Battletoads review - Nintendo Entertainment System

Despite their similarities to a certain number of hard-shelled amphibian assassins, life as a Battletoad couldn't be simpler. There are no crime-fighting japes for these dudes - just spend their time living it up on the cosmopolitan party planet of Lost Vega!

Due to her sorry penchant for destroying planets, the twisted Dark Queen is barred from visiting this veritable pleasure palace. In a fit of pique, the megalomaniacal monarch kidnaps the top toad Pimple and the toads' girlfriend Princess Anjelica. With these captives she plans to force our heroes into green slavery on her fortress planet. Her plan backfires when Rash and Zitz escape her clutches and launch their rescue bid, along with mentor Professor T Bird and their fabbo space ship, the Vulture.

Now it's up to Rash (and Zitz in two-player mode) to battle their way through the many platform levels of the Dark Queen's homeworld. Their aim is to reach the core containing the Dark Queen and the toads' captive companions. Many obstacles bar their way, from flying warthogs and giant laser-toting walker robots to seas of lava and mile-deep pits! Are they toad enough to pull it off or are they condemned to end their days being served up in a swanky French restaurant (that's frogs you're thinking of you dozy nit - JAZ)?

What the Mean Machines staff thought

The prospect of another NES platform game wasn't exactly appealing, although the Gameboy title upon which this is based was fab. Still, one go of Battletoads was enough to allay our fears. Although Battletoads has a lot in common with a number of other games, it seems to have borrowed the best elements of each. The presentation is great, with long cartoon-style intermissions and attract sequences. The graphical excellence of these is not quite carried through to the game itself - the sprites are a bit small although they are very well animated. The sound is bearable with some unobtrusive tunes and a number of entertaining effects. It's the gameplay which makes Battletoads stand out from the crowd. The emphasis is more on beat 'em up action than platforming with lots of things to hit. It's a good thing too, as the platform bits let the game down slightly, the collision detection for your landings is quite poor leading to a number of unfair deaths. One of the greatest things about Battletoads though is the sheer variety. There are so many changes in the action, such as the jet biking and abseiling sections, that it's difficult to get bored. Battletoads is no pushover either, there are a lot of levels and although they're not particularly long they pack quite some challenge. Given the lack of top notch beat 'em ups on the NES Battletoads is well worth the money.

Combining a variety of different game styles, great graphics, a neat sense of humour and some superb, challenging and highly addictive gameplay, Battletoads is a refreshing and original game which really grabbed me. The game is brilliantly designed to allow you to get just a little bit further each time you play, and give experts the potential to hone their skills and rack up enormous amounts of bonus points. It's this aspect that kept me coming back constantly, even after I'd finished the game! Battletoads is definitely one of the best Nintendo games I've played for quite a while and shouldn't be missed under any circumstances.