Overview and Gameplay
The Joker has stolen toxic metals from Gotham City’s mines, and Batman pursues his operation through cathedrals, warehouses, mountains, sewers, refineries, and military facilities. Batman 4 is an unlicensed NES version of Sunsoft’s Batman: Return of the Joker, known in Japan as Dynamite Batman.
Its seven-stage campaign combines side-scrolling platform action with run-and-gun combat, brief vehicle chases, horizontal shooting sections, and selected boss battles. Batman attacks mainly with a wrist-mounted projectile weapon rather than the close combat and wall jumping of Sunsoft’s earlier NES Batman.
Controls And Mechanics
- Movement: Walk, duck, aim upward, jump, and perform a low slide attack.
- Weapons: Fire the standard wrist projector or collect Cross Bow, Batarang, Sonic Neutralizer, and Shield Star ammunition. Special ammunition can be charged for a stronger shot.
- Energy: Fill the eight-unit capsule meter for temporary invincibility or spend it on a screen-clearing Super Power Up.
- Progression: Three lives, unlimited continues, and pause-screen passwords support the challenging campaign.
Version Notes
This release uses the pirate-market title Batman 4 and is not an official fourth Batman sequel. It is an unlicensed mapper conversion using VRC4-style hardware instead of the source cartridge’s Sunsoft FME-7 board.
Release And Credits
- Source game developer: Sun Electronics Corporation, commonly branded as Sunsoft
- Original platform: NES and Famicom
- Official source release: 1991 in North America and Japan, 1992 in Europe
- Players: One player
