Battletoads

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Battletoads
Developer(s)	Rare (NES, GB) Sega (MD, GG) Mindscape (Amiga, ACD32)
Publisher(s)	NA Tradewest EU Nintendo (NES, GB) Mindscape (Amiga, ACD32) Sega (MD, GG) JP NCS (NES) Sega (MD, GG)
Composer(s)	David Wise
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom, Commodore Amiga, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Game Boy, Amiga CD32
Release date(s)	NES NA June 1991 EU 1991 JP December 20, 1991 Amiga EU 1992 Mega Drive/Genesis NA December 1992 EU March 26, 1993 JP March 26, 1993 Game Gear NA 1993 EU 1993 JP January 14, 1994 Game Boy NA September 1993 EU September 1993 Amiga CD32 EU 1994
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up, Platformer, Action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Media	2-megabit cartridge

Battletoads is a video game created by Rare Ltd. to rival the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games.^[1] The first game was developed by Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It was subsequently ported by Mindscape to the Amiga in 1992, by Sega to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, by Rare to the Game Boy in 1993 retitled as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World, and by Mindscape to the Amiga CD32 in 1994. Ports for IBM PC and Atari ST were planned by Mindscape but never released ^[2].

It is arguably one of the most graphically advanced video games for the NES, at a time when the video game market was turning to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The game became famous for its extravagant difficulty and humorous ways of defeating enemies, as the characters possess the ability to transform parts of their body into gigantic, exaggerated appendages for devastating attacks and comic effect.

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 3 Reception 4 Sequels 5 Animated series 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Story

Two anthropomorphic toads named after skin disorders (Rash and Zitz) have to save their friends Pimple and the Princess Angelica from the Dark Queen, ruler of Planet Ragnarok, with the assistance of Professor T. Bird and his space ship, The Vulture.

The backstory of Battletoads, written by Rare employee Guy Miller, was also published in a Nintendo Power comic. The storyline in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is somewhat based on this back story.

[edit] Gameplay

Different levels of the game have very different play styles. There are a few 3D and traditional 2D "beat-em-up" levels in which the player progresses by defeating enemies, though even these levels tend to have many lethal obstacles. The most difficult levels are the obstacle course and race levels, where the character must dodge a series of obstacles while driving or flying at high speed, or outrun an enemy that can instantly kill the player. These levels typically required the player to memorize the sequence of obstacles in the way, and to have extremely rapid reflexes. Other levels include a climbing/jumping "snake maze", an underwater level with lethal spikes and dangerous monsters, and two difficult "tower climb" levels, including the final climb of the Dark Queen's tower.

Part of the series' marketable appeal is due to its exaggerated ways of finishing off enemies. These include a headbutt that would have the Battletoad sprout ram's horns (or, in Pimple's case, a football helmet in the arcade game), a punch with an extremely enlarged fist, a two-handed smash into the ground that yielded only the enemy's head sticking out, a kick move with the character sprouting a very enlarged boot, and on climbing/falling levels, the ability to transform into a wrecking ball by having your character line-up vertically on either the right or left side of the playing field.

[edit] Reception

The original Battletoads was well-received by most gaming critics. However, it has been remembered for its extreme difficulty, even for experienced players.^[3]This game also has been named the #1 most infuriating old school game of all time on Cracked.com, due to its wind tunnel.

One notorious^[4] aspect of the difficulty is that during a 2-player co-op game, one player may attack the other at anytime. This may be intentional, such as attacking the other directly, or unintentional, such as one player attacking an enemy with the other player getting in the way. This can be especially annoying with attacks that result in a one-hit knockout. There was no option to disable "friendly fire".

To compound the problem even further, Battletoads gives the player only 3 opportunities to continue after being defeated (many other games of this size gave unlimited opportunities), and has no password or save feature to enable the player to continue the game across multiple sessions. Therefore, only the most dedicated of players were able to beat the game. Many players have also expressed extreme disappointment with Battletoads' lackluster ending sequence, feeling that they should be much better rewarded for having conquered such a difficult game.

Unlike many side-scrolling games in which two players cooperating can complete the game more easily than one, Battletoads becomes even more difficult to complete with two players, because of the many obstacle levels. If either player crashes during an obstacle course, both are sent back to the start to try again; thus, both players need perfect play to get through many of the levels.

The game is also littered with minor glitches that suggested poor beta testing. The most critical flaw occurs in level 11, entitled Clinger Winger. During a 2-player game, the second player is unable to move in level 11, and therefore must lose all of his or her lives before player one can continue the level. This makes finishing the game even more difficult for the second player, as that player had one less continue and any accumulated extra lives at his or her disposal. This glitch was removed in the versions of the game released outside the United States.

Two features did reduce the otherwise crippling difficulty of the game. In the second level, a quick player could gain multiple lives by repeatedly hitting defeated enemies before they fell offscreen; thus a skilled player could build up a store of ten or more lives to spend in future levels. Second, there were several "warp points" scattered throughout the game that let the player skip ahead two levels. A knowledgeable player could avoid approximately half of the levels in the game through judicious use of warp points.

Despite these concessions to the player, Battletoads for the NES has a reputation of being considered among the most difficult games ever made. The Mega Drive/Genesis version tones down the difficulty considerably, rewarding the players with more lives and generally featuring more forgiving controls and gameplay than the NES version. Contrary to an otherwise common trend of Japanese releases of games being more difficult than their American or European counterparts, the Famicom version of Battletoads was also made significantly easier than the American NES release.

[edit] Sequels

Battletoads proved to be a hit and was followed up with sequels released over the ensuing years.

• Battletoads (Game Boy): The Dark Queen has captured Rash and Pimple, leaving Zitz to go out and try to rescue his teammates in a solo effort. Despite having the same box art and title as the original NES release, Battletoads for Game Boy is a completely different game with new levels. A modified version of the original game was later released on the Game Boy as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World. This version of the game has fewer levels in it and is only single player.
• Battletoads & Double Dragon: A crossover with the characters from the Double Dragon series with liberties taken. The Dark Queen and Shadow Boss team up and it's up to the five heroes (the three toads, Zitz, Rash and Pimple, and the two Lee brothers, Billy and Jimmy) to stop them. The game allows players full and free choice of playable characters for the first time through a selection screen. Released in 1993 for the NES, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES and Game Boy.
• Battletoads in Battlemaniacs: The characters are bigger and the graphics are better. Zitz and the daughter of Psicone Industries' CEO have been captured and it's up to Rash and Pimple to save them from the Dark Queen's clutches. Released in 1993 for the SNES and in 1994 for the Sega Master System. Different from the previous games, in this one each character has its own specific abilities and combos. The player 1 character, Pimple, is the powerhouse, big and with huge range with punches (like his aerial anvil-fist finisher), while the player 2 character, Rash, is nimble and smaller, fighting using kicking attacks (like his aerial battle axe finisher attack). Aside from cooperative play, a solo player is able to play as Rash by switching to the second controller.
• Battletoads (arcade game) aka Super Battletoads: An arcade game released in 1994. The arcade game, unlike the other games, featured voiceovers and several other features that distinguish it from the other games, such as an increased level of violence (players could bloodily decapitate some of their enemies with specific attacks). It follows the Battletoads in Battlemaniacs updated formula of each character having his own design and specific abilities and combos, but this time featuring the three toads, Zitz, Rash and Pimple, as selectable characters. While Rash is kept as the nimble and smaller character and Pimple as the powerhouse, Zitz is represented as the intermediate and balanced character. Also, during vehicle levels, combat is emphasized rather than memorizing and avoiding obstacles.

[edit] Animated series

Battletoads
Genre	Animated series, comedy
Created by	DIC Entertainment Rare (characters)
Developed by	Phil Harnage David Wise
Directed by	Kent Butterworth
Voices of	Kathleen Barr Ian James Corlett Mike Donovan Andrew Kavadas Lalainia Lindjberg Scott McNeil Jason Michas Alvin Sanders
Theme music composer	Kip Lennon Ron Hicklin Susan Boyd Jon Joyce Jim Haas
Composer(s)	Murray McFadden Michael Watts
Country of origin	Canada
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	1
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Heyward Robby London
Producer(s)	Kent Butterworth
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox Kids
First shown in	1992
Original run	1992 – 1992

Battletoads also spun off an American half-hour, traditionally animated television special produced by DIC Entertainment, airing on Fox Kids in the Holidays of 1992, about three teenage kids who have been chosen to be turned into humanoid toads known as: "The Battletoads" to rescue a Princess captured by the Dark Queen. However, only the pilot episode made it to the airwaves; it was never picked up as a full animated series, despite comic-style ads in GamePro magazine claiming otherwise. A VHS tape with the pilot was released in the United States on January 15th, 1994. The pilot served more as a prequel to the video game franchise.

Set in Oxnard, California, the show stars three kids (despite the fact that the comic's story revolved around three video game testers). The trio is given the ability to transform into anthropomorphic toads with superhuman strength and the ability to change their arms and legs into weapons in techniques called "Smash Hits." They are charged with protecting Professor T. Bird and Princess Angelica from the Dark Queen, who wants to steal Angelica's magical amulet for her plans of universal conquest.

It is likely that the show was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Incidentally, DiC Entertainment would try this again later on by producing Street Sharks and then later Extreme Dinosaurs.

[edit] See also

• List of beat 'em ups
• List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Battletoads on vNES
• Battletoads at the Killer List of Videogames
• Battletoads series at MobyGames
• ClassicGaming - The World of Battletoads
• BattleToads at TV.com
• BattleToads at IMDB
• Battletoads Speed Runs at Speed Demos Archive
• The Battletoads comic

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