Battletoads - Review, the return of the magnificent trio of toads

Battletoads - Review, the return of the magnificent trio of toads

Shortly before the 90s, the fashion of Ninja Turtles broke out: TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) were loved by everyone thanks to their witty jokes, their know-how to fight, and the fact that, in those years, it was really cool to see cartoons animated and read comics about anthropomorphic animals fighting for good. Over the following years many brands were born on this line (Street Sharks, Biker Mice da Marte), all with their own dedicated animated series: the video game could not be outdone, and in addition to the classic tie-ins released on the most famous brands , saw the birth of Battletoads. Except for the first game released in 1991 in Japan (1993 by us), the brand had only a couple of subsequent titles of little success (and a crossover with Double Dragon) and then disappeared into oblivion. obviously Rash, Zitz e Pimple they made their appearances on other brands, but never in a game dedicated to them, at least until today.



After more than twenty years the Battletoads, in a game of the same name without numbers or subtitles, aimed at restarting this beat 'em up once loved and now relegated (at least until today) to the collection Rare Replay. Developed by Dlala Studios, with the supervision and assistance of Rare, the game aims to be a kind of soft reboot, without completely erasing the past but proposing itself to today's public as a meeting point between modernity and classic.

Pure American style

If there is one thing that will immediately jump in the eyes of old fans is the style: Battletoads in fact, it adapts to modern animations with a colorful, rich artistic direction full of many interesting ideas. It is easy to run into some really well-structured levels from an artistic point of view, just as we will immediately have imprinted in mind the appearance of the three protagonists, even more different from each other and especially marked on the face: if in fact the graphics of the 90s did not allow something like this, now everything is almost a cartoon in motion (nothing new for those accustomed to this kind of titles). To add panache we think of the beautiful animations, some winks at titles that preceded it such as Cuphead and many details, albeit minutiae, that will make the game progress interesting.



Battletoads - Review, the return of the magnificent trio of toads

To all this is added a bright and fresh writing: it all starts when the three Battletoads they are saved by a cabin cruiser. Although seen as heroes, invincible and unblemished warriors, in reality all of this is part of an arcade where they have been trapped in the last two decades. Starting from a real world empty of fantasy, they will try in every way to grab the fame that characterized them again. This opening is in itself brilliant: there is nothing better than joking about the past, especially if a very large evolution of the media thinks about separating it. Precisely through this ploy there will be many jokes dedicated to breaking the fourth wall: otherwise, the dialogues will still remain interesting, both when the three Battletoads will have to interact with each other, and when they will talk to the enemies.

In short, the soft reboot starts from this: as if all the old adventures were actually only the result of a story of a video game, now the Battletoads are in reality, and to find the Dark Queen of this world they will have to overcome many challenges. The idea of ​​labeling old adventures as virtual creates endless comic cues in this new iteration (you'll soon notice with Turbo-bikes), creating an exceptionally modern irony. The video sector of excellence can only be accompanied by a masterful audio sector, which combines music perfect for the style of the game with a dubbing (English) in line with the characters: tamarri fighting toads capable of changing according to the attack launched (and the mutations, among all, will be the real flagship of the art department).


It's time for a beating

Battletoads is what the title says: in the game you will have to impersonate the three frogs (don't call them frogs) from battle, beating right and missing enemies in a classic scrolling beat 'em up. Each character will have a light attack, an up attack and a defense break attack: these three, which for each toad will be different in style and animation, will also be usable in combo, allowing you to take advantage of various types of attacks. While playing, Battletoads' wounds can be healed by eating insects (which will flutter around the map when you defeat enemies) and, in case one of them ends its life, you can use one of the other two (leveling the difficulty in case you play alone or together). Speaking of company, obviously the title will be playable both alone and with two other players.



Battletoads - Review, the return of the magnificent trio of toads

There are also some remote moves, capable of taking objects, approaching enemies and characters, and chewing gum, useful for blocking dangers (or activating sensors). Otherwise the game is a classic fighting sliding: the phases full of enemies will alternate with those slightly platform, occasionally placing some environmental enigma. Don't expect much diversification of gameplay in the game, because except for some very hilarious scenes (which, however, does not make the game diversified), the turbo-bikes and some platform sessions, for the rest you will always have to advance, beat and repeat.


We obviously expect nothing else from a beat 'em up, which still captures with its artistic and technical charisma: if in the first encounters it will be easy to defeat the enemies, as you advance you will have to start making the most of your Battletoad, otherwise you will perish under the blows received. As for the turbo-bikes, they are back in a different mode, however: we move from the classic 2D to a 3D that, if artistically allows you to see many interesting scenarios, in terms of gameplay it facilitates things a little without distorting the concept. .

add a comment of Battletoads - Review, the return of the magnificent trio of toads
Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.