Battletoads

The Good
This game is a serious breakthrough in NES gaming and sets a new standard for excellence, as well as sheer challenge. The principle figures in this game are the three Battletoads, their vulture mentor, the princess, and the Dark Queen. The Dark Queen kidnaps one of the Battletoads and the princess and it's up to the other two toads to go after them. One person can play alone or 2 players can team up cooperatively to make it through 12 intense stages which include every type of action you can imagine: fly-through shooting, martial arts action, racing, surfing, as well as a bunch of types of action that you've never seen before, such as climbing on large, moving snakes, fighting through the eyes of your enemy, and a 360-degree castle at the very end.

The game also features true multiple-scrolling backgrounds in several places, rather than split screen scrolling as seen in many later NES games. The soundtrack never quits and each level gets its own theme song. One thing is certain about Battletoads: It NEVER gets boring! This is truly one of the best NES games ever.

I have fond memories of this game stressing me out - really, I was stressed over a video game - for a period of about 2 weeks. I often rented games during the summer and when this game hit the rental shelves, I had to rent it 3 times before I finally completed it, which was still cheaper than purchasing the game new.

The Bad
Bugs, lots of them. And not just the flies that you ate for power-ups (which were few and far between). This is a notoriously buggy game, probably a side effect of the tricky programming that went into the game. I once made it to the end of level 10 to face the boss. The boss accidently dropped off the bottom of the screen. Since I did not technically beat him, the level did not end. And I was stuck in a room where it was impossible to lose a life. I eventually had to reset the Nintendo and invest another 2 hours to get back to that point.

Another thing about the game: Level 6, a.k.a. the snake level. Incredibly unique but perhaps the toughest level I have ever played in any game.

The Bottom Line
Battletoads endures to this day as one of the best, most challenging, and most revolutionary action games every created, for the NES or any platform.

The Good
This game had fantastic graphical effects for it's time. The first boss was memorable with its suprising appearance. The 'Toads have super punches and kicks that are humorous and satisfying to watch. All of the levels are completley varied from one another, a feat nearly unmatched to this day.

The Bad
Holy crap is this game hard! I dare anyone to defeat this monster of a game without a sweat. This isn't normally a bad point, but this game is extreme in it's relentless nature. Trial and error are your 2 new friends here.

The Bottom Line
A fine title. I reccommend it to anyone looking for a challenge.

The Good
The challenge. Some games are too easy and too hokey. As much as I hate to say it, take Super Mario Brothers 3. But this posed a genuine challenge, definitely a game way ahead of it's time.

The Bad
The snake level. So frustrating! Also, the speed at which some of the screens move, like in Level 3, the "Turbo Tunnels". I don't know if it's just me, but my eyes can't LOOK that fast let alone process what's going on! The music when you pause the game isn't exactly a toe tapping jam either.

The Bottom Line
If you like a good challenge, I'd pick up Battletoads, it's good exercise for your reflexes and it makes you think. I currently have the game on pause because I need a break from it! It's about 4:16AM and I've been playing since about 10:30PM- and I'm in the last level of the "snake pit". Most people have told me that this game is "unbeatable", even more so by a girl. I don't see what that has to do with anything, but I'm still going to try my hardest to at least come as close as I can!

The Good
One of the great beat em-up games for the NES. The game is graphically advanced for the NES and the sound is pretty good for its time. You get to be inside vehicles, surf and fly in this game.

The Bad
The programming is nasty, i.e. in Volkamire's Inferno it's very hard right at the end of the flying part, and the Clinger Winger is also nasty if you are not perfectly following the direction of the bike. Huw Ward and Stephen Stamper must have been sleeping on the job when they playtested this game.

The Bottom Line
You should play this game, although the programming on a few levels makes it a bit tougher than it should be, its still worth your time.

The Good
It's a funny game. The world of the game is very bizarre, but will make you laugh (if you're not pulling your hair out). The gameplay is also varied such that each level offers a different experience with different challenges, thus preventing the game from ever becoming repetitive.

The Bad
The worst part about Battletoads is that it's so very hard (and when you DO beat it after a very long, difficult time, the ending is very short and entirely unrewarding). Some of the levels are just too difficult (Volkmyre's Inferno, ahem). Also, clinger winger is impossible with 2 players (literally) because of a glitch that automatically kills the second player if you ever make it there (it's the 2nd to last level).

The Bottom Line
This a game that has a lot of good things going for it. It's fun to play for the most part, and it's quite a unique experience, with each level offering something new. Playing 2 player is always good for a laugh or a fight, since you can hit your friend on purpose or accidentally.

The Good
The graphics are good. The game is longer than the usual platformer. The levels vary a lot: you've got beat 'em up sections, platform levels, 2D races and more.There is two player mode as well where you kill your friend half the time because you can actually hit each other, which is interesting. Oh, and the pause sound is amazing!

The Bad
The story is not very creative, but that can be said about almost any game of this type, so that's fine. But the game is just badly designed. The difficulty level is ludicrous and there's one reason for that: You have to memorize the whole game. There are dozens of situations (especially in the race stages) where even the most skilled players would fail because you simply have to know what to do. That's all, and that's no fun. Other games do that as well, but not 90% of the time. The fact that you only have limited continues does not help.

The Bottom Line
It's way too hard because of poor design. I don't want to play game where I have to learn patterns like vocabulary for school. If you want a next to impossible game, play Contra. Contra is hard as hell too, but I demands skills, not memorization.

The Good
The game is extremely fun, you play a (or two) toad and have to beat off many foes in a strange world divided into 12 stages. Also, there is some race stages. Actually, every stage have a different game-play in it, that was one of the most innovative game, and extremely fun.

Also, the graphics are very good, all animations are detailed, and, well, everything was fun about it, fore example there is walking robots that looks like a road lamp and you can use their legs as a weapon once you beat them.

The music is cool and the sound quality is very good for the NES, there is many stuff like pitch slide or volume effects. Also there was some cool sound effects when you punch or kick any foe.

The Bad
Everything was made in this game to render is as so hard that it becomes impossible. Well, very very very very hard if you don't like the word "impossible". At least, I doubt anyone have ever beat the NES version of Battletoads cheat less. Personally I used save states only, and it was still very tough to beat. It's very hard to explain why. First of all, you never have a "cool" place. From the beginning to the end of the game, you'll never be able to take a small break (except on the very first stage). Never. Even if you pause the game, there is an stupid rhythm that will make you continue to play. They just make every small detail in the game in order to make the game harder. Also, in the 2-player mode, you'll always hit your friend, like if the game wasn't already impossible enough (actually much of their work would be worthless without save sates and so on...) I can't really explain why it's that hard, you'll have to play the game yourself to understand.

Don't except to beat it someday, just put all efforts that you can to go as far as you can like I did.... All stages are 2 times harder than the previous stage, and the third one is already out of the range of any average player. I don't exaggerate. The game IS that tough.

Last of bad things, the storyline is dummy, and the ending is stupid (you even hear the boss music during the whole ending !).

The Bottom Line
Battletoads is an hardcore action game, that's probably the hardest "well-done" game of all time. Some others game are that hard, but it's because the programmers did just shuck. This isn't the case of Battletoads at all. The programmers are extremely good, and put all that they could to make the game impossible. It's definitely a must-play, especially if you're a hardcore player. Check it out !