Overall 8.5 Graphics 8.5 Sound 9.5 Addictive 7 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 9.5
8
return of Battle Toads tornadocam
B
attle Toads is a well know beat em up franchise developed by Rare. The same company that gave us Donkey Kong Country, and Banjo/Kazooie. Battletoads was popular in the 1990's. The first game came out for the NES and was a hit. Other Battle Toads games followed. Battlemaniacs came out a few years after the first game. Except this version was for the SNES as the NES was discontinued. Lets see how Battlemaniacs stacks up overall Story: 9 In the mountains of Tibet, Professor Byrd is showing the Toads, along withtheir friend princess Tashoku a teleporter. Suddenly the teleporter comes tolife with an army of pigs coming out of it. Tahoku gets captured. Zitz tries tointervene but he gets knocked out cold and is also captured. Volkmire revealsthat being a computer engineer, invented the teleporter, and made a deal withthe Dark Queen. He goes on to tel how this is his step to take over the worldusing technology. The Dark Queen reveals that she has the Toads friend'shostages and she set the entire thing up for revenge. She then challenges thetoads to come to her home world again to dare and rescue their friends.Rash, and Pimple jump in the teleporter to get their friends back and to stopthe Dark Queen as well as Volkmire's scheme. But it will not be easy as theymust go through several obstacles. Okay this story has a lot going on. Yes it is your revenge plot but it does notsound like your typical revenge plot. In most revenge plots its the the villainsetting out revenge. In this plot you have two villains. Also you have a rescueplot in this story as well. Not only must your stop the evil villains but youmust rescue your friends. I really like the idea of using technology in thisgame. I like it because when this game came out we were just entering the techboom in the 1990's. To me this plot shows creativity. Thus, I give it a 9out of 10. Graphics and Controls: 9 The graphics are very good and amazing in this game. I really like the stagebackgrounds it goes good with the themes. Volcanoes look like real volcanoes,mountains look like mountains, and ice looks like ice in this game. It lookslike the real thing. The sprites are also amazing in this game esp when yourcharacter does their combo attacks. The game does not appear to lag at all. The controls are also good in this game. Not one time did I notice the controlslagging. In the very first game there were a few times that the controlschanged speeds. I did not notice that in this game. It seems like the controlsare improved from the very first game. Not that the first game had badcontrols. Therefore I give the graphics and controls a solid 9 out of 10. Sound: 9 Battle Toads for the NES had amazing sounds. Battlemaniacs is no different. Thesounds in this game are amazing. The music is very solid in this game. Thesounds of the stages are also good. I like the eruption sound the volcanoesmake that was nicely done. The sounds of the enemies make when they hit you arenicely done too. When your character makes a knockout punch the sound it makesis very good. It lets you know your attacks are doing damage. Just like thefirst game I give the sound a 9 out of 10. Replay Value: 7 Now here is were the game suffers a bit. Battlemaniacs is a fun game to playand I had fun playing it. But comparing it to the NES game it seems to drop offsome. Mainly for this reason a lot of the stages were recycled. Yes folks thisgame uses some of the same stages as the NES game. Rare doesn't even hide thatis what they did. The wind stage, snake stage, and tower stage, are exactly thesame as the NES game. The only difference is the colors have been changed. Soyes while I had fun playing this game. It seemed like I was just playing anupdated Battletoads NES game. I feel like they could have added different ideasfor the stages. I mean this is intended to be a new game as evidence in theplot. I wonder if development was not rushed in this game. Maybe they weretrying to get it out before another game Ninja Turtles possibly ? So anyway Igive the replay value a 7 out of 10. Depth: 4Beat em up games are not known for their depth. Yet the NES game had some depthto it. The first game had a lot of different stages to it. It took a long timeto complete stages in the first game. This game the stages are shorter than theNES stages. As I stated above what also hurts the depth is they used some ofthe same stages the first game had except they shortened them. Anyway, gettingback to this type of game. This game is a lot like Streets of rage (bareknuckle) games. There are no secrets to find, no hidden areas, and no items tocollect. On the other hand its not like a puzzle game were depth isnon-existent. Thus, I give the depth typical for these type of games a 4 out of10. Difficulty: 9 The very first game was very brutal. In fact the first game is often regardedas one of the hardest games out there. I will agree with that when I got theNES game I died a lot. This game is difficulty and brutal but it seems likethey tried to tone the difficulty down some in this game. Yes, I still died alot in this game as well. Battlemaniacs has a lot of cheap shots in this game. You will knock out enemiesonly for a bigger enemy to land on you. I have tried to avoid these cheap shotsbut could not do it. So I think it is safe to stay the game is meant to give acheap shots. Second , enemy placement is a real pain in this game. Enemies areplaced near pits or spikes, which means it is easy to knock yourself down apit, or send yourself into death spikes. Moreover, enemies just love to gang upon you in this game. Enemies will hit you from behind often times in clusters.Another thing that is hard about this game is the obstacles. The wind stages isback and so is the racing stage. Other obstacles require timing, reflexes, andprecise timing to get around. The bosses can be brutal in this game aswell. As you can see I died a lot in this game. So you may be asking why do I not give this game a 10 out of 10? While the gameis difficult and brutal it is doable. The first game was so brutal I got a lotof game overs. My friends who also had the first game had similar experiences.It seems like this game Rare toned it down just a little bit. The wind Tunnelis very hard but more manageable in this game. Unlike the first game, you canget bonus stages in this game to earn extra lives, which is needed, The stageshave been shortened in this game so they are more doable. The speed of the veryfast stages have been toned down. Still, this is a brutal game so I give it a 9out of 10. Overall: 8 Battlemaniacs is a nice installment into the Battle Toads franchise. The gamedoes have some good things about it. But, there are some issues in this game aswell. I will start off with the positives. I really like the story in this gameas it has a lot going on for it. It is your revenge plot but also a rescueplot. I like how it introduces the characters well. It also shows creativity byRare's part. The plot lets you know this is a different game than playinga remake, which as I have explained is a good thing. I also like theimproved graphics and controls in this game. The graphics esp the stages arenicely done. The controls no longer seem to change speeds. Moreover, thedifficulty is about right in this game it is difficult and offers a challenge.But it is not so brutal as the first game your going to get turned off by thistype of game. Now for the negatives. Why oh Why did they recycle and reuse stages from thefirst game? They even make it obvious they used the same stages. If you had notseen the story in this game you could honestly get the idea this is just aremake of the first game. To me it kind of shows lack of creativity. Look atMega Man games they reuse the same theme in some of the stages but the stagesare different. So why could they have kept the same idea but made the stagedifferent? That is why I think this game was rushed in development. I wonder ifRare was trying to get this game out before another game. Ninja Turtles Turtlesin Time came out when this game did. I think its possible Rare took some shortcuts to get this game out. Another negative is why did they make this gameshorter? Making the game shorter compared to the first game and theToads/Double Dragon , which came after this game, hurts the depth in this game.Again, I think this game was rushed. Overall, I give Battlemaniacs a good 8 out of 10. The game is fun and it hassome things going for it. The game just has a few issues that keep me fromranking it higher. Had this game not had its issues it could have been avery great game like the first one was. Still, it is a good game and the issuesI had should not discourage you. Some gamers will not even find the issues Imentioned a big deal. Would I recommend this game. Yes I would recommend thisgame. But I only recommend this game to players who are familiar with BattleToads. If your not familiar with Battle Toads the game's difficult might be toomuch for you. As you will die a lot in this game even though they toned thedifficulty down in this game. Anyway, 8 out of 10 sounds about right This completes my take on Battlemaniacs. I hope you take time to play this gameand enjoy it. Blessings in Christ
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 7 Story 9 Depth 4 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 4.7/5
Submitted: 04-23-18
Review Replies: 4
8.3
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs G789
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs came out for SNES in 1993. This game is a beat-em-up, with some platformer elements/levels thrown in. Even better, there are options for 1 or 2 player, and within that players can choose to enable team attack for added difficulty (like the game really needs it). While the game is not long, its difficulty will keep you playing for a long time. If you know anybody who has played this game, their first comment will likely regard the matter of difficulty, and how the curve takes a steep turn a few levels in. Battletoads in Battlemaniacs actually came out for NES years earlier, and the SNES version is a remake, revamped with new graphics and some rockin' music.
Graphics: 8The graphics are appropriate for the system and its timing of release within the SNES' reign. Given the varied nature of lots of the levels, differing styles of art/design get to be displayed to meet those demands. I would describe the style as slightly cartoon-ish, especially when some of the attacks exaggerate the players' finishing move (e.g. hammer, anvil punch, etc.).
Sound: 10I absolutely love the soundtrack to this game; I could listen to the ost on youtube over and over. The soundtrack is best described as rock, and some metal overall. There are some levels that deviate from that genre, but the instrumentation is pretty consistent with that of a rock & roll band. I feel that the music is similar to that of Maximum Carnage, and a little bit Mega Man x3. It's not easy for a category to get a 10/10, but the music is closest to my own personal tastes, and thus rose straight to the top.
Addictiveness: 7There is one way to get through Battletoads: in one sitting +/- lots of endurance and resolve. There is no save file or anything like that; the game can be completed in less than an hour. The issue is more a matter of how many continues will be spent? Or, Can we even make it to the end of the game? In one sense, the challenge to overcome the steep difficulty curve can serve as addiction in and of itself. Other than that, this is not an inherently addictive game.
Story: 7To be honest, I really had to think about what the story of the actual game was for a moment. The gameplay is fun, with some level designs whacky and interesting enough such that the story is not my biggest concern. Either that, or my impulsive childhood behavior wasn't willing to read into back in the day.
Anyway, the story is that the CEO of Psicone developed a virtual reality simulator/portal. Just as it's being unveiled, the Dark Queen, and Silas Volkmire send someone through that portal to kidnap the CEO's daughter, and battletoad Zitz. Playing as Pimple and/or Rash, the dermatological-named battletoads must enter the portal through a series of virtual reality worlds to defeat the villains, and rescue these two victims. Let me know if I missed anything here.
Depth: 8Players can either play as Pimple or Rash. While each character has different attack animations, and combinations of punch/kick combos, they are of equal strength, and handle the same as the other.
One thing I love about Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is the variation in level design. The opening level, is most consistent with the classical beat-em-up style games. Fortunately, it's also the easiest level. Meanwhile, other levels are straight up platformer types, race-like levels (everybody's favorite tunnel), with some bonus levels thrown in to cut the player some slack. In a way, some levels almost have a mini-game feel in its variation, which does not detract from the gameplay at all. In fact, it may enhance it.
The game also throws in some humor; at the beginning and end of each level, the player gets a message from The Dark Queen basically taunting the battletoads, and then another from their ally (maybe his name is Psicone?) who gives a small briefing about the level about to come. He makes sarcastic, witty comments after dying/using a continue. There is also some variation in terms of the game's ending... I'll leave it at that.
Difficulty: 10There aren't actually that many levels to the game. Doing a quick tally in my head (and not counting bonus levels), I counted 6 levels. And yet, this game is one of the most difficult games I've played growing up. For the vast majority of times playing through this game, I've had to use the cheat code that gives you a few more lives and continues. I feel that the most difficult levels of the game come up in the middle; if you can rack up enough lives in the beginning, and get through the dreaded tunnel and snake pit without losing too many lives, coasting through to the end should be very do-able.
Adding a 2nd player adds so much to the difficulty, mostly because later levels force both players to start over if either one of them dies. In fact, I've never completed this game with a partner. And for added difficulty, you can adjust the mode so that 1st and 2nd player can actually attack and kill each other. One that at a time, now!
Overall: 8.3I really enjoyed playing this game growing up. Something to be aware of: this game is very difficult; it's not recommended for those of short temper, especially 2 player mode. The setting for each level was pretty cool, ranging from a volcanic wasteland to the inside of a tree trunk, and through a tunnel with features I don't fully know how to describe, so I'll just say it's possibly the inside of someone's brain. The varying types of level design keep the game interesting, too. Sometimes, the level demands you destroy everything, while other levels leave you powerless to do anything but run away. As mentioned earlier, the gameplay is fun enough alone that the details of the story tend to escape me during actual playthroughs of Battletoads. All the while, there is a great soundtrack to further keep the levels alive and dynamic... and I'm not just talking about the simplistic-yet-memorable pause music.
Take a shot at Battletoads in Battlemaniacs! If you lose all your continues, start it up again and have another go if you're up for the challenge. If you've beaten this on 2-player A mode, you have my everlasting praise.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 7 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 10-13-14
Review Replies: 1
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