More Than A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rip Off? The Story of Battletoads

[@Rezzin8]

As one of the artists that worked on Battletoads Double Dragon on the SNES waaay back, I found this to be a fascinating and nostalgic look at the history of Battletoads. I had very fond memories of working at Rare in the early 90’s. I’m also grateful to the speed running community for keeping this game and others very much alive to this day! I get such a kick out of seeing people zip through this game so fast. Excellent video, loved it! Thank you so much!

[@lunarskygacha9036]

glad to hear you love the gaming community for keeping BTO & many other games alive. it's your contribution that helped many of the games that exist today. (sorry if it sounds like I'm overexaggerating, but it's always nice to hear from someone who helped develop a game.

[@slymarbo4046]

Man Rare made my childhood

[@symboltherapper]

Are you still working in the industry if you don’t mind me asking? I worked briefly at THQ just as a game tester

[@Rezzin8]

@@symboltherapper Yes, mostly. I've been freelance for many years now just working on projects that interest me. Glad to hear you tested games! I'm terrible at testing games, even if I've worked on them! haha. Thanks for your question and all the best to you!

[@symboltherapper]

@@Rezzin8 thanks! Yeah I was there right before they went bankrupt in 2010. Then I was a mastering lab technician (burned discs for QA team) . I didn’t like QA testing much. Trying to break games or playing unfinished builds wasn’t as fun a people may think, but I’m glad i had the experience. If I ever got back into the field I’d try to do freelance stuff as well.

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

I beat the NES game as a kid but couldn't make it past the jet ski level as an adult. I peaked at 11 years old. Sigh.

[@beepboop204]

our failure to complete that level sparked a nasty fight with an ex

[@symboltherapper]

Hahahaha. Gamers today will never know how hard games were back in the day. No continues usually you really had to rely on skill. You got 3 lives and had to beat some games in one sitting. All those platformers back then were murder. I could beat Super Empire Strikes back on Jedi difficulty without dying…man how things have changed….

[@JvilleNC]

I remember when Contra first came out. On a Sunday morning I beat the game I borrowed from a friend. He didn't believe so I did it again in front of him at his house. I was the man in the neighborhood. Everyone wanted to see me beat the game. Then a month later the famous Contra code came out.

[@JohahnDiechter]

If you tried to play this on anything other than original hardware and a crt television set then I am not surprised.

[@Aegelis]

Same for a lot of games for me, but that level in particular required memorization. A friend and I just grinded it out on 2-player until we were able to do it, a lot of calling "up", "down", "ramp", and such, anticipating the next obstacle. When we had so few games then and much more time to play, these gave our agile hands & minds an edge.

[@unklejohn8575]

Back in the 90s, I briefly worked in the Tradewest office (William’s Ent.). In the upstairs meeting room there were tons of paperwork and among it were mock ups for Battletoad toys, Halloween costumes, electronic toothbrushes. There were a few physical prototypes of BattleToad calculators, school supplies, and toothbrushes with the characters printed on them. I don’t know if any of that stuff survived, I’m sure thrown in the dumpster years ago after Midway bought out Williams and moved the operations across town. I’m also unsure if any of those products ever came out. It was kinda sad to look at what they had planned for that game that never came out.

[@topdamagewizard]

I had a battletoads trapper keeper thing my mom bought for me at the dollar store. I really liked the toads

[@FallenGemini]

I like how you actually mentioned Megalopolis Toys being the company behind the current Battletoads toyline considering that they rebranded themselves as Preminum DNA and tried to distance themselves from their "Megalopolis Toys" past. For those unaware, Megalopolis Toys was a toy store much like Big Bad Toy Store - they also had an offline storefront as well. People liked shopping from them since their prices were generally lower than retail. However, a few years ago they stopped shipping product to ppl - they basically claimed that they had items that they actually didn't have. Eventually, they liquidized their Megapolis Toys company and changed their Preminum DNA line of toys as a new company - the key people at Preminum DNA lied by saying that they had no connection to Megalopolis Toys despite that there are interviews contradicting their claim. To this day, they still owe refunds to irate customers. Megalopolis Toys are currently in a lawsuit with Entertainment Earth.

[@TextbookPhillyMadison]

Came to the comments to say/see this.

[@iguanajoe9329]

They took my money for the whole set of NECA's Turtles in Time and I am still very salty to this day lol.

[@scriptandscalpel]

I’m glad I never invested when they were looking for investors

[@NatetheNerdy]

Whoever designed the Dark Queen knew exactly what they were doing.

[@FinalLevelBoss]

They sure did. A few years ago I threw on the RetroPi and started playing some classic games with my son. One of those ws Battletoads Double Dragon and he said "wait I want to see the intros". They go through the toads, the dragons, the bosses and get to the queen. She had back facing us, butt sticking out. My son looked at me paused and said "she's pretty", he was 4 at the time.

[@NatetheNerdy]

@@FinalLevelBoss Your son will grow up to have great tastes

[@johnyiannacopoulos639]

@@FinalLevelBoss what a beautiful story 🤘

[@planguy9575]

Important work.

[@kagabe1534]

Can we get 2 more likes on this?

[@JazGalaxy]

It’s hilarious how unnecessarily convoluted the Battletoads story is. It just keeps going and going.

[@pip7967]

Nerrrrrddddd!!!

[@Viking_Luchador]

The game is a sequel to a comic book almost no-one read or remembers???

[@apoplexiamusic]

me thinks a young Chris Nolan played this game and took that style of story-telling to heart...

[@MCastleberry1980]

I love how it's insanely convoluted and no where is this relayed to you in game

[@kagabe1534]

Where can we read these comics?

[@CERTAIND00M]

That commercial was so 1991, I'm worried watching it again might do permanent damage to the time-space continuum... You know what? Worth it.

[@JacobraTheGreat]

My brother and I used to input random Game Genie codes into this game, and half the time we would get crazy effects. Our favorites were: Telekinetic punching, Everything shatters like glass, All the sprites look like piles of vomit. There were a ton more, and we wrote them all down in a notebook so we could play with them over and over. Ah, good times.

[@RodrigoLopezandfriends]

My mom liked the game so we would play it together. We never got past the second stage. We felt vindicated years later when the game started popping up in “hardest games ever” lists.

[@MegaJessness]

Props for getting your mom to play! My brother and I could barely get our mom to play MK or even Mario with us lol. It was funny when we did, tho xD She did better at MK Trilogy, ironically.

[@dannyr2976]

I remember the initial TV ads for the NES, but never understood the reason foe the robot. Have to admit seeing Paul Rudd in the Super Nintendo advert at 5:42 was unexpected, dude looks like he barely aged.

[@StAlchemyst]

I thought I was the only one who noticed! LOL. If the dude didn't seem like such a nice guy I would think he's a vampire.

[@dannyr2976]

@@StAlchemyst Yep, wouldn't be surprised if there were an historical picture out there with Rudd dated 1912 and Leo's Jack Dawson from Titanic was based upon him!

[@StAlchemyst]

@@dannyr2976 Would believe it! LOL

[@Estolcles]

I mean, y'all are aware him and Keanu` were chillin' in what later became Vancouver when the Civil War broke out in the United States.... right? How both are immortals, only Keanu changes his facial hairstyle to match with the eras?

[@toddknaperek8225]

Beating Battletoads back in grade school was tantamount to hooking up with the Homecoming Queen, and probably a lot harder to pull off. The ending was kind of anticlimactic, but to beat it was definitely a feather in your cap.

[@bookat69]

I think the most difficult thing for that game was playing 2-player, and having a 2nd player that's also trying to kill you throughout the game...

[@thancrus]

hell there is a entire level in the game that cant be completed in 2 player due to some bug

[@patrickaker4380]

The first level then?

[@ronjeremy9648]

@@thancrus what level

[@edgarfriendly4731]

@@thancrus yep clinger winger. Stage 11, I've made it there with my buddy twice before we realized what was going on.

[@reputablehype]

Sibling rivalries were at their all time height after the release of this game lol

[@Souredsoup]

5:43 Holy cow! Is that a young, very early career Paul Rudd in a Super Nintendo commercial?!?!?

[@pj6159]

Yes. It was his on-screen acting debut.

[@wstine79]

That dreaded Jet Ski over the lava level was brutal. Only made through it once.

[@Jtr_ceral_killer]

That level almost broke me. It took me a month to pass it, just once.

[@0baddawa0]

Liar. No one ever beat that level. All the videos are fake. I kid, but holy fuck- that level, and the fucking Wildebeest Level of Lion King on Game Gear are purgatory.

[@mrdorf2784]

I’ve never played it but that level is legendary!

[@dharmabird1]

Once for me as well. None of my friends believed me cause I couldn’t do it again to prove it.

[@outerheaven2k7]

So mad Couldn't do it as a kid, I used that damn warp Now I can beat it each time Getting old ftw?

[@grapeshot]

I wonder if anybody's ever done a video on Captain Simian in the Space Monkeys. I very surprisingly liked that cartoon.

[@ThomasMHead]

Same! I hope it gets a video someday.

[@dextergaymon9224]

Agreed

[@philliptivis3082]

It's a monkey in a tutu. I call it "Monkey in a Tutu" constellation.

[@bazzjedimaster]

Best sci fi writting I ever seen in a cartoon meant for kids, glad people remember it.

[@jdtroup198683]

Yes

[@ThomasMHead]

I couldn't beat that game, even with Game Genie and skipping to the last level! It was really fun in some places, and really frustrating in too many others. I did like the variety of levels/gameplay, and it was another good cast of anthropomorphic characters from that boom period (TMNT, Bucky O'Hare, Biker Mice, etc.)

[@MungkaeX]

Emulation and Save states make beating the original a much lower bar than Game Genie ever did. Honestly the hardest level was the unicycle one being chased by that orb.

[@RatelHBadger]

@@MungkaeX Oh sure, if you save scum then you can beat the game

[@aretnap3653]

The Jet-Race after The Descent Level, Had Me Stuck Until I Got a GameGenie! I Could Beat Every Level...Using The GameGenie...Except That One! (The RatRace Level & SurfBoard Levels, were My Favorite to Replay.) If You Used "MegaJumping" with TheGameGenie, & Learned Where to Correctly Jump, The Final Spinning Citadel Tower Level Became Kinda Easier.

[@daviddalrymple2284]

There's actually a Game Genie code (unlisted in the code book) which will take you straight to the Dark Queen. You can extrapolate it from the other level skip code. IAAXALAE or something like that .

[@galacticwarlock2271]

I am a fan of the Dark Queen's NSFW outfit and all the lore this game packed into one title. The difficulty was insane. I could only get so far before the difficulty ramped up into insanity.

[@PPsqueezer]

I love the toads! Battletoads and Double Dragons blew my mind as a kid to see these franchises crossover.

[@Larry]

Combat Amphibians is my favorite ever game!!!

[@BagOfMagicFood]

Good ol' FightFrogs

[@whosaidthat84]

Peter Molyneux wants to reboot the Toads. What are your thoughts?

[@midnighter2k]

I preffer Fighting Batracians myself

[@Larry]

@@whosaidthat84 It'll arrive three years late and entirely comprise of a single tadpole glued to a boxing glove.

[@whosaidthat84]

@@Larry 😂😂😂 and somehow it'll cost almost £100 million.

[@JeremiahJS1984]

5:43 WOW ! I didn't know Paul Rudd was in the super Nintendo launch commercial!

[@choo_choo_]

Man, no reference to the "do you have Battletoads" meme? I'm almost saddened. It's the one thing that's kept Battletoads in the mind of gamers during that 25+ year silence. I'd go as far as to say the remake wouldn't have happened without it.

[@DisgruntledDoomer]

Yeah, I was hoping for that yellow text to appear: "BUT IS IT BATTLETOADS?" Noooo, it's not!

[@drgribb]

This guy knows his shit.

[@johnlindsey3328]

Played Battletoads on my friends NES back in the day. We never got very far, and it pissed us off. Played it again years later, with all the advantages of using an emulator. Still didn't get very far, and it pissed me off. Also, it's a shame the arcade game didn't get more love, it was actually quite good.

[@Joobkl]

It's too bloody hard lol

[@sammyyo461]

the crossover game "Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team" was my first introduction to the franchise & was immediately hooked!! Since then, the Battletoads had always had a special place in my heart!! LOL😊

[@fracturedfingers]

We really need an MK-style fighting game with Ninja Turtles, Battletoads, Double Dragon, Final Fight, and Fatal Fury characters. That could very well be the best fighting game ever.

[@treytucker9948]

well right now the closes we have is killer instinct, street fighter, tekken, mortal kombat and injustice, as more than a few of them been on these games.

[@TeamBelmont91]

Just replace Final Fight and Fatal Fury with Extreme Dinosaurs, Street Sharks, Biker Mice from Mars, and Mummies Alive, and we're golden.

[@fracturedfingers]

@@TeamBelmont91 No need to replace, but yes! Street Sharks and Biker Mice from Mars as well!!! Also, Inspector Gadget???

[@fracturedfingers]

This really needs to be a fighting game.

[@fracturedfingers]

And then All of them vs. X-Men

[@thescubastephen]

There was a .99c store near me that had knock off battle toad toys. Hollow plastic, but still a 9in fig. I loved them.

[@sonicmario64]

The Battletoads actually made a cameo in "Ready Player One", which I was definitely able to notice the first time I saw the movie in theaters back in 2018.

[@junrosamura645]

Would love to see a history on Nick Arcade. That was one of my favorite shows. Seeing video games on TV was a big deal back in the days.

[@PaleHorseShabuShabu]

I played it back in the day and could eventually beat the turbo tunnel on command thanks to a trick my brother taught me. Sometimes I could beat the next level, usually not, and I never got beyond the snakes level without using the warp. On a side note, I think the Dark Queen was my first video game crush. She can cross over into my world any time!

[@chestergeo]

The trick being...? :-)

[@PaleHorseShabuShabu]

@@chestergeo At the end, when the pillars start coming really fast, as soon as you push up or down for the first one (I forget where the first one comes from), lightly push the other direction for the second and keep alternating like that. No hesitation, not thought, just up, down, up, down as fast as you can, like you're on a date with 1992's Anna Nicole Smith.

[@jinpei05]

The Dark Queen retroactively reminds me of Tera Patrick 🤣

[@XdarzethX]

I remember the cartoon. I loved it and wanted more. I saw it on christmas day too!

[@animezilla4486]

I'm curious what do you feel about the recent new battletoads game and what do you think about the animation of that new game

[@thesaltyweeb]

how did their theme go again...? HERE WE GO WITH BATTLECRY! BATTLETOADS! BATTLETOADS!

[@them-aasaaron6440]

@@animezilla4486 cartoon?

[@pigs18]

Heard an interview with the creator of the Battletoads. He said he created the Battletoads while doodling in high school. When Rare was looking for a mascot, he brought in the notebook. He claims that a co-worker's comment on how they looked like the Ninja Turtles were the first time he ever heard of them (as he'd be in his twenties when they came out). Obviously his bosses knew they had an answer to Turtles on their hands.

[@PrincessOzaline]

Similarly Larry Hama created Captain Bucky O'hare prior to the Turtles, but it was no doubt seen as an answer to the Turtles by the execs.

[@topdamagewizard]

Man the Dark Queens design was definitely a decision. Would love to have been in that room.

[@grapeshot]

I guess the motto could be, hey there's money to be made. Imitation is the best form of flattery.

[@BugsyFoga]

GameStop employees biggest fear.

[@ryantwombly720]

I had an out-of-body experience playing Battletoads. I swear the sound went out, all I could hear was my fingers on the buttons, like that scene in Shine. It was the first and only time I made it through the speeder level. After that I didn’t have nearly enough lives to finish. But, then, what would have been the point?

[@TitularHeroine]

Nice. And also a "Like" for the Shine reference.

[@Theros541]

Yes, that’s a flow state. It is a state of enlightenment where you become one with your surroundings and no thoughts enter your head. I had that while playing that level as well… I haven’t had that with any other video game

[@lareh5501]

I was bathing in nostalgia and then 14:53 you gave me flashbacks to a company that continually lied to hundreds, if not thousands, of collectors that collectively had thousands of dollars tied up in their controversies.

[@cre8original]

I beat Battletoads. I always thought it strange that Nintendo Power had the comic showing the Battletoads were originally human but the actual game manual does not mention their origin at all. Also, this video does not mention the first Battletoads game for the Game Boy. It was not a port. It had new original stages but it was a one player game.

[@aliali-ce3yf]

Please do a video on "Video Power" - the greatest game show for kids ever!!!!!! Tbh, i wish they'd bring it back - it would better than the Price is Right Having all those game boxes on the velcro vest must've been the dream for a bunch of kids

[@parnash]

I remember playing the 94 arcade game when I was a kid - it was at a cute little diner my grandmother took our family to on Sundays. It was also balls hard, probably spent waaaay too much playing it... It's gone now, they got rid of it after they remodeled the diner, but it gave me my love for the 'toads.

[@Markimark151]

Battletoads is actually the best TMNT ripoff, the game is fun despite being hard. Also that cartoon pilot would’ve been a success had the studio DIC went with a network like Fox Kids, but they probably rejected it since they saw the animation as terrible. But it would’ve been good if it had a full season order, Fox Kids greenlit lot of obscure cartoons at that time.

[@chadcovey1626]

Not gonna lie.... Stone Protectors were pretty cool too, and the SNES game was good sh&t

[@Markimark151]

@@chadcovey1626 I only know about Stone Protectors from Mike Matei, he played the SNES game because he’s into TMNT knockoff games!

[@Black-Rat]

Possibly because Dark Queen was pretty sexy back in the day, they made only two to three of the cartoon episodes.... Might be even a collectors items now...

[@Markimark151]

@@Black-Rat I don’t think the Dark Queen had anything to do with the failure of the Battletoads cartoon, she was similar to Jessica Rabbit and the villainess in kid shows at that time.

[@geardog24]

Battletoads was one of the few Turtles knock off that actually worked. And then 2020 reboot happened...

[@outerheaven2k7]

We don't speak of it

[@kronemerj]

Eh it's not the worst reboot I've seen. It's biggest flaw for me was just being painfully average and kinda undercooked. I was expecting it to be worse honestly

[@kingj9664]

funny their reboot kind reminds me of rise, but I felt like rise worked for the turtles

[@BATG_Tony]

Love your series! Thank you for finally making a Battletoads Video. There is so much info that is missing. Did you know that Rare tried to pitch a Battletoads movie script to Dan O'Bannon of Alien fame who felt that the movie would be too expensive to produce? Before the Bendem toys, they pitched to Tiger toys, and prototypes were actually produced? There was an entire planned merchandise line that never materialized. If anyone wants to learn more let me know for an invite to our discord channel.

[@Abhothra]

Didn't even knew there was a backstory other then what you got in the game. 😅 Don't think we finished it at the time though although I do remember getting passed the notorious jetbike level after wasting a summervacation on it as children much to the grievance of our parents.

[@nobodyuknow4911]

Kids today: "OH MAN! Elden Ring is tough!" Kids from the 80's: ⌐_⌐ "Battle Toads was Elden Ring times Dark Souls 1, 2, and 3, to the power of Demon Souls......... Then if you beat it, you get to play level 2!"

[@gabrielboorom2683]

The lesson of Battle Toads is this: you can ripoff ANYTHING, so long as you put your own spin on it, because THAT will make it memorable. That game will be remembered for being hard, one of the hardest of its time. That said, I was more of a TMNT kid.😎

[@KennethMoreland]

Battletoads > TMNT

[@bunkerzero]

I think a lot of us had hit the same wall. !@#$ing jet ski level, true rage quit right there! Battletoads: difficulty on the level with soulsbourne ring

[@robertb.warren4749]

I love how the gameplay clips in the commercial cut a split-second before the player gets squashed, splattered, etc.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I think you guys overlooked the 1991 Gameboy release, which was an all-new game. Unfortunately, it was only called "Battletoads," and even reused the same box art as the NES game, so confusion is understandable. Ragnarok's World was actually the second GB game.

[@Orangefan77]

Hey, do you guys have Battle Toads?

[@geardog24]

Instead of asking if anyone beat Battletoads, you could be asking if they beat Battletoads without the Game Genie.

[@cre8original]

I beat it without the Game Genie.

[@danielisle2542]

I miss Game Genie. Lol It was amazing! Why we don't have it for consoles these days is beyond me!

[@RyanRead]

Loved BattleToads on the various game systems. But the vehicle levels haunt fans and players to this day.

[@patrickaker4380]

Some say there was a board past the “jet ski” level. I still don’t believe it.

[@Drew_LaLa]

Wait… was that Paul Rudd in the oldschool NES commercial?!

[@RetroSegaDev]

I had it on release and still own it to this day! I got past the crazy car weaving section and didn't get much further beyond that 😄 I remember there being warps on some stages!

[@etharp1980]

Would like a Battle Toads collection with every iteration that there has been for all platforms

[@DrDeathpwnsu]

It's so funny that they released it in Japan with a lower difficulty setting because I'm used to hearing that but the other way around.

[@stevebrown985]

Is that Paul rudd in the commercial?

[@RoninRaconteur]

I used play Battle Toads and it was a difficult game and I never finished it, but it more out of the change over of systems than the frustration of playing it. I was pretty excited to see Rash in Killer Instinct and was hoping to see more but again brought into a fighting game just like the Turtles before them.

[@moonprincesst.s.h.4ever115]

As a '80's / '90's kid, I am and always be a TMNT girl! My bedroom when I was six years old was covered with TMNT and Disney's The Little Mermaid characters! 😂🐢🍕🧜🏽‍♀

[@RedWizard0]

For a short while I was in the top ten Endless Turbo Tunnel times on the Rare Replay version of NES Battletoads. I'm sure that time has been obliterated by now. These days though, I'm actually pretty decent at Battlemamiacs, I can finish it without too much trouble.

[@pucknorris3473]

Every time I think you've run out of s*** to talk about you surprised me with a new video. I love this thank you

[@blahlbinoa]

My brother got me hyped on Battletoads when it came out. We had the game, the toys and anything that was sold we tried to get it! I watched the cartoon as well but not that many episodes. I remember liking Pimple so much but was upset you couldn't play as him until Battletoads x Double Dragon.

[@ShabeRaven]

I didn't beat it back in the day but I beat it and the arcade game in Rare Replay on the Xbox. They give you the ability to rewind at any time so it makes them much easier. The upcoming TMNT video game collection is supposed to have a rewind feature as well so that will make the original TMNT NES game finally beatable.

[@mekman4]

I’ve never beaten Battletoads, but this is a great segue into Double Dragon! I was actually just watching a video featuring the Neo Geo version of the series the other day which is a fighting game loosely based on the American film, which was loosely based on the original game. And the cartoon is it’s own bizarre thing, mainly because the Double Dragon twins _do not_ wield swords in their games! It also had a fighting game, and this animated version of the franchise has loads of toys and games. Great Stuff!

[@dionelr]

I found an old VHS tape of myself playing this game and getting so frustrated at turbo tunnel. I never beat it legitimately. It’s fun to watch people who are very good at the game, but I do agree that there are major balancing issues in different levels that just made the game overly difficult and only fun for the first two levels.

[@darkhierophant4914]

I got Battletoads as a teenager and finished the games several times. It wasn't easy. The game also had a release on the Gameboy other than Ragnarock. I'm not sure if you mentioned that. Anyway, i didn't want to pay for the more recent incarnation of Battletoads as the redesigns are repulsive to me. It stinks like cheap "Cal Arts" to me. Nope. As far as rip offs go, i seem to remember enjoying Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters when i was a kid.

[@lokuzt]

yup, 1991s "Battletoads" for gameboy had the same art as the NES game, but was a different entry, while "BT in Ragnarok's World" is the port of the original game

[@shifty0212]

I remember Battletoads!....or was that Mantech? Yep it's Mantech I'm remembering. Always Mantech.

[@davewhitmore1958]

RINGGGGG!!!

[@ChaseSchleich]

We need Battletoads on current gen consoles. We're getting the classic Turtles games. Would love to see Battletoads come back as well.

[@MrBeardsley]

I rented the original game for the NES, and though I enjoyed it at first I ultimately fell into the “frustration and abandonment” category so I never bought it. I played the remake when it came out, and I enjoyed aspects of it enough to beat it but found the beat ‘em up sections too repetitive and puzzle sections too boring so it’s highly unlikely I’ll play it a second time.

[@Heretic1373]

Beat it, but only utilizing the warps. Tough but I absolutely loved it. It's still hilarious looking back at all the so over the top 90s marketing. Completely insane. Great vid!

[@zippywings]

How I Beat Battletoads: On my 15th birthday, I was almost hit by a train thanks to a sketchy crossing gate going up and down at the wrong time. But it was also the day I got and played Battletoads for the first time. While avoiding the train was just a simple matter of trusting my 16-year-old cousin to navigate those temperamental gates faster than the train could catch us (she was driving, and my job as a passenger was simply to shout, "Drive!"), beating Battletoads was a much more challenging, much more demanding effort. But after a month-and-a-half of daily play and progress, I managed to snag that victory--a victory that, at the time, I was unaware would be so elusive for the majority of players because so few of my friends had played it, and KZbin was still 14 years away. As a kid who'd never finished Super Mario Bros. (because I'd never actually owned it), I'd just assumed finishing Battletoads was a testament to endurance, not skill. And in a way, I was right. I didn't finish Battletoads because I was some kind of awesome gamer. I finished Battletoads because I'd learned that the secret to winning had nothing to do with skill but with rhythm and muscle memory. For example, to beat the Turbo Tunnel, you couldn't look at the screen. You had to "juggle the controller," as in, you had to learn how to roll your thumb over the cross pad a certain way at a certain time to get through the Star Wars Episode One Pod Race-level challenge (while also paying attention to the flashing graphics, not the stuff actually on the road). You also had to move in a rhythm. One-two-three-jump. One-two-three-jump. By playing the game through rhythm and muscle memory, it was possible to get to the end. The only real challenge was any section that tossed elements at you at random. The fire jet level (Level 7), for example, was likely the reason I needed glasses by 16. Once those random fireballs came at my character, I had to pay close attention to their positions and mine, and I couldn't blink, and I didn't have long to take care of the resultant headache before having to revert back to rhythm and muscle memory to get through the next round of electric barriers that you could get through only if you hit down or up on the cross pad before you even reach the gap you're ascending or descending to. Yes, Battletoads, tough but winnable if you turn off your analytical brain and just respond to what you already know works. Trying to beat it takes time, and it may be more stressful than outrunning a train and less rewarding for succeeding, but doing both tells a good story, especially when most can't do it anymore (beating Battletoads, I mean; hopefully, we can still dodge a train when needed). Moral of the story: When one method for achieving success doesn't work, try another. Victory is possible when you find the right combination of movements and commit to them. The other moral of the story: Battletoads was the game that set human beings on the path to becoming repetitious robots (if they expected to win). Just a side note: The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES game was harder to beat. At least the Dark Queen was predictable. Shredder was downright unfair. Also, I couldn't beat Battletoads & Double Dragon. Didn't have the time to develop the muscle memory for it, especially since later installments of Battletoads took the "switch-it-up" factor too far when they reversed the controller button functions, causing me to jump every time I wanted to hit something. It's as if they knew the secret to winning was muscle memory, so defeating muscle memory was the secret to making the game unwinnable. As far as I'm concerned, that's where Rare succeeded in creating the impossible game. Of course, finishing Level 11 (the unicycle level) with two players has also been proven impossible. I'd certainly never done that.

[@JohnGarrettHudson]

5:43 …is that Paul Rudd???

[@MotorworldHype]

Not sure if anyone else has already mentioned this but Rare did not make the 2020 Battletoads reboot game. It was made by a small developer called Dlala Studios. Rare was busy working on Sea of Thieves and didn't want to go back to the Battletoads well until Dlala came along with a pitch and Rare gave them their blessing and I think had some creative input. It Rare was more like a executive producer and not the developer

[@LoneWolf1985BK]

I used to play this game for hours at a time as a kid… never beat it but got to the ending tower. Never got the pattern down and always died. When I saw the disgrace of the new game I was extremely mad at what the new developers did to it.

[@branthackerd8654]

I'm still hoping on the Snailiens: Supersonic Shell Fighters video

[@brookswilliams5239]

I swear I think I had those little action figures back when they came out lol!

[@TightPantsJack]

One thing that always bothered me since I was a kid is the fact they created three characters for what would be a two-player game. Later games used all three toads, but their first outings didn't. It always seemed like poor planning to me.

[@KaijuAKD]

Battletoads & Double Dragon was epic PS: Was that Paul Rudd?

[@kmwatso1]

that's who I thought it was too. That dude never ages lol

[@000Mental000]

I don't remember playing the original Battletoads. I did play Battletoads vs. Double Dragon on the SNES. Or rather, on a 3rd party SNES floppy drive add-on.

[@akaBoG]

Battle toads was sick. My brother and I made my dad rent it for us as often as it was on the shelf - it was one if the first games with on-screen co-op.....key for two brothers 18 months apart. We got through the bike level......but not often....I don't think we got much further than the ice level.... awesome nes cart though.

[@ryanbwags]

"Playing video games at their local convenience store." I remember those days. Most of the hours I logged on Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition was at the local 7-11.

[@sirdaveysockrocker]

I got a hand me down VHS tape from my cousin that had the Battletoads pilot and some episodes of Power Team on it. Those were the days.

[@chiissu]

Being born in 87 I never had an NES but in the 2010s I got a Copy in box on Genesis and spent over a month trying and finally beat it. You gotta learn it and know what to do. Also on the speeder bikes you gotta time it and use your ears for the sounds of the Whoosh. The level warps help but if you wanna do well you gotta get extra guys by points by nailing the birds in the 2nd level over and over in a row to get the extra guys. The Ice and Snake levels you can skip with warps but I did beat those on other playthroughs. I trained until I got from level 1 to the Dark Queen on 1 Continue but had 1 life left so after biting it: Took her down. I also did the Master System one on a Multicart and it was much easier as it had difficulty level option that had you didn't burn through lives as fast on lighter ones.

[@allnamesaretakenful]

I played it at someone's house back in the day, but it was just okay. It didn't feel groundbreaking to me.

[@freddyvidz]

Lol, it wasn't

[@CSLucasEpic]

1989 was also the year that the TMNT arcade game was made. It was an instant hit and by 1990 it was the most profitable arcade game of that year. It was so popular that Konami couldn't keep up with the demand and had to outsource manufacturing to other companies.

[@NinaH6792]

I played it several times. Got past the jet ski lvl a couple of times. Never got past the snake level.

[@michaellombardi1620]

I brought into the games hype, but couldn't beat that crazy second level when I played it

[@beta_cygni1950]

The 2nd level is what lets you finish the game! You get to accumulate a bunch of lives by repeat-hitting those birds over & over. I played this game for like 3 months straight when it came out (I was a freshman in HS). I finally got to the point where I could beat it pretty regularly, but it took a long time!

[@toddknaperek8225]

The Wookie Hole level isn't hard...it's the third level which was the one that separated the men from the boys.

[@michaellombardi1620]

@@beta_cygni1950 I remember those flying things! I never owned the game to ever get that far, I only rented or played at my cousins house (who also couldnt get past that stage)

[@michaellombardi1620]

@@toddknaperek8225 Wait, I just looked it up, It was level 3 that got me!

[@beta_cygni1950]

@@michaellombardi1620 Be glad that you didn't own it. My sister got it for christmas. Besides school, I didn't do a damned thing other than this game for weeks on end...

[@LUISPRIME]

7:26 Damn that commercial was so 90's, all that was missing was rap song to be make it XTREME. 😄

[@pong86r]

you know, i thought i remembered how awesome the dialogue was back in the '90s- but i forgot just how awesome it was (that commercial was sick- to the max!)

[@sadpixels]

I LOVED the Battletoads as a kid. I even dressed as Zitz for Halloween one year. I have been the game... BUT only with the help of Game Genie...

[@ExcelsiorTech]

This game blew me away as a kid and made me proud to be on the NES team back when the Genesis was picking up steam and the SNES was still a bit away. Easily the best beatem’up on the NES IMO and one of the best games on the system. I am pretty sure I beat it, but I do remember it being super hard. That speeder bike section and the snow section in particular.

[@hang10wannabe]

Hey, I live in Oxnard California... first we get mentioned in a Lonely Island song "Semi-colon" and now we're mentioned in a Toy Galaxy video on Battletoads from the pilot episode of the attempted TV Series... we're living in the best reality!

[@Frank_D]

Battletoads and Double Dragon was one of the best games on the original NES. My brother, my friends and I loved playing it back in the day. The arcade game is wonderfully funny. My nephew and I play it when he comes to visit.

[@Darqueness]

Never beat the NES game as a kid. Decades later with emulation, Game Genie, and a bit of save scumming I can finally say I've beaten it. Those who say the Turbo Tunnel or Surf City are the most difficult likely never made it to Clinger Winger. That giant wheel with its required practically frame perfect turns, one shots during the race, and punishment for being a nanosecond too slow or fast on a turn, not to mention the punishment on your thumb is to me by far the hardest thing in the game, and possibly the franchise. It's what I think of first when people say something is "NES Hard".

[@jaykirby3601]

Funny how I still haven't seen one of my favorites toys on here yet. Indiana Jones. And from the movie "The Black Hole" Maximilian.

[@YesterdaysMoose]

Battletoads (NES) was literally impossible to complete with 2 players due to a glitch that would prevent player 2 from moving during level 11, Clinger Winger (aka - the one where they ride giant wheels). Fortunately this was fixed in the Rare Replay version.

[@joshoshea3194]

Oh my God was that Paul Rudd in that Nintendo commercial!? 5:43 I never knew that he'd made one.

[@reputablehype]

Barely made it past the jet bike scene many times in my life but I kept coming back to try for years after we got it one Christmas. I think it's what built my competitiveness that served me well when I started playing sports lol

[@Grover1234]

This was my all time favorite growing up. I have the NES version and the MEGA Drive of Battletoades and Double Dragon. But when I remember seeing the pilot all those times ago was sooooooo hopeful that we would of gotten a whole series but never did. Now I want one really really really BAD! My friends had the SNES Battletoads game back in the day and we would play it all the time. I now have it and haven't played it in a very long time. I need to break it out but I hope some day we get an animated show of the franchise.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I've never beat the NES game, but me, and a buddy back in our late 90s high school days did finally beat the SEGA Genesis port passing the controller back, and forth, as it was easier to play as 1 player than 2.

[@bicokun]

I remember playing the arcade game a lot as a kid. Really enjoyed it even though it was still a bit hard for me in my single-digit years. I definitely have a lot of nostalgia for it; I even remember making a board game inspired by it with a frogs vs. toads theme.