You have seen in my Battletoads review on the NES that I couldn't beat the first level, I beat it, finally!

Some people here might think level 1 is easy, well not to me, it is so hard that I would rather grease some flying pigs while I chuck a rock at a milkshake and watch the liquid drip down from the broken plastic!!!

But level 2 completly stopped me at the large blue enemy things part, the first one chucked off 2 of my 3 lives, the second one then chucked my last life off and I started ranting on the difficulty on Battletoads.

If anyone thinks I can beat level 2, well good luck predicting correctly! Also, if you think I could, wish me luck.

Here is a tip for the blue machines on level 2. If you move over to the wall, you will see your toad switching back and forward between your normal toad look and a wrecking ball. If you hit the attack button while you look like a wrecking ball, you will swing super fast across the screen, destroying any enemy you hit. This kills the blue machines in one hit. I prefer beating them the long way because it gets more points, but for you, do this tactic. 

rcarter2 : I got to the 3rd set of blue machines in level 2 before I got another Game Over, and I raged again. I had a terrible but lucky level 1 run, I had 1 life left, with 2 hit points from death, (blame the throwing boulder at a large machine part for killing me in 1 hit on my 2nd life). I got all the way to the 4th blue machine enemy in level 2 with one life, and I got lucky enough to get that far. Also, that is a good method, I might want to make a little Battletoads NES progress thread where tips and tricks could be shared and I would mark my progress whenever I beat a level.

So like I said, I think a little battletoads NES progress thread with tips and tricks shareable would be good for me since it will require help to get me through the game, and I think there is supposed to be 16 or 18.

Here is a tip for the Boss Walker on the first level. Stay away from the center of the screen except to throw the boulders at him. Staying on the far sides of the screen is pretty much a safe spot. As for timing when to throw the boulders, he follows the same pattern ALL the time. He shoots, moves, pauses, move/shoot, repeat. As soon as he is done shooting, grab the boulder, move to one of the far sides of the screen while holding the boulder, wait for him to shoot again, then throw. Hitting him stops him long enough to grab the boulder he made before he shoots again. Also, remember that double tapping left or right makes you run, so that can help you move away from his cursor easily.

Another tip on level 2, you can earn a LOT of extra lives here. If you juggle the birds in the air, you will notice you get more points each time you hit them to keep them in the air. Hit them enough times gives you a 1-UP. My record is getting 14 extra lives on this level. It is easier to juggle birds when you grab a rib from those birds that can cut your line. Just in case you weren't aware, grabbing that white bone lets you use it as a useful weapon.

rcarter2 : I can't juggle them properly, I only hit a bird 3 times in a row before I miss the next juggle.

Also, I got to the white machine part, I killed it, but when I got to the electric lines, I lost my last life on that and I got more raged! Also, when you continue after getting a game over, it sends you back to the very begginning of the level and that just makes me want to swear a lot. The wrecking ball trick is terrible against the blue machines since it requires tons of consistency and it is risky against your lives. Also, the cap is 5 lives!? 5!? Only 5!? Still, why not 9!? WHY IS THE LIVE CAP ONLY 5!?!? That just makes me think: "Why did Tradewest screw up the life counter from 9 to 5!?"

Isn't the electrical wires part after the white machine the final part of the level? If it is the last part, then "I HATE RARE CO. LTD AND TRADEWEST!!!"

5 lives cap reminds me of the life cap in Terminator 1 NES by LJN, which 6 lives is the cap in that game.

For the things you brought up, the best way to juggle the birds is to first of all, only try to do one at a time. Just gotta work on it. I use the rib weapon to make it easier since you can stay in place. I hit them towards the wall because they will bounce back the same distance every time. That way, I just stay in the same spot and let them come to me to be hit again and again.

Next, the wrecking ball is actually a great method. It isn't risky if you get prepared before they bust through the wall. You know when they are coming. Just wait near the top of the screen against the wall. If you are up high on the screen, they usually don't come after you when they bust through. They wait till you lower yourself to their level, which you just do in wrecking ball mode and press the attack button as you are quickly lowering yourself. You will kind of ark the swing right into them before they can even react to you. The only exception is the white one which does charge after you as soon as it busts through. Just stay at the top of the screen in wrecking ball mode. He will bust through and fly toward you. Now keep in mind that he doesn't fire right away. When he flies right next to you, he will pause for a brief moment before firing. That is when you attack with the wrecking ball. Works every time. Just be prepared. 

Next, the electrical wire part after the white machine is the final part. Here is the for sure way to get through those last lines without taking a hit. When you kill the birds right before the white wires, move yourself to the bottom of the screen and stay right in the middle. That is the safe spot. Stay on the bottom middle of the screen, and all the lines will just pass over your head and you are golden.

Last, there is NOT a 5 lives cap. That is all the hearts you see, but you can get way more than 5 lives. When you get all those hearts filled and get more extra lives, you won't see it. But when you die, you will notice that your hearts don't deplete. So it just looks like it caps at 5, but you keep all the extra lives you acquire. You just won't see them delete until you have less than 5 lives left. No worries there. I will try to make a quick video of me doing level 2 and post it so you can get a reference of how to do the level without dying.

Nice for you!

I can't beat level 3... Because (of course) of the Motorcycles part.

Sorry if I can't give you some tricks to progress in the game, I don't know any tricks excepting the wrecking ball one.

I assume you are trying to beat this game without save states? I don't recommend that when you are just starting out with this game. I had this game since I was in kindergarten (or around that time), so that is why I can beat it on the console. But there is no shame in save stating at the beginning of each level just so you don't have to start all over. I mean, as long as you are only save stating at the start of the level, it is understandable with a game this hard.

rcarter2 : I have Battletoads on my NES console, and I think using a console to beat it would be a terrible idea since it is the most impossible game I ever played. I will recommend save state abuse when playing Battletoads in the RGR. Save State abuse is best for doing very risky stuff on a real console but Save State abuse can help me beat this game, but it might not be worth the ending, like The Legend Of Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link.

I never thought the first level of Battletoads was that bad, but the next few levels and the rest of the game is where the ultimate challenge is. Pack in those save states.

I admit that it is super difficult on console unless you are used to it. I have had this game for as long as I remember, so I have had practice. On the console, there are only really 3 levels that give me problems, which is the Jet Plane Inferno level, Rat Race, and the final level. If I end up losing all my lives, it is because of those three levels. Using the keyboard is a little more challenging though. More challenging than having a controller. I just suggest using save states at the beginning of each level just because I know the game can be challenging and it makes it less frustrating when you don't have to start the whole game over again. I tried making a video, but it was very poor. I was using camstudio to make the video, and it was SUPER skippy. It was as if it just took one screenshot every half second and put them all together for a cheap video. If you know of a better recording program that doesn't cost money to download, I'll do it and retry the video. 

pacman1755 : The first level when I played it was impossible. I could only get up to the flying mini dragons and they came from "4377" (flip those numbers upside down for what I really mean) because that is the hardest enemy of the level, 1st place to the giant Robot Walker. But then, level 2's hardest enemies are the blue/white machines, and the white wires of death. (WWOD) Also, emulators are packed with never ending loads of save states, you know. (Get it? )

2 player mode is even more impossible because you and your friend can attack each other and that will make Battletoads like 3-4x impossible for level 2+, level 1 would go 1.5-2x impossible.

Also, rcarter2, since you said making a video, that makes me think if you really have a YouTube account or something.

I made it to level 2 today!