Video Game / Battletoads

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A side-scroller which hitched a ride on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze of the late 80s and early 90s. This was Rare's first major franchise.

Set in outer space, Battletoads is the story of Zitz, Pimple, and Rash, three poorly-named heroes who battle the Dark Queen with the assistance of their Mentor, Professor T. Bird.

Battletoads routinely shows up in Top Ten Lists of the hardest Nintendo Entertainment System games, and is one of a few titles where 2-player mode actually makes the game harder. Contrary to reputation, it's not the most difficult game ever produced at that time (Ninja Gaiden, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Silver Surfer, and The Adventures of Bayou Billy were all keeping up); however, the amount of rote memorization demanded by Battletoads is extremely taxing on adult gamers, never mind its target audience. As the NES generation grew older, Battletoads naturally became a font of memes, to the point where the creator of I Wanna Be the Guy went on record claiming that it was a romhack of Battletoads and daring people to complete the game if they wanted to prove him a liar.

Nintendo Power ran a comic based on the game that was divergent in several areas, which was later used as backstory for later incarnations of the franchise.

While the game did have several sequels (including a Intercontinuity Crossover with Double Dragon and an arcade game which played as a straight Beat 'em Up), most of these were not nearly as popular, and for the most part only the original is remembered at all. Despite the rapid downturn of popularity — but not necessarily quality — of later entries, quite a few people still want to see the franchise revived. In 2015, the NES original and the arcade game were chosen to be part of the 30-game line-up of Rare Replay, a Compilation Re-release celebrating Rare’s history that finally brought the series to modern hardware, and around the same time, Rash was released as a Guest Fighter in Killer Instinct (2013). After twenty-six years, a new entry with hand-drawn graphics simply entitled Battletoads (2020) released on August 20, 2020.

If you prefer a bit more tongue-in-cheek humor with your Merchandise-Driven game characters, see Earthworm Jim.

Games in the series

• Battletoads (1991, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Game Boy^note as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World, Game Gear, Amiga, Amiga CD32)
• Battletoads (1991, Game Boy)
• Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (1993, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System)
• Battletoads/Double Dragon (1993, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy)
• Battletoads (1994, Arcade Game)
• Battletoads (2020, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows)

Other media

• Battletoads (Guy Miller): A comic book prequel to the series published in Nintendo Power. Was written by Guy Miller while he was employed by Rare at the time.
• Battletoads: A failed pilot for an Animated Adaptation which used a notably different backstory, one derived from magazine ads which ran for the game at the time.

This series has examples of:

• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: The toads wear some shin guards and bracers and nothing else. Subverts the classical trope to make them more Stripperiffic and dripping with testosterone.
• Acrofatic: Big Blag is impossibly fast and agile for someone so morbidly obese, enough for him to try to crush the 'Toads under his weight.
• All There in the Manual: Oddly enough, the origin story depicted in Nintendo Power's one-shot comic remains canonical (unlike, say, the Sonic the Hedgehog promotional comic). In it, Pimple, Rash, and Zitz are ordinary human teens who work in a video game company as game testers, and the Battletoads are their gaming avatars in what seems to be a virtual-reality simulator but is really an alternate dimension where the Dark Queen and her fleet live. A jealous programmer named Silas Volkmire sabotages the device and traps the teens in the alternate dimension as their Battletoads avatars.
• Back from the Dead: Robo-Manus. He's been blown apart and/or decapitated several times throughout the series' run, but he always comes back.
• Badass in Distress: Each one of the toads has been kidnapped and needed to be rescued at least once. In general, this happens often enough that anytime the toads are actually all selectable, it's a pleasant surprise.
• Balance, Speed, Strength Trio: While you can't always manage the three of them, the usual setting is Rash as the balance, Zitz as the speed and Pimple as the strength.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Several levels takes place on spaceship exteriors, but none of the characters have trouble talking or breathing in space. Even the Double Dragon cast seems to fair well enough without problems.
• Big Bad: The Dark Queen in the classic games. The Topians in the reboot.
• Bottomless Pits: Turbo Tunnel has bottomless pits which are deadly to fall in.
• Cap: Part of the difficulty lies in the limit of nine extra lives in some versions (not applicable to the NES and SNES versions, particularly as the second level is a perfect place to rack up more).
• Captain Ersatz: A clone of Jessica Rabbit spliced with Elvira, the Dark Queen is so haphazardly designed that her cowl isn't even connected to anything. (Nope, not even her neck. Look again.)
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Silas Volkmire, a.k.a. the bloke with the big brain, is another antagonist of the Battletoads. In the hierarchy of villains, he shares equal footing with the Queen (And indeed, the pair joined forces in Battlemaniacs, before cashing in their chips and fleeing the Queen's exploding ship). He's obliquely referenced in the other games, but no more. Even Robo-Manus has clocked more screentime.
• Co-Dragons: Robo-Manus and Big Blag, with the former being the more powerful of the two. The intro to the first game even has the Dark Queen telling you to beat them before getting to her. Due to warps, however, you can actually beat the game without ever beating Big Blag.
• Color-Coded Multiplayer: The SNES and Arcade use these distinct colors to differentiate (other 2-player versions just use green and brown):
  • Green: Rash
  • Teal: Zitz
  • Brown: Pimple
• Conspicuous Electric Obstacle:
  • Racing segment of Volkmire's Inferno has electric bolts that need to be dodged. Some have gaps that close in, some have gaps that widen.
  • Intruder Extruder level has floor gaps where electricity periodically flows through.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Rash may seem like a conceited douchebag, but he can kick just as much butt as the other Toads.
• Cyber Cyclops: In his earlier appearances, Robo-Manus is usually depicted with a Cylon-like visor complete with a glowing red or purple eye. His later appearances tend to give him a more angular visor complete with two eyes.
• Cyborg: Robo-Manus. This is most evident in the arcade game where he bleeds after his hands and brain are damaged despite being part machine. A good portion of his character art also shows him with battle damage and visible flesh underneath parts of his metal shell.
• Dark Is Evil: The Dark Queen, natch. She wears dark colors and she is evil.
• Degraded Boss:
  • A rare game to game example. General Vermin, originally a boss in the first Battletoads on Game Boy, was demoted to a Giant Mook in the arcade game.
  • General Slaughter suffers this to a degree as well. After his appearance as the boss of Stage 10 of the original game, he was only seen in later games as either a Warm-Up Boss or a Mini-Boss.
• Diseased Name: The main characters — Rash, Pimple, and Zitz — are all named for skin afflictions, which is a reference to the old wives' tale that touching frogs and toads will give you skin problems. (It doesn't.)
• Distressed Dude: Unless you're playing the arcade game or one of the versions of the Double Dragon crossover, odds are one of the Battletoads has gotten himself captured.
• Divergent Character Evolution: In Battlemaniacs, Pimple and Rash have different combos and finishing moves. In the arcade game, all three toads have different moves and attributes.
• The Dragon: Robo-Manus appears to be this to the Dark Queen. While he shares the role with Big Blag, Robo-Manus is consistently depicted as being the more dangerous of the two, and has even served as the Final Boss in the Dark Queen's stead on two occasions.
• Dressed Like a Dominatrix: The Big Bad Dark Queen wears a black leather leotard, thigh-high high-heeled boots, opera gloves, and a cape.
• Excuse Plot: Save the Princess and its variations amount to what resembles plot in these games. Not that what plot there is particularly matters much.
• Fat Bastard: The aptly-named Big Blag. A mammoth rat with steroid-infused arms and a greasy pompadour. Like the worst character in a fighting game, he uses his girth to trap you in the screen's corners.
• Fireballs: Flying section in Volkmire's Inferno has parts where the player must dodge balls of fire.
• Finishing Move: Rather vivid ones for the time period, which contributed to the game's popularity. They're named Smash Hits, predating Super Smash Bros. by almost a decade.
• Frog Men: The eponymous heroes are anthropomorphic frogs.
• Galactic Conquerer: The Dark Queen commands a massive army of Biker Mice—er, rodents, with which she aims to dominate the universe. That's pretty much it. And in the latest game, she does manage to get the galaxy!
• Gameplay Roulette: Pretty much every level is different. Sometimes it's a beat-'em-up, sometimes it's a platformer, sometimes it's an obstacle course where you're on a vehicle, sometimes it's a race against an enemy.
• Giant Woman: Despite her profile putting her at six feet tall, the Dark Queen is generally depicted as being at least twice as tall as the Battletoads.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: The Dark Queen, whose aims are nothing less than domination of the entire universe.
• Goofy Malfunctioning Robot: In the arcade game, when Robo-Manus's brain takes enough damage, he starts singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", offers a cup of coffee, and wishes everyone present a Merry Christmas before exploding.
• Goomba Stomp: Big Blag, Robo-Manus, General Slaughter, and the Hypno Orb can all do this to the player.
• Guest Fighter:
  • The Battletoads would later become optional bosses in the Xbox One and PC versions of Shovel Knight.
  • Rash is a playable character in Season 3 of Killer Instinct for Xbox One.
• Hammered into the Ground: Some enemies can be driven to the ground by the Battletoads' attacks.
• Hard Levels, Easy Bosses: Beating the bosses is generally much easier than getting to them. Unless it's Robo-Manus. (Not having to go back to a checkpoint each time a boss kills you helps, though.)
• Jaw Drop: When toads encounter bosses or some other obstacle, their jaws almost drop to the ground level.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Zitz and Rash in the reboot are both self-absorbed and callous, with the former having an outright sadistic streak, but are ultimately heroic and are willing to give their lives to save the galaxy. They also sincerely care for Pimple who is decidedly a lot nicer.
• Lady of Black Magic: Dark Queen, who is dressed in little black leather and has an array of magical powers.
• Leather Man: Some of those outfits almost have to be more than just a little Hell-Bent for Leather badass. In particular, The Dragons General Slaughter, General Vermin and Big Blag, especially in the arcade game.
• Long Neck: Robo-Manus is commonly depicted with a ball-jointed mechanical neck that allows him to swing his head about while he fires off laser blasts. While mainly depicted in Battletoads and Double Dragon, he also seems to have this in the Gameboy version of Battletoads as well.
• Mascot with Attitude: The titular 'toads, especially Rash (dig those shades!).
• Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: Professor T Bird will not hesitate to verbally tear you a new one if you get a game over.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Basically, almost any villain worth their salt has one, including Big Blag, General Slaughter, General Vermin, the Dark Queen...
• Never Recycle Your Schemes: Played with; while the Dark Queen's plans tend to boil down to "kidnap one or two Battletoads and lure whoever's left into a trap", the actual end goals vary a little (i.e. kidnap an planet ambassador's princess, merge the Earth with a VR game). The arcade game is a straight-up war with no kidnapping, while the crossover simply has her try to conquer/blow up the Earth.
• No Plot? No Problem!: Did you expect a game called Battletoads to be known for its deep canon and tight scripting?
• Oh, Crap!: When the toads have this reaction, it's boss fight time! They don't do this when they see vehicles though.
• Ominous Opera Cape: The Dark Queen always wears it during her pre-level taunts. The cape hovers inexplicably behind her at all times, regardless of which way she's facing.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Robo-Manus, most notably in the Gameboy game and Arcade game, is capable of fighting, even after losing a limb or two. In fact, in the Gameboy game, he can fight even after being decapitated.
• Orcus on His Throne: The Dark Queen exists mainly to goad the player and hurl insults through Professor T's monitor. Interestingly, this is reflected even in the Queen's low sprite count: She barely moves, preferring to turn into a cyclone or (in the SNES version) hurl skulls while warping around the arena. In the arcade version, she appears as an apparition whilst observing the boss battle with Robo-Rat. She's a little more proactive in Battletoads & Double Dragon, engaging the Toads/Lees in fisticuffs.
  Eric Provenza: Usually serving as final boss in the games, the Dark Queen is basically a sexy Shredder, right down to her between-level taunts.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: A Fantastic Racism variant: The Dark Queen likes to call the toads "snotskins"
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: The Dark Queen is the leader of her army and generally serves as the final boss in the games. Galaxy leaders the Topians also put up a strong final boss fight.
• Recycled Title: Battletoads could refer to the original game first released for the NES in 1991, the Game Boy version released during the same year (not to be confused with the Game Boy port of the NES version titled Battletoads in Ragnarok's World), the 1994 arcade game distributed by Electronic Arts, or the 2020 Reboot.
• Royal Brat: Battletoads is rightly famous, but not for its deep canon or characterization. That said, what little we see of the Dark Queen suggests a spoiled brat who just happens to command armies and possess magic.
• Save the Princess: Not that they really explain what she's the princess of.
• Sea Mine: Surf City level in the original game has spherical naval sea mines floating in the river.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: The Toads fall under Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal, so their clothes standard is lax, but even just comparing humans the Dark Queen's outfit is notably skimpier than Angelica's.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: The toads morph their arms and legs into various weapons to attack. When they attack by butting enemies with their heads, their heads will sprout ram horns when they connect.
  • Later games attribute a style to each Toad. Battlemaniacs establishes that Rash likes blades and spikes, while Pimple prefers blunt, heavy objects. The arcade game adds in that Zitz's favored attacks involve turning his limbs into machinery like drills and chainsaws.
  • The 2020 game goes up to eleven on this trope. Not only can they turn their limbs into many new things (kitchen sink, dead fish, jackhammer...), but they also can fully transform for special attacks (For instance, Pimple can turn in a sarcophagus and Rash in a shark).
• Shoulders of Doom: Robo-Manus is consistently depicted with these, usually battle-damaged and exposing some kind of grotesque, brain-like tissue.
• Snake People: Why did it have to be snakes? The dreaded Snake Level are a cornerstone of these games, and in the final installment, you get to meet the progenitor of the snake pits.
• Sore Loser: The Dark Queen, natch. In particular, after you destroy the Colossus Ratship in Battletoads & Double Dragon, her next course of action is to use the missile it shoots out and blow up the Earth, purely out of spite.
• Spike Balls of Doom: Spiky damaging balls in this series are present in many of their levels. Often they are rather irregular in shape.
• Spikes of Doom: In the first game, Terra Tubes features actual spikes, often inconveniently placed at the bottom of the said tubes.
• Statuesque Stunner: According to the arcade game, the Dark Queen is six feet tall, though she appears considerably larger in-game.
• Stripperiffic:
  • The Dark Queen.
  • While we're at it, how about nearly every male character (particularly with Big Blag).
• Sunglasses at Night: Rash would wear sunglasses in outer space. They even change shape according to Rash's mood.
  • Except when he does the Eye Pop.
• Teenage Mutant Samurai Wombats: As mentioned above, this game was riding the coattails of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• Trial-and-Error Gameplay: Most of the obstacles are based on a pattern, and learning them is key to get through the game.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change: The vehicle levels, which is part of why they're most frequently cited as That One Level.
• Unexpected Shmup Level: The final level of the arcade game plays like a rail shooter with the Battletoads shooting from the roof of their cruiser through an aircraft leading up to a battle with Robo-Manus. The 2020 reboot also has shmup levels in it.
• Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain: The Battletoads, are, well toad people, whereas the Dark Queen is a sexy dominatrix-esque woman.
• Verbal Tic: *BZZT* Robo-Manus has a particularly *FZZT* noticeable one.
• Video Game Cruelty Potential: Although every Battletoads game has this, the Arcade version is the most noteworthy example.
• Villainous Breakdown: A bit of a tradition. The Dark Queen throws a temper tantrum as you reach her final level in each game she appears in, as do the Topians as detailed in the 2020 Reboot folder.
• Walking Armory: Robo-Manus, whose weapons generally consist of optic blasts, arm-mounted blasters, missiles, flamethrowers and bombs among other things, all of which are parts of his cybernetic body.
• Warrior vs. Sorcerer: The Dark Queen is a villainous Lady of Black Magic opposed by a trio of heroic warrior toads.
• Welcome to Corneria: Inverted. The intra-level NPC text is different from game-to-game.
  • Some games also have random varying quotes right after the Dark Queen's defeat.
• X-Ray Sparks: Used in Battletoads and Double Dragon (but only in the SNES port) and brought back in the arcade game.
• You Dirty Rat!: The Dark Queen's Mooks known as the Mutant Ratpack, lead by Big Blag.
• You Don't Look Like You: Robo-Manus has a tendency to change noticeably in appearance in each game, becoming nigh unrecognizable by his Arcade appearance, which lacks his trademark Shoulders of Doom and extensible mechanical neck.
• Your Size May Vary:
  • Robo-Manus goes from being at least twice as tall as the 'Toads in the first game and Double Dragon crossover to over 76 feet tall in the arcade game.
  • Big Blag is either twice as large as the 'Toads as seen in the Game Boy game and crossover or a head taller in the first game, although the arcade game shows that he can enlarge himself to squash the 'Toads.
  • The Dark Queen is stated to be 6 feet tall in the arcade game, meaning she's supposedly smaller than the 'Toads.^note -For reference, Zitz is 6' 8", Rash is 6'3", and Pimple is 7' 4".- However, in all cases where she's fought directly, she's either twice as tall or slightly shorter than Pimple who's the tallest Battletoad.