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Title: Battletoads
Author:RARE
Rom Player: MAME
Reviewer: Sane Jake
Synopsis: Game Play
It's a psychotic brawl for the most part, with a really interesting vertical stage and the finale is a hectic shooter stage with a few familiar faces. You have the standard jump, attack, and dash attack of all the BattleToad games, plus the ability to grab and toss enemies. There are a few weapons thrown in to boot. Compared to more complex fighting games like Dungeons and Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara, or Aliens Vs. Predator, the fighting is perhaps a little over-simplified -- there's no real combos or special techniques to learn. On the other hand, there's a good variety in the stages you fight on and a fair bit of variety. Oh yes -- don't worry, you can't hit each other (except with the huge pipe). So it earns a 7 -- nothing new, but a nice mix and still lots of fun. More players make the game even more enjoyable as it's quite possible to pull ''saves'' to bail each other out, and team work can decimate a boss. Game play gets an '8' for multi-player.
Style
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There's a LOT of humour, most of it rude. Each 'Toad has a full arsenal... as does each boss. It's something best seen to be believed. Not a kid's game. As a nice treat, if you do get a top score, your 'Toad will congratulate you upon beating the game.
Graphics
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The characters, stages, and enemies are all well drawn although their animation isn't quite up to par. Very cartoon like and they suit the game nicely.
Sound
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The music rocks, and there's plenty of fun sound effects... but the 'Toads and enemies all have the same voice that's just altered in pitch and tone. Still, the cast is talkative and everyone reacts appropriately as they are dumped off cliffs, smashed with massive weapons, or are generally dealt grievous injury. In other words, they scream well.
Challenge
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It's not impossible, but it's certainly very difficult. I'd give the original NES game a '9' or '10' in difficulty, and I've beaten it... without a Game Genie... but it took me a couple of months. (My average would be about a week for the more difficult older games) You have to be VERY fast -- especially as some parts of the game follow the old formula of gradually getting faster and faster. Don't worry though -- no sudden death in the game anymore (except if you purposely jump off the sides on one stage, but that's your death wish)
Overall Score:
It's probably the first Battletoads game to be really fun with a 2nd or 3rd player, and still offers up a good play for a single player. I'm a Battletoad fan, so you can guess the bias in the review... but those who didn't like the series because of the racing stages will be happier with this game, and those who actually MISS the memory-reflex work (not even I miss that) will be happy to know that it's still there... but you're not rewarded with death for screwing up (just damage). Stomp'n Time!
Best Cheats: Nothing Entered
Game Play: 7
Graphics: 8
Music/Sound: 7
Originality: 8
Overall Rating: 8
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