"So I took a big chance at the High School dance, with a 'Toad who was ready to play..."

Duets, eh? They're risky business. For every Walk This Way by Run DMC and Aerosmith, there's a Walk This Way by Girls Aloud and the Sugababes. Bringing together two distinct artists to create a whole new flavour, but with recognisable traces of both - it's hard, and it can easily go wrong. Which is perhaps why you don't see it so often in the world of videogames. Sure, there are some scrapping games, and Dr. Franken, the dude from Dragon's Lair and either Joe or Mac teamed up for a puzzle-based night On The Tiles on the Game Boy, but in terms of actual, proper, plot-led games, the meeting of two franchises is a rare experience. Which is where Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team on the NES comes in. Of course, the fact that both the 'Toads and the Dragons have since faded into obscurity lessens the impact somewhat, but trust me - in 1993 this was a big deal. Mind you, in 1993 Mr. Blobby topped the charts, so it seems we were easy to please back then...

All seems well for Zitz, Rash and Pimple - our three toady heroes. It's been a long time since they defeated the rather foxy Dark Queen, and a gentle peace seems to have fallen over their lives. That is until the day that the moon explodes. The Dark Queen is back, and this time she's got company, having forged an alliance with The Shadow Boss, nemesis of Billy and Jimmy Lee (the Double Dragon boys). And with these two at the helm of the Colossus, a devastating city-sized Space Cruiser, it's clear that the moon is set to be merely the first victim in the dastardly duo's new reign of terror - they are demanding control over the entire planet, or Earth will be similarly destroyed. With the power of the Spaceship neutralising Earth's defences, the 'Toads realise that they only have one chance - they must take the battle to the Colossus itself. It's a daunting task, but luckily help is at hand. Billy and Jimmy team up with the 'Toads, and these five heroes head into space. They are Earth's last hope. They are Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team. And they are ready for a ruck...

Straight away it becomes apparent that though the characters from the Double Dragon saga are included, this is very much a Battletoads game. Both in terms of the game's spaceship setting, and in storytelling, it is very much the 'Toads that run the show, with Billy and Jimmy simply along for the ride - which is probably to be expected as it comes from Rare, who were the masterminds behind the 'Toads, as opposed to being created by the Double Dragon team. This is actually quite a wise move, as the Battletoads universe - with it's focus on more fantastic worlds and cartoony larger-than-life characters - offers a far richer plot potential than the Double Dragon 'mean streets and random hoodlums' style of play. As such the plot for The Ultimate Team feels far more epic just by it's world-threatening nature. That said, though, from the start there is a definite sense that adding the Dragon characters is little more than a gimmick. Indeed, at times Billy and Jimmy feel positively out of place - seeing them do battle with giant rats and crazed robots sits rather uncomfortably, while the bosses from the Double Dragon games - such as Abobo the bare-torsoed muscleman or Roper the machine-gun wielding psycho - seem to jar somewhat when they come at the end of a level that sees you navigating the various floors of a huge spaceship. Ultimately, though, while the superficial styles of the two franchises seem to clash, the core gameplay of both games is essentially quite similar, and so bringing the two together does work better than would be expected.

The early nineties were a time when scrolling beat-em-ups were at their peak - as well as the Lees and the Toads we had the Final Fight games and the Streets of Rage series flying the flag for quality 'walk around pummelling folk' action, so the fact that even at a time where the 16-Bit systems were monopolising the gaming world the NES version of Battletoads & Double Dragon stands out as a fine game is impressive. The basic mechanics will be instantly recognisable to any Battletoads veteran - or to anyone who has an affection for the genre. Using the 2.5D perspective that allows some limited 'into-the-screen' movements, you scroll from left to right (or vice-versa) as hordes of enemies plow towards you waiting to be beaten to a pulp and in a nice move, on the levels that obviously take place on some sort of platform as opposed to solid ground, it's possible to come right to the front of the 'screen' and drop off, hanging onto the edge to shimmy along and kick out at similarly suspended bad guys. The enemies on offer come from both franchises, so while you'll be doing battle with Battletoads-style robots and flying cannons, you'll also be tangling with Dragon-inspired human foes - including the scrolling beat-em-up staple that is the whip-wielding dominatrix. It's a successful formula, and makes it immaculately accessible to everyone who has visited this sort of game before. But while it follows the tried-and-tested formula of it's peers, Battletoads & Double Dragon is anything but formulaic.

What makes this adventure really stand out is the amazing level design that makes almost every stage feel chock-full of spectacular set pieces. After a fairly mundane opening act that sees you simply wander around on top of the Collossus, you are thrown into the heart of the ship, and things really kick off. From this point there are moments when you are faced with giant long-legged robots - beat these and you can use their broken legs to club your foes. Enemies hide behind doors and throw grenades at you: pick up the grenades before they explode and chuck them through the doorway to kill these foes. Then there are sections when you race through the heart of the ship on Star Wars-style speeder bikes, which will call for lightning fast reflexes as you must jump a series of fences, weave in and out of metal pillars and try and kick a barrage of thugs off of their own bikes. And this is just the second level. Later moments include a perilous abseil down an air vent as you try to avoid flying enemies, machine-gun fire and descending electrical buzz-saws, a tricky part that sees you crossing a large chasm by hanging from an overhead pipe as flying blobs of death float towards you, and even an (irritating hard-to-control) Asteroids-style section where you take to your own smaller spaceship and chase after the Collossus as The Dark Queen puts her final plan into operation. It's this remarkable variety that truly sets the game apart from any other beat-em-up on the NES, and really affords this game a stunningly 'epic' feel - especially as later stages really push the plot forward - the Collossus is left behind by the halfway point - rather than simply sending you to different-looking parts of the ship. After the dull opening stage, every other one of the seven (huge) levels feels fantastically exciting, and on your first playthrough you genuinely don't know what to expect from one stage to the next.

Even the basic combat feels varied, with a great sense of humour. While it basically comes down to hammering the attack button repeatedly, the on-screen results are amusingly diverse. You can kick enemies off the surface of the ship with a huge comedy boot (like in that Australian episode of The Simpsons); you can grab flying guns out of the air and repeatedly swing them over your head and into the ground until they explode, like a fisherman putting down a still-lively catch; with a robotic leg as a weapon you can flick an enemy into the air like a lacrosse ball, before using the leg as a baseball bat in order to swat the now-airborne bastard into the wall, or alternatively you can pound the unfortunate drone into the ground like a tent-peg. Pulling off these moves can feel a little random, but it infuses the game with a tremendous sense of fun, which is something that is often sacrificed in favour of a more serious attempt to be 'gritty' in other beat-em-ups. It must be said, though, that most of these over-the-top fighting styles belong to the 'Toads - Billy and Jimmy aren't quite as outlandish in their moves, and this - coupled with the fact that, despite a supposed difference in strength, speed and such, there isn't much else to differentiate the five characters on offer - will no doubt lead to players opting to play as Zitz, Rash or Pimple rather than Billy or Jimmy, which further makes the inclusion of the Double Dragon characters feel like a tacked on gimmick.

As with previous Battletoads games, though, this game is incredibly hard. While games such as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World hit you with a crazy difficulty level from the start, though, here you are at least given something of a learning curve. While the game is never easy as such, you'll still get through the first couple of stages in tact, lulling you into a false sense of security. By the time you are halfway through the third level, though, the game starts to show it's true colours. Enemies come thick and fast, and usually at a time when it's most inconvenient, such as when you are desperately hanging onto a rope or ledge above a bottomless pit, while crackling electrical fences make your progress tougher, and you'll find yourself navigating some tight and narrow corridors while avoiding some pounding metal stamps that rise and fall with more speed than is completely comfortable, only to survive and then be squished by a final, unseen stamp that comes out of nowhere to end you - and it only gets tougher from here on out. Make no mistake, if you want to master this game you'll need to painstakingly memorise the location of every enemy, of every trap, and of every pitfall if you want to succeed. Whether or not this is a good thing rather depends on the player, but one thing is for certain - the harsh difficulty really makes every level completed, and every boss thwarted feel like an incredible achievement. The sense of satisfaction from beating this game is enormous, and is a true reward for winning your way through such a tough game.

If it does prove to be too much of a challenge for you, though, as with most games of the genre you can invite a mate along for the ride. This does make for a slightly easier experience, as the number of enemies on screen remains the same as in the single player game, but actually having both players on screen at once (with only a little bit of flicker or slowdown - a reasonably impressive technological feat for the NES) is great fun - and it's possible to choose whether or not you can hurt your friend or not. It's probably best not to activate this feature, as there's nothing more frustrating than receiving an accidental pounding from your buddy in the middle of a crowded scrap - which is quite easily done when there are a lot of enemies gathered in a confined space - but it must be said that clearing a rabble of robots, only to heartlessly betray your brother-in-arms by bapping him over the skull is more satisfying than it really should be. You'll cause your friendship irreparable damage, no doubt, but hey, it's quite funny. The only gripe with this is that features of the two-player game, such as finding two speeder bikes side by side in the second level - one for each player naturally, are kept for the single-player game, which detracts slightly from the polished feel of the one-player mode, and seems a little lazy.

It's not only the gameplay that is lifted from the Battletoads world - in terms of looks this is again far more Battletoads than Double Dragon. again, this makes sense, as it keeps in line with the tone of the plot, and quite frankly, the Battletoads games have always been visually striking, and this is no exception. The colour palette used is extremely bold - backgrounds are made of bright pinks, dark reds and purples, and moody blacks, and it gives the levels a very distinctive flavour - it's not the sort of look that you'd expect from a beat-em-up, which is traditionally a testosterone-fuelled orgy of manliness, with no call for pink, but it works staggeringly well. The characters appear a little smaller on screen than would perhaps have been preferable (massive bosses aside), but this is more than made up for in some delightful little touches in the animation. For example, when swinging an enemy over your head you are treated to a comic-book style white 'speed trail' line, which gives the game a charming tongue-in-cheek flavour, as does the manner in which the characters react to events on screen. When a boss appears, your chosen toad bounces backwards in shock, his jaw literally hitting the floor and his eyes bugging out of their sockets. Similarly, when a character gets electrocuted their is a charmingly painful-looking x-ray effect as they reel back in agony. What's more, the visual style of the Lee boys has been altered ever so slightly, allowing them to fit into this cartoon wonderland much more successfully than you'd expect, though it must be noted than again the more amusing character animations have been reserved for the 'Toads - this is very much their show. Also, while it's less notable than in many games on the system, the animation does stutter and slow down at times - most prominently when a character is doing something that doesn't come along too often, such as swinging on a rope. It's rare enough to not spoil the experience, but it still slightly tarnishes an otherwise impeccable display.

The music isn't quite as impressive, though. While the bass line is strong enough to get your speakers rattling, as you would expect - nay, demand - from a Nineties beat-em-up, the actually tunes that accompany the game are a little bland. They tend to rely on repeating some simplistic riffs over and over, and it makes for a largely forgettable soundtrack. There only ever seems to be one 'layer' to the music, which robs it of the sort of epic score that the game deserves - when compared to some of the wonderful music in NES games such as Mega Man 2 or Super Mario Bros. 3, which manage to feel rich and full, it all seems too lightweight. Even the boss music, which is makes use of some much lower notes to create an air of menace that contrasts with the otherwise sunny little ditties, feels a tad underwhelming. That said, though, there are still some nice little moments in the music - such as the way the soundtrack will speed up in a tense situation such as the grenade-wielding foes in the second stage.

Despite the occasional niggles, Battletoads & Double Dragon is a roaring success. Double Dragon fans may feel that their series is a little hard done by - and to be fair, it is - and as a duet this is less a fully-fledged marriage between two artists and more like those songs where a big-name rapper mutters something over the intro to add credibilty to a lesser-known singer, but it still delivers in every way that counts. It's a game that is crammed full of set pieces, has a nice sense of humour (The Dark Queen even scolds you for cheating if you beat the game using the level select code), and it's vibrant look really makes it stand out. This is very much a game of it's era it's brash, it's bold, and it's about as subtle as a Meat Loaf power ballad. In short, it's everything you want from a scrolling scrap-fest.

'Toad'-ally (hah!) unmissable.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/07