"The game that got me started on the series"

This is the game that got me hooked on the series. When I first saw an add for Battletoads, I thought ''Ninja Turtles Rip-Off'' and dismissed it. Then I saw a few reviews for the game -- okay, I just looked at the pictures. Then I thought: ''Okay, it's a Ninja Turtles rip-off with better graphics -- but the 'Smash Hits' look fun, maybe I'll give it a shot''. Finally, I saw the gameboy version, and figured: ''Well, it's Gameboy. Looks good, especially for Gameboy. I'll give it a shot,''

This is the game that got me playing the entire series. It's the reason why I'm writing the review -- I have a need to set a few things straight after reading some of the other reviews.

Story
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The manual mentions that while partying on some space station, the Battletoads -- Zitz, Rash and Pimple -- are pleasently sidetracked by a (insert weird alien name here) Thorax dancer. Now, does anyone know their insect biology? Do you know where the thorax is? Do you know where it would be on a human being? Can we all figure out EXACTLY what kind of dancer this is -- and what 'pleasently sidetracked' means specifically? This is the same company that did ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' folks...

The only problem is that the dancer reveals herself to be the Dark Queen, who then has a bunch of her minions all attack at once. The 'toads fight valiently, but when Rash and Pimple are captured, Zitz is forced to escape. There's a pattern here -- in all but the arcade version of the 'pure' Battletoad games, whichever 'toad(s) that were unplayable are captured. Retreating to The Vulture, he and Professor T. Bird (the 'toads mentor) make a rescue plan and get ready to get even.

Too bad the plan went like this:
Step One: Land on the Dark Queen's Planet.
Step Two: Kill everyone in your path.
Step Three: Rescue your buddies

And Zitz is supposed to be the smart, strategic Battletoad, too. Pimple's intelligence level must be truly frightening if he's the dumb one.

Game Play: 9
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This probably the most balanced Battletoads game that RARE came out with as far as mixing variety with combat. It's not nearly as hard as the NES version of Battletoads, and there's a lot more fighting than in the SNES version, Battlemaniacs. (The arcade version and Battletoads Double Dragon have less variety)
Fight, shoot, and race your way through the varies stages. Melee combat allows for weapons, the ship stage comes complete with the ability to power-up your shots, and many stages have special features. Those of you who never made it past the Speeder Bikes in the NES version, take heart: there's a lot less memory work involved in getting past the stages in this one.

Style: 9
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I love the style of the game! Nothing like ballooning your fist up to the size of your body before sending your opponent to the moon! My personal favourite is the move where Zitz smashes one of the radioactive ratpack into the ground up to their neck, and then boots him repeatedly in the head before playing ''kickoff''! It's also got the second best ending of all the Battletoad games (the arcade has the best in my opinion) because they actually bothered to throw in some extra graphics. <SPOILER> (Okay, it's a two-frame animation but that's more than you got for beating the NES/SNES version) </SPOILER>

Graphics: 10
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Some of the best graphics I have ever seen on a Gameboy game -- the characters are well detailed... and when Zitz rescues his buddies at the end of the game, they actually LOOK like their pictures in the manual! (That only happens in the Arcade and SNES versions)

Sound: 8
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The game's music is quite well done, especially in the later levels. The sounds effects are average, although I have to admit I like the crunching sound effect from a smash hit. The first and second level music isn't anything really special however -- and I suppose it would get on your nerves if you couldn't make it past level 2.

Control: 8
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Things seem to react pretty well to me -- one button jumps, one attacks. A new feature that didn't show up again until the arcade and SNES version (and was lost again in BT DD) was the ability to do a proper jumping attack -- in this case, a slightly enlarged straight punch was available in mid-air. Use it and abuse it -- this move is the key to victory.

Challenge: 8
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You have three lives and three continues, with no chance to get extra lives and no way to restore your energy mid-level (completing a level restores your energy to full). While difficult, it's certainly not impossible -- with practice, many of the earlier levels can be cleared without losing a single life. Additionally, each time Zitz gets hit, he gains a few moments of invincibilty so you are given some slack. How difficult a time you have with the game will depend on your experience.

Overall: 9
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Great graphics, good sound, variety, high challenge factor and a sense of humour make this one of the best action games you could get on a Gameboy -- well, until Zelda finally hit the small screen, but it's really more 'adventure'. If you didn't like the NES version, it won't make you change your mind about the series, but highly recommended to everyone else.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/23/01, Updated 10/23/01