Battletoads in Battlemaniacs Review

*Review based on Battletoads in Battlemaniacs release as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Service*

Few names are as infamous in the world of video games as Battletoads. Rare’s riff on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles provided a game that was not only considered the most difficult in the NES library, but even today many people will point to it as the most difficult video game ever made (and not always for the right reasons). Despite its ludicrous difficulty, Battletoads was popular enough to warrant a franchise for a time (even being rebooted in 2020 by Dlala Studios). The series made the jump to the Super Nintendo in 1993 with Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, which serves as kind of a sequel to, and kind of a remake of the NES game. Strangely, while the original Battletoads has seen numerous re-releases over the years (even Battletoads Arcade made it into Rare Replay), Battlemaniacs didn’t see any form of re-release until it launched on the Nintendo Switch Online Service in late February 2024. Though I have to admit, we weren’t missing much in its absence. While Battlemaniacs definitely looks better and has (relatively) smoother controls than its predecessor, it still suffers from the same callously unfair difficulty of the original.

Battlemaniacs sees two of our disgustingly named heroes, Rash and Pimple, travel to a virtual reality world called “the Gamescape” in order to save the third Battletoad, Zits (the Battletoads aren’t cool enough to ever have all three available for the adventure, as Pimple was kidnapped in the original). The Battletoads’ nemesis, the Dark Queen, has teamed up with another baddie named Silas Volkmire in order to take over the Gamescape and the real world (they also kidnapped some CEO’s daughter. Though why that was necessary to the story, I’m not sure). So Rash and Pimple have to fight their way through six stages in order to defeat the Dark Queen and Volkmire, and save their friends.

I have to say, Rare really got the look, feel and tone of the Saturday morning cartoons of the time down pat. The anthropomorphic animal heroes, the “extreme” attitude, outlandish baddies, and even more outlandish character names all feel ripped straight out of the kind of cartoons that were airing at the time. They even had the gross-out humor of the 90s checked off with the names of the Battletoads. The 16-bit overhaul means that the Saturday morning cartoon mentality of the series even shines through in the game’s visuals this time around. And the music (partly composed by David Wise) includes some real bangers that help liven things up.

Sadly, that same attention to detail was not applied to fine-tuning the game. On the surface Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, despite having half the stages of the NES game, features a good deal of variety, with each stage playing differently than the last. The first level is a straight-up beat-em-up, while the second combines that with descending down a giant tree and avoiding hazards. The third, meanwhile, is the infamous Turbo Tunnel, where the toads ride on speeders while avoiding oncoming obstacles.

Wait a minute! These are the same stages as the NES game!

Yes, despite being the big 16-bit sequel to Battletoads, Battlemaniacs ultimately feels more like a remake. Its six stages recycle the framework of half of those from the original, albeit expanded upon and with more visual splendor. Though lacking in originality they may be, at least every stage is distinct from one another. It’s a shame more developers can’t squeeze in as much variety in the lengthy games of today as Rare could in just six levels on the Super Nintendo.

Battlemaniacs can also be played with two players in two different modes. One of which, like the first game, allows the players to injure each other, while the other mode (the only sane option) turns that feature off. At least this time Rare gave players an option, but given how insanely difficult the game already is, it shouldn’t even have the team attack option at all. It makes the game unplayable.

That difficulty is the game’s great flaw. I’m all for difficult games, being a fan of titles like Dark Souls and Elden Ring and what have you. But there’s a distinct difference between a game that’s difficult because of how it was designed, and a game that just feels unfair and comes across like none of its developers ever playtested it. Considering I keep bringing up the difficulty of Battletoads, I think you know which category I think Battlemaniacs falls into.

The Battletoads series is one of the few instances where a game’s difficulty doesn’t simply seem hard, but feels like the developers were playing some kind of sick, cruel prank on the player. While one would hope Rare would learn from their mistakes when making the sequels, sadly, Battlemaniacs feels like it’s pulling the same pranks as its predecessor, only now in 16-bits! The six stages of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs all have the potential to be something great, but each of them ultimately stumbles because, rather than design these stages carefully so players can gradually learn from their mistakes, here the mistakes are all on Rare, as their idea of difficulty when designing this series seemed to be to throw everything and the kitchen sink at players (often at a split second’s notice) and then faulting the player for not knowing what was going to happen ahead of time.

“The fourth stage, where the player hops across and climbs giant snakes, is my personal favorite.”

Take for example, the second stage. There’s a moment where fans try to blow the player into spiky logs as they descend, with the player having to push the character forward to fight the gust of the fans. Then all of a sudden, one of the fans pulls the player into the spikes, with no visual distinction between this fan and any of the others. It’s one thing to change things up, it’s another to outright give the player the middle finger by changing the rules the game itself established without any indication.

Then we have that damned third level, which requires absolutely perfect reflexes and complete memorization of the stage’s obstacles. That may sound standard for games at the time, except that the level drags on and on for so long – and with so few checkpoint – that asking players to memorize it, let alone have perfect precision every time, is just ridiculous. Oh, and you only get three lives and three continues to beat the whole game. If those run out, it’s back to the beginning of the whole game for you (because why not punish the player for the game’s own poor design?). There is a cheat code you can enter at the title screen (hold down, A and B and press start), but all that does is increase the lives and continues to five. It helps a little, but so little it just feels like another means for the game to mock you.

A couple of bonus stages are played after the second and fifth levels, in which the player has the chance to win extra lives, but of course the game uses this as another opportunity to mess with the player. As the toads ride a giant hockey puck and collect points (100 points for an extra life), enemies and obstacles litter the field – again often showing up at a split seconds’ notice – and take your points away upon contact. By the time these bonus stages are done, you’ll likely only get one or two extra lives, which will probably vanish within seconds of the next stage anyway.

“On the plus side, the bonus stages LOOK great.”

Admittedly, Battlemaniacs may not be quite as difficult as the original Battletoads, if only because it has fewer levels and because the SNES allowed for more precise movements (which the NES game demanded, but the hardware couldn’t allow). And playing it on Switch Online means you can create save states, which I highly recommend after every frustrating moment (so about every 5 seconds). But being slightly easier than the original Battletoads is like saying walking on hot coals with socks on is slightly more tolerable than walking on hot coals barefoot.

For some reason, people from my generation often look back fondly at Battletoads. I’m assuming it’s probably because the characters reminded us of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which were all the rage at the time. But actually going back to play this series again is a reminder that some things are best left in the past. Rare would later reach new heights with games like Donkey Kong Country, Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie (before they eventually fell into one niche after another when Microsoft bought them out). But Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is not one of those Rare classics. It could have been – it still looks and sounds great, and the tongue-in-cheek nature of the series shines through – if only it weren’t so needlessly vindictive with its difficulty.

Games like Dark Souls are difficult in such a way they make you want to see the challenge through. Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is difficult in a way it makes you just want to play something else instead. And with plenty of other, infinitely better games made by Rare out there, you should do just that.

Battletoads Arcade Review

*Review based on Battletoads Arcade’s release as part of Rare Replay*

Battletoads had all the makings of a solid franchise. From its distinct characters and attitude to its notable gameplay and difficulty, Battletoads should have went further than it did. Though the disgustingly-named toads Rash, Pimple and Zits have started popping up in games like Shovel Knight and the 2013 Killer Instinct reboot as of late, the Battletoads only had five total games, all of which were released in the first half of the 1990s.

The 1991 NES original is the most famous entry in the franchise, notorious for its excruciating difficulty. A watered-down Gameboy port soon followed. And in 1993 the Battletoads starred in two more games; Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, and the unique crossover title Battletoads & Double Dragon, both of which were on 16-bit platforms. Then in 1994, the currently-final entry in the series, the aptly-named Battletoads Arcade, made its way to arcades… and it bombed.

Yes, despite the popularity of the franchise, the Battletoads’ debut in arcade cabinets was a financial failure for Rare. So much so, that the game’s planned home console ports were cancelled. Battletoads Arcade’s disappointing sales may have even been the reason for Rare putting the franchise on the back-burner, where it still remains to this day.

That’s a damn shame, because Battletoads Arcade is a whole lot of fun, which more and more people have realized after the game made its quite-delayed home console debut as part of Rare Replay.

Battletoads Arcade, much like other entries in the series, is a beat-em-up. Even more so than the NES original, Battletoads Arcade is all about laying the smacketh down on hordes of enemies. You just go from one end of a stage to the other, pummeling any and all foes who stand in your way. It’s pure, unadulterated beat-em-up. It’s simple stuff, but very fun.

This arcade original is also notable for being one of the few games where players can actually play as all three toads (the other being the Double Dragon crossover). What’s even better is that the game supports three players, so all three toads can partake in the mayhem at the same time. All three toads play identically, through they each have their own animations for their attacks.

“Yes, the toads use these giant rats’ cojones as punching bags…”

Another aspect that sets Battletoads Arcade apart from its predecessors is that, being self-published by Rare onto arcade cabinets as opposed to another company’s home consoles, the game gets away with a lot more violence and gross-out humor. Blood now flies out of enemy rats as the toads punch them around and stomp them into oblivion, and Pimple has an attack in which he crushes a downed opponent’s head when his foot transforms into an anvil. There are also enemy rats that puke after getting punched in the gut, and in one stage, you can even find some rats using the toilet in the background (complete with sound effects). This is certainly the crudest and most violent Battletoads game, and may even feel like something of a precursor to Conker’s Bad Fur Day in terms of tone.

The gameplay is a whole lot of fun, and unlike the original Battletoads, very much welcomes additional players, with some of the stages feeling tailor-made with two and three players in mind. The graphics and animations are another highlight, with the Battletoads’ signature cartoonish transformations looking better than ever. And once again, the series is livened up with a killer score by David Wise.

There is, however, a bit of a drawback in that the game is only six stages long (that’s half as many as the NES original). Now, you expect an arcade beat-em-up to be on the short side, but Battletoads Arcade ends all too abruptly. After a comically lengthy boss fight against Robo Manus, one of the Dark Queen’s henchmen, the game ends. You don’t even get to fight the Dark Queen herself. I’m guessing the short length is due to the game’s difficulty, which in an arcade cabinet would surely gorge on coins or tokens. But the sudden end does kind of seem disappointing, and perhaps two or three additional levels could have added some extra heft and variety, with only the existing fourth and sixth stages changing up the gameplay styles as it is (the fourth level seeing the toads descending down a cavern via jetpacks, and the sixth stage having the toads taking part in a shoot-em-up with machine guns).

I mentioned that the game is difficult, and though I stand by that due to the epic boss fights, waves of enemies, and health-depleting mid-bosses. But, due to the game’s transition to a console, it’s also – strange as this may sound – kind of easy.

By that I mean that, although the game itself is quite challenging, you have infinite continues, and come back to life exactly where you died. Thankfully, you don’t have to fork over hard-earned cash to continue playing like you would in an arcade, but there really is no real penalty for dying. You’ll still die a lot, to be sure. But when enemies get the jump on you, you’re basically just slightly slowed down, without ever suffering a real defeat. But I suppose I’ll take that over the needlessly punishing quality of the original Battletoads any day.

Battletoads Arcade is an excellent beat-em-up. Though it’s all too short and all too easy to beat (despite its moment-to-moment challenge), it provides a great deal of fun, and manages to squeeze a decent amount of variety in the few stages it has. Top it of with crazy animations, a great soundtrack, and Battletoads co-op that’s actually enjoyable, you have a great, pick up and play experience on your hands.

The facts that it tanked in arcades and is still the last Battletoads game may be a bit disheartening, but its inclusion as part of Rare Replay has now brought the game to a wider audience, and its inclusion is one of the best pieces of the Rare Replay lineup.

Between you and me, I like it better than Turtles in Time.

6

Battletoads Review

*Review based on Battletoads’ release as part of Rare Replay*

Battletoads is the hardest video game ever made.

That’s an often repeated statement you’ll hear around the gaming community, and it’s a hard point to argue. I can’t think of another video game that demands so many actions to be pixel perfect, or that’s so unforgiving with its level design. Battletoads is on a level all its own in the realms of video game difficulty, with a challenge so incredibly steep that only the most dedicated players will see their way past the first few levels.

To put it simply, Battletoads is one tough bastard.

But is it any good? Well, that all depends. Battletoads is certainly a game that has a lot going for it: the core gameplay is fun, the levels are full of variety, and the music by David Wise is pretty awesome, and sounds a bit like a precursor to the composer’s later work in the Donkey Kong Country series. Not to mention the game has a fun attitude that serves as a pretty funny riff on the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles.

With all that said, Battletoads is also most certainly not a game everyone will enjoy simply because it is that damn difficult. Some levels even feel downright sadistic with their demands on the player. And in what has to be the single dumbest design choice in the game, if you have two players partnering up for the adventure at hand, you can (and most definitely will) hurt each other!

Essentially, Battletoads is a beat-em-up. Players can take control of two of the three Battletoads, Rash and Zits, as they embark on a quest through deep space to defeat the sexy Dark Queen and rescue a princess as well as their kidnapped comrade Pimple (I always wondered why Rare bothered to make three Battletoads characters since one of them always seems to be on the sidelines).

Though the game primarily serves as a beat-em-up, the levels quickly find ways to add variety to the mix. The second level sees the toads traveling downwards in a cavern via ropes, while the infamous third level (the game’s first massive difficulty spike) has players riding hover vehicles through a tunnel with rapidly appearing walls (with a single crash meaning instant death). Later levels include surfing, swimming through sewers, and racing giant rats down a construction building to reach bombs (this particular level being the bane of my existence).

The sheer variety is actually pretty impressive, given the limitations of the NES. Even when Battletoads is settling in its traditional beat-em-up stages, it still provides some fun. I especially like the comical animations, which also pushed the NES’s capabilities: If you run and attack an enemy, the toads’ heads will cartoonishly turn into ram horns, and after you smack a foe into the ground, you can kick him into oblivion when your toad’s foot transforms into a giant boot.

Simply put, the gameplay, when taken on its own merits, was fun for its day. But the ridiculous difficulty will no doubt prove alienating to many players. The third stage alone will exhaust all of your lives and continues several times over. And should you somehow manage to make it to the later stages, well, good luck is all I can say.

The aforementioned sewer stage includes sections where you run from giant gears, which will instantly kill you if they get too close. But these gears are fast, and will always seem to be trailing inches behind your character, and when they start chasing you upward, you might find yourself shouting obscenities you may have forgotten you knew, because the jumps you need to make have to be one-hundred percent accurate in order to keep your momentum going and survive the gear. I wish I could say I were exaggerating, but if you’re even a split second off, you’re dead.

That’s a major issue, because Battletoads is a game that – whether due to the limitations of its day, unpolished gameplay, or both – doesn’t have the smooth sense of control required for how accurate the player has to be. The characters feel clunky and stiff in movement, which is exactly the opposite of what you need when you can’t spare even a single second in some of these stages. Battletoads simply doesn’t allow the for the precision it demands from the player.

Anyone who actually managed to conquer these levels in the game’s original NES release definitely has my respect. How they managed to master such trial-and-error after so many game overs sent them back to the start of the game, I’ll never know.

The Rare Replay release includes a neat way to avoid having to start over, however. Along with being able to save your progress at any time, Battletoads – like the other early titles included in Rare Replay – gives players the ability to rewind up to ten seconds. So while you will most assuredly die and die again, you can, at the very least, rectify most of your deaths without having to go back to a checkpoint or getting a game over. It was only with this rewind feature that I was able to complete that infamous third level. You may say that I cheated, but as far as I’m concerned, Battletoads cheated first with how long that level drags on, how fast your vehicle ends up going, and how fast walls start appearing right in front of you.

Besides, the rewinding can only help you so much. It still took me countless tries to get those jumps with the gears just right (and even then, I think I got lucky more than I had them figured out). And to be honest, the rewinding ability still hasn’t helped me conquer that dreaded Rat Race stage. Those rats run so fast that rewinding isn’t going to do much other than have you reliving the sight of a giant rat zooming past a humanoid toad over and over. Even if you manage to hit the rats (which, again, requires one-hundred percent precision), you only buy yourself less than a second’s time, since the rats move so fast that, when they hit a wall and turn back around, they’re just going to speed past you all over again.

Yes, even with the rewind feature, I still can’t beat Battletoads. Normally, I like to beat a game before I write the review, but cheat codes and level skips certainly help in seeing enough of Battletoads to write about it. I fear I might otherwise never make it past those rats.

“They are going to die…probably by each other’s hands.”

The disappointing thing is, with a game this difficult, it was just begging to be played with two people working together to help get through it. But then Rare decided to troll gamers by making the Toads able to hit each other, which will result in countless unintentional deaths from each other on top of all the ones you are going to get from enemies and obstacles. What’s worse, the players share lives and continues, so if the players end up accidentally killing each other repeatedly, you’re going to start the whole game over. With a single player, Battletoads feels close to impossible. With two players… it might very well be.

Now we go back to the question “is Battletoads any good?” Honestly, I feel like the answer is no. For all the things it does right in gameplay, variety and music, it almost seems to want to turn players away with its frequently unreasonable challenge.