• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Who else hates the Battletoads franchise?

I honestly can't explain it, but I really did love this game as a kid despite it being brutally hard/cheap.

Even this section:

thesuperfunk said:
Only for one section ...

cVYZjq7.gif
Click to expand...

I had a love/hate relationship with. On one hand, I knew that was about as far as I was going to progress 90% of the time and it was extremely frustrating. On the other, I really enjoyed memorizing the layout and executing it. When I did managed to make it through I felt like a damn prodigy. It was one of those old school video game badges of honor.

Now, I haven't played it since, and I even doubt I'd enjoy a new one if it followed the mold slavishly, but I'm still really curious to see what a new one would look like in 2015.

Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
The difficulty was a bit much, but I loved how much variety there was in the NES original. There were platforming levels, brawler levels, vehicle levels (and each vehicle level had a very different vehicle & feel than the other ones). There were levels that were primarily vertical (both going up & down). The great snake riding puzzle level. Great bosses.

Although other games in the series were more brawlers, the greatest thing about NES Battletoads is how it was scarcely a brawler. Pretty much every single level was unique & memorable. Keep that & keep the difficulty but give the player unlimited continues and frequent save points (like Super Meat Boy) and I'd play a sequel.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't realize it until you mentioned it but you're totally right. One of my other favorite levels was the one where you descend on a rope or whatever and it has swinging "physics" and it was great. You just didn't see that type of variety in most games back then, especially in arcade style brawlers.
 
I'm all for MS bringing back the game however if it is fundamentally built like the classics I will likely pass. I never cared for the games. It wont be the same because a game like that probably wouldn't survive. The characters, art and zaniness of it all could be fun in a different form.
 
We know 100% that Battletoads is coming back, we don't know if Rare are making it though.

I bet its PressPlay or Twisted Pixel doing it, if it is being made internally at least.
 
The speeder bike section is literally a rhythm game. You get a brief heads up about the upcoming obstacle and it's the exact same pattern every time. You just have to play it enough to memorize it. It's possible the very last section is too fast for some people's reflexes but it is also just up-down-up-down-up-down-up-down etc.

As mentioned, the game gets much harder. I never got past the Hypnowheel myself.
 
I really do not liek "brawler" style games. I get the feeling all I do is smash the same button over and over again and never enjoy it.
 
PassiveObserver said:
Arcade game was awesome.
tumblr_ne215yZInJ1tj4qfio1_500.gif


Fuck outta here
tumblr_n17bfnncJk1s9677oo1_500.gif
Click to expand...

Great fun, but by the time you get to the later stages (and ending), you can tell the game was rushed. Bosses were switched around into levels they weren't supposed to be in, and the "gallery" in the second to last level showcased bosses that didn't even make it into the final game.

But anyway, if MS is serious about trying to turn this into a possible franchise for a modern audience? I'm more or less expecting it'll be something brand new. Something like the older games just wouldn't fly with this modern crowd. Maybe they'll just cite the arcade game and pose it to be something that could cater even more to the Gears crowd.
 
Never understood the love the game gets, but I didn't hate it. Sure, it had a lot of different kind of levels, but most of them weren't designed very well. People rage at the third stage's racing mechanics, but I did good to get to that part. The jumping/detection getting there was pretty wonky from what I remember.
 
My brother and I really enjoyed the game on NES, despite never beating it. And then Battletoads Double Dragon came out, I personally thought it was just as good as the original Battletoads.
 
I enjoyed Battletoads back in the day, but I don't know how well it holds up now. My brother and I used to rent Battletoads vs. Double Dragon, and I remember playing that arcade version posted above with my friend at some retail store. The racing level in whatever version of Battletoads it is in, is where the game stopped being fun.
 
I thought the original on NES was a technical feat: fast moving graphics, pseudo-3D, coop play, etc. I can only beat it with an emulator using infinite save points, haha.
 
TreIII said:
Great fun, but by the time you get to the later stages (and ending), you can tell the game was rushed. Bosses were switched around into levels they weren't supposed to be in, and the "gallery" in the second to last level showcased bosses that didn't even make it into the final game.

But anyway, if MS is serious about trying to turn this into a possible franchise for a modern audience? I'm more or less expecting it'll be something brand new. Something like the older games just wouldn't fly with this modern crowd. Maybe they'll just cite the arcade game and pose it to be something that could cater even more to the Gears crowd.
Click to expand...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that about the arcade game. I mean, there's a Christmas-themed level, but the boss is a snake popping out of some blood vessels or something? Weirder yet, there is a Fantastic Voyage stage where that fight'd make sense, but it's boss-less, and that gallery clearly shows a Santa-based boss. Plus you never fight the Dark Queen (You fight a rat mech in her stead, and the last stage is a lazy SHMUP with recycled music... Gah. It really has me wanting to see what the intended product would've been.

But yeah. Battletoads is stupidly hard, so I can see people hating it. However, the several sequels aren't so bad, other than the arcade version using typical beat-em-up quarter muncher tricks. I respect the original for it's nigh-impossible difficulty, even if I'll admit EWJ did the "change the mechanics for each level" gimmick better (Well, barring the submarine stages; I'm 100% when I say the Turbo Tunnel's relatively easy compared to that atrocity), but most of those complaints only seem to apply to the first one. And as everyone said, don't worry about the new one; I doubt they'll be that foolish and make the new ones just as unfairly hard as an appeal to nostalgia... Right?
 
AlexSA2 said:
I've noticed several posts mentioning the variety of the gameplay being a positive and I will give the original game that much. But you know what did variety better? Earthworm Jim 1 and 2. And those games were fair and had tight controls.
Click to expand...

How much of the game have you actually played OP? Finishing Battletoads was extremely satisfying to me, and some of the best levels are near the end.

Also, I enjoy the Earthworm Jim games but EJ2 in particular has some real stinkers with bad controls. I have no problems with the controls in Battletoads at all outside of the water level... but come on, it's a water level of course it's going to be a bit shit!

Edit: I should also add that Battletoads & Double Dragon is nowhere near the original, nor are any other sequels. Battletoads & Double Dragon actually has some levels with terrible controls!
I legitimately love the original Battletoads and think it's one of the best games on the NES. Yes, it does require memorisation but the same criticism can be leveled at a lot of shmups etc. You can complete the entire game in around an hour, and once you know the game you can mess around and have fun. It's possible to finish the game without losing a single life, which to me is a sign that everything works. For me terrible controls are controls that can't be relied upon, and this is most certainly NOT the case with Battletoads!
 
Poimandres said:
How much of the game have you actually played OP? Finishing Battletoads was extremely satisfying to me, and some of the best levels are near the end.

Also, I enjoy the Earthworm Jim games but EJ2 in particular has some real stinkers with bad controls. I have no problems with the controls in Battletoads at all outside of the water level... but come on, it's a water level of course it's going to be a bit shit!

Edit: I should also add that Battletoads & Double Dragon is nowhere near the original, nor are any other sequels. Battletoads & Double Dragon actually has some levels with terrible controls!
I legitimately love the original Battletoads and think it's one of the best games on the NES. Yes, it does require memorisation but the same criticism can be leveled at a lot of shmups etc. You can complete the entire game in around an hour, and once you know the game you can mess around and have fun. It's possible to finish the game without losing a single life, which to me is a sign that everything works. For me terrible controls are controls that can't be relied upon, and this is most certainly NOT the case with Battletoads!
Click to expand...

I totally and completely disagree with everything you've written.

And yes I have beaten the original game (only with Save States), the arcade game, and the Double Dragon crossover. Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 having bad controls? GTFO.
 
pants said:
This bit was fuck easy on NES
Click to expand...

1. The bolded phrase makes absolutely zero sense.

2. It is one of the most universally known hard levels in video game history.
 
PassiveObserver said:
Arcade game was awesome.
tumblr_ne215yZInJ1tj4qfio1_500.gif


Fuck outta here
tumblr_n17bfnncJk1s9677oo1_500.gif
Click to expand...
Yep, Im convinced anyone who hates this franchise has never touched the arcade game.

When the remake for Xbox One was first rumored I instantly thought they would be looking much more to the arcade game for inspiration than the NES titles. Especially since its probably gonna be XBLA
 
i liked the original nes game. i always saw it as an inferior turtle wannabe, though. no idea why there're people clamoring for a new game.
 
The NES game was super varied and it looked amazing at the time. Yeah, it's hard but that's what makes it so thrilling. I doubt they could re-create what made this game great today.
 
I don't hate the franchise, but in retrospect, I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I thought I did. The first game was far too punishing far too often, and the other games I played (double dragon cross over and the SNES game) didn't really do anything for me.

In related news, I had my mom make a Battletoads sweatshirt for me that I actually wore to school on more than one occasion. The second time travel is available, I'm going back to kick my own ass.
 
AlexSA2 said:
I totally and completely disagree with everything you've written.

And yes I have beaten the original game (only with Save States), the arcade game, and the Double Dragon crossover. Earthworm Jim 1 and 2 having bad controls? GTFO.
Click to expand...

Hehe. Disagreement is fine, and I actually agree with your opinion about many other games... just not this one!

Earthworm Jim games have fine controls for the most part, but the Flyin' King is worse than any Battletoads (1) level. That's what I was trying to get at with EJ.

Unlike a lot of people in this thread, I thought Battletoads & Double Dragon was pretty poor and not a patch on the original game. There are some levels in that game with terrible controls, and it doesn't come close to Double Dragon 2 on NES.
 
I liked it up until the turbo tunnel, which I was never able to beat.

I think it could be made into a pretty sweet modern beat-'em-up, though. Think God of War, except with an extra layer of creativity in the attacks because of how the toads can transform their fists into spike balls and shit.

Plinko said:
1. The bolded phrase makes absolutely zero sense.

2. It is one of the most universally known hard levels in video game history.
Click to expand...

This is NeoGAF. It doesn't matter how hard something is, somebody will always, always come along and say it was easy.
 
I don't have an opinion about it one way or the other. Never even played it. When I was a kid it was just some corny-looking game no one liked. My friends and I were transitioning into the high school years around that time as well, so things like games and comics and anything else not involving living females or sports or beer were being forgotten.

Internet memes made it popular (or infamous) today - right?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Nintendo Consoles/Games- who else?
2
55
540
playbignbox replied
The Future of the Frost | Frostpunk Franchise Fest
Trailer 
0
108
IbizaPocholo replied
Who else would like to see From Software do another First Person RPG?
Opinion 
47
504
Grenseal replied
Anyone Else A Member Of The Pixel-Art Haters Club?
29
465
StueyDuck replied
Who else is just having a great time month after month gaming?
2
87
892
Hohenheim replied
Top Bottom