an emergency call from Robin concerning a break-in at the Gotham City Museum. He says that it is the work of a large gang. Batman asks Robin to meet him at the museum, as he will need his help. Alfred will call to tell Batman to make sure he has all the tools he needs as there have been power outages.

At the equipment screen, bring your Flashlight. It will be absolutely essential. Also, bring the Plastic Explosives.

After Batman and Robin split up, equip and use the Flashlight. As you go to the right, you will see these dark dots on the floor. These are mines, and if you step on them, they will hurt. Jump over them.

At the right-most end of the room you start in, there will be a staff member. Walk up to him and press Down on the Control Pad to free him. He will tell you that the staff were attacked by some kind of bird-like thing. He also asks you to help the rest of the staff and that tells you that there is an elevator down the middle corridor. From there, go down to the security room in the basement.

Unlike the first two levels, this one is not linear. Here, you're going up and down in addition to left and right. So be careful.

Head left. Jump over the mines again and enter the first corridor in the background that you see. (There is a sign with a pair of red arrows and "B" and "A" on it. Remember it for later.) Go into the elevator and go down, then go left. Go further left, and keep the Flashlight on to jump over some mines. Go up at the half-opened door that you see, then go right and free the security guard. He will tell you that someone suddenly burst into the room, knocked him out and stole the master key. He will also tell you that the Curator and four other workers are still in the museum. After this, the lights will come back on, and if you go left, you will meet Robin and the curator. The Curator will give you the master key, which will open just about any door in the museum. He also says that he and Robin have a rough idea of where everyone else is, and to use the intercom to stay in contact.

Robin will tell you where the two workers you need to rescue are. The locations of the workers are completely random, so pay attention to what Robin says in your playthrough and not in the video, and don't forget to use that intercom! 

Now that the lights are back on, watch out for grey dots. Those are the mines. Also, there will be enemies much like the ones in the first level. Take them out as you head right to the open corridor where you came in before. Take the elevator back up to the first floor. From here, you can either go left to Block B or back to the right for Block A.

We're going to Block A. Equip the Master Key (which is an ID card) and beat up enemies and jump over mines as you press Up with the Master Key equipped at every door you come across. It won't be long before you enter one of them and find the worker who is there. Free him. If you go to the intercom in the open corridor and press Up (it's the telephone mounted on the wall), Robin will repeat where you need to go.

The heart obviously refills your health.

There are three types of enemies: guys who attack with their fists, guys who shoot at you with pistols and guys who shoot at you with machine guns. If you stun the gun-toting enemies with the Batarang, they will drop their weapons and will be forced to fight you with their fists, making them easy pickings.

The door to the left of the intercom in Block A of the first floor leads to a hallway with a reflective floor. You can get some energy for one of your weapons as well as a heart here. This hallway lets you cross over to Block B of the first floor without going to the elevator.

Throwing an enemy into another enemy will kill both of them. Also, guys with guns cannot hit you at close range, for some weird reason.

If you use the intercom after rescuing all the workers, Batman will let Robin know. Robin will tell you to come back, and he and Batman will come to the conclusion that The Penguin is the one responsible for what is going on here, as he is trying to steal the artwork being displayed on the second floor. Unfortunately for him, his master key will not open the door to the room containing the artwork as the door has a four-digit combination lock. Before he can ask the Curator what it is and relay it to Batman, however, he is suddenly attacked by The Penguin, who makes his presence known before turning the lights back off.

If you take too long to get to the intercom and talk to Robin, the lights will go out anyway. (If you do this, it messes with the continuity of the in-game conversations a little bit, as no alternate dialogue exists in case you don't talk to Robin on the intercom.)

Regardless of what happens, go back to Block B of the basement and head to the security room. Robin will be tied up. Free him. Robin will tell you that The Penguin has kidnapped the Curator. After Batman says he will rescue him, Robin will tell him where the Curator is as well as your current location. The lights will then come back on.

Just like with the museum staff, the Curator's location will be random each time you play, and you will have to look through all the doors to find him. When you find and free him, he will tell you the secret combination (which is also random) to the door to the art on the second floor.

There is not much to the second floor at all, and the combination look door is pretty easy to identify. Press Up at the door, enter the combination, and there you go. You'll eventually come face-to-face with The Penguin, who sends Scrap the vulture after you. When Scrap dives at you, punch it so it gets knocked down, back up, then punch Scrap again when Scrap comes after you. After seven punches, the vulture goes down. You can also use the Batarang.

After you beat Scrap, keep going right and go up the stairs. You'll finally fight The Penguin.

To beat The Penguin, avoid the gunfire from the Raven XJ-11 Attack Helicopter in the background by staying underneath the center of the plane, then throw a grenade at The Penguin to get some early damage. From here, block and punch (or throw) until The Penguin goes down. After a while, The Penguin will fly in the air. Don't worry about The Penguin; just dodge the helicopter's machine gun fire by jumping over it. When he lands on the ground, block, then attack. Keep doing this until he goes back into the air.

If you are too far away from The Penguin, he will shoot you with a machine gun. Thankfully, you can throw a grenade at him if you do that, and you can duck the attack to avoid it completely. Eventually, he'll go down, and it's on to Stage 4.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 2 of 8

The next level limits what we can do to enemies, but it is still beatable if you know what to do.

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No Green Peace

The second stage of the game starts with Batman heading to the forest in the Gotham City suburban district, as there has been an unusual increase in the number of trees in the area. There have also been reported sightings of bizarre plant life. If it is revealed that Poison Ivy is behind this, there will be a major panic in the city. Batman must take on Poison Ivy before this can happen.

When you make it to the equipment selection screen, you will notice that there is an X next to the Star and the Plastic Explosive options. You will not be able to use anything that has an X to it in the current stage. Be sure to bring the Spray Gun and Smoke Bombs; they will be extremely useful.

The women in the blue and black armor are the generic enemies for this stage. Duck down to avoid their attacks, as they will try to spray you with some sort of gas. You cannot defeat them, sadly; you can only stun them with the Batarang. Holding Down and pressing B to roll will make it easier to get away from them. Also, be ready to avoid red spiky balls that fall from above.

You'll eventually come face-to-face with a few giant tree roots. Hit them with three Batarangs in the red, pustule-laden area to defeat them. Remember to block so the tree roots don't damage you.

In the next section, you will be doing some platforming. Be ready to use the Grappling Hook, and use the Smoke Bombs to take out some of the female enemies from afar. As you make it to the top, be ready to jump from tree to tree as the ones with the diagonal branches start falling down from under you. When you see a vine at the top of the screen, be ready to grab onto it with the Grappling Hook to make it to the end of this section.

In the third section, the vines will collapse if you stand on them for too long, so leap your way across them. Use your grappling hook when necessary after this, watching out for branch that fall when you put your weight on them, and you will eventually make it onto solid ground.

As you make your way to the right, the terrain will transform. The worst it can do is slightly irritate you, since no bottomless pits are made and there are no enemies in this section.

In the fourth section, you'll finally be in a huge greenhouse. Use the spray gun on enemies if you need to if you need to refill items, as the battery icons the enemies sometimes drop from being hit by the spray gun will do just that.

There are also trap doors in the floor, and you can either speed through them or take your time. Thankfully, the enemies here come to a dead stop and never walk where they are, so you can figure out where some of them are. Thankfully, the pits are not instant death traps, and if you feel like it, you can stun an enemy and then throw them into the pits, killing them!

You'll eventually catch up to Poison Ivy, who says the Human World does not understand the feelings of the Plant World. Batman chases after Poison Ivy, and tells her that while damage to the environment is a tragedy, it is still wrong of her to threaten the Human World. Poison Ivy does not care about the Human World, and sics an evil Venus flytrap-like monster on Batman.

Duck to avoid the arm as it whips at the air three times, then throw a Batarang at it when it opens its mouth before moving. After three this, be ready to move to avoid the yellow stars that come out of the arm as well as the arm itself when it strikes the ground. Again, throw Batarangs at the mouth when it is open, and stay on the move. When Poison Ivy comes out from behind the boss, duck to avoid the arrows she shoots from her crossbow. After dealing enough hits, you'll eventually take this thing down.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 1 of 8

So, anybody remember The Adventures of Batman & Robin, the animated Batman series from the 1990s? Well, it had a few games. This is one of them. And it's not that bad, either.

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Amused To Death

The game begins with Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred alerting Bruce Wayne to having picked up a suspicious sounding broadcast. The broadcast is of Harley Quinn and "The Joker Channel." Harley Quinn introduces The Joker, who hopes Batman is watching as he has some very special attractions at the Gotham City Amusement Park for all the children of Gotham City. He says tomorrow should be "a real scream" before laughing.

Alfred warns Bruce that this is a trap of some time. Bruce, who is Batman at this point, says he still has to go, and asks Alfred to get the equipment ready.

At this point, you will go to the equipment menu. You can chose which weapons you can bring with you, and thankfully, you can toggle between them all in-game. The Batarang and the Grappling Gun will always be equipped and cannot be removed.

The beginning of the stage has you running to the right and punching goons. You can also throw them into other goons, if you wish. There will be some guys jumping out of windows, as well as guys with guns. If you have Batarangs on your person, you can toss them at the armed men to disarm them.

You can attack with your punches and kicks with the Y button, jump with the B button, cycle through all your equipped gadgets with the X button and use the currently equipped gadget with the A button.

Pausing the game allows you to see how many lives you have left and allows you to return to the Batcave. If you do that, you'll start the whole level over, but you'll refill all your health and special items. Despite what I say about using the Batcave, only the "last life of the last continue" part works; if you go back to the Batcave on the last life of your last continue, you'll get all your continues back. Discretion really is the better part of valor!

After the stairs leading to the door that you can't open, you can take either the ground path or the upper path via the platforms on the building. The upper path will let you avoid the enemies altogether, but since this is the first stage, it doesn't really matter much which path you take.

You'll eventually enter the amusement park, where you will meet Harley Quinn. She will welcome you to The Joker's Funhouse, which is somehow built in his image (because Batman) and runs inside, with Batman chasing her inside.

Once inside, you'll see some new traps, such as the Joker robots that will shoot at you. Duck down and roll forward to avoid the gunfire, then keep doing crouch kicks on them until they die. To roll, hold Down on the Control Pad and keep pressing B.

Shortly after the beginning, you'll notice that some of the floors and ceilings will move up and down. Thankfully, you can wall jump in this game. Just jump towards the wall, then keep holding the Control Pad towards the wall and press B again to jump off the wall.

Be sure to have your grappling hook equipped, as it has infinite uses and you can use it to make it pass tall walls that you can't jump up and grab the ledge of. Also, spikes will be exposed as floors and ceilings move up and down, and they can do quite a bit of damage. Use the grappling hook to get past them.

In the next section, keep moving to the right to avoid the crushing ceiling. You will then come face-to-face with a giant nutcracker-like toy soldier! Wait for him to come to you, and when he rears his bayonet back, be ready to jump so you land on top of the toy rifle. Run up to the soldier's body, then jump up and kick the soldier in the face. From there, move back. After several jump kicks, you'll be able to take this giant soldier out without a problem.

You'll then meet The Joker, who refuses to give up without a fight. He runs off, and Batman gives chase. The Joker will then try to escape onto a roller coaster, and Batman chases him on another set of cars. Stay on the cars, and attack or avoid the bombs, making sure they do not touch you. If you duck between the first and second cars on the left, you'll be able to take out just about every bomb. Also, make sure to keep ducking on the loop-de-loop, as the white circles with the stars on them will do a lot of damage if Batman smacks into them.

You'll eventually switch to a Mode 7 view where The Joker will be next to Batman while standing on his own car, throwing bombs at Batman. While you can punch The Joker while both cars are right next to each other, you can punch the bombs back at The Joker and hit him with them.

You'll eventually go back to side-scrolling view. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point in it, be ready to jump to The Joker's car. After some fighting words, be ready to duck down in the center of the car at the beginning of the battle. Attack The Joker if you can, and take as little damage as possible. You want to make sure those white spheres in the path of the loop do not smack into Batman. After the loop-de-loop, stop ducking, then run up to The Joker and punch him. When he leaps to the other side of the car, be ready to follow him there and punch him. Keep following him from one end of the car to the other as he jumps to and fro after each attack. A crouching kick is best, as The Joker can hit Batman with a spray of some sort, stunning him for a few seconds.

After Batman deals enough damage, The Joker gets away by jumping off the roller coaster, possibly jumping 40 feet to his demise in the process. So ends Stage 1.

The Adventures of Batman and Robin (Super NES) - The OST

Here it is: every track from The Adventures of Batman and Robin for Super Nintendo.

Rainiac plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 8 of 8

Batman faces the villains of the game in one last battle...as well as some new ones that didn't even show up in this game!

The Gauntlet

When the Batsignal shows up, Commissioner Gordon tells Batman that The Joker has escaped with the others from Arkham Asylum, and want Batman to meet them at the old warehouse by the Gotham Harbor. He warns Batman that they are trying to lure him into a trap, but Batman still cannot let them get away.

Do not take the Spray Gun or the Smoke Bombs with you; they will be absolutely useless in this stage.

This whole stage is a boss rush. You will want to fight well, and that will take some practice. After all, you will have limited opportunities to refill your health. Unlike other boss battles in other games, however, this one has a few surprises...

The first person you face is The Penguin. The same strategies from the first time around still apply. At least there is no attack helicopter this time around.

Next up is Scarecrow, and thankfully, there is no airplane to fight on. Use the Batarang to stun him, then hit punch him. Follow him when he jumps to the other side and punch him there. It is possible to get him in a pattern where he jumps, you follow and punch, he jumps in the other direction, you follow and punch, lather, rinse, repeat until he dies. If he gets too far away, throw the Batarang at him to stun him, then roll forward and hit him.

Next up is...Clayface?!? Wait, we haven't seen him at any point in the game! Duck to avoid the block of clay he throws at you, then get ready to avoid his two-way shot. If you see an upper shot, duck; if you see a lower shot, jump. When Clayface rolls around, jump over him until he stops. If you can stay near him as he stops in the corner, you can keep hitting him with crouching kicks, and you can keep close to him and crouch kick him until he dies.

In the next section, keep wall-jumping off the walls. You'll get a heart at the top. Make your way to the right and use the Grappling Hook to get over the wide bottomless pit. You'll face Catwoman. The battle against her works the same way as it did at the end of Stage 4: keep your distance, use your Boomerang and don't get cornered.

After some more wall jumping, you'll face...Man-Bat?!? We never saw him either! In Mode 7 fashion, he swoops by and threatens to end your adventure on top of the old warehouse. Step back and punch him twice, then be ready to punch him as he shows up from the side. Since you can punch him when he flies towards the background, he can and will go down pretty quickly when you know what to do.

The final boss is The Joker. This time around, The Joker fights on a jetpack. Stand in the middle and punch him. You don't even have to move; Batman will face the direction that Joker flies in from automatically. Just punch once when he gets close enough. That ends the first form.

The second form has Joker throwing bombs. Jump over the bombs and hit him with a Plastic Explosive if you have one. If he gets close due to you not having any, punch him before he hits you with the spray gun. If you can get close enough, he'll jump from one direction to the other.

Just like last time, you can use the Batarang to stun him to get a jump kick on him, and you can also punch the bombs back at him for some damage from a distance. However you do it, if you know what you're doing, you'll finish Stage 8 and finally beat the game. Alfred will congratulate you on a job well done, and the ending you get will depend on what difficulty you beat the game on. Hard has the best ending, obviously, but there are different endings for Easy and Medium. Hard, however, gives you an extended cast of characters list at the end. Enjoy the ending!