Battletoads (arcade game)
Battletoads, also known as Super Battletoads is a 1994 arcade game developed by Rare and published by Electronic Arts. It is considerably darker in its theme and far more graphic than the other games in the Battletoads series.[1][2] It is also the only Battletoads game that has not been ported to any home system.
Story and gameplay
Super Battletoads is different from the console Battletoads games in numerous ways, the most notable being that it is a three-player game and all three of the 'Toads can be selected and played at once. This version is also more of a scrolling fighter than the console games, which had far more emphasis on gimmick/vehicle stages. The player can select the 'Toad he wants to play as (the only other game to have all three as selectable characters was Battletoads and Double Dragon). Each one of them is unique in certain ways, like Pimple's attacks are slower than the others but deal more damage, and Zitz's attacks are able to take out a wider group of enemies. Every stage in the game starts with the 'Toads receiving a threatening call from the stage's boss.
The Battletoads attempt to once again thwart the Dark Queen's latest galaxy dominating plans.
- Stage 1: Protect the Starship!: The first stage begins in space on one of the Dark Queen's many space battleships, with many others firing in the distance. Being the beginning of the game, this stage is a simple, straightforward fight against the various rat and pig enemies. The boss at the end is General Slaughter, who can kick the 'Toads off the screen and out of a life, though the 'Toads can do the same to him.
- Stage 2: Ice Cave: Set in an icy cavern with new rat enemies (SWAT Rats, little Scammies, and Rabid Roodolphs) and other hazards such as slippery surfaces, blizzards, and falling icicles. The boss of this stage is Karnath the Serpent (presumably the ruler of the snakes from the Snake Pit stages of previous games), who lurks in the deepest areas of the cavern and makes attempts to eat the 'Toads. Upon his defeat, Karnath is violently decapitated.
- Stage 3: The Dark Queen's Battleship: Set on the Dark Queen's main space battleship. More new types of rats appear, including mask-wearing rats and the clones of General Vermin, and the 'Toads will have to watch out for the jet burners and incoming enemy aircraft. The boss of the stage, surprisingly, is not the Queen herself (whose holographic presence in this stage is merely for fan service), but rather Scuzz driving the Robo-Rat, whose mechanical armor gives it high attack and defensive power. After defeating the Robo-Rat, a bonus stage begins in which the 'Toads must destroy a rat's spacecraft as fast as possible, similar to the bonus stage in Street Fighter II.
- Stage 4: The Cave Pit: A downfall level similar in concept to the "Wookie Hole" stage of the original Battletoads game and other similar stages. Utilizing jetpacks, the 'Toads must descend into the pit and fight off incoming enemies. During this stage, the player can press the jump button to unleash a screen-clearing Super Smash Attack, though it has a limited amount of uses (dying or collecting power-ups can replenish it). This stage has no boss, but continues into Stage 5.
- Stage 5: The Dark Queen's Mansion: This stage takes the 'Toads down a long hallway in which nearly every type of enemy from earlier in the game appears and must be defeated. At the end awaits Big Blag, who attacks with powerful stomps and can increase his size to flatten the 'Toads.
- Stage 6: The Final Confrontation: The final stage of the game. The gameplay of this stage is completely different from any other level of the game, for it adapts the gameplay of a shooter rather than a beat 'em up and the 'Toads must shoot enemies from on top a spacecraft. In addition to the return of the Super Smash Attack, the 'Toads can collect other power-ups to utilize different weapons, such as a flamethrower. The stage takes the 'Toads across the sky and through an enemy fortress before reaching the final boss, Robo-Manus. When Robo-Manus dies, he shoots down the 'Toads spacecraft in a final blow, sending the trio crashing onto a nearby planet. Fortunately, they survive unharmed (being the heroes of the game), and quickly return to the Vulture thanks to their teleporters which they just happened to bring along.
Mature themes
As mentioned above, the arcade game is a lot more violent compared to the home platformers and contains some Duke Nukem 3D-style strong crude humor as well:
- Every landed attack causes a visible splatter of blood. SWAT Rats vomit after being knocked down. When rat enemies are defeated, they turn into piles of bones like in Ghosts 'n Goblins.[2] When the Snappas die they retract into the wall and explode into red goo. Some rat enemies can be bloodily decapitated with jump attack smash hits; the severed heads land on the floor and remain on screen for several seconds.
- Certain smash hits transform parts of the 'Toads into more objectionable objects.[2] For instance, Zitz's giant fist attack will sprout spikes, his knockdown attack turns his fist into a drill and he proceeds to jam the drill into the downed enemy and his jump attack turns his knee into a saw blade. Rash's foot will turn into a ball with spikes, his boot attack will sprout spikes, and his jump attack will turn his leg into an axe. The rat enemies can be killed by sticking a drill into their faces and this causes a huge amount of blood to erupt from their bodies.[2] Every time the rats are hit with a smashing weapon, they squeal and copious amounts of blood erupts from their bodies.
- Robo Manus takes damage in stages. First, his hands are blasted off with a lot of blood evident. Then, his brain becomes exposed and bleeds whenever it is shot. Finally, his head explodes and sails off screen when he's defeated, splattering even more blood. When the toads are bitten by Karnath, twin streams of blood erupt from their bodies. Karnath dies by getting decapitated, which causes a huge torrent of blood to issue forth from his neck, then the toads can kick his head off-screen.
- General Slaughter gets scarred and loses teeth every time he gets knocked out or kicked off the screen; he also spits out green saliva when laughing. When encountering General Vermin (and his clones) the toads can grab him by the scrotum and punch it. When kicking pig enemies off the screen, they squeal and boot marks are visible on their posteriors.
- The rat enemies' names include: Giblet, Gonnad, Frazzle and Gertle. In Mission Three (the Dark Queen's battleship level), a rat soldier is seen sitting on a toilet straining to defecate, then flatulation and flush sounds are heard.
- In mission two, skulls are frozen in the ice blocks that appear in the background. Halfway through mission four, the toads have to dodge bloody eyeballs falling from the ceiling. As the excited Dark Queen watches the toads' fight against Scuzz, her erect nipples are clearly visible through her outfit.[2]
- When completing a level, the scoreboard contains the words "Korpse Kount" which is in blood format. Certain phrases are shown after the "Korpse Kount", such as "[Player name] is the Dealer of Death!" or "[Player name] is the Collector of Corpses!" The high score table reads "Greatest Gravefillers". Upon beating the game, one can also display the high score messages in the same style.[3]
Reception
A retrospective article in Destructoid called it the most unique entry in the Battletoads series, highlighting its level of mature content ("a precursor to the beloved brand of toilet humor that made Conker's Bad Fur Day a cult classic") and violence. The reviewer criticised the game's gameplay formula as less varied than in its predecessors, with a comment: "But then I remember that this is motherfuckin' Battletoads in the motherfuckin' arcade and everything is all right again."[2] HonestGamers called the game "exactly what the franchise should have been from the beginning" and rated it 8/10 ("excellent").[4] As of 2011, the game's GameFAQs average review score is 8.0/10.[5]
References
External links