Battletoads

From Sega Retro

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Battletoads
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Tradewest (US), Sega (EU/JP)
Developer:
Original system(s): NES
Developer(s) of original games: Rare
Sound driver:
Sega Mega Drive
SMPS Z80
Genre: Action[1][2][3][4][5]

















Number of players:
Sega Mega Drive
1-2,
Sega Game Gear
1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥6,8006,800 G-4074
Sega Mega Drive
US
T-97026
Sega Mega Drive
EU
Sega Mega Drive
DE
DM 119.95119.95[7]
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£39.9939.99[8][9]
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR
043260
Sega Mega Drive
AS
Sega Game Gear
JP
¥3,8003,800 G-3311
Sega Game Gear
US
T-97018
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Game Gear
EU
2436
Sega Game Gear
UK
£29.9929.99[11] 2436
Non-Sega versions

Battletoads (バトルトード) is a beat 'em up game developed by Rare. It was originally developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System and released in 1991, but was subsequently ported to more systems, including the Sega Mega Drive and the Sega Game Gear in 1993. A Sega Master System version was also announced by Virgin Games but was never released.

This game is the first in a short-lived series which thrived through the 8-bit and 16-bit era. It is well known for it's difficulty and humorous reactions and attacks by the games characters.

Story

As seen in the games intro, the Battletoads along with Princess Angelica are venturing to the Princesses home planet when one or two battletoads (one on Mega Drive, two on Game Gear) go missing along with a princess and must be rescued from the Dark Queen. Professor Bird sends the remaining Battletoad(s) to rescue them.

Gameplay

Two buttons are used; an attack button and a jump button. Although there is only one attack button, the attack varies based on situation. Certain objects, such as large snakes can be grabbed onto and climbed up or down. Weapons can be found at various points in levels and used against opponents. Capsules that appear occasionally can also be broken and it's contents collected. If flies are seen they can be eaten for a health boost by pressing the attack button when close enough.

There are also rope repelling levels where the objective is to be lowered down a shaft that is filled with obstacles and enemies. The enemies can be attacked but the obstacles must be dodged. By moving to the extreme side of the screen the player can transform into a wrecking ball and swing across the screen by pressing the attack button, wiping out any opponents in the way.

Vehicle levels are considered the most difficult and require quick reflexes. Depending on the level you will be in a variety of transports, such as a speedbike, a jet, and surfboards. Levels are filled with obstacles and other riders which cannot be attacked. Most vehicle levels allow you to jump and some have intermission sections that allow classic action gameplay.

Levels

There are twelve levels available in the Mega Drive version, nine in the Game Gear version. Below they are listed in the order encountered:

Notavailable.svg Ragnarok's Canyon
Notavailable.svg Wookie Hole (Impact Crater)
Notavailable.svg Turbo Tunnel
Notavailable.svg Arctic Caverns
Notavailable.svg Surf City
Notavailable.svg Karanth's Lair
Notavailable.svg Volkmire's Inferno
Notavailable.svg Intruder Excluder
Mega Drive exclusive
Notavailable.svg Terra Tubes
Mega Drive exclusive
Notavailable.svg Rat Race
Mega Drive exclusive
Notavailable.svg Clinger Wingers
Notavailable.svg The Revolution

History

Legacy

A sequel to Battletoads, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in June 1993, with a port to the Sega Master System eventually appearing in Brazil in 1996. A spin-off, incorporating characters from the beat-'em-up series Double Dragon was also released on the Mega Drive as Battletoads/Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team, also in 1993.

Versions

Battletoads was designed as a NES game, and no subsequent port has included all of the content of the original release. The Game Gear port of the game removes three stages; Stage 8 (Intruder Excluder), Stage 9 (Terra Tubes), and Stage 10 (Rat Race), though their respective music tracks are still present in the game code. The remaining levels were redesigned, likely to take into account of the Game Gear's small screen.

Taking a hit by an enemy in action levels causes the player to be stunned, and the recovery time is much longer in the Game Gear version. Collision detection is also not as accurate, with in turn can make action stages harder. In vehicle levels however, it is possible to take more than one hit before losing a life, however obstacles appear instantly in some vehicle levels rather than blinking on the side of the screen before appearing.

Despite being supported by more powerful hardware, the Sega Mega Drive version also makes some cutbacks, lacking much of the opening sequence and cutting sections of the ending for unknown reasons. More layers of parallax scrolling have been added to the backgrounds, though in general the upgrade is less noticeable as, for example, the jump between NES Battletoads and SNES Battlemaniacs.

Magazine articles

Main article: Battletoads/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Com 2001 advert FI 3.jpg
FI print advert
Com 2001 advert FI 3.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Mega Drive print advert in Sega Visions (US) #11: "February/March 1993" (199x-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in GamePro (US) #46: "May 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Game Gear print advert in Todo Sega (ES) #14: "Mayo 1994" (1994-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-02: "February 1994" (1994-01-08)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
70 [12]
53 [13]
94 [14]
86 [8]
79 [15]
83 [16]
76 №17, p42
78 [17]
75 №1993-06, p39
79 №10, p42-43
75 №8, p54-55
87 №1, p43
90 [18]
80 №17, p64-66
79 [19]
88 №32, p86-87
87 №43, p38-40
39 №20, p53
90 №6, p20-22
58 [20]
Sega Mega Drive
77
Based on
20 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[21]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
70
[22]
Consoles + (FR)
94
[23]
Cool Gamer (RU)
70
[24]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
86
[8]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
75
[25]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 7 (RU)
40
[26]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
79
[15]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
65
[27]
Game Power (IT)
76
[28]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
83
[29]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
78
[30]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
75
[31]
Joypad (FR)
74
[32]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-U
79
[33]
Mega (UK) NTSC-U
75
[34]
Mega Action (UK) NTSC-U
87
[35]
Mega Force (FR)
90
[36]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U
75
[37]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
80
[9]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-U
79
[38]
Player One (FR)
88
[39]
Power Up! (UK)
82
[40]
Score (CZ)
35
[41]
Sega Magazin (DE)
76
[7]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-U
87
[42]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
39
[43]
Sega Zone (UK) NTSC-U
90
[44]
Sega Force (UK) NTSC
58
[45]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
76
[46]
Sega Opisaniy i sekretov (RU)
44
[47]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
53
[13]
Supergame (BR) NTSC-U
83
[48]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
34
[49]
Tricks Gold (RU)
70
[50]
Sega Mega Drive
71
Based on
35 reviews

Battletoads

Mega Drive, JP
Battletoads MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD JP CartTop.jpg
Battletoads MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, US
Battletoads MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Battletoads MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Battletoads MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, FR

Battletoads MD FR Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, FR (Blister pack)
Battletoads MD FR blister front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU
Battletoads MD AU back.jpgNospine.pngBattletoads MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD AU cartback.jpgBattletoads MD AU cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, BR
Battletoads MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Battletoads md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, Asia
Battletoads MD AS Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads MD AS Cart.jpg
Cart

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
60 [11]
73 [51]
85 [52]
80 [53]
90 [54]
89 [55]
87 [56]
76 №53, p42-43
73 №33, p40-41
85 №11, p18
Sega Game Gear
80
Based on
10 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
33
[57]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
60
[58]
Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL
60
[11]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
73
[59]
Freak (IL)
91
[60]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
85
[10]
Gamers (DE)
33
[61]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
40
[62]
Joypad (FR)
80
[53]
Mega Force (FR)
90
[63]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
92
[64]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
89
[65]
Player One (FR)
87
[56]
Play Time (DE)
81
[66]
Sega Magazin (DE) PAL
81
[67]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
76
[68]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
73
[69]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
68
[70]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
85
[71]
Todo Sega (ES) PAL
85
[72]
Video Games (DE) PAL
80
[73]
Sega Game Gear
73
Based on
21 reviews

Battletoads

Game Gear, JP
Battletoads GG JP Box Back.jpgNospine-small.pngBattletoads GG JP Box.jpg
Cover
Battletoads GG JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Game Gear, US
Battletoads GG US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngBattletoads GG US Box Front Alt.jpg
Cover
Battletoads GG US Cart.jpg
Cart
Battletoads GG US Manual.pdf
Manual
Game Gear, EU
Battletoads GG EU back.jpgNospine.pngBattletoads GG EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
Battletoads GG EU Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
CRC32 d10e103a
MD5 f1e299d6eb40e3ecec6460d96e1e4dc9
SHA-1 5ef3c29b6bdd04d24552ab200d0530f647afdb08
512kB 1992-12 Cartridge (US/EU/JP)
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 cb3cd075
MD5 2b4eb4c0fddd1753daac8fd8e043e883
SHA-1 77a284b993c6f60652d88468b836d7a2ee7b4600
256kB Cartridge (JP/EU)
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 817cc0ca
MD5 643536bfaf945e8fa8a22de8d4653d83
SHA-1 f566a19d1cfd5c20d5b91b396f29323be2209911
256kB Cartridge (US)

References

  1. File:Battletoads GG JP Box.jpg
  2. File:Battletoads GG EU back.jpg
  3. 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/gamegear/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-12-07 04:57)
  4. File:Battletoads MD JP Box.jpg
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
  6. GamePro, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 45
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Sega Magazin, "September/Oktober 1993" (DE; 1993-09-01), page 53
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Computer & Video Games, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-15), page 47
  9. 9.0 9.1 MegaTech, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-23), page 64
  10. 10.0 10.1 GamePro, "February 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 150
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Computer & Video Games, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-04-15), page 85
  12. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1993" (JP; 1993-04-08), page 21 (23)
  13. 13.0 13.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  14. Consoles +, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 126-128 (114)
  15. 15.0 15.1 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 26
  16. GamePro, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 40-41 (44)
  17. GamesMaster, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-19), page 68-69 (68)
  18. Mega Force, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 92-93 (92)
  19. Mean Machines Sega, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-24), page 70-72 (70)
  20. Sega Force, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-01), page 96-98 (96)
  21. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 30
  22. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1993" (JP; 1993-04-08), page 23
  23. Consoles +, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 126
  24. Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 29
  25. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 28
  26. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 7, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 38
  27. Famitsu, "1993-04-16" (JP; 1993-04-02), page 38
  28. Game Power, "Maggio 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 45
  29. GamePro, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 44
  30. GamesMaster, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-19), page 68
  31. Hippon Super, "June 1993" (JP; 1993-05-01), page 39
  32. Joypad, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 142
  33. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-04-29), page 42
  34. Mega, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-15), page 54
  35. Mega Action, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 43
  36. Mega Force, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 92
  37. Mega Fun, "06/93" (DE; 1993-05-19), page 32
  38. Mean Machines Sega, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-24), page 70
  39. Player One, "Juin/Juillet 1993" (FR; 1993-06-10), page 86
  40. Power Up!, "Saturday, July 10, 1993" (UK; 1993-07-10), page 1
  41. Score, "Květen 1994" (CZ; 1994-05-01), page 59
  42. Sega Power, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-06), page 38
  43. Sega Pro, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-13), page 53
  44. Sega Zone, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 20
  45. Sega Force, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-01), page 96
  46. Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 21
  47. Sega Opisaniy i sekretov, "14000 Opisaniy i sekretov" (RU; 2003-03-11), page 22
  48. Supergame, "Maio 1993" (BR; 1993-05-xx), page 10
  49. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 30
  50. Tricks Gold, "Sega dlya fantazerov" (RU; 2002-08-23), page 9
  51. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 54 (55)
  52. GamePro, "February 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 148 (150)
  53. 53.0 53.1 Joypad, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 130
  54. Mega Force, "Ete 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 136-137 (136)
  55. Mean Machines Sega, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-03-xx), page 78-79 (79)
  56. 56.0 56.1 Player One, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 110
  57. Aktueller Software Markt, "August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-04), page 115
  58. Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-08), page 22
  59. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 55
  60. Freak, "3/94" (IL; 1994-xx-xx), page 1
  61. Gamers, "Juli/August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-01), page 50
  62. Hippon Super, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-06), page 42
  63. Mega Force, "Ete 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 136
  64. Micromanía (segunda época), "Abril 1993" (ES; 1993-0x-xx), page 40
  65. Mean Machines Sega, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-03-xx), page 79
  66. Play Time, "7/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 139
  67. Sega Magazin, "Juni 1994" (DE; 1994-05-11), page 70
  68. Sega Power, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-03), page 42
  69. Sega Pro, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-24), page 40
  70. Sega Zone, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-24), page 59
  71. Sonic the Comic, "October 16th 1993" (UK; 1993-10-16), page 18
  72. Todo Sega, "Abril 1993" (ES; 1993-03-15), page 40
  73. Video Games, "6/94" (DE; 1994-05-25), page 113


Battletoads

<div class="bobtransform" style="transform:scale(1,Expression error: Unexpected < operator.); transform-origin:0% 0%; !important;"> <div style="width:120px; height:Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px;"> 120px

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Battletoads games for Sega systems
Sega Mega Drive
Battletoads (1993) | Battletoads/Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (1993)
Sega Game Gear
Battletoads (1993) | Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (Cancelled)
Sega Master System
Battletoads (Cancelled) | Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (1996)