Battletoads Xbox One Game Review

The Battletoads are back for another beat 'em up adventure 26 years later.

Reviewed by Noah F. on Aug 25, 2020

Rating:

Fans have waited for another Battletoads game since 1991, and it is finally here! Check out what Kidzworld thought of the new Battletoads game!

Battletoads - Launch Trailer

Reviving a Classic

The original Battletoads from 1991 is one of the most famous classic games of all time. Rare, the game's original creators seemingly could do no wrong throughout the 90s. Rare created so many famous games across a ton of genres, games like the original Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country, Perfect Dark, Killer Instinct, Goldeneye 007, Jet Force Gemini, Banjo Kazooie and so many more graced home consoles for years. After the Nintendo 64 era, Rare seemed to fall into a bit of a slump creating not quite as many beloved titles, but are looking to make a comeback with the fantastic pirate game Sea of Thieves and the upcoming Everwild on Xbox Series X. Even though Rare has made so many great games over the years, fans have wanted to see the Battletoads get back to action, and now the grossly named Rash, Zitz and Pimple are back and better than ever.

The original Battletoads.

New Style

Rather than going back to the pixel-art look of the originals, the new Battletoads has a consistently appealing cartoon look, where both gameplay and cutscenes mesh incredibly well. I played it solo, but it can also be enjoyed with up to two other friends in couch co-op. Couch multiplayer is the best, but in the year 2020 when we are still encouraged to stay at home as much as possible due to COVID-19, it isn't as easy to do. If this game had online co-op as an option, it would be much better. The cutscenes pack a lot of goofy comedy, with the Toads bantering back and forth and larger than life villains delivering speeches straight out of your favorite cartoons. No matter what you are doing in the game, be it punching enemies in combat, speeding through obstacles in the Turbo Bike sections, or engaging in some of this game’s new surprises, Battletoads always looks good.

The cutscenes play out like scenes of your favorite cartoon.

Classic Beat ‘Em Up

The original Battletoads was famous for constantly mixing things up, and this one does as well. Most of the time, you’ll be locked into a hectic brawl with multiple enemies on screen as you punch, dash, and smash your way through hordes of bad guys. Enough is going on with the combat system to keep it fresh and engaging. Unlike a lot of Beat ‘Em Up games, I never really felt like it was difficult to land attacks accurately or feel like the game was unfair. The gameplay is smooth, responsive, and I always hit where I wanted to. Each Toad has unique attacks that dazzle the screen, and when your health bar reaches zero, you automatically switch to another Toad. If you lose all three Toad’s health bars, then it is game over. It was really fun combining the basic punch moves, the bombastic transformation attacks to break enemies’ defenses, and using the Toads’ tongues to pull foes toward you to pack a wallop stayed fun the whole time.

The beat 'em up gameplay is fun right away.

Turbo Bikes!

The other major gameplay pillar is the Turbo Bike sections, where the Battletoads whiz through an obstacle course of jumps and dashes like you’re playing the Speeder Bike scene from Return of the Jedi. In the original game, these were some of the most difficult sections, often leading to frustration. This time though, I was always glad when they came around. They might not have the most spectacular visuals compared to the rest of the game, but barely surviving a jump or narrowly dodging an obstacle was always a blast.

The Turbo Bike sections turn the frustrating versions of the original into one of the most fun parts of this game.

Genre-Hopping Fun

Sometimes throughout the adventure, the Toads take part in mini-games of sorts. There are platforming sections, grind rails, full-on arcade shoot ‘em up moments (my favorite), and more that constantly keep you on your toes. Because the graphics are so charming, it was exciting every time one of these different sections came on screen to shake things up. Even though the game is short, there is tons of variety here.

Combat can get crazy especially in co-op.

Final Thoughts

Coming into Battletoads, all I knew about the series was how it was famous for being super difficult. I did not expect to find such a fun, quirky game that was both easy to get into but hard to master if you want to crank up the difficulty. The cartoon style was amusing, the game constantly changes things up, and the challenge is there if you want it. But it should be noted that the game is pretty short, which makes it a perfect download for Game Pass members that want something bite-sized to play through on a weekend. It is just a shame that the game doesn't have online co-op, especially in the age of COVID-19.