Today we are going to take a look at Battletoads. This action fighter game is a remake of a game that is almost 30 years old. It promises over the top action with hand-drawn graphics. Whether it can deliver on its promise is the question we will try to answer today. Battletoads is available on Steam for 19 Euro and 99 cents.

With this review you have a choice of either reading it here in text form or listening to the video review. They both contain the same content.

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Last week I sort of complained about the fact that remakes, remasters, and other kinds of retro games seem to be making at least half of the available gaming market. So, you might be surprised when the very next week I am reviewing another remake. But this remake just fascinates me.

Just, who would have ever guessed that Battletoads will be the kind of game that will be remade? Because, if you look at it, it makes no sense at all. An almost thirty-year-old game, that was silly as all heck, trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Teenage Ninja Turtles and was well… bad. Its controls were bad and it was almost absurdly difficult. So… let’s see whether the second attempt does do better.

Let’s start very easily. Yes, the new Battletoads game is much better. So much more better.

The very word that summarizes the first impression of Battletoads is “Nostalgia”. The very atmosphere that breaths at you when you first see it is the same you had as a child and watched Saturday morning cartoons. Seriously, I can easily imagine playing Battletoads on one monitor and watching Duck Tales on the other. This is because Battletoads comes with a simple, stylized hand-drawn graphics style.

The story is simple and straight but paradoxically, this makes it work. The beat’em up genre isn’t really made to tell stories and nobody really gives a damn about the story in beat’em ups. But somehow, Battletoads story makes you care. The same way Saturday’s cartoons made you care even if their stories were simple.

The heroes here are three toads – which still look a lot like Teenage Ninja Turtles but at least now they come with their own personalities. And you get to make the choice whether you want to play as the cool Rash, the sensitive giant Pimple, or at the leader Zitze. The three toads work well of each other in both the cutscenes or in co-op play. The dialogues are short, to the point, and most importantly, funny.

The fact that Battletoads' primary target audience are families that one to play cooperatively with their kids is very obvious. Even from the fact that it is much more simple than the original. And the easiest difficulty can be easily finished even by young kids. Which is very good. And it is even better – if you know the history of Battletoads than you get a lot of inside jokes that make fun of the original.

The combat in the new Battletoads is not really that complex. But if you play on the hard difficulty, you will need to learn it pretty well. There are a few basic attacks that can be combined into combos. And each of the toads has its own special final attack. And you will need them. Against both the regular tons of mobs you’ll encounter and especially against bosses.

Plus, each of the toads is different in how he plays. Zitz is small and agile giving him fast attacks and on the other hand, Pimple is large so his attacks do a lot of damage but are considerably slower. And to nobody’s surprise Rash is somewhere in the middle. Not fast, but not slow either. And with all of them, you’ll get to kick, punch, or even grab enemies with your tongue. But the funniest ability is to root your enemies with bubblegum. And doesn’t that sound like exactly from a Saturday cartoon?

Higher difficulties obviously are harder. But remember, you’re no filthy casual right? On hard modes, enemies come at you from all sides from the very beginning almost making the screen feel crowded. Yet, I really have to commend the developers. Because somehow, even in these situations the battle is clear. This is helped by an indicator that shows enemies getting ready to attack. And you’ll gonna need the indicator. At the very least in the boss fights.

As I think of it, so far, I see really positive don’t I? But, there are flaws in Battletoads. The biggest one for me was the lack of variability in the enemies. All look very similar, and while it seems there are different ones really, there are only four types. Melee attackers, blocking enemies, ranged enemies, and these berskering guys. And that’s really a shame because I would love the see the same creativity that was spent on the graphics being spent on the enemies as well.

Conclusion

So… in conclusion: Battletoads is nostalgia gamified. If you loved watching cartoons such as Duck Tales as a kid and you’re in the mood for a feeling like that then yeah… Battletoads is a great choice. And it is also a good choice if you want to play a fun Beat’em up with your friends or kids.

So, that’s it for today guys. I hope you liked the review and if you did, please up-vote the review, follow my blog, and be sure to share it with your friends. And comment, if you have anything you would like to add. See you guys later with more gaming content.

Disclaimer: All the images have been taken directly from the Steam game page