The Battletoads video game franchise, developed by Rare and published by Tradewest and Electronic Arts, deals with the Battletoads (Rash, Zitz, and Pimple), as they fight the evil Dark Queen and her henchmen.
Contents |
The Battletoads were originally human computer technicians and roommates. The trio tested the original Battletoads game by playing the game as the 'Toads in a sort of virtual reality simulation. They became suspicious of both their boss and chief game programmer Silas Volkmire and decided to investigate the office at night. Upon finding the video game unit turned on, they tested it to see if it had been tampered with. This was a trap and they were transported to another planet, permanently transformed into the 'Toads. The Dark Queen attempted to destroy the 'Toads upon their arrival, but they refused and fought their way to freedom with the assistance of Professor T. Bird, who became the 'Toads' friend and mentor. The 'Toads decided never to rest until the Dark Queen was defeated once and for all.
In 2008, they were featured in GamesRadar's article "Game characters that time forgot".[1]
Rash (real name: Dave Shar) is the "class clown" of the 'Toads. He is an extrovert and a show-off and loves to crack jokes.
Rash is the smallest of the 'Toads. He always wears his trademark sunglasses and spiked black kneepads. In early artwork he was presented wearing red armbands, but these armbands were never visible in any of the games, and by Battletoads & Double Dragon the armbands had been eliminated entirely. His profile in the arcade Super Battletoads reveals his height to be 6' 3". Rash's skin has changed in appearance once at the beginning of the series. He began with a medium shade of green, just like the other two 'Toads, and appears that way on the original box art. In every game he appears in, his skin is a bright green.
Rash has appeared in every Battletoads game, though not always as a playable character. He was player one's character in the original Battletoads game but was out of action in Battletoads for the Game Boy due to being kidnapped prior to the game's opening. He returned to action as player two's character in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and continued on as a playable character in Battletoads & Double Dragon and the arcade Battletoads.
Zitz (real name: Morgan Ziegler) is the ringleader of the 'Toads. He is a tactical genius and an economical fighter, preferring fighting methods that allow him to conserve his strength.
Zitz has a larger build and is slightly taller than Rash. He is always seen wearing black gauntlets (the arcade Battletoads revealed his gauntlets to contain video communication hardware), spiked black kneepads and a black belt with the 'Toads' insignia on the buckle. According to his profile in the arcade Battletoads, he stands at a height of 6' 8". Zitz's skin has changed in appearance several times over the course of the series. He began with a medium shade of green, just like the other two 'Toads, and appears that way on the original box art. In the first game itself his skin was actually tan to tell him apart from Player 1 (Rash). His skin was later changed to a lighter green with hints of yellow (he appeared to be an olive-green in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs). However, he was finally presented with a cool bluish-green color for his skin, which is now considered his official skin color. He appears with his current color in Battletoads & Double Dragon and the arcade Battletoads.
Zitz has appeared in every Battletoads game, though not always as a playable character. He was player two's character in the original Battletoads game and took on the Dark Queen's army solo in Battletoads for the Game Boy. Due to a surprise ambush he was knocked unconscious and taken prisoner just prior to the beginning of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and thus was not playable in that game. He returned to action in Battletoads & Double Dragon and the arcade Battletoads and is immediately selectable in both games. He is voiced by Ian James Corlett.
Pimple (real name: George Pie) is the muscle of the 'Toads and prefers to fight instead of talk.
Pimple is the largest 'Toad. He wears spiked black kneepads and spiked black arm braces. Early artwork depicted him wearing a spiked black belt, but he was never seen wearing this belt in any of the games and later artwork eliminated the belt. According to his profile in the arcade Battletoads, he stands at a height of 7'4". Pimple's skin has changed in appearance a few times over the course of the series. He began with a medium shade of green, just like the other two 'Toads, and appears that way on the original box art. In the first game itself his skin was a darker shade of green, matching Rash but not Zitz. His skin was later changed to a light tan before finally being presented with a brown color for his skin, which is now considered his official skin color. He appears with his current color in Battletoads & Double Dragon and the arcade Battletoads arcade game.
Pimple has appeared in every Battletoads game, but not always as a playable character. He was out of action in both the original Battletoads game and Battletoads for the Game Boy, having been kidnapped prior to the start of both games. His first appearance as a playable character was in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs in which he was player one's character. He continued to be a playable character in Battletoads & Double Dragon and the arcade Battletoads and is immediately selectable in both games.
Silas Volkmire is the secondary villain in the Battletoads series, although he has only ever appeared in one game. According to the Nintendo Power comic story, Silas was the chief programmer at Psicone who was jealous over the Battletoads and their human "players", Dave, Morgan, and George, whereas he was stuck working behind the scenes. One of the levels in the original Battletoads game, "Volkmire's Inferno", is supposedly named after Silas.
Late one night, while adjusting a few lines of code, Silas was contacted by the Dark Queen, who revealed that the so-called "game world" that Psicone created was actually her own universe, which she had ruled mercilessly until the Battletoads were created and began to oppose her. Under her suggestion, Silas sabotaged the virtual game generator, which led to Dave, Morgan, and George getting zapped into the Battletoads and trapped in the Dark Queen's world. Though it would've appeared that Silas did it to gain favor with the Queen, it isn't revealed exactly how.
Silas actually does appear in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs as the creator of Psicone's newest virtual reality game engine TRIPS, though this is revealed to be a trap as Silas sends Psyko Pigs to kidnap the daughter of Psicone's CEO (and Zitz, who made a futile attempt to save her). In this game, he appears as a wraith-like demon with a skeletal face and an exposed brain. Silas then announces his plan to spread the Gamescape of TRIPS into the real world, allowing him and the Dark Queen to rule over it all, though this is foiled when Rash and Pimple enter the Gamescape and stop the Dark Queen. In the final part of the game, Silas escapes back into the real world and attempts to flee in a flying saucer, and the player must stop him by firing missiles at his craft. Whether or not the player succeeds will result in different endings.
Robo-Manus is a "mutant biogen", a cybernetic mutant who appears in practically every Battletoads game as a boss, and twice as the final boss. He is one of the main henchmen of the Dark Queen.
Robo-Manus almost constantly changes size and appearance, although he usually retains some features: a black metal skullcap and a visor through which he sees (and shoots laser beams from in Battletoads and Double Dragon), often with an oscillating red or purple light. Cracks on his helmet reveal what appears to be his brain. Another common feature is the set of metallic orbs that he can swivel his head on in most of the games. Robo-Manus has tentacles, though they are never seen in the game. As the series progressed, Manus began to receive more changes in his appearance, particularly to his face. Rare made Manus considerably less alien, and gave him more human-like features. Manus' visor also changed, and featured two red eyes. Since Robo-Manus is part robotic, he can survive space and can be rebuilt. Manus was depicted with wings in the intro of the first game. He is able to fly later in the series. He is the result of heavy genetic and technological experimentation. According to the Battletoads manual, he is "a genetically enhanced biogen mutated by the forces of darkness", suggesting he was mutated by the Dark Queen's evil powers.
Robo-Manus, just like General Slaughter and Big Blag, some of the Dark Queen's other top lackeys, never appeared in Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. He appears to be killed in Super Battletoads, though he does manage to growl "I'll be back!" in his death sequence.
Big Blag is one of the Dark Queen's top henchmen, and has appeared in all games except Battlemaniacs.
Big Blag is a giant, greasy-haired, obese rat who leads the Dark Queen's rat army. He tends to attack with the spiked ball on his tail but also frequently attempts to simply crush the toads with his tremendous weight. In the original Battletoads, he is faced midway in the fifth stage, Surf City; his main attacks were jumping (which would take one life automatically if he falls over the toads) and tail-kicking. In Super Battletoads Big Blag will actually fist fight, and he can also double his size.
Big Blag's right-hand rat is Scuzz, who usually appears to oppose the 'Toads in either footraces (Battletoads and Battlemaniacs) or in large machines (the Game Boy game and Super Battletoads).
General Slaughter is a bull-like commander of the Dark Queen's armies. In the games he serves as either a first stage boss or a mini boss, attacking the players with his fists and horns.
General Slaughter first appears in Battletoads for NES, as the boss of the 10th level, Rat Race. At first he stands still and only attacks the 'Toads if they approach him, but as they attack him he begins to move, faster by each blow, attacking the 'Toads by either trying to stomp or horn them to death. General Slaughter returns in the Battletoads game for Game Boy as the boss of the first level, in Battletoads & Double Dragon as a repeatedly-appearing mid-boss, and the arcade game as the Stage 1 boss. He also appears in the one-shot cartoon. He is voiced by Scott McNeil.
Professor T. Bird is the Toads' mentor. He gives the toads directions, instructions, and map locations of what to do and where to go. Whenever the 'Toads lose a life or are defeated, he often mocks and berates them for their failure.
The humor website I-Mockery featured him in the article "The deadly birds of the NES".[2] He is voiced by Michael Donovan.
Princess Angelica is the damsel-in-distress. She and Pimple were captured by the Dark Queen in the original Battletoads but were rescued by Zitz and Rash.
Angelica does not appear in any games in the series after the first one, although she is seen on the cabinet artwork of the arcade game, being carried by Pimple. She also appeared in the animated TV special as well as the Nintendo Power comic book story. She is voiced by Kathleen Barr.
|
||||||||