Battletoads

From Battletoads Wiki

Battletoads is the first game of the series created by Rare. It was released for Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, with ports for the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Amiga CD32 and Nintendo Game Boy (with the subtitle Battletoads in Ragnarok's World so as to separate it from the earlier-released Game Boy sequel).

It is considered one of the most graphically-advanced games for the NES, released in a period where consoles were shifting to 16-bit hardware. It is also considered one of the hardest games. IGN listed it at 8th place in its "Top 10 Most Difficult Games to Beat".

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 3 Levels 4 Ports

[edit] Story

Fresh from her recent defeat at the Battle of Canis Major, the Dark Queen decides to take out her aggressions on her archenemies, the Battletoads. The 'Toads and their mentor, Professor T-Bird, are currently escorting Princess Angelica home to her father, the Terran Emperor. During a rest stop, Pimple takes Angelica out for a drive in the Toadster, but the vehicle and its occupants are swallowed up by the Dark Queen's ship, the Gargantua, and taken to her Tower on planet Ragnarok.

Rash and Zitz are quickly sent down to Ragnarok's surface to rescue their friends, unaware of the dangers that await them, but willing to chance it all on their rescue mission.

[edit] Gameplay

Gameplay is considered a mix between side-scrolling fighting games (similiar to that seen in Double Dragon) and arcade-styled vehicle stages. Fighting areas require the 'Toads to punch enemies to weaken them, then finish them off with a Smash Hit, a technique that usually involves comical transformations (such as using giant boots to kick the enemies away). Occasionally, the 'Toads can use their tongues to snag life-replenishing flies and can also find extra lives and level warps.

Vehicle stages often require precision reflexes and pattern memorization in order to evade all the incoming obstacles, almost all of which are fatal to collide with. Between this and the speed in which they appear, these stages provide much of the game's intense challenge level.

Another major issue is that the player gets three lives (or five, with aid of a code) and only three continues. Once it is all depleted, the player must start all over again. In a 2-player game, both characters share the already-limited continues. Also, in vehicle stages, if one Toad loses a life, both of them must return to the last-reached checkpoint. Finally, there are no means to save game progress, so the entire game must be cleared in one sitting.

[edit] Levels

Stage 1: Ragnarok's Canyon - The game begins with a short fight across the surface of the planet, battling Psyko-Pigs and Walkers. A massive Mega-Walker guards the exit.
Stage 2: Wookie Hole - This is a mile-deep hole that leads down into the heart of the planet. The 'Toads must rappel down to the bottom while avoiding birds and Retro-Blasters. Especially skilled players can earn extra lives by bouncing birds off the walls repeatedly.
Stage 3: Turbo Tunnel - This is the first level where the players ride a vehicle, in this case the Speeder Bikes, and must navigate a dangerous obstacle course at high speed. This is considered the first truly challenging area of the game, and it only gets harder from here.
Stage 4: Arctic Cavern - In this ice level, traction is reduced significantly, making it hard to avoid the attacks of crazed snowmen and deadly spikes.
Stage 5: Surf City - This time the 'Toads ride surfboards, dodging logs and mines as they coast downriver. Halfway through this level, the players encounter Big Blag.
Stage 6: Karnath's Lair - The players must naviagate their way out of the stage by riding on giant snakes to reach the top, avoiding spikes as they go.
Stage 7: Volkmire's Inferno - Titled after Silas Volkmire, the stage is aptly named. The 'Toads ride jet-planes this time, flying through electrified force fields and dodging fireballs and missiles.
Stage 8: Intruder Excluder - The Toads find themselves in an elevator shaft full of new dangers, such as electrified platforms and toxic-gas sprayers. At the top is the feared biogen Robo-Manus.
Stage 9: Terra Tubes - The 'Toads run, swim, and fight through a myriad of pipes. Watch out for rolling gears, self-destructing robots, and, worst of all... rubber duckies!
Stage 10: Rat Race - Here, the 'Toads race Scuzz the Rat to the bottom of the shaft in order to defuse a series of bombs. After three victories over Scuzz, General Slaughter will appear to settle things himself.
Stage 11: Clinger Winger - Once more, the players ride a vehicle, this time a one-wheeled cycle with handlebars. You need to keep your speed up, especially around corners, in order to stay ahead of the pursuing Hypno-Orb. Once the race is won, you'll be able to exact some revenge on the offending object.
Stage 12: The Revolution - Climbing the Dark Queen's tower is a precarious, difficult task, with high winds, vanishing platforms, and hungry Rhynos threatening to ruin the climb.
Stage 13: Armageddon - It's just you verses the Dark Queen. Pimple and Angelica are at stake, so don't let them down now.

[edit] Ports

Several ports of Battletoads were released later on after the success of the NES game.

• The Sega Genesis version was released in 1991. The added processing power of the 16-bit console enabled slightly better graphics and sound and the difficulty was slightly toned down, but is still considered challenging.
• Battletoads in Ragnarok's World was released for the Game Boy in 1993. It contained fewer stages, but maintained the challenge of the NES original. The subtitle was given to separate the port from the previous Battletoads game for Game Boy, which was a completely different game altogether.
• The Game Gear version was released in 1993. Like the Game Boy version, several stages were removed from the original.
• The last port was released on the Amiga CD32 in 1994. Though graphically better, it suffered several sacrifices, mainly in the removal of nearly all the in-game music.