Battletoad's and Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
Reviewed by Matt Hull
Graphics: 5 stars
Music: 4 stars
Play Control: 4.5 stars
Overall: 4.5 stars
Here is an unsung game for the NES. Almost everyone you talk to will
remember how great the original Battletoads was but try to talk about
Battletoads: Double Dragon and they will ask you what that game is about.
You'd think that it would be impossible for Tradewest/Rare to come up
with a better game than Battletoads but they came through with one
whale of a game. It's too bad that few people realize that they have
missed playing a great game.
One of the neatest things about Battletoads/Double Dragon is that
you can select characters from both the Battletoads and Double
Dragon games. The game engine is the Battletoads world but the
Double Dragon characters look as cool as ever and fit right it. You
can choose from any of 5 characters. They are Rash, Zitz, Pimple,
Billy, and Jimmy. What's so cool is that all of these characters
look different from each other so you shouldn't get your guy confused
with the other guy in the two player mode. Yes, Battletoads/Double
Dragon has a two player mode and is better than the original in the
fact that there is an A and B mode. (you can choose whether or not
you can inflict damage on your teammate) The Double Dragon characters
control great. You can jump by pressing just the A button (you had to
press both A and B to jump in the Double Dragon games) and then
pressing B to use a jump kick. One of the neatest things is all the
moves that each character has. You can punch away, use the Battletoad
Butt move, (one of my personal favorites) pick up your enemy and
throw him, or use a special weapon such as a pole to get the enemy,
get him up the pole, and play a little baseball. (you'll know what I
mean if you've played the game) The only thing is that this is
Battletoad/Dragon baseball where you use the enemy instead of a ball. :)
This game adds some cool humor to it and is a blast to play. I was
cracking up when seeing some of the moves that are in this game and
the sound effects are really funny. The two player mode is extremely cool.
Another great feature of Battletoads/Double Dragon is the boss
setup. You'll fight several bosses from the Battletoads series (Robo
Manus and Big Blag) and classic foes from the Double Dragon series.
(Abobo and Roper) Tradewest/Rare did a sensational job evening
things out among the Toads and Dragons enemy wise. The story is that
the Dark Queen has teamed up with the Shadow Boss and surprises
everyone but busting out of the moon with a gargantuan spaceship
called the Colossus. (it earned this name alright...it's BIG) Now the
Toads won't stand for that so they get ready for a battle. However,
they are extremely pleased to hear that the Double Dragons want a
piece of the action too. After defeating the evil spirit in Marion in
Double Dragon 3, the Dragons are ready for some more action. You'll
go on top of, inside, and around the Colossus spaceship.
Like in the original, Battletoads/Double Dragon features some beautiful
graphics that look 16 bit. The bold colorful world that Rare likes to
create is there and I was very pleased to see it the first time I played
the game. There is a lot of double scrolling in this game that is
unbelievably smooth. You'll see parts of the spaceship moving and it
just looks so fluid/smooth that I can't believe that it's 8 bit! :) The
animation in this game is perfect IMO. That's one of the toughest things
when making a NES game and Tradewest/Rare was obviously up for the
challenge. The backgrounds are excellent and the feel of the game is there.
The soundtrack of Battletoads/Double Dragon is superb and each track
(well, most of the tracks) is lengthy to say the least. (which is a good
thing BTW) :) The music sounds new yet "Battletoad-like." That fifth
stage track is INCREDIBLE!! And when you press pause, you'll hear the
bass of the track. (remember Super Mario Bros. 2?) I enjoyed the music
to the max and it really added flavor to the game.
The play control seems very smooth and all. A little "floaty" but
still very well done. Whenever I lose a life, I can't blame it on the
play control. That must mean that the game controls well eh? I am
very pleased by how responsive the controls are.
Like the first Battletoads game, Battletoads/Double Dragon is a
challenging game. However, it is DEFINITELY not nearly as challenging
as the first one which is a great thing. You have one vehicle level and a
spaceship level and both aren't too difficult. Besides that, you have
side-scrolling action packed levels. Although this game could have been
longer, it still is a large NES game. It's a BIG plus over the original in
the challenge department. You might sling a controller at the TV once
or twice but nothing like the original where the TV would get marks on
it from all the controllers being thrown at it. :)
Most importantly, Battletoads/Double Dragon is a GREAT NES game that
is a lot of fun to play especially with 2 players. Just seeing two sets
of very popular characters in one game pak is really cool. It's like seeing
a Capcom game with Mega Man and Nemo on the same team. Weird huh?
Anyhow, I really like playing this game and it has a lot of lasting value
to boot. The only things that I would have really had liked to see in this
game is more levels and some Double Dragon style of music. It has 7
levels but with a great game like this, more is better. However, I am
very pleased with the game anyway and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone
looking for a "new" NES game to play. It's more fun than the original Battletoads.