Kicking Arse in the Grass (or Dirt) 
Battletoads is an awesome beat 'em up that I have a total love/hate relationship with. It came out during the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) lifetime, and I remember it very fondly from my childhood. It was actually one of only nine NES titles that my cousin and I owned! It has that edgy, '90s cartoon and comic book art style, making it feel like you are looking right at a Saturday morning cartoon.
Story
You play as Rash and Pimple, and your mission is to stop the evil Dark Queen and rescue your bro, Zitz, along with your mamacita, Princess Angelica (who is the daughter of the Terran Emperor). Why did she kidnap them, you ask? Because she’s a bad bish—ahem,
anyway!
She acts as a mysterious sorceress who leads a mutant army of pigs, rats, and the like. She is famous for her dominatrix-style attire, massive hair, and the fact that she can apparently shift her size during fights (again, because she’s a bad bish).
You play through 12 different stages ranging from caverns, cliffs, and tunnels, and the gameplay smoothly transitions from classic beat 'em ups to intense, speed-racer style stages.
Music
The music is awesome, awesome, awesome! I guess you can think of this soundtrack as semi-aggressive, high-energy music. Honestly, the pause screen alone makes me want to stand up and start doing the Fortnite dance.
You will be jamming out to some heavy metal, electronic funk, and tracks that push the NES to its absolute limits—it is lovely chiptune music at its best. Credit where credit is due: that incredible score belongs to David Wise, who later went on to make some of the greatest music ever for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.
There have even been several high-quality, fan-arranged albums, vinyl records, and digital tribute remixes on the internet dedicated to this game's soundtrack.
Controls
Nothing too hard to master here! Of course, you have your basic D-pad movement. The (A) button is used to jump or swim, while the (B) button is used to punch, pick up items, or interact with objects (like eating flies). Double-tapping the D-pad left or right will make your character run. If you pull off a combo by rapidly pressing the (B) button, you will do a massive finishing move where you kick the absolute shat outta your enemy, sending them flying right off the screen!
Graphics
As stated earlier, the look and feel of this game is straight out of a '90s cartoon TV show, and I absolutely love it. It features very fluid character animations showcasing exactly what the characters are doing on screen, alongside detailed backgrounds with simulated parallax scrolling. Some of those backgrounds move at different speeds, really pushing the Nintendo Entertainment System to its limits. There are also some really nice cutscenes between stages that look like a sci-fi comic book, featuring highly detailed character portraits—a really nice touch.
Overall
Overall, this game is great—and it's even greater when you have someone playing right next to you in co-op. The franchise has had a TV cartoon spin-off, multiple different console releases (including the famous crossover with Double Dragon), as well as a 2020 reboot on Xbox consoles and the Microsoft Store. It’s a stellar beat 'em up that stands on par with classics like Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Give this game a try—you will enjoy it!
Battletoads is an awesome beat 'em up that I have a total love/hate relationship with. It came out during the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) lifetime, and I remember it very fondly from my childhood. It was actually one of only nine NES titles that my cousin and I owned! It has that edgy, '90s cartoon and comic book art style, making it feel like you are looking right at a Saturday morning cartoon.
Story
You play as Rash and Pimple, and your mission is to stop the evil Dark Queen and rescue your bro, Zitz, along with your mamacita, Princess Angelica (who is the daughter of the Terran Emperor). Why did she kidnap them, you ask? Because she’s a bad bish—ahem,
anyway!She acts as a mysterious sorceress who leads a mutant army of pigs, rats, and the like. She is famous for her dominatrix-style attire, massive hair, and the fact that she can apparently shift her size during fights (again, because she’s a bad bish).
You play through 12 different stages ranging from caverns, cliffs, and tunnels, and the gameplay smoothly transitions from classic beat 'em ups to intense, speed-racer style stages.
Music
The music is awesome, awesome, awesome! I guess you can think of this soundtrack as semi-aggressive, high-energy music. Honestly, the pause screen alone makes me want to stand up and start doing the Fortnite dance.
You will be jamming out to some heavy metal, electronic funk, and tracks that push the NES to its absolute limits—it is lovely chiptune music at its best. Credit where credit is due: that incredible score belongs to David Wise, who later went on to make some of the greatest music ever for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.
There have even been several high-quality, fan-arranged albums, vinyl records, and digital tribute remixes on the internet dedicated to this game's soundtrack.
Controls
Nothing too hard to master here! Of course, you have your basic D-pad movement. The (A) button is used to jump or swim, while the (B) button is used to punch, pick up items, or interact with objects (like eating flies). Double-tapping the D-pad left or right will make your character run. If you pull off a combo by rapidly pressing the (B) button, you will do a massive finishing move where you kick the absolute shat outta your enemy, sending them flying right off the screen!
Graphics
As stated earlier, the look and feel of this game is straight out of a '90s cartoon TV show, and I absolutely love it. It features very fluid character animations showcasing exactly what the characters are doing on screen, alongside detailed backgrounds with simulated parallax scrolling. Some of those backgrounds move at different speeds, really pushing the Nintendo Entertainment System to its limits. There are also some really nice cutscenes between stages that look like a sci-fi comic book, featuring highly detailed character portraits—a really nice touch.
Overall
Overall, this game is great—and it's even greater when you have someone playing right next to you in co-op. The franchise has had a TV cartoon spin-off, multiple different console releases (including the famous crossover with Double Dragon), as well as a 2020 reboot on Xbox consoles and the Microsoft Store. It’s a stellar beat 'em up that stands on par with classics like Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Give this game a try—you will enjoy it!
Pros
- + Amazing Visuals
- + Different type of gameplay (beat-em up/racing)
- + Chaotic Co-op Action
Cons
- - Its really a hard game to beat
8
Gameplay
8
Graphics
7
Story
9
Sound
8
Replayability
8
out of 10
Overall
Awesome co-op game to play with a bud (^-^)
