Batman: Return of the Joker

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Description

The Joker lives again in SunSoft's sequel to their NES original. The Joker has somehow managed to escape from Arkham Asylum once again, and Batman must fight him across seven stages to restore peace to Gotham City.

Batman carries a gauntlet shooting basic bullets by default. This can be upgraded with weapon powerups located in boxes throughout the level, giving access to homing and energy weapons. Every upgrade weapon can be charged up for a secondary attack, different for each weapon. Batman also has a slide useful against most enemies and some bosses.

Boss fights introduce a system where life is measured by points instead of tick marks or bars. In these sections, Batman has significantly more health, and can take many more hits when rumbling with these stronger foes.

Levels include a snowy landscape, moving train, military base, and sewers. Two levels require you to run and dodge explosions while vehicles keep pace in the background. Some levels also have Batman activate a jetpack and play through a short side-scrolling shooter.

This game is one of the few Batman games that was not based directly on a movie or television series.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Dynamite Batman" -- Japanese NES title
• "Batman: Revenge of the Joker" -- Genesis title
• "Batman: O Retorno do Coringa" -- Brazilian NES title
• "ダイナマイトバットマン" -- Japanese NES title spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Batman licensees
• DC comics licensees

User Reviews

Frustrated with Batman: The Video Game's difficulty? Try this one...	NES	chirinea (46534)
Very impressive, but not flawless	NES	Bregalad (972)
Great follow-up to a hard-to-follow act	NES	Multimedia Mike (20605)

Critic Reviews

Joystick (French)	NES	Dec, 1992	86 out of 100	86
Video Games	NES	Dec, 1992	82 out of 100	82
GamePro (US)	NES	Dec, 1991	4 out of 5	80
Power Unlimited	Genesis	Jul, 1993	7.9 out of 10	79
1UP!	NES	Jul 11, 2008	78 out of 100	78
Jeuxvideo.com	NES	Jun 16, 2011	15 out of 20	75
Classic-games.net	NES	Dec 11, 2017	7 out of 10	70
Just Games Retro	NES	Feb 05, 2008		70
Mean Machines	Genesis	Apr, 1993	68 out of 100	68
Classic-games.net	Genesis	Aug 05, 2020	5 out of 10	50

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
SNES version?	5	Shoddyan (14313) May 22, 2007

Trivia

Cancelled SNES port

An SNES port was nearly completed but ultimately not released, though the ROM is available. Interestingly, it seems to have been made separately from the Genesis version and uses different art assets.

Sounds

The short tune played during the "stage clear" screens was first used for the same purpose in the Genesis version of Batman: The Video Game.

Information also contributed by chirinea.

Related Web Sites

• Video review of Batman games (WARNING: Language) (The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reviews Batman-based games, including Batman: Return of the Joker on NES and Game Boy and Batman: Revenge of the Joker on Genesis.)