Battletoads (1991 video game)

For the Game Boy video game, see Battletoads (Game Boy video game).

Battletoads
American NES cover art by Tim Stamper
Developer(s)Rare
Arc System Works (MD/GG)
Mindscape (AMI/CD32)
Publisher(s)
  • EU: Mindscape (AMI/CD32)
Designer(s)Tim and Chris Stamper
Gregg Mayles
Programmer(s)Mark Betteridge
Artist(s)Kev Bayliss
Composer(s)David Wise
Hikoshi Hashimoto (MD/GG)
Mark Knight (AMI/CD32)
SeriesBattletoads
Platform(s)NES/Famicom, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, Amiga, CD32
Release
June 1991
  • NES/Famicom
    • NA: June 1991[1]
    • JP: 20 December 1991
    • EU: 18 February 1993
    Mega Drive
    • NA: March 1993
    • JP: 26 March 1993
    • EU: July 1993
    • AU: 1993
    Game Boy
    • NA: June 1993
    • EU: 1993
    Game Gear
    • NA: December 1993
    • EU: 1993
    • JP: 14 January 1994
    Amiga
    CD32
Genre(s)Beat 'em up, platform
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Battletoads is a platform beat 'em up developed by Rare and published by Tradewest. It is the first installment of the Battletoads series and was originally released in June 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was subsequently ported to the Mega Drive and Game Gear in 1993, to the Amiga and Amiga CD32 in 1994 (despite the former having been developed in 1992), and released with some changes for the Game Boy in 1993 in the form of Battletoads in Ragnarok's World. In the game, three space humanoid warrior toads form a group known as the Battletoads. Two of the Battletoads, Rash and Zitz, embark on a mission to defeat the evil Dark Queen on her planet and rescue their kidnapped friends: Pimple, the third member of the Battletoads, and Princess Angelica.

The game was developed in response to the interest in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It received mostly positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the graphics and variations of gameplay; however, many critics were divided over the game's difficulty. It won seven awards from the 1991 Nintendo Power Awards, and has since been renowned as one of the most difficult video games ever created.[2] It was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.

  1. ^ Taylor, Matt (21 June 1991). "Nintendo continues to lead parade of 8-bit products headed for market". The Daily Progress. p. 36. Tradewest showed a final version of the "Battletoads," a green Turtle spin-off team hopping to stores in a week or two.
  2. ^ "Battletoads Won Seven Times in the 1991 Nintendo Power Nester Awards". Retrovolve. 2 August 2020. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2020.