"Great game but flawed"

Battletoads is a very popular NES game. It's also one of the hardest game I have ever played. It's cheap, it's hard, it's full of instant deaths and it will make any grown gamer cry with frustration. Is the game really worth playing? Read on!

One Toad and his girl are taken by the evil queen so his other two toad friends must save him. I forget the names but one is Rash I believe. It's not important and it's the exact same plot as so many other games in the NES era of gaming. So I can't really cite it for doing the same thing that everyone else was doing but it does lack just a smidge of originality.

Graphic wise this game is impressive. It really does things that I don't remember the NES being able to do. Character models are good and the levels look good as well. Cut scenes could look a bit better but you can't have it all I guess.

The sound in the game is a mixed bag. Sound effects are solid for their time. The music is either really good at times or mute worthy. I really think that near the end of the game the music goes down hill.

The control in the game is solid. I really enjoyed hoping around, kicking and the combat seems to have some depth to it which is impressive for its time. Even the different types of game play controls well and the first boss battle may have had harder controls in another game but it is handled very well in this one.

The game plays like a beat'em up but the stages have depth to them so you can move around a little more freely. The stages themselves are very varied.

I know the game sounds awesome now but there are some flaws. The game is hard. Like really hard. Instant deaths all over, there are glitches to that can cause problems for those who are playing in two player mode. Some of the later levels are so insane in difficulty that I really wanted to pull my hair out. The final stage alone caused me a lot of problems climbing that darn tower.

See, the game relies later in the game on you knowing what's to come. This is a problem because the game itself is so hard and getting back to that point can be tough. It's not far to the gamer for such trial and error problems when there is no save option or anything.

The game is actually fairly long with 12 or so levels. The levels aren't too long but long enough. It also offers co-op play and you can attack each other so that causes some amusing moments.

Battletoads is one of those rare games that is a head of it's time but it also has some flaws in its game play that holds it back from being perfect. A classic in its own right but one where the gamer should be prepared for some hardship. I would love to see this game get put out on the 360's Live Arcade.

Story - 6/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 5/10

Final Score - 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/30/07