To this day, one of the finest games ever made.
I love this game. While it may seem a blatant cash grab from the TMNT craze from the early 90's is in fact one of best games I have ever played. Battletoads has it all: great character designs, colorful detailed graphics, an amazing soundtrack, good sense of humor, wide variety of animations and gameplay mechanics, and perfect controls. Oh yeah, and the game was hard as HELL.
Which was a true testament to how great everything was. You have to see what comes next. What starts as a straightforward beat-em-up with light platforming moments quickly turns into a lightning-fast hovercar segment that is a truly classic moment in gaming history. Death can come from smashing into barriers as wel as falls to your death. Both will come often.After enough patience and practice you will get in the "zone" and nail even the fastest parts of the stage. This is every bit as satisfying as any other zen-like gaming moments I've experienced. And this is just the third level! Most gamers probably never saw past this, and they missed out big-time. Killer snowmen, deadly rubber duckies, snake humping, EXCELLENT platforming, an entire level seemingly dedicated to Pac-man,( where you are being chased and can only gain on your pursuer at turns, while it gains on you during straightaways) a really neat pseudo-3d tower level, fun boss fights and much more. There are plenty of great death animations along the way that you are guaranteed to see just by playing these challenging later levels.
If the above statements didn't clarify that Battletoads is really hard, look at the cheats. Most extra lives codes give you between 10-30 lives, Battletoads gives you five. Warp zones almot all require suicidal leaps, rushing to the edge of the screen, despite whatever may be there to kill you, ect. These are TIMED, so you really have to know what you are doing to find them, and you will probably die many times trying to get to them. And don't even THINK about trying to get through this with 2 players. This isnt Contra! Your teammate will hinder any hope of beating this game, and I would be SHOCKED to see your toads make it past stage three.
I just love the variety in Battletoads. One moment you are cursing the Life Invaders for literally stealing your health blocks (such a clever attack), the next you are racing a mutant rat to bombs planted in a skyscraper. And the satisfaction in beating this game is greater than any other. Ninja Gaiden(any of them) has nothing on Battletoads.
Sadly this lightning-in-a-bottle game never saw a true sequel. Battlemaniacs is essentially the same game with better graphics (and it's too easy) and the Double Dragon crossover was lame to say the least. While it is wishfull thinking to have Rare make a new Battletoads game after a 15 year hiatus (forget Jetpac Refueled) but I remain hopeful that they release the orginal on XBLA sometime soon.
