Anthropomorphic animals owned the adolescent zeitgeist in the late 80s and early 90s, largely due to the seemingly evergreen TMNT. Those four Renaissance painters spawned countless imitators, most soon forgotten…and then there was Battletoads. The original NES game took those barest of conceptual inspirations but delivered a truly rare (pun intended) genre-blending beat ’em up that never felt like a simple cash-grab. Even after multiple sequels and spin-offs - including a formerly-snubbed but superb arcade cabinet - retrospect is kind to its central model of mixed gameplay, and a 30-year old franchise sets the backdrop for the brand new Battletoads game.
Branding this as a reboot doesn’t feel accurate, as Battletoads is more of a follow-up which sticks to its historic standard. As with all previous incarnations, it’s first introduced as a brawler game starring all three toads doling out plenty of over-the-top cartoon violence. Like some later games in the series, Pimple, Rash and Zitz all play differently, as powerhouse, speedster, and all-rounder, respectively. In a nice twist, solo players can switch between each character on-the-fly, so long as they have some health left, and doing so is required to achieve higher combo scores in combat.
Battletoads also retains that most important aspect from its lineage: a diversity of gameplay modes. Introductory levels focus on the beat ’em up, but silly minigames, racing sections, and a good mix of other genres quickly gain traction, up until the finale. For those totally inexperienced with the series (which is to be expected for a wide swath of the audience), sections of the game will probably feel like a shock, and it’s hard to say that this framework maintains its novelty.
Interspersed between levels regardless of the unexpected gameplay is a crucially absurd, well-written, lovingly animated narrative. The Battletoads series has always had an odd fourth-wall breaking quality, but the new story is playfully arch, beautifully animated, and filled with jokes and self-referential humor that works in its favor. No one would expect the story as one of the game’s best features, but somehow that's where it ended up, and it's a pleasant surprise.
As a beat ’em up, Battletoads is decidedly above average, but never approaches the heights of, say, a Streets of Rage 4. Each toad has a mix of attacks and techniques - in a nice nod to the arcade version, they can use their tongue to eat flies for health - and the simplicity of early fights evolves into intricate scenarios where enemies need to be crowded, dodged around, and softened up with strong attacks. Even on normal “toad” difficulty, the challenge is designed to pressure players and disincentivize mindless button-mashing, as well as motivate them to inspect the background and hunt collectibles.
Still, there’s no lengthy move-list, no enemy health bars or weapons, boss encounters are simplistic and sub-standard, and fights can occasionally lean into tedium. Most levels are routinely interrupted with an unskippable joke or simple puzzle; the former is only funny once, if at all, and the latter is occasionally interesting, but repetitive. Even worse, both come off as padding on a second run, grinding down the momentum when returning to levels to hunt collectibles or try out a higher difficulty in a new game.
Battletoads is divided into four acts, and the gameplay in each differs wildly. One act barely has anything to do with beat ’em ups at all, which absolutely feels like the gameplay mode given the most care (as it should be). The others can be amusing but also feel like carnival games at worst…and yes, there are a few racing sections, gentler than those of past Battletoads games and reasonably checkpointed, but occasionally brutal.
There’s bound to be something in Battletoads to recommend to old fans, those same fans who will bemoan a gameplay that is not properly represented here ("no Wookie Hole? Really?"). The long span of time since the last release is cheerfully called out in the plot, and the quality of that entertaining story is even more surprising than a sudden game of “toadshambo," let alone the fact that the formerly weightless antagonist Dark Queen stands out as one of its most charismatic stars. Battletoads is pretty much uneven by intentional design, but it remains recommended as a worthy throwback to a seemingly forgotten series that still marches to the beat of its own drum.
Battletoads releases on August 20 on Microsoft Windows/Xbox One devices for $19.99, and is included as part of Xbox Game Pass. A digital PC code was provided to Screen Rant for purposes of review.
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