 
|
Title: Battletoads In Battlemaniacs
Author:Tradewest/Rare
Rom Player: ZSNES
Reviewer: Dinky
Synopsis: Before reading this review I would like you to keep in mind that the difference between playing this game on an emulator and on console is that an emulator has one very important feature which is ESSENTIAL to beating this game...quick save.
Introduction: The story behind this game is pretty basic, your brother Zitz gets captured and you have to rescue him. The controls are fairly easy to pick up on as well.
Level 1: When you first play this level, I'm sure most people who haven't played this game probably expect every other level to belike this. Wrong! This is the only "beat'em up" style level in the entire game. If your controller is plugged into port 1, then you will play as Pimple, if it's plugged into port 2, you will play as Rash, basically their fighting styles are a little different. This level is basically Pimple and/or Rash getting from one side of the level to the other while destroying the numerous colors of pigs and skeletons that appear along the way. The boss of this stage is a giant stone pig, the pig can be easily defeated using the "hit & run" strategy.
Level 2: This stage is a giant hollow tree, similar to the hollow tree level in the NES version of Battletoads. In this level you basically are slowly hovering to the bottom of the tree while dodging any hazards and attacking a bunch of crows. Soon the speed of your platform picks up and then the level is over. That is the last time you'll ever find a level in this game easy.
Bonus Stage 1: I know I said that the hollow tree was the last easy level but technically this is a bonus stage. In this level you are surfing on a checker across a giant checkerboard and the objective is to knock over bolwing pins. Each pin is worth a certain amount of points, there are also bad pins which take away health and points. Basically if the bad pins don't kill you, you will gain a certain amount of lives based on the number of points you have.
Level 3: This is where rom played thank God for quick save and console players end up throwing their copy of Battlemaniacs at a brick wall. In this level you are on a hovering jet-ski, which seems pretty cool at first. You dodge walls and hit ramps until you reach a checkpoint. This sounds simple until the obstacles become ridiculously hard to dodge. I have yet to believe that it is possible to complete this level without quick save.
Level 4: If you're skilled enough to finish the previous level on console, you might be lucky enough to make it to this level. This one is easier than the previous, but it's still a level where you'd have to memorize everything in order for you to keep all of your lives. Basically you ride snakes which come out of the walls and dodge spikes until you reach the exit. You lose a life if you touch the spikes.
Level 5: If you haven't developed carpel tunnel syndrome yet and you've made it to this level, you'll probably start to feel it after this level. I must admit that I do like this level though. You are riding on a track away from a rat with a buzzsaw, in order to keep away from the rat you have to press the d-pad in the direction of the track. There are two types of obstacles in this level which are indicated by signs. One is a piece of wood. You can duck under this, but if it hits you, you slow down and lose half of your health. The other is a gap in the tracks, you can jump over this but you lose as life if you fall. You also lose a life if the rat cuts you in half.
Bonus Stage 2: This is the exact same thing as the first stage except you collect dominoes instead of bowling pins.
Final Level: In this level you basically dodge obstacles and try to get to the lowest platform possible. Eventually you'll see a rat trying to get down there quicker, you can slow him down by hitting him. At the lowest platform of each section there is a plunger which you press to make the rat blow up. If he gets there first, you blow up. This level isn't hard but it's very unlikely that console players will get here without cheating. The boss in this level is the last boss, The Dark Queen. She's easier than the pig in the first level and basically the second boss in the game. She disappears and re-appears in different spots of the level and shoots little faces at you. When she is on the higher platforms the faces are easy to dodge by running. When she's on the lower platforms you can stand directly where she is and she'll miss you no matter what. Hit her a few times and she's dead.
Final Cutscene: This is hardly a level but it determines which ending you get. There is a spaceship in front of your helicopter and you have to stop the crosshair on it three times to shoot it down and that's the game.
Conclusion: So once you've endured all this stress and permanent wrist damage you have to ask yourself was it worth it? The answer is HELL NO! The only thing credible about this game was the awesome music. It lacked a lot from the first Battletoads, such as the robot walkers whose legs you could use to bash things. Luckily for Tradewest, they managed to keep from going bankrupt with their smash hit "Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team."
Best Cheats: Not that it will help you beat the game any faster for you console players but here are some cheats for you:
Start with 5 lives and 5 continues
When you first turn on the game it will say "Tradewest Presents". The following code must entered after that but before the title screen:
Press and hold A, B, and Down, then press Start
Super Jump
Press Up(2), Down, Left, Right, B, Start at the title screen
Game Play: 5
Graphics: 9
Music/Sound: 10
Originality: 4
Overall Rating: 3
[Download
This Game]
COMMENTS TEMPORARILY DISABLED!
[Come discuss this game on
our Message Forums!]
|
