"These toads have a tough game"

One of Rare's earlier games before the likes of GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64, Battletoads mixes beat 'em up, racing and platforming action to what is probably one of the toughest games on the NES.

The Battletoads team consist of three toads-Rash, Zitz and Pimple. Pimple, accompanies the toad's friend, Princess Angelica on a trip back to her home world. However, during their trip, the evil Dark Queen kidnaps Pimple and Princess Angelica and takes them to Ragnarok's World, where the evil tyrant holds the two in captivity. Its up to Rash and Zitz to save their friends with the guidance of Professor T. Bird. And that his how the Battletoads story goes.

As mentioned before, Battletoads is a mix of beat 'em up, racing and platforming. The fighting in Battletoads is unique and humorous at the same time. After throwing a few punches at your enemies, delivering the final blow allows for your fist to get huge, sending your foes flying out of the screen. Other notable things in combat involve kicking your enemies, showing your foot turning into a big boot and giving your enemies, well, the boot. It's certainly different from your standard punch and kick fare. Steel pipes from defeated robots can also be picked up and used to beat your foes with as well.

Battletoads is made of up 12 levels that range from platforming, racing, and upward scrolling. The first two levels are a cake walk, but after that, the game gets difficult. The third level is a hover bike race and if you go off the track or collide with a wall, you must begin from the previous check point that you've passed. The scrolling on this level gets faster and faster, demanding nothing but perfection on your part as you maneuver your hover bike. The game allows for two players but this can sometimes be a hindrance, especially in the racing stages. If one player collides with a wall or obstacle, both players suffer the consequences by having to start over at the last check point. This can be a serious pain in the rear, especially if you're almost finished with a level. The game also has its fair share of cheap deaths, the main ones being in the platform levels. Completing some of the jumps can be annoying because you have to be leveled with the next platform or you'll fall into a pit and meet your demise. Simply put, Batteltoads is one of those games that isn't afraid to frustrate it's players.

Controlling the toads is easy. No one will have any problems in any of the levels (as far as controlling the toads, that is) because the controls are pretty basic. Be it the racing levels on the platforming stages, controlling these toads is a cinch.

Even with its flaws and somewhat insane difficulty, Battletoads is still a good game. Gamer's that don't pack patience as a strong suit may want to avoid it, but anyone looking for a challenge, should check this game out. There's no shame in cheating in this game because it is tough, so don't feel bad about busting out the Game Genie to help you get through.

FINAL SCORE: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/01, Updated 06/26/01