"And this time they have company, oh my!"

What a great idea!, two of the best beat em-ups for the Nes kicking some butt together, fantastic right?, well, more or less, it is a great idea no doubt about that, but the results, while good, should have been better, and what is worse is that the main and only problem of the game is still the unbearable difficulty, sight!

Gameplay:
Here is the source of all problems, instead of using the great gameplay of the first Double Dragon, the Battletoads gameplay was the chosen for this game, and what is the problem are you wondering?, because the first Battletoads game had a magnificent gameplay and the only true flaw that ruined the game was the difficulty because the excessive variety could have been passable if the difficulty......oh, so the main problem the first Battletoads game had has yet to be solved in this sequel?, I’m afraid, you are going to have a HELL of time while trying to beat this game. Anyway, the gameplay works better than in Battletoads because here the bloody hard levels doesn’t start until the third or fourth scenario (do not worry about those super sonic bikes from the first Battletoads, this time that part is very easy to beat), so at least you will be able to enjoy the game some more time before giving up in frustration. The variety of situations this time is not a problem, in fact they are done the way they should be, in each scenario there are a lot of interesting and varied situations that unlike what happened in the first Battletoads game never get annoying.

So that’s it, the excessive variety problem was solved but the bloody hard difficulty is still there, yes, it sounds odd because normally this is what makes a game interesting, and while it certainly makes this game interesting and everything, like the first Battletoads this could have been a much better game as a typical beat em-up in the vein of the first two Double Dragon games. The first two scenarios in the game are typical beat em-up stages enhanced with excellent new and tremendously original features, and that is the reason why they are the best moments in the game without doubt, the third one is very hard but passable after practising a lot, but from that point on everything gets messed up with extremely original but very frustrating situations, the fourth stage for example is true nightmare, you will have to use a spaceship with controls that are hard to master and a difficulty that is exasperating like you have never seen, but, argh!, wait until the stage’s boss, that thing is the most, how can I say without starting to swear like Jeff Bridges and company in The Big Lebowsky..... hmph, let’s just say that it is most damned bastard you will in your miserable life, you will hate that thing for the rest of your life take that for granted.

With all, I still think that, excepting for the that boss I mentioned above, this game is easier than the first Battletoads, but its difficulty is still too ridiculously high without doubt. Oh, and I almost forgot, we have the possibility to choose between all the Battletoads and Double Dragon members, but it is the same because all of them have basically the same movements and controls.

Plot:
As expected, we will have to deal with the main bosses of both Battletoads and Double Dragon, and as expected too the Dark Queen from Battletoads is going to be true main boss. The same as always.

Graphics:
Like the gameplay, the graphics are Battletoads style, and they are simply astonishing, their quality is, if not the highest, among the highest ever seen in a Nes game, the amount of variety, animations, and all the details they have is unbelievable, they are even better than the ones the first Battletoads had, and that sure is saying something because the first Battletoads sure had some splendid graphics. Mind blowing visuals, really.

Music:
Absolutely awesome, and guess why?, that is right, it is Battletoads style (how did you guessed) only that HEAVILY enhanced with hard rock tunes, just what the first Battletoads soundtrack needed, Battletoads had a cool soundtrack but it wasn’t as good as it could have been because their tunes, while good, were made in a so-so way, but that doesn’t happens here, and I am sure that the soundtrack is what you are going to like the most in the whole game.

Overall:
Anyway, like the first Battletoads, while severely flawed, this is a very badass and recommended game unless you get pissed of too easily, if that is your case then stay as far as you can, but I should, at least, give it a try because it deserves it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/04