If your action game requires a FAQ to beat the first few levels... #3: Mortal KomBATMAN!

So, the last two times I talked about Action Games that drove me to a FAQ in the first few levels, I happened to get stumped on the second level's boss...once from a NES action game, and once on a SNES game. But this week?

Yes, it's a Gameboy action game that required FAQ help ASAP!

The Gameboy port of Batman Forever, to be specific. Before we get into the bad game designin' and the FAQ-in', let's take a (summarized) look at the game's plot:

Commissioner Gordon: "We need your help!"

Ok, well, that's that.

As you ~~may or may not~~ hopefully have no reason of knowing, the mid-'90s Batman Forever console game took the interesting cost-cutting approach of starting with the rudimentary Mortal Kombat fighting game engine and...doing nothing to it, and calling it a beat-em-up game, with minor platforming elements.

And yes, most versions of this game had sprites built out of digitized photos of actors. And we know how well that approach ports to the Gameboy, so let's just say this version is, well...

Uppercut! Leg-Sweep! It's all in ~~the mind~~ blackish-grayish pixels!

So anyway, you start by picking a few 'special moves',

though the ones I pick won't matter, because I didn't look up the complex fighting-game sequence to trigger them, and even if I did, I can't execute a quarter-circle to save my life.

...and you're in Portable Fighting Game ~~Kom~~Bat Man Heaven!

Like every beat-em-up, you scroll to the right, then a nameless goon pops out (well, actually he's NOT nameless, they took the same odd approach as Spiderman: Maximum Carnage of giving each opponent a unique name).

Anyway, once you've bested the first two specific goons...you keep scrolling to the right and...

Um. That's it.

Yup, you reach a wall. Yes, there was some destructable scenery along the way, but nothing at the far right wall. You can scroll across the 6ish screen-widths to the beginning of the room and back again, and no new enemies, nor does the door open.

I even had the "inside track", having played the SNES version of Batman Forever -- I tried to trigger the horrible "Bat Grappling Hook" belt utility by pressing the "select" button, but nothing doing!

Yes, I had to go to a FAQ to try to get off THE FIRST SCREEN.

Although maybe that's a little misleading: there wasn't an ACTUAL FAQ which explained what to do. I had to poke around some messageboards to figure out the game has a "Super Jump" mechanic.

And how do you execute a Super Jump? Perhaps "Up + A" at the same time, like any other self-respecting 2-plane platformer? Well, of course not -- this game has the lobotomized version of a fighting game engine, so A and B are punch and kick, and the "Up" arrow is your normal jump.

Nope, you "Super Jump" by tapping DOWN,

then IMMEDIATELY pressing up,

-- which causes Bat Man to ROCKET THREE SCREEN-HEIGHTS UPWARDS and land on the "top" half of the first room.

As you may have guessed, the "top" half of the room has two more enemies, and once you've defeated them you can "Super Drop" (by pressing "DOWN" twice in rapid succession!), and the door on the far right wall will open.

So, just to be clear --

This time I had to use a FAQ to get out of the first room.