Batman: Return of the Joker (Game Boy) - Portable Crime Fighting

[@Baconside1]

I'm fairly certain that move your unsure of is actually him firing a pistol, only for flowers to come out. Then he laughs.

[@ProtonJon]

Holy shit, it IS a bouquet of flowers! I was looking at that in editing and for the life of me couldn't piece it together, but you can see small plus shaped flowers around the big ones. I thought they made some weird almost bicycle shape at first, but mentioning flowers explains a lot. The second pose is him SMELLING the flowers! Brilliant! ...doesn't quite explain how the flowers HURT you, but since it's The Joker and having gas flowers is pretty common, that or razorblade flowers. Good eye!

[@kickwriteteach2313]

@@ProtonJon maybe Batman just has really bad seasonal allergies

[@GambeTama]

@@ProtonJon I presume the damage you take when he is smelling the flowers is him swinging the cane upward to smell them. Or, more fittingly, they're gag flowers that spray acid, a memorable gag of the cartoon Joker, at least.

[@NeoMegaMan]

@@kickwriteteach2313 He needs to invest in Nasonex!

[@jaidora]

My god you’re right.

[@ClueFinder654]

Fun Fact: Dark Claw is also the name for the mashup of Batman and Wolverine in the Amalgam comics. Which just so happened to release 5 years after this game.

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

I find it kinda weird that the first level's boss isn't Killer Croc...

[@ClueFinder654]

@@AnimeboyIanpower I agree with that completely. I expected Killer Croc but then Dark Claw appeared.

[@TommyDeonauthsArchives]

Comic books were something else...

[@ClueFinder654]

@@TommyDeonauthsArchives Agreed. But Dark Claw looked badass.

[@uknownada]

A streaming group I moderate recently did the Batman Arkham games, and there was a running joke about how the thugs with the baseball bat is actually a main villain called Batterman, who's angry at Batman for taking the better name first. So I am ESTATIC to see the stage 3 boss!

[@shadowmanwkp]

"Who are you?" "I'm a you, but batter."

[@charleslathrop8309]

Jon wins by glitching and coming in clutch when it matters in heighted danger, this is old hat. Never Change Jon.

[@alanbalan3539]

"Batter up!" "Meet my 4th wife" "You only got me 2 million? You`re FIRED" As a young boy, Man With A Bat had a dream. He wanted nothing more than to be an astronaut. Unfortunately his pushy, overbearing father wanted his son to become a legend in baseball. Thanks to spending his youth practicing, Man With A Bat has gained the following superpowers: A batting average of .350 Alcoholism As a result of losing his sports car collection during the latest divorce, Man With A Bat is currently forced to take public transport to get around Gotham city. His only weakness is cutting him off from his sponsorship deals. Although, on one occasion, Batman was able to defeat him but only by risking a dangerous temporary alliance with the mysterious force known as the "IRS". Man With A Bat continues to swing at every ball and caped crusader that comes his way as if he were trying to send them to moon, while secretly, wishing it was him that could go there instead. Man With A Bat appears in zero episodes of anything.

[@Robscurity]

"Foul Ball"? "Shogun Warrior"? So the game title "Ninja Baseball Batman" comes full circle.

[@traewilson5127]

This was entirely worth watching for the greatness of Joker's little pre-boss fight jig. Liked and favorited and commented so the Almighty Algorithm will get more people to see that dance!

[@killdyouback]

Jon: implies Game Boy games are inherently short. Me: laughs in Donkey Kong.

[@ProtonJon]

Meant moreso in the early days of the Game Boy. Considering we did an LP of Donkey Kong 94, yeah, I'm aware they can be long.

[@Rexaura888]

Also laughs in Wario Land 2 (I did read Jon’s reply).

[@killdyouback]

@@ProtonJon hmm, might want to look up that LP. I got fond memories of that game.

[@ProtonJon]

@@killdyouback Got you covered - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqXGhImieZamsM0

[@TheBeserkerLord]

Surprised Link's Awakening isn't the first example coming up here.

[@Kokiri-Kid-07]

That was an interesting adventure never realized how weak Batman was to giant cartoonish magnets, Thanks for sharing Jon great work 👏

[@amaronith]

Jon: Who's supposed to stop Batman? Editor: clearly not his own rogues' gallery. Me: big brain thought - the rogues' gallery goons made their own baseball team for their off hours.

[@apollo5251994]

You know, I’m cool with Jon making mini LPs every now and again.

[@MathematicalVoid]

11:26 - Ah, yes. Famed DC Comics villain, Silver Samurai.

[@ZenoDLC]

Love how Jon somehow did almost the exact same thing when grabbing that Life-Ups on both difficulty

[@theknightofvoid39]

26:34 I like how that magnet, which was supossed to be his secret weapon, was what led to his downfall.

[@YourPalRal]

That's what modern Batman movies need, giant magnets!

[@umbaupause]

25:29 Joker legit won with a boxing glove in that specific spot huh? Well played.

[@jtomally9681]

Batman facing a guy with a baseball bat. Ninja Baseball Bat Man, anyone?

[@davidwebb3407]

13:19 Too many men on the field. 5 yard penalty. Still 1st down.

[@ajfrommillay3766]

Too much FOOTBAAAAAAAALL!

[@TheAutisticKeybladeWielder]

bs call.. but nice

[@smashbro67]

Not to be confused with Batman Beyond Return of the Joker (which is a fantastic film, and if you haven’t watched it, please do). Apparently there’re a lot of Batman games with Return of the Joker in the title.

[@domesticatedrock1670]

I find Jon's solo lp voice really relaxing. It's so nice to just lay back and learn about some video games.

[@dragonfan4399]

Batman is attacking The Batter from OFF. That would be an interesting crossover. 🤔

[@dandreincredible7596]

The stage selection theme from Batman Return of the joker for Game Boy sounds like the stage selection theme from Megaman 2

[@MegaAnimazing]

I hear it too.

[@synthetic20]

Jon actually addresses this in the video. Same composer.

[@nate567987]

@@synthetic20 not the same it megaman 1's composer not 2

[@expendableindigo9639]

@@nate567987 She was an uncredited co-composer/consultant on 2.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

@@nate567987 Watch it again.

[@ShowToddSomeLove]

"As a kid it took me ages. As an adult there's still 7 minutes left in the video"

[@Jay_76]

Fun Fact. Dark Claw is actually a character created during a major Marvel/DC crossover event. His real name is Logan Wayne and he's a combination of Batman and Wolverine.

[@ProtonJon]

Yeah, but that happened years after this game came out. Funny name coincidence though.

[@mrohnoes]

Looking at this game made me think I had seen it somewhere before. Then it hit me: AVGN covered this game in the Batman two-parter. had to go rewatch that just to make sure, and laughed my ass off. It's amazing just how good the old Angry Video Game Nerd episodes still hold up.

[@expendableindigo9639]

Mike Matei as Joker was... a bit obnoxious tbh.

[@myuu22]

*JON:* The train is full of football players. *ME:* For the love of Batman, jump Football Man!

[@quez2564]

Just noticed how Batman's crouching pose looks a lot like "the thinker" statue

[@-Terzetto]

First person to playthrough this I've seen that actually uses the grappling hook with some skill! 👍

[@Tiggeralt]

Stage 2's music had some real Crazy Bus vibes.

[@DukeDonkey]

To me it looks like Joker sniffs flowers in that weird animation of the boss

[@DarkLink1996.]

Yeah, looks like he pulls flowers out and smells them

[@HeartAce59]

A trip down memory lane for me, since this and the Spiderman game for GBA were one of the first games I've ever played. The track that plays while on the moving train might be my favorite 8-bit track period. Thank you for playing this, Jon! And bless grappling hooks :^)

[@dismaldimwit2200]

Huh, I never knew a football player’s eyesight was based on movement.

[@Juniper_Rose]

At least the Stage 3 dude I could reasonably consider it's Sportsmaster's thing.

[@Zapetroid]

When I had my appendix removed in sixth grade, we had to do a lot of waiting before the procedure. While lying in a bed awaiting preparations for surgery, a nurse came by asking if I wanted to play Game Boy. To my surprise, the hospital had a few Game Boys that they handed out to child patients to pass time or calm their nerves. But whatever game they gave you was what you were stuck with. I ended up with this game. I played it for a few minutes, but being the dumb kid I was, I couldn't even get past a single stage. But hey, it passed the time, at least.

[@BlameThande]

Jon should try doing that five-minute speedrun he mentioned near the start, then he'd have both the longest AND shortest LPs starring a DC Comics superhero on KZbin...

[@psyachu]

12:06 Jon: "The train....." Me: "Is late?" Jon: "...is full of linebackers." A very odd twist, but I'll take it. Also, I know what the joker is holding! Tell me if I'm wrong, but it might be a bouquet of flowers, you know, the fake-out type of thing, and he's sniffing them!

[@fuschiawarrior2159]

11:25 Ah yes, who can forget iconic Batman villain Shogun Warrior.

[@uknownada]

4:15 They are baseball players. They're batmen.

[@toavaxxok]

Ninja baseball batmen?

[@Zegaexiron]

The only Batman game I played as a kid was the Batman Returns SNES game. Don't remember getting very far.

[@shis1988]

I beat it but only on easy. I did beat it on Mania mode eventually though... I used the cheat codes. I have never beaten Returns without them. EDIT: For the younger guys, basically older games sometimes had in game secret codes unrelated to Gameshark or the like. Konami games were known for the Konami code, which it and another one is what I'm talking about. The Konami code gets you nine lives, the other code nine continues.

[@Zegaexiron]

I didn't even know the game had cheats

[@trevortucker9586]

I'm dead serious when I say this but, I don't know if it's the cataract in my left eye or the fact that I'm so overly exhausted after having heart surgery today but I swear that I thought I saw Batman holding a clothing iron, and an ironing board at the very end with that image. I know you said that he was holding a batarang but it took way too long for my mind to process that LOL

[@joao20able]

Hope the heart surgery went well bud

[@BlackMantisRed]

Love the gameboy content, I feel like a large part of early let’s play was based around showcasing lesser known games. This channel is great for keeping that tradition alive.

[@KevinStriker]

Fun fact: Joker's face on the Stage Select is the artwork used for the cover of Dynamite Batman (Return of the Joker on Famicom)

[@davidpescitelli8004]

Ah yes I remember AVGN talking about this game in his Batman video. Nice to see what it's really like. I also like the Joker dance. It's a nice little addition they didn't need to put in.

[@FanzChannel5]

Your lps are super chill, really dig when you do them!

[@shiningphilistine9266]

14:15 Foul Ball: "There's room for only one 'Batman' in Gotham!"

[@rachelyosuzume114]

I find it strange Jon never introduces himself at the start of his videos

[@eduardobarros3986]

Well, ProtonJon is one of the oldest youtubers still in activity, also one of the grandfathers of letsplaying, so if you don't know who he is, well, welcome to KZbin, hope you have fun.

[@MisterJackTheAttack]

After the first time, he needs no introduction.

[@millerkarageanes1562]

He did in his older videos like ninja gaiden

[@rachelyosuzume114]

@@eduardobarros3986 Guess I am just used to chugga belting out ghis name every video haha Jons really fun though I am glad he is uploading more now

[@nice-guyhunter4013]

Protonathan Jonathan needs no introduction

[@Truffle_D_Toad]

Oh wow I never knew Manami Matsumae actually did work on this one! It, actually explains a lot consider how similar the Stage Select themes are. Though, oddly, Takashi Tateishi was the one who did the Stage Select theme from that game. Maybe Matsumae just had it in her head and wanted to take cues from it out of respect? Considering that the two both had contributed to Air Man's theme it might be plausible. Or maybe it's a lot more simple than that but hey, I like to speculate.

[@ProtonJon]

That makes the most sense. I know she was less involved in 2 than 1, but taking inspiration from it seems very likely.

[@Truffle_D_Toad]

@@ProtonJon I wasn't expecting a response, that's a pleasant surprise! Honestly I get a big Mega Man feel from not just that track but the whole soundtrack. I guess Matsumae stuck with her guns on this one. Good thing too, it's a good soundtrack.

[@MowseChao]

I love how interesting you can make these. This seems like a game I would absolutely not enjoy or bother playing, but watching you play and hearing you talk about it is incredibly entertaining.

[@swordpile]

I was not expecting any specific game for this upload, but I really wasn't expecting this

[@kotlolish]

John that thing infront of his face are FLOWERS

[@NoraQRosa]

Funny thing, I used to love this game as a kid, but I'm 90% sure it was because of the music. That first stage's theme is fantastic and it's burned into my brain. But I suppose you can expect that when a game's music is composed by original Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae.

[@NoraQRosa]

(also I actually really do like that second stage song a lot, but I love chaotic electronic music, so I might be an exception here)

[@ChoosenOneStudios]

This was a fun watch--thank you! :)

[@ivoryhammer]

It's a flower. The Joker is smelling a flower.

[@judgem0rt1s23]

9:24 "Drive me closer, I want to hit him with my grenades!!"

[@thecuza9716]

Wait, so Jon lent his games out to friends on a regular basis, and none of them moved away the next day or sold them for weed money or anything? Damn, guess we finally know where he used up all of his good luck.

[@ChangelingLumin]

I remember this, I remember doing chores to save up money for this as a kid. Worth it in my opinion.

[@WeskAlber]

Ohhh that was Ninja Baseball Bat Man on the train. Good boss... Bat Man vs. Batman

[@KnightofFunnyJunk]

"Insane Plot" What Insane Plot? We went thru a Sewer, an Industrial Sector, a Runaway Train, and a Mountain Cave. All we found was Joker just chilling in a cave presumably just hiding out from Batman.

[@Darkspriter4]

That thing he's putting infront of his face? I think that's a bunch of flowers.

[@erikedelkamp473]

I like how the block explosion comparison syncs up at the end

[@Rez_Fox]

Knowing the joker, it's probably a bouquet of flowers 💐

[@I0NE007]

28:45 - 29:00 I see those old Romhacking skills have come 'round again: the ability to nearly frame-perfectly recreate a series of difficultly-timed jumps... only to die by a poorly timed, "simple jump." Even though they will never appear again, the curse of the jump will never leave.

[@clresseg]

You mean - Portable Villain Fighting. A quick but fun villain fighting experience.

[@Asocial-Canine]

i was confused what you meant by "flashing water" until I turned on 60fps relatedly, appreciate the proper aspect ratio on the video, i love having the excuse to watch something on a 4:3 monitor

[@ProtonJon]

Thanks, I'm trying to keep any Game Boy content around the original aspect ratio (Think I messed up and this was 4:3, but it's close) so don't be surprised if other Game Boy games in the future are like this.

[@MysteriousJojo]

“Hey it’s me your Joker” - The Jônkīr

[@StarkMaximum]

Hey man good to see you over in this corner of the Internet, love your Super Best Friend compilations and highlights.

[@thesquirrelisking]

I remember this game. The batrangs were so cruel.

[@expendableindigo9639]

The manual tells you to save the batarangs for boss fights, lmao sure.

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

1:30 Alfred: Are you sure you'll need the Banana Peel Boots, Master Bruce? Bruce/Batman: Honestly, Alfred... I can't say I am. The Joker is loose, and you know how unpredictable he can be. So I'm going to need to pull out all the stops just to level the playing field. Alfred: Very well, sir.

[@krullachief669]

Fuck yeah, more gameboy games.

[@CrappyBlue]

oh, this is a fun reminder of how short early game boy games were. gotta love the days before playing in chunks with battery saves when devs thought the road to success on the gb was games you can play start-to-finish on a single train ride. makes for some fun little playthroughs these days, though!

[@tonkyland]

that stage select joker face would've horrified me as a kid now it horrifies me as an adult, but i suppose that's exactly the point of his character

[@ZipplyZane]

I didn't really borrow games much. Sure, I played games with friends at their houses, but everyone mostly rented anything beyond their small library. That's what people forget when they talk about modern gaming prices. We didn't buy a lot of the games we played.

[@uknownada]

I am not watching this video if it doesn't have Mike Matei in a Joker costume.

[@grrr9]

Interestingly, this game is roughly contemporary to the Batman/ninja connection. It mostly originated in the late '80s, most notably the Blind Justice one-shot by Sam Hamm that came out as promo for Batman '89. It was mostly in place by the early '90s in places like Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (a book that was supposed to be unconstrained by continuity and able to focus on various time periods of Batman's life) before finally reaching the full mainstream with BTAS.

[@lichqueenlilith5694]

Maybe the thing that Joker puts to his face is a laughing gas mask? Ya know like the kind in dentist offices. Idk to me it looks like a pipe/mask sorta thing

[@RedPandaSmash]

Joker's mystery weapon looks like two thirds of a fidget spinner

[@IzackN]

holy crap. this is one of only two games my brother and i had for the game boy as kids. EXTREME nostalgia happening.

[@shadowsa2b]

Sometimes game design decisions make no sense. Boss of baseball looking guys is a claw man. Footballers have a big baseball player. A stage where most enemies block batarangs gives you a bunch of em. Then when they work again, you need to use a bunch of em. Early gaming was weird times

[@Tabby_PW]

This reminds me of Catwoman for the GBC. Which I played a LOT of as a child.

[@BlueKnight85]

Ah, my favorite fight: Batman vs. Man with Bat! The best Batman rivalry ever.

[@kudrzyk]

Enemies placement makes me think about development of a british tank

[@fuschiawarrior2159]

Honestly surprised that Tim Burton's Batman influence on this game wasn't strong.

[@expendableindigo9639]

Yeah the first Sunsoft game is Batman 89 and then Return is based off the comics; not sure how that works exactly. I also think it’s pretty likely this version was a reskin of something else.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

*1:* I wouldn't be surprised if that image of the Joker is on a T-shirt somewhere. *2:* *[ding]* Sewer Count +1 *3:* Batman's punch-speed is pretty damn quick. Almost rivals the power rush of your average close-range Stand. *4:* I was definitely noticing how the stage select music was sounding like the Mega Man stage select. Turns out the same lady worked on both soundtracks. *5:* Yep, those are ninjas. Ninjas that are immune to crushers. Civvie would be most distressed, especially if they were Shadow Ninjas from Shadow Warrior. *6:* Batman vs The Batter? Time to rev up the HLDJ, 'cause it's time to spam Pepper Steak! *7:* Those soldiers sure look like Soldiers. "You were good, Batman. Real good. Maybe even the best..." *8:* So Joker is fencing, but also needs a giant magnet to give him the edge...

[@RemLasher77]

Ah a Civvie 11 reference. A man of culture I see.

[@Bluedino152]

Okay so it wasn't just me hearing the stage select similarity

[@TheBrianJ]

YES! I had this game as a kid, it's incredibly underrated and a lot of fun. A bit crazy hard with that final boss though. I don't think I ever beat Joker without some kind of weird glitch.

[@ZeroGForce]

_[C+C Music Factory starts playing in the background]_ ♪ Da da da da da-da-da (×3) *_EVERY JOKER DANCE NOW~!_* ♫

[@DeadHelper23]

Fun fact to this day you are the only one i will watch superman 64 sense the day I discovered you all those years ago.

[@OmegaX5000]

I've never seen this game before, so I'll be commenting as I watch the video. When I saw the first boss' name was Dark Claw, I thought to myself "What? Batman is going to fight a fusion of himself and Wolverine?" But then it just turned out to be some generic dude with claw gloves like that guy from Street Fighter. Stage 2's music sounds atrocious, even for Gameboy standards! Yeah, it sounds chaotic, but not in a good way. I've played other Gameboy games that had chaotic music that also sounded good, case in point, Team Rocket's underground hideout in the Gen 1 Pokémon games. That sounds chaotic and menacing, and sounds good! Also, that Shogun Warrior really reminds me of the Shredder for some reason. I guess similar armor design or something. Stage 3, aka THE TRAIN IS LATE!!! I like how all of Joker's goons are just disgruntled baseball and football players with the occasional rouge ninja thrown into the mix. Joker really looks like he's having the time of his life during that dance, also using a giant magnet is definitely something he would do in the Brave and the Bold series. It looks to me like Joker is smelling the flower he keeps on his suit, probably to refresh himself? Maybe he's just being theatrical, since he does go through a lot of planning to figure out the perfect way to kill Batman.

[@homuraakemi103]

Ah yes, the game with the Mega Man stage select music…

[@agentredhead4612]

My experience with this game wasn’t that I borrowed it from friends, but rather a cousin gave it to me with a bunch of old Game Boy games she had. Unfortunately, because it was one of the games that was covered with stickers, I never knew until I looked at it again years later.

[@LightbladeRiulo]

Good to see more adventures of Captain Falcon on this channel.

[@evilhomer91]

God my childhood portable game was batman BEYOND return of the joker. So having never heard of this one I was getting whiplash lol

[@Mythraen]

No, Jon, come back from that limb! You'll fall! You don't know the Joker will be back!

[@Xemnasty]

This is a prequel to Batman Arkham Asylum, but that's just a theory, a game theory!

[@MisterJackTheAttack]

This is why I have notifications on!!

[@pyrodontcutoffsoldiershand2746]

Shovel Knight music in the Joker boss fight

[@opjm8664]

Ah, one of the lesser known Batman villains. Silver Samurai.

[@TitaRussellTrails]

Reminds me of that old in flight movie Jon did where he beat game boy Superman in a 64 level

[@CaptainKirbyCK]

Joker is the dancer we all deserve. Now the question is, does he do his own choreography?

[@Tiggeralt]

Batman: Return of Sportsmaster