Battletoads is an over-complicated, obnoxious sequel

Battletoads is a sequel to one of the most divisive NES games of all time, a game well-known for its extreme difficulty, seen as a rite of passage on the playground. But the new Battletoads on Xbox One and Windows PC has none of the charm found in its predecessors. Battletoads is a self-aware, 2.5d brawler that mixes traditional beat-’em-ups with vehicle levels and bizarre story vignettes.

There is the standard punch, an uppercut to finish near-death enemies or juggle them, a charge attack to break shields, a tongue lasso to pull enemies nearby, and the ability to slow enemies by spitting gum. Stage 2 was not much of a stage at all, opting for a silly storytelling vignette of the Battletoads doing menial jobs to make ends meet which just forces some simple button presses to finish the minigame. The third stage is a flying motorcycle level, high speeds through a long tunnel, jumping over and dodging between obstacles.

And thus, the Battletoads formula cemented itself. The animations, enemies, and toads are all silly, absurdist, and weird, with each toad transforming into various animals, machines, or robots mid-combo. But the game’s over-complicated mechanics and oppressive art style tried too hard. The funniest part of the game had less to do with the game’s writing and more with the very good sound/animation of a Battletoad hitting a wall. The combat is also too much.

The beat-’em-up genre has always been inherently simple, but Battletoads adds a host of mechanics, making the game’s combat more in-depth than its predecessors.

But the new complexity ultimately breeds chaos, with too many enemy types to juggle and traps to avoid. Combined with Battletoads’ extremely punishing difficulty in some sections, the combat becomes more frustrating than satisfying. Numerous different enemy types force different approaches in a single fight, making it easy to get shot while winding up to break a shield.

It is less about managing an army of disposable henchpeople and more about waiting for the “tank” enemy to trip so you can deal damage. It feels cheap, making it a little too difficult to take out one enemy without getting nearly killed by another. The original Battletoads was a hyper-difficult nightmare, beloved by some and hated by others. Battletoads tries to bring back the titular heroes in grand fashion, but over-complicates both the action and story.

But Battletoads offers a much easier in and subsequent out. Being on Xbox Game Pass, the game is low stakes for subscribers. You should know pretty quickly how you feel about it. The difficulty and the relentless, tiresome jokes were too much.