This is an improvement over the NES game, because it's actually a beat 'em up for most of its runtime this time! Your move set is still rather limited with no defensive options outside attempting iframe abuse but hey, the bulk of the game isn't instant death traps now! The sprites are very expressive and the Toads are filled with personality. I will say that the extreme violence like blood spurting out and decapitation don't fit with the vibe I got from the NES game, but it's definitely a remnant of the style at the time. Extreme Violence and cartoon physics don't work at their best here. Grabbing a giant rat man by the dick and repeatedly punching them in the balls is definitely...a decision. I also like the shmup level, but I don't think it should have been the final level, as placing that right at the end betrays all the skills the player has been using up to this point. I'd add one more level with the Dark Queen since you don't face her here.

Just because it isn't the NES game doesn't mean Battletoads Arcade isn't relentlessly hard. Too hard in some spots I'd say, getting hit will wombo combo you and the finale of the game doesn't use the skills you learned and requires a completely different skillset. I imagine it gets easier with multiple players though.

Better than the NES game still.

If we just ignore those few bumps in the road that popped up every now and then, the Battletoads series has had a pretty good run at this point, being one of the consistently good series that Rare had put out back then. Of course, they aren’t as approachable as other games, given how they love for nothing more then to see you throw that controller against that wall behind you, but if you can press through the difficult challenges, you will find a set of varied, interesting, and enjoyable beat-’em-ups featuring fun visuals, a colorful cast of characters, and plenty of goofy violence to go along with it. But naturally, not all good things can last forever, and for a while, the Battletoads would vanish into the ether, but before they went, they had one last hurrah that was released to the public, known simply as Battletoads….. or Battletoads Arcade, so that we don’t confuse it with the original Battletoads………. or the one on Game Boy (names are stupid).

Out of all of the Battletoads games that had been released, this was always the one that caught my interest the most, because it had such a unique style and attitude that seemed perfect for this series. Even when you place this game right alongside all the others, there is just something about it that stands out, with the visual style, animations, and character designs playing a heavy part in that. However, I had only played it for a little bit before the day that I started typing this review, so I figured it was about time to get it out of the way and see what was so captivating about it… even though it is obvious for those who have already played it, and yeah, I ended up enjoying it pretty much all the way through.

The story is the same goddamn story that every other game in the series has had, where the Dark Queen is being a bitch, and the Toads have to go teach her a lesson, making this series feel more like a warty version of Mario with how little things change in-between games, the graphics are the best that the series has had so far, looking much more punk-esque and detailed, including plenty of great, brutal animations, while still having the style of Battletoads, the music is pretty good, sounding funky and “rad” enough for the time period, while also having that bit of “edge” to it that this game is trying to go for, and the controls/gameplay are what you would come to expect out of a Battletoads game, and both aspects feel great to get a handle on and experience.

The game is an arcade beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the three Battletoads, go through a set of five lengthy levels, each taking place in some alien world with different environmental motifs, beat the ever-loving fuck out of everything that moves using your fists, feet, and whatever over-the-top weapon that your body can morph into while doing so, eat plenty of flies that will buzz around at points to gain more life so that you can keep kicking ass, and fight plenty of big, bad, and brutal bosses with just as much brutality and force, to show that you are the baddest toad in the galaxy. A lot of it is standard for what you get from any Battletoads game, or any arcade game of the time for that matter, but the little changes, combined with the unique presentation, makes this one of the most notable and best titles in the series, and it makes playing it all the better.

From the moment you see a bit of gameplay, you will notice that the game looks much grittier and, again, punk-esque then any of the other games before, giving it the attitude and spunk that this kind of game absolutely relishes in. It is one of the most appealing parts about the game, while making sure to keep the feel of Battletoads alive and well throughout, so if you don’t get into the style immediately, then you probably wouldn’t get into this game. Right alongside the style, another thing that you will need to get used to is the violence, because HOLY FUCK, compared to the previous games, this game is as bloody and violent as all hell. It makes sense, since this game wasn’t stuck with the limitations that Nintendo would put on them, but some of the stuff you can see in this game is over-the-top in and gruesome in the best way possible. Blood will fly out of your enemies when you hit them, heads will get chopped up, with the bodies spurting blood everywhere, and some of the attacks that you pull off could be considered cartoonish fatalities that were left out of Mortal Kombat. One such example is with Zitz, who has an attack where he can pin an enemy to the ground, repeatedly punch them in the face, turn his hand into a drill, and ANNIHILATE the son of a bitch. It may be overkill, but it is a glorious kind of overkill that I never get tired of.

If we ignore both of those elements though, most of the game is just your standard Battletoads affair. Most of the stages are your typical beat-’em-up format, and what we got here, this is definitely the best form of combat that the series has had so far. The over-the-top attacks that you can pull off, coupled with the sounds, graphics, and animations that play out whenever you beat up a goon make it all the sweeter and the more satisfying. Aside from these segments though, there aren’t really too many instances of the gameplay changing up on you, aside from two different instances: one where you are descending down a shaft on a rope, like in previous games, and the final stage, where you will mount a turret in a plane and shoot down everything in your way. Both of these segments are pretty fun to go through, and while they don’t introduce too many new elements to the series, they are a nice change of pace from the typical routine you go through in the game. And finally, for the first time in any Battletoads game, there is three-player simultaneous multiplayer, where you and two other buddies can join forces as all of the Battletoads and lay the smackdown on any of the forces the Dark Queen can send your way. You can still have a great time with the game in single-player mode, but getting two others to play with you is definitely the way to go.

Despite all the good qualities that this game has going for it though, you can’t help but notice that really, at the end of the day, it is essentially just another Battletoads game for the most part. Nothing about the gameplay, story, or means of progression has changed up at all from most of the other games, which could make this feel pretty generic and repetitive for those who are wanting something more from the series. This doesn’t ruin the game in the slightest for me, but it could turn some away. Secondly, this game does have arcade syndrome, but thankfully, it is one of the most mild cases of the syndrome that I have ever seen. It can take quite a bit to take out some certain enemies, who can either counter a lot of your attacks really easily, or they manage to repeat a specific attack that can incapacitate you really easily. Thankfully though, it doesn’t feel too overwhelming a lot of the time, and you never feel a sense that there are too many enemies to deal with at once, which makes this one of the more “fair” arcade games that I have played in a while. That’s pretty surprising, because this is BATTLETOADS we are talking about, a series known for being notoriously difficult, and yet, this game is much more fair than other arcade titles. Gotta be thankful for that.

Overall, despite its repetitive gameplay at times and its mild case of arcade syndrome, Battletoads for the arcade is one of the most visually distinct and fun games in the entire series, featuring plenty of kick-ass, cartoony action, along with a style that very little arcade games have ever managed to replicate in any way. I would absolutely recommend it for those who were fans of previous Battletoads games, as well as those who are big fans of arcade beat-’em-ups, because while not the most original of the bunch, it is definitely one of the most visually distinct and fun ones of the bunch. It’s too bad though that, since this game did so poorly, the series ended up going on hiatus for over two decades. The world just couldn’t handle the intense, toad action that this game presented them with. A bunch of WEAKLINGS, I tell ya.

Game #504

Battletoads Arcade really captures me with its art. I love the crude extremity of a funny animal cast drawn with more violent attitude than a biker gang. The Toads can drill into knocked down foes and kick enemies into the screen by their asses. I’m just all about the style here.
You can pick up weapons and boxes off the ground and just evicerate things. Battletoads kick ass frfr.
The gun is ass tho.

I’d say the gameplay stands competent next to something like Turtles in Time, albeit with caveats. For one, standard enemies swarm the player so regularly that one hardly has the opportunity to reposition. So prepare to Sit back and watch two enemies drain half your health with a few hits if they catch u slipping.

There’s no back attack or any useful defensive moves. From the first stage to the end, you’re mostly mashing attack, then hitting finishing moves But the stage variety keeps it interesting. Like the shoot ‘em up level at the end.

If this game had a console port with the extra content they had to cut I think it could’ve wound up a lot more famous! As it stands it’s a fun game to just throw yourself at with the free play nature of playing arcade stuff on mame.

It's ok enough, unlike the other games in the Battletoads series, this game is almost 100% focused on the Beat 'em up genre, and it's not a collection of impossible mini-games like the others, which isn't a bad thing, because the kick-ass sections for sure are the best parts of these games for me, the problem is that the game gets repetitive superfast, the levels are simply way too long, and each level only offers two or three new things at most, except for the vertical level and the shooter level, but even them gets tiring pretty quickly, practically, what saves the game from being a forgettable experience are the sprites, the violence and the music composed by David Wise, unfortunately the rest leaves a lot to be desired.

Pros: Pure beat-em-up bliss, with less gimmick stages from the NES original. It's mostly arcade style, multiplayer, with cool new rotation and zoom effects (not to mention BLOOD), as well as massive animated sprites. The bosses are pretty impressive here, I particularly liked the giant snake boss that would lunge at you from the background, it looked pretty damn rad! The toads have more moves than ever, can use weapons, use their tongues, all the standard stuff for a feel good bashin' baddies time. A couple things that stand out above the rest here is the music by David Wise, who really upped his game in this one, it rocks hard, some really jammin' tunes here, also, this is the first time we see Rare's use of CGI, at least a tiny bit of it, in a later stage where you fly on a fighter jet. It was a sign of greater things to come!

Cons: It is a beat-em up of the classic era, and with that, you do get that button mash monotony, and the sidescrolling and jetpack stages only do so much to quell that, still, it's satisfying beat em up!

What it means to me: Played this game once and once only, at an arcade with a friend, and we played it til the end, it was a great time! Typically, I was never really a fan of the Battletoads, always much preferred the TMNT games, but this is the best of them, all things considered.