"Invasion of the skin infections!"

First of all the dark queen is hot. The foxiest girl on the NES and of COURSE she was evil. Unfortunately, you are the good guys, who happen to be Frogs named after assorted skin infections. Your mission is to rescue your brother frog who has been kidnapped by the hot queen (lucky Frog) and quell her evil desire to rule the world.
Besides being humorous, this is a very well done game. Whether you are dashing about on foot, riding a jet ski, or surfing, the play control is always solid. There are some very innovative concepts Rare put into making this game. The cut scenes are pretty funny too; you are lead by a weird bird man who franticly yells at you from your giant flying spaceship bird. Very campy and amusing.

Graphics=9.5 Smooth graphics, great backgrounds, and the queen!! Rare put a lot of time into the details of this game and it shows. The last level features a unique rotating tower trick seen only in one previous NES game, the crap-o-riffic Castlequest. Cool ending too!

Challenge=8.2 Ok, Battletoads is a little tough but people seem to rant about it like it is impossible--This is not the case. There are some areas that require patience and good reflexes but nothing that is too hard to overcome! Which goes along with...

Play Control=9.8 ...very good play control. If you die, it's usually your fault, though the jet rocket and surfing levels CAN be a little tough!! Your toads are easy to manuever and the innovation of each level keeps the game from getting too easy!

Sound=8.7 Cool beat when you pause the game! Most of the time the music is kind of hiding in the background, but it still is pretty good. Nice sound effects too, especially when you give a big boot or a giant fist to an enemy!

Story=9.0 An obvious rip of TMNT, but a very funny one. Plus the foxy queen and weird giant rats all make this a pretty nifty game with a good sense of humor!

Overall=9.5 A must buy for the NES! A later in the day game for the system,this one really taps into the potential of the 8-bit processor. Rare certainly knew how to make great games and this is no exception-- Pick it up today!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/00, Updated 02/08/00