Thursday, May 2, 2013

Throwback Thursday: Battletoads

Today's thursday and you know what that means - retro gaming! This week we're shedding the spotlight on Battletoads for NES!

Battletoads was developed by Rare in 1991 as an answer to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles phenomenon. Each of the toads was given an extreme name (Rash, Zitz, Pimple) and a different identity, just like the turtles of TNMT. While the names may seem tame now, they were originally used as gross-out humor to target a young demographic.

While the game primarily had a fighting style, it also included extras such as racing stages to set itself apart from the competition. The races weren't competitive but they challenged the player's reflexes to ovoid obstacles while moving at incredibly fast speeds. Most titles of the series allowed you to play as two of the three main characters, with the third being captured by the Dark Queen. The only exceptions to this were the Battletoads & Double Dragon and the Battletoads arcade game.

It was renowned for its difficulty, but was well received and even inspired the crossover, Double Dragons.  It's success led to an animated TV pilot, but the franchise seemed to dwindle in the mid 1990s. After 1994, no new games were created. 

In 2010, Game Informer included Battletoads among ten gaming franchises that deserve a revival, and precisely, "a true HD sequel". In 2012, Forbes listed it as one of five video game franchises "that need to come back from the dead", adding that a modern Battletoads "should retain its side-scroller qualities while adopting the 2.5D style" similar to Mark of the Ninja. -Wiki Battletoads History
I remember playing this game all the time when I was a kid, and I say it's time for a Battletoads revival. With so much success and a unique history, it's no wonder that Battletoads belongs in the vault.

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