One thing's for sure, if I knew what was lying ahead when I
started playing Battletoads I probably would not have bother playing at all.
It's not that it's a bad game or anything, but later on it starts to get
maddeningly tough. And not just mildly challenging, I'm talking pulling you're
hear out, screaming at the screen, jumping on the gamepad tough. Death waits
around every corner and one small miscalculation sends you back to the start
screaming in frustration. Apart from all that it's actually a damn good game
though.
The story involves a certain Dark Queen kidnapping one of
the Battletoads and his girl while they are out cruising around. It's up to the
remaining two, guided from their flagship by a vulture mentor, to descent to
the surface of the planet and save their chums. Of course this isn't going to
be easy and it will only be something like twelve long hard levels later that
you'll get to confront the queen herself.
The graphics in Battletoads really is quite good. Although
the overall colours might seem a bit drab it's the animation that really
shines. Punching an opponent a few times causes you're hand to grow larger and
deliver a devastating uppercut to finish him off. Run at an opponent and press
attack and you'll turn into a battering ram. All these small animations add a
lot of character to the game and can't help but laugh when you see an opponent
being hammered into the ground and then kicked in the face with a giant boot.
The locations that you'll be traversing are also quite varied. The backgrounds
also contain their fair share of hazards. You won't be restricted to just
beating up enemies either. Some levels have you speeding around on a hover bike
avoiding obstacles and trying to keep up with the sheer speed at which the game
runs. Others will have you hanging on the giant snakes that are moving through
the caverns, while you try to avoid falling off or getting hit by giant spikes.
There are also some underwater and flying levels included. The last level is
the strangest in which you have to ascent a giant tower. The tower itself is
round, so by walking left or right the background rotates. It looks quite
impressive and this is one of the few times I've seen something like this in a
game.
The sound is just as good and keeps in character with the
game. Overall it's quite moody and eerie, but the sound effects are cartoonish
and hitting an enemy around you can almost feel the blows. The gameplay is
unforgiving and tough and only serious gamers with a lot of patience will ever
complete this one. There will be times when you just won't be able to believe
what the game expects you to do and you're arcade reflexes are going to have to
be honed to perfection to even stand a fighting chance. Some of the later
levels are a bit too rigid in what they expect you to do and this could lead to
frustration as you miss that last jump by a few inches and have to do it
all over again. Completing the game however gives you quite a feeling of
achievement, but be warned if you're doing it all just to see the ending,
prepare for an epic disappointment. This is one of those games that are for
hardcore players only.
[9]
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