Batman Returns FAQ v1.0 written by Joshua Harring
(harring@student.umass.edu) on 9/4/99
Table of contents
I. Intro
II. Controls
III. Batman's Moves
IV. Walkthru
V. Disclaimer
I. Intro
Hello and welcome to my FAQ for Batman Returns for the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System. Batman Returns is a beat-'em-up action game
similar to Final Fight, and is based on the movie of the same name.
Batman Returns features excellent graphics, sound effects, and music,
even today, five years after its initial release. If you enjoy this
type of action game and still have a SNES, I highly recommend picking up
this game at a used video game place like FuncoLand. It retails for
less than $10 these days.
This FAQ can only be used with the Super Nintendo version of Batman
Returns. Although there are many games called Batman Returns for other
platforms, the Super Nintendo version is unique among them, and
therefore this FAQ will not be useful for the games on other platforms.
Even though the NES version of Batman Returns is the most similar to
this version, there are still enough differences for it to warrant its
own separate FAQ.
This game features two different types of action scenes. The first
scene looks and feels very similar to games like Final Fight. I will
refer to this as the "3D Action Scene". The other scene looks and feels
like a platform-style action game. The gameplay here is different from
the 3D Action Scenes. I will refer to this scene as the 2D Action
Scene.
There is also a unique level where Batman is racing along in his
Batmobile. In this level, Batman is moving forward, into the screen.
This scene has its own separate controls as well. I will refer to this
as the Batmobile Scene.
II. Controls
This will be helpful for anyone who doesn't know which button does what
(handy if you don't have any documentation for this game).
Directional Pad
---------------
3D action scene: Batman moves in any of eight directions along the
ground.
2D action scene: Batman moves left and right, and also crouches.
Batmobile scene: The Batmobile moves left and right along the street.
A Button
--------
3D action scene: Batman uses his Grappling Hook, which unfortunately has
little use in these scenes.
2D action scene: Batman again uses his Grappling Hook, which can latch
onto the ceiling or the bottom of a platform, and he can pull himself
across large gaps by using it repeatedly.
Batmobile scene: No use.
B Button
--------
3D action scene: Batman jumps.
2D action scene: Batman jumps.
Batmobile scene: No use.
X Button
--------
3D action scene: When combined with either the L or R buttons, Batman
throws a Test Tube which kills or damages all onscreen enemies.
2D action scene: When combined with either the L or R buttons, Batman
throws a Test Tube which kills or damages all onscreen enemies.
Batmobile scene: No use.
Y Button
--------
3D action scene: This is the basic attack button. Depending upon what
particular stance Batman is in (i.e. standing, jumping, grabbing
someone), this button performs a particular move. I'll outline those
moves in just a moment.
2D action scene: If Batman is close to an enemy, he punches. If he is
far away, he throws a Batarang (which doesn't return to him).
Batmobile scene: This button fires discs straight out ahead of the
Batmobile with which to kill enemy bikers.
L and R Buttons
---------------
3D action scene: These buttons cause Batman to put his arm up to block
an attack. Batman takes minor damage from blocking, but less than he
would had he taken the attack without blocking.
2D action scene: Same as the 3D action scene, Batman blocks.
Batmobile scene: No use.
III. Batman's Moves
-------------------
This section discusses the moves Batman has in 3D action scenes. His
moves are very limited in both 2D action scenes and the Batmobile scene,
and have already been outlined above.
Punch - Press the Y button when Batman is standing to throw a straight
punch for minor damage.
Standing combo - Press the Y button repeatedly. When Batman hits an
enemy with a straight punch, he will then go into a standing combo
consisting of two punches, a knee to the mid-section, and finally a spin
kick that knocks down. The whole combo does good damage and can hit
multiple enemies on the same side, but the time it takes to execute can
cause Batman to be hit from behind.
Jump kick - Press the B button to jump and then while in the air, press
the Y button to kick. Batman can do this move while jumping straight up
or jumping forward. It knocks down, but causes minor damage.
Grab - Maneuver Batman so that he touches an enemy and he will grab that
enemy. While the enemy is grabbed, Batman can do the following moves:
Slam - Press left + Y or right + Y to cause Batman to slam the enemy to
the ground for decent damage.
Grab combo - Press Y repeatedly to cause Batman to hit the enemy twice
and then finish with a spin kick. You can interrupt this combo at any
time with a Slam.
Batman also has several Power Moves that cause high damage, but can only
be done at certain times. They are:
Cape Sweep - Pressing B and Y at the same time causes Batman to spin
around with his cape extended, hitting enemies on both sides.
Unfortunately, Batman loses a small amount of energy after using this
move, so use it only when you're sure you would take more damage by not
doing it.
Building Slam - If Batman grabs an enemy and there is a building in the
near background, press up + Y to throw the enemy at the building. This
will also hit any other enemies that happen to be standing in the path
of the thrown enemy. You can break windows with this maneuver, too.
Head Butt - If Batman manages to grab two enemies on either side of him,
press Y to slam their heads together, causing high damage and
knockdowns. It can be difficult to do this move however.
Test Tube - Press and hold L or R to block. Then while in your blocking
stance, press X to throw a Test Tube to the ground and shatter it. This
causes an explosion that takes up the whole screen, and kills most
normal enemies and damages bosses. Because you only have three uses per
level however, they are best saved for bosses.
IV. Walkthrough
---------------
There are seven different levels in this game, with multiple areas in
each. You know you've passed into a new area when the screen goes white
and the Batman symbol appears. You progress to the next level by
beating the boss of the level you're on. Some levels have a couple
bosses, and you'll have to beat both of them before moving on.
This walkthrough was written on the Easy difficulty setting. More
difficult settings have more and tougher enemies, and more powerful
bosses, as well as different and better endings. I may outline the
differences between settings in future revisions of this FAQ.
Level 1-1
Type: 3D action scene
This level begins with people running in fear from the Red Triangle
Circus Gang. Go to the right and you will meet your first enemy, the
Thin Clown. He has only one attack, a punch. When in groups, they try
to surround you. Kill them with standing combos.
Moving on you'll find a Biker going around in circles. Stand on the
edge of his circle and punch him as he goes by to kill him. Then you'll
run into a Biker who goes all the way across the screen and back. Line
up with him and jump kick him a few times to kill him.
You'll next run into a Bazooka Clown. Some of them fire one shot and
then leave, others hang around. You can dodge the shot pretty easily
(even causing it to hit other clowns) and if you can't dodge it, you can
block it instead. To kill Bazooka clowns, walk over to their side of
the screen while staying above or below, then move up or down and grab
them.
After some more Bazookas and Thins, you'll find a small Heart. This
partially restores your life meter. You'll also meet up with a Fire
Clown who has two attacks. He can thrust forward with his fire stick,
or blow fire at medium range ahead of him. He stops momentarily before
either attack, so you can see them coming.
There's another Heart a little ways further, and you'll also meet up
with Fat Clowns. Their attack is easy to avoid, just stay out of their
way when they jump and hit them when they land. After some more Bikers
and Fats, and grabbing a Heart in a mailbox, this area ends.
Level 1-2
Type: 2D Action Scene
Walk to the right and fight through the steady stream of Thin Clowns.
They also sometimes attack from behind so be careful. You'll meet up
with Tall Clowns who throw sets of fire sticks. Either jump and shoot
him from out of his range, or run underneath a set of fire sticks and
get close to him, then jump and punch him. Either way works.
Fat Clowns bounce along in this level. You can try to kill them (they
take 2 hits), or run underneath them when they bounce.
At the end of this level is the Stungun Clown. He has a couple of
different attacks, rolling and jumping. Jump and run under accordingly.
Also use your Test Tubes; they get replenished at the end of the level.
After beating him, the level ends.
Level 2-1
Type: 3D Action Scene
At the start of this level are some Thin Clowns, and also a few barrels
that have a Test Tube and Points. A little ways further is a Juggling
Clown that tosses bowling pins at you. Take him on the same way you
take on Bazookas.
A little ways further is a clown in the background who tosses Dynamite
into the street. After doing so, he becomes a Thin clown. Just avoid
the Dynamite until it goes off. Fight your way through more Fats and
Thins and you'll find a Heart.
Next you'll meet up with Knife Throwers who, um, throw knives. Deal
with them and the Thins and you'll find some Points. Keep going and
you'll find clowns in the street that walk towards you and throw
dynamite. Avoid it and then pummel the clowns. After some more Bikers,
Thins, Jugglers and Fires, the area ends.
Level 2-2
Type: 2D Action Scene
Walk to the escalator and ride up it. If you see a Thin Clown jump up
and shoot him before he slides down. Stand still and Fat Clowns will
bounce over your head. When you reach the top of the escalator, walk to
the right.
When you pass by the elevators, Thin Clowns and people exit out of them.
Keep going and the building will be set on fire. Go right, jumping
through the falling fire and killing Tall Clowns. You'll come to a part
where you'll need to grapple to the right repeatedly to get over the
flaming floor. At one point you'll have to grapple back to the left for
a second so that part of the ceiling can fall. Keep going right and
you'll beat this area and get back to the street.
Level 2-3
Type: 3D Action Scene
Out here you'll meet Sword Swallowers for the first time. They're sorta
like Fire Clowns with their attack. Bash your way through Swords,
Bazookas, and Thins, and open the Barrels that have Points and a Heart.
Keep going through more Swords and Fats. Then there will be some Thins
and Dynamites, followed by more Thins, Fats, and Bazookas. The Fats may
try to jump from the bench to the street, so stay out of their way.
There's also a Heart here. After some more Thins, you'll meet the boss,
the Strongman.
He is accompanied by some Thins during this battle. Whenever you see
Thins and Strongman together, use a Test Tube. Otherwise, don't.
Strongman has a powerful punch and a couple other attacks, but he's not
that difficult. You should have him beat pretty easily.
Level 3-1
Type: 2D Action Scene
At the start of this level you're riding up an outside elevator. Thins
and Fats will break through the windows as you're going up. Stand in
the middle of the elevator, and whenever a Fat breaks through, move to
the opposite side, then attack to knock him off. The Thins are easy to
kill as they try to climb up onto the elevator. When this elevator
stops, grapple to the right to a second one. Ride this one up, beating
the same enemies, and exit this area.
Level 3-2
Type: 2D Action Scene
Go right until you find a place to drop down. Drop to the bottom level
and go right until you reach the end of the platform. Grapple to the
right until you get to the next platform. Jump up the stairs to the
right and you will start riding up a beam. Watch out for falling
Dynamite, and kill the Talls, Thins, and Bazookas that attack. If you
stay ducked, you can avoid most attacks. After the ride, grapple to the
right to end the area.
Level 3-3
Type: 3D Action Scene
Here is the first fight with Catwoman. She has several different
attacks. The first one is to attack with her whip. You can see this
coming. The second one is to kick straight out. This is a little
faster. She also does a claw attack where she backs up a little before
she charges forward. And finally she has one where she does multiple
backflips before charging back and forth at high speeds. This is
difficult to avoid and does lots of damage. Try to approach from an
angle and grab her, then pummel her with a combo. And use your Test
Tubes here as well.
Level 4-1
Type: 3D Action Scene
This short area takes place inside a dark building. Some Thins and Fats
will drop on you from above. You can see their shadows as they fall
down, unless it's in a dark spot, then you can't. Fight your way
through them all and go to the next area.
Level 4-2
Type: 3D Action Scene
This is a different floor of the dark building. Here you will fight
Thins, Fires, and Swords. They don't drop on you from above this time.
Try not to grab the enemies as others can attack you if you do. Get
through this equally short area and go to the next.
Level 4-3
Type: 3D Action Scene
Here you fight Catwoman again. She has the same attacks as before,
except she doesn't do the multiple backflip attack this time.
Therefore, she's easier. Beat her the same way, but don't use your Test
Tubes yet.
Level 4-4
Type: 2D Action Scene
This is your first encounter with the Penguin. His attacks include
flying around while dropping explosive umbrellas. Stay away from them
while ducking underneath the Penguin if you need to. He'll also toss
some umbrellas off the side of the screen which return. You'll have to
duck under these. Then he himself goes off the top of the screen and
then flies in from the side. When you hit him as he's flying in he
moves up a little, so you have to hit him enough times so that he flies
over you. This can be difficult since he can come from either side, so
you may want to use a Test Tube when he does this. Otherwise jump up
and shoot him whenever you can and you'll eventually beat him.
Level 5-1
Type: Batmobile Scene
In this scene, Batman is in his Batmobile racing forward at a mind-
boggling speed. This is basically kind of like an obstacle course. The
first thing you encounter will be bikers that just race past you on one
side and go back on the other. Just stay in the center and shoot them
when they pass the middle. Next there will be packs of bikers with a
space in between them. You have to pass through this space. Stay in
the center of the road for the easiest time. Next will be bikers that
pass by you and turn around and shoot bazookas. Avoid the shots and
shoot the bikers. After some more bikers will be powerful ones that
shoot bazookas. You have to shoot these guys a lot of times before they
die. Then there will be a small break in the action where you can pick
up point symbols as they go by. Get as many as you can. Then you will
have to deal with more bazooka bikers while also maneuvering through
biker packs. Finally after some more bazookas you'll encounter the
Campain Vehicle. This guy has tough armor and two different attacks.
The first one is a couple of bazooka shots which you can avoid pretty
easily. The second one is tossing dynamite sticks onto three of the
four lanes of the road. Obviously try to stay in the lane that doesn't
have any dynamite. Just keep pounding away while avoiding the attacks
and you'll win.
Level 6-1
Type: 3D Action Scene
This area takes place on top of a moving train. You can't fall off,
fortunately. Go to the right and fight through Fats, Knifes, and
Jugglers. Then you'll encounter Dynamite Clowns and also a biker who
rides alongside the train while tossing dynamite up onto it. Avoid it
while fighting through the Thins.
Next will be more Dynamites, Jugglers, and Fires to beat through. After
them the train will pass under barriers that you need to jump over.
Fortunately the barriers will knock over most of your enemies, so you
don't even need to fight them. When the building appears in the
background, that's when the barriers stop coming. Now fight through
Knifes, Thins, Fires, Jugglers, and Swords all the way to the end of the
train. At the end is a heart, then you'll jump off the stopped train.
Level 6-2
Type: 3D Action Scene
Here is the Organ Grinder boss. He is accompanied by Thins, so use your
Test Tubes when they're together until you run out of them. Then avoid
his two attacks, one is a standard swing with his weapon, the other is
when he puts it down and turns the crank, shooting bullets out of it.
Fortunately, the bullets are indiscriminate and can kill the Thins as
well. (Does this remind anyone of the Edi.E battle in Final Fight?)
Approach him from above or below and do grab combos to wear him down and
eventually kill him.
Level 7-1
Type: 3D Action Scene
This is the final action scene with normal enemies. Don't give up now,
you're almost there. First fight your way through Dynamite Clowns and
Bazookas. Next take on some more Bazookas and Bikers. After that are
some Fires and more Bikers.
Then you'll fight some Thins while being surrounded by Penguins in the
foreground and background. These Penguins have rockets attached to
their back, which they launch once. Watch the shadows to see where the
rockets land, or you can just stand still and block until it's over.
There will be several screens of Penguins as you fight through Thins,
Fats, Fires, and Swords. At the end are some Swords, Thins and a lot of
Knifes. Beat your way through them all to reach the end of this area.
Level 7-2
Type: 2D Action Scene
Now you get to fight the Duck Vehicle. It has two attacks. In the
first one the duck raises up and the whole vehicle moves towards you.
Jump into the space between the wooden part and the duck and move to the
other side of it. It does this several times before doing its second
attack. The duck raises up just a little and fires four rockets that
come down in different spots. Best bet here is probably just to block
one of the rockets. Jump up and shoot the duck between attacks to cause
damage. Don't use Test Tubes here.
Level 7-3
Type: 3D Action Scene
This is the final battle with the Penguin. He starts off with two
attacks. In the first one he shoots out a small fire stream from his
umbrella that you can avoid pretty easily. In the second one he moves
up or down while shooting bullets out of his umbrella. Stay above or
below him and do grab combos. After a while he does a third attack
where he floats around and shoots explosive umbrellas. Use a Test Tube
when you see him start to float, and he'll be knocked down and go back
to the first two attacks. Once you beat him, you win.
In future revisions I will probably illustrate the differences between
skill levels. However, I do not know when I will have time to do this,
since I move back to college this week and I don't bring my SNES to
college. So it may be some time.
Also, once you beat the game on the Mania skill level, a new difficulty
setting called Special opens up. Beat the game on Special for the best
ending.
V. Disclaimer
This FAQ is copyright 1999 by Joshua Harring. It may not be reproduced
without my permission, whether on paper or electronically. However, if
you'd like to post it on a website, feel free to do so as long as you
write it in its entirety, including this disclaimer. No money may be
made off this FAQ through sale - this FAQ is entirely free. Thanks to
CJayC of Gamefaqs.com for his outstanding and everyday work on his
fabulous site.
