The Beat’em Up Genre Tribute: Battletoads (Arcade, 1994)
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The Battletoads series started in 1991 already on the NES unlike the most other beat’em up series which made their debut in the arcades. In the case of the Battletoads series it took a few sequels until Rareware finally released an arcade version which was published by Electronic Arts. Like usual, the three protagonists, Rash, Zitz and Pimple have to stop the plans of the evil “Dark Queen” , she is not the final boss however. Really unique for arcade beat’em ups was the relative big variation of the gameplay with some stages being 2,5D like in other traditional beat’em up’s and others being 2D like the most platformers at the time. In the end the game changes to a shoot’em up even. The Battletoads games released on the home consoles all had those moves already when the Battletoads’s fists changed into a giant mace or hammer for the final blow, but the arcade version, which was probably designed for a older audience added 2-3 levels of blood and gore to the mix. |
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While the Battletoads stayed the funny looking toads, not too different from the TMNT and had to fight an army of evil rats, snowmen and some nasty bosses they are damn brutal, with moves like the driller as seen in our illustration drawn by Ford Shipper. The enemies really have to suffer in this game, the bosses are often losing their heads even. Battletoads: The Arcade Game is a really fun beat’em up which is not getting as repetitive as many other beat’em ups due to the mix of the gameplay sometimes and the very different stages, while its not as long (it has only six stages) as earlier Battletoads games its still super fun for a good while. Mentioned should also that there is a Bonus stage very similar to the bonus stage in Street Fighter II in which the Battletoads have to destroy a spacecraft as fast as possible. Like many Rareware series of the nineties it was discontinued however and fans still wait for a port of this game to a home console. Battletoads the Arcade game can be played via the MAME emulator at least, but it would be really cool to see a port or even a HD version of it.
– You can enlarge most of the images here by clicking on them –
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About our illustration of Battletoads (Arcade) and the artist behind it
” *SIGH* I miss the Arcade Games. I especially miss those classic Beat ‘Em Up Games.
One of my favorite Beat ‘Em Up Games is Battletoads Arcade. This illustration is based off the 1st Stage of the game where our three froggy heroes (left to right), Zitz, Pimple, & Rash, unleash their Smash Hit Attacks against their vermin foes. I definitely love the hardcore action in this game, but what I also love is their rock n’ roll soundtrack, which I believe helps you get in the mood of the game. “
Ford “Mystic-Forces” Shipper from the USA, the artist behind the Battletoads Arcade illustration, is a Game-Art-HQ Contributor since Summer 2012 and our Link’s Blacklist! You can visit his gallery on deviantART here
Screenshot Gallery of Battletoads ( Arcade)
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The other Beat’em Up Genre Tribute articles:
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