Battletoads – NES

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Rare Inc.
Publisher: Tradewest ( Midway )
Release Date: June 1991
Genre: Beat ’em Up, Platforming
Nerd Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Spekkio

    Battletoads. The first and original. I happened to of played Battletoads & Double Dragon ( The Ultimate Team ) NES version before getting my hands on this title of the franchise. I must say I favor the other over this one. Nonetheless, this title was a fun play and one that will keep you at bay. This title was named amongst lists of most difficult NES games.

    Battletoads was many times debated as one of the most graphically advanced NES game.  Known for its humorous violence, the characters body parts would enlarge and form into various appendages for a final blow. The concept was suppose to rival and possibly be a satire of Ninja Turtles. There are three frog type characters named after your common symptoms of the skin; Rash, Zits, and Pimple. See the humor there yet? Their leader is a rooster looking guy named Professor T. Bird. Each level changed angles similar to how Super C changed. Okay, so you’re probably wondering how it works. You start out with three lives and travel through thirteen different levels on a journey to save Princess Angelica and Pimple from the evil Dark Queen.

As you travel through the levels you face various bosses until you reach the Dark Queen. Many of these bosses return in later franchise titles. Along with the bosses you see the enemies that infest these levels. Don’t get me started on how aggravating some of these enemies get. If it wasn’t for the Game Genie I honestly may of not made it to the final level. The game is indeed fun, but quite challenging.

The Gameplay of Battletoadsas mentioned many times in this review is VERY difficult. It constantly keeps you on edge. Between the platforms moving everywhere and the enemies popping up, you’re sure you keep the controller gripped tight. Please don’t get difficulty confused with appeal. This game may be challenging, but don’t worry even if you go through a controller or two and need to order another. I promise you will take a deep breath, blow into the cartridge and prepare yourself for a nice way to kill time.

The difficulty of the game cannot be stressed enough here. You can look anywhere around the net and this is the most debated subject on this game. My opinion, is the respawn points for starters. You get so far into a level before a checkpoint, and this can get annoying at times. Don’t let that discourage you from being the few proud who’ve claimed victorious to Battletoads. Another challenging feature would have to be some of the basic characters you encounter, some of which cause a total loss of health resulting in a complete restart of the level. A few times you can even feel cheated by the algorithms the characters run off of. The platforming aspect of the game are your typical platforming features.

Once you get past all the obstacles of the game and reach the top of the tower and defeat the Dark Queen, she tells you that you haven’t seen the last of her and vanishes in the darkness. Then you travel off with the Princess and Pimple to the teams ship. This game does feature multi-player. The experience is similar, however, you have to keep up with each other. Make sure you play this with someone you don’t mind getting under the heat with.

According to polls and other internet opinions, it’s quite debated that Battletoads was the most graphically advanced of it’s time. The NES, as you know is an 8-bit console, meaning the console’s data buses, address buses, and… er well disregard that bit. Ha! Get it? Okay okay okay, I will continue. The SNES was released later in the same year which was a more advance 16-bit console that could handle way better graphics and engine capabilities. The game was released on other consoles such as the SNES, Amiga, Genesis, Game Gear, and Game Boy over time.

The sounds and music are incredibly unique. Original and not reused, or inspired by other titles. Usually you find similarities in the music of older games and sound effects, but that’s not the case with Battletoads. There is an exception though. The pause menu has a repetitious everlasting annoying four to five second rhythm that repeats over and over.

In conclusion, Battletoads is generally known as a very challenging title. It is however addictive. It can get aggravating and require a bit of a break, but something inside every true gamer just ignites and require us to beat it and say, “HEY, I beat this hard ass game!” This game can be played over and over again. You can get past the difficult levels, with practice and patience. The game is addictive.

Written by Nerd Bacon