I went in expecting a straight-up brawler; something that's easy to play, hard to master - 'Double Dragon' kind of shit. What I got instead is the full NES HARD experience from this game.
Battletoads contains some levels that makes Ghosts 'N Goblins level 3, 5 and 6 look piss-easy. What makes this game so difficult is it’s not your typical short with learning one pattern NES game; it actually contains a lot of content – 13 levels of diverse platforming, racing, brawling and God knows what else; it’s this variety and length though that makes it so hard, as it demands you to put on many hats.
Level 3 (turbo tunnel), level 5 (surf city), level 7 (volkmire’s inferno) are driving levels that demands inhumanly-fast reflexes and memorization, and they’re among the toughest in the game. Level 4 (arctic caverns), level 6 (karnath’s lair), level 8 (intruder excluder), level 12 (revolution) are really tough, quick-on-your-feet platforming sections. Level 9 (terra tubes) is your mandatory crap NES water level, and level 10 and 11 with the rat race and unicycle hopping was such bullshit that without my trusty emulator juju magic I would have given up there and then.
Saying all that, I still won't mark it as a mediocre or even a bad experience as the game contained some quality stuff as well. For one, it’s really funny and the animations are suitably excellent. The music is pretty catchy and the antagonist, the Dark Queen is 8-bit hotness! The aforementioned level, Karnath’s Lair has some of the most inventive platforming that I’ve ever come across, as you use the massive snakes to get across the stages. The first two levels are engaging and whet your appetite for what’s to come; even the driving sections before the “turbo” part are fun to start with before you-know-what happens. For NES veterans only!
Battletoads contains some levels that makes Ghosts 'N Goblins level 3, 5 and 6 look piss-easy. What makes this game so difficult is it’s not your typical short with learning one pattern NES game; it actually contains a lot of content – 13 levels of diverse platforming, racing, brawling and God knows what else; it’s this variety and length though that makes it so hard, as it demands you to put on many hats.
Level 3 (turbo tunnel), level 5 (surf city), level 7 (volkmire’s inferno) are driving levels that demands inhumanly-fast reflexes and memorization, and they’re among the toughest in the game. Level 4 (arctic caverns), level 6 (karnath’s lair), level 8 (intruder excluder), level 12 (revolution) are really tough, quick-on-your-feet platforming sections. Level 9 (terra tubes) is your mandatory crap NES water level, and level 10 and 11 with the rat race and unicycle hopping was such bullshit that without my trusty emulator juju magic I would have given up there and then.
Saying all that, I still won't mark it as a mediocre or even a bad experience as the game contained some quality stuff as well. For one, it’s really funny and the animations are suitably excellent. The music is pretty catchy and the antagonist, the Dark Queen is 8-bit hotness! The aforementioned level, Karnath’s Lair has some of the most inventive platforming that I’ve ever come across, as you use the massive snakes to get across the stages. The first two levels are engaging and whet your appetite for what’s to come; even the driving sections before the “turbo” part are fun to start with before you-know-what happens. For NES veterans only!