Batman Returns (NES)

Batman Returns is the final Batman game for NES. It's also the only NES Batman game not developed by Sunsoft. Released fairly late in the Console's lifespan.

Sub-Page#

Prerelease Info

Debug Flags#

There are two debug flags which can be set and saved in any game's password with the help of a custom password generator, since the game cannot set these flags by itself. The RAM address of these flags is $0107.

• Set Bit 3 (or use password 3★11 91 3191 11) to enable the invulnerability.
• Set Bit 5 (or use password D★31 11 3191 11) to enable the level select. During the game, press Left/Right on Controller 2 to change the stage, but only between stages 1-1 and 4-2.

Unused Graphics#

Totally unused Japanese font. It seems that this game was planned to be released in Japan at some point...

Placeholder graphics of one of the unused banks. It says "Bank for PAL", so presumably it was for the European version of the game.

One more placeholder.

A couple of arrows.

Stalactite sprites. They appear in the sprite banks of several enemies, indicating they may have been planned to be used several times in the game.

These penguin sprites are located in the same sprite bank as the sprites used in the Batmobile driving stage.

A rocket missile. As seen in this game's pre-release page, these missiles were once what the Batmobile could shoot.

An unused bat signal, different from the one used in the game's intro. It seems to be the one belonging to the lost driving stage you can see on the pre-release page.

These trees appear twice in the graphics bank, both times alongside the Batmobile. They belong to the lost driving stage you can see on the pre-release page.

To do: Some unused sprites left.

Anti-Piracy#

As with most games made by Konami after 1990, this game contains some simple copy protection. During the game, there are few places where the protection checks are performed:

• When the title screen is displayed, the game checks that portions of the "BATMAN" logo tilemap haven't been messed with. If the check fails, a flag is set that results in the player taking double damage.
• At the third part of Stage 2-2, on the screen with the stone panels in water, there is another check of the "BATMAN" logo tileset, with much the same effect.
• At the second part of Stage 2-2, when the Helicopter appears on the screen, there is a check of the "Konami" logo tilemap. If it fails, a flag is set which causes the exit window in Stage 3-1 to remain shut, rendering the stage unwinnable. In addition, any passwords obtained after the protection is triggered won't work! This change lasts until you enter a valid password or reset the console.
• And finally, at Stage 2-3 during the Ivory Tower battle, there are constant checks for a portion of the "BATMAN" logo tilemap, with the same effect as the other two checks.

More details are on the Talk page.

References#