I suspect the reason the Dark Queen is not an enemy in the game is because they didn't have the balls to create a game where the male protagonists punch a woman in the face.
The thing that turned me off was it didn't look like a follow-up in the world of Battletoads, but looked like the Battletoads were guest characters in some weird Adult Swim game. All of the enemies looked like they were from a Cartoon Network-style series and nothing at all from ANY of the previous games. So I could never get into it, because it didn't feel "right".
Seeing how the art styles for cartoons have changed since the 90's it doesn't surprise me that they went with an art style that is more like the art that is popular now. A lot of cartoons have that look these days. They want it to appeal to new audiences so they made it look like the cartoons that younger players are used to seeing on TV. And far too many cartoons have that style now and I don't like it. It reminds me of the early 2000's where everything was trying to look like anime even if it wasn't from Japan. You know how one cartoon will get popular and then all the other stuff tries to copy that different art style that got popular and everything starts to look like it all came from the same studio. For us over 30 it just looks like flash animation that was really popular in the 90's
@@IdentityCrisis1581 Too bad the style wasn't coherent with the edgy style of the 90s, especially the arcade game. If the developers wanted to really catch a new audience, they could've use the animaiton style from Metalocalypse but with anthros.
Y'know, that's it. I was having trouble putting my finger on it. The original characters had a grimy look to them, the game shouldn't look like a Butch Hartman cartoon.
One of the biggest disappointments about this game for me was the lack of returning characters and bosses. Where's Professor T. Bird? Robo-Manus? Big Blag? General Slaughter? Characters that any fan of the original run of games would recognize?
@@DannieRay23 It's where creativity and passion goes to die as well. I went in am artist, with wide eyes and high hopes. Design school taught me to take art, destroy it, make a product out of it, sell it back to the masses as a lazy angular jumble of nonsense made out of the corpse of art amd call it a masterpiece.
One of the funniest things in the old games was when your character sees a boss their mouth opens as wide as their body. A small detail like that makes all the difference.
@@sufamidan1006 I can understand. SoR3 looks worse than SoR2 in some aspects but overall 4 has a great flow. I do pixel and hand drawn art style but I LOVE pixel art. 4's art style is more in line with fighting games like Skull girls, etc. Again, I understand
The Dark Queen's sex appeal was what made her look so damn intimidating. The way she looks in the new game is just looking like they took like they took inspiration from Fairly OddParents.
I like to call this 'Battletoads Go', or 'Battletoads Roar' where an old property comes back in the form of a post modern one that ridicules it's long time fans.
@@Magnet_Chaos they were "cartoony" because of console limitations, and never so motley. You can see how in "BT in Battlemaniacs" and "BT Arcade" the authors opted for a more serious and brutal look when the hardware allowed it
@@VeganCossack this. The reboot just made everything look so child like and disneyfied. The only reason they removed so many characters and censored tf out of this game is to please the minorites of senile activists that have 0 interests in videogames.
@TETCOM. It's not that bad. Besides maybe Splinter's design. And I don't even like Rise that much. But comparing it to this games feels like an insult to Rise. XD
Battletoads on NES is the perfect example of love-hate relationship - i love the art, levels, characters, sound and gameplay; but i hate the difficulty spikes, no 2 player B mode (when you can't attack each other) and too few continues. I actually almost broke my controller on that race part, almost near the boss fight, my controller disconnected and i lost my last 1up, most frustrating moment of my life probably. Then Battletoads & Double Dragon came and it was miles better, we spent countless days playing it with friends, so much fun. Now, this version is... soulless, i guess? There's nothing interesting, it's the most average and boring game i've played. I do not like the art style (especially what they did with Dark Queen) but that's subjective, fights feel very chaotic when some attack take like 50% of the screen. When i was playing with friends, i often lose my character among the chaos. I had some issues hitting enemies sometimes (like they were on slightly different "height" but it didn't look that way). Fighting was meh, driving was meh, story was meh, locations were too bright and colorful. And probably the worst thing, the whole game was easy enough, i didn't feel like i was progressing in the game or improving, there was no «ugh, that was hard, but fun», it was just «... ok». I played for 2-3 hours and never finished it. That's another thing, i could've beat original Battletoads and Battletoads & Double Dragon in those 2-3 hours. I don't think Battletoads were supposed to be in this game, like the developers were pitching some other game and then someone at Microsoft said «Hey, that would make a perfect Battletoads game! Just add those -turtles- frogs there»
LOL "soulless" my ass, I like that art style and I found the fights fun and I enjoyed the locations quite a bit. I finished the game and had fun with it.
To think 2 different Battletoads games can ruin a franchise 26 years apart (at least the 1994 game was actually good and easy on the eyes to look at.) Killer Instinct and Shovel Knight did the franchise significantly better than DLaLa did.
That generally why many studio prefer to stay away from old franchise but you know people keep asking for them so they try. It generally end with various effect to bad - meh - good. Battlletoad was mostly a Meh in general, not bad to be unplayable, still fun and questionnable decision. People keep asking Rare to produce their old IP when they keep saying they don't want do to it so let it be and even if they want to do it most of the old staff from the Nintendo Era is no longer there which is why some game end up to other studio.
What really hurt Battletoads was Streets of Rage 4 coming out around the same and being a far more effective sequel that subtly evolved series elements while being very affectionate to the games that came before it. The Rare game's misguided humor and inconsistent gameplay in comparison to that title simply did it no favors.
What really hurt Battletoads was that it never was released in physical version but only in digital..street of Rage 4 was released in physical for all consoles.
@@ozzie.l.6035 Yep. This is an old school franchise and this game didn't pay homage to the series in any way, while also getting no physical release. Who EXACTLY was this game intended for??? Everything Microsoft acquires turns to sh!t.
@@ozzie.l.6035 sor4 released physical because of its digital success and fan request. Xbox had zero incentive to make this physical..not to mention their archaic print requirements for distribution.
Physical copies have nothing to do with it. A) Battletoads 2020 sucks on it's own merit. B) Most gamers move on from the previous generation of consoles when they get the latest one. Let's not act like whether you can hold the game in your hands and carry it around is the reason the latest Battletoads effort blows hard. The END.
The moment I saw the Dark Queen's new design, I was out. This new version is visually unattractive compared to the original just so feminists wouldn't sperg out like when Musk bought twitter.
Nice review as usual. The Heel promo really fits in with the style. If anyone is wondering why this game failed, despite it being decent; that's because no matter how you good you make something, if you piss off the buyers, they won't buy from you. I followed the development of this game, and Top-Hat was right-- at 1st it was the hardcore old-timers telling people it was gonna be bad. Most waved them off despite good reasons, then it was revealed that the creators wasn't taking the directors' position like it was originally announced. This caused a big stir. It was lead to believe that Rare was taking control, until the reveal of Dlala Studios. This rightly caused concern 'cause the IP is going from their creators who just made a banger with KI, to a literal app- game company [a small one]. The crazy thing is that most fans was still arguing with the slowly growing support of the old-timers [this maybe largely due to the Rare Plays and Rash for KI advertisement]. Then it was announced that the creators were overseers, this is when "all out war" broke and support went downhill. I'm not talking about the fact that the creators wasn't technically involved, but what Dlala or X-Box was doing (which was actively antagonize the buyers). The thing about the art style is that not only is it cheap [and lazy], but it has become a hallmark [a calling card] of a certain agenda in Hollywood Animation. This agenda are starch believers of "Post-Modern" art and it shows. Most (if not all) don't know how to scope, shape, nor develop space, characters, and meaning; so their products come off as half'ed-ass'ed or just bad [this is also due to them being really f'ing lazy]. When Dlala/ X-Box started posting images of the game and character design, there was legit questions about the vision used; and Dlala/ X-Box started attacking. This is when the shit hit the fan[s]. Either you be of one political group or another, no one cares when the topic is about giant Frog-People pugilistic murdering a Mutant Rat, made in a lab by a 6ft tall woman. So when lefty views and agenda points of misogyny, and male gaze, and etc. started to surface, a lot of people knew what was up. It was the same thing that happened to the animation sphere in America and now the fans [the ones that just went through seeing their fantasy characters destroyed by this same agenda] don't want it. So, they lost the old-timers (30 somethings) and now they lost the prized money pool-- the people that actually liberally buy things-- the 20 somethings. And when the Dark Queen was released that was the nail. It isn't about the Queen herself or the lack of boobies; it was about seeing a staple of the agenda that was warned (at this time) like 2 years ago. These people [agenda loons] have a certain belief, but they are too lazy to actually learn how to convey this into art, so they half-ass it and it looks horrible. Now the Cal-arts can work if you put work into it [that's true of any animation media], but they didn't. Dark Queen looks like a Kim-Possible knock-off "do not steal O.C." character. Her face don't match her head, her proportions keep changing, the dynamic of hair is an afterthought, and many many more. Seeing the Dark Queen like that was a banner displaying their purpose, and later it became a gaiden. At this point, they pissed off everyone: the old-timers by not sticking, or paying homage, or not trying to capture the same ideology of the Battletoads, the people that would try out anything new if it looks fun to play, the people that needs a reason to play a game and not just mash button [story crowd], and the ones with moral will. That leaves only the child market, which they said they thought the Battletoads wasn't suited for [the 90's version]. Now you got the real money looking at you strange [the parents]. If it (by their standards) wasn't for kids then, why would it be for kids now? Really sus' things. So, they killed their entire market. The only people that played the game were journalist and people that wanted to judge on experience (which isn't a lot). This is a lesson in business. I won't say "Go woke; go broke"; I will say that when you start to view people as "consumers", then you get entitled real fast 'cause you keep telling yourself that the product doesn't matter and people like pigs will guzzle down anything with the right coating. It is better to view people as "costumers", then you are reminded that people can always say no and go elsewhere. The best way to make money is to give the best (or most convenient) service. And if this service is married to art, then learn your art and respect the ideology of that art. If you are given a base to something then go with it, and don't try to pull the roots out; it is better to do your own than to usurp another's. Fuck Battletoads 2020.
Sounds like skitzophrenia. Honestly gans of niche games sound more crazy then sane. But honestly the only people who would care about flash games are ones that still care about this franchise Battletoads doesn't look fun at all but it is obvious it is due to the studio bring a mobile dev. It isn't le sexism, cortana has been a villan in halo since 5.
So, just going on the explanation for the changes you provided, I'm going to assume the Dark Queen created the simulation the Toads were stuck in? If so... that's a catfish and a half to get out of the simulation she created and find out she's not this tall, leggy amazonesque dominatrix, but this tiny little dumpling of a human who can't see herself for what she is? It's self insert fanfiction trying to pass off the OG as the fanfiction... that's weirdly meta.
I played this for a bit. There's a level where you're riding on a track and have to do jumps and I kept failing over and over so I quit the game and never went back.
So Rare was only "overseeing and supervising" development of this game? Wow, was Rare even in the same building? I don't think anyone at Dlala Studios had ever played, or even seen a Battletoads game. Rare should be ashamed. I wouldn't want my logo on that "product". After reading about how angry people were about the art direction, I purposely didn't look at any screenshots before buying. I don't think anything could have prepared me for what these people shat out.
To be fair, it wouldn't have mattered much if Rare was making the game or not. All the original staff from their glory days are long gone, especially those that made the original Battletoads.
Dark Queen was inspired by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Team at Rare wanted a female that can leave a presence. They did her dirty now. This would be the same as if they would make new TMNT, but Shredder is a little kid. In any case, I love Battletoads but hate the last entry. The artwork is hideous to me.
This game really should’ve stayed as a beat ‘em up with platforming, turbo tunnel and maybe shooter sections mixed in along the way. I respect what they tried to do, one of the things Rare did in their games a lot back the. was mix in a bunch of different gameplay styles in one game to try and keep things fresh, we’d see this in Battletoads and this even carried over all the way into the N64 era with games like Banjo Tooie and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, but with Battletoads 2020, it’s clear that the beat ‘em up gameplay was the most developed part so it probably would’ve been better if they just stuck with that and build on top of it however else they could. People still would’ve been upset over the artstyle and other thematic differences between this and the older Battletoads games but it at least the gameplay would’ve been more focused.
I saw a lot of people praising this game. I'm 40 y o and a hardcore fan of the old ones. I gave it a chance in a friend's house who owned it. AND I F..... HATE IT. Hearing your words was like nectar to my ears Mr Top Hat, I really appreciate it. KUDOS!
My main issue with the game was the inclusion too many mini games which were not even fun to play. The beat em up sections while looking funny , functional and beautifully animated lacked the flexiblity of even newly released Asterix game. New Battletoads wasn't a bad game but a disappointing one.
The transition from beat'em up to other style of gameplay never felt out of place in the old Battletoads, and were always action oriented, not a little minigame. The shoot 'em up segment felt really out of place to me.
@@DrDelon really? So you're ignoring the battle against the rat ship un Battletoads and double dragón? Or the fight against robo-manus in the arcade one?
Funny enough, for a TMNT plagiarist, Battletoads 2020 also came out during "Rise of TMNT," a similarity criticized reimagining. (Also, I said it to n Twitter, but the gameplay's animation was like Rise, but the cutscenes felt like "Kid Danger.")
The new designs were disappointing! It felt like it was made for children but also not? Like they had a character give the middle finger and have adult jokes. Yet the script was filled with kiddie humor and basic dialogue.
Battletoads should have gotten a N64 game, the entire genre took a huge hit in the 32/64 bit era with only really Die Hard Arcade being noteworthy while the N64 and PS1 had to do with lesser titles like Fighting Force and Nightmare Creatures.
@@GMUACW Yeah that was a fun game, It was actually supposed to be the 3D Streets of Rage. Very few people realize that though. It wasn't a game you could play through too many times but it was a great game with a buddy for a night or two!
Yes I was waiting for an N64 Battletoads game but nothing, and I was thinking if the 1994 battletoads arcade would be the one to come out on the N64 with enhanced graphics and more added levels.
@@lordterra1377 That's really not an honest way of explaining Fighting Forces origin IMO. It was at one point pitched to Sega but they didn't want it. Probably because they already had the better and in-house developed Dynamite Deka to compare it against.
I myself enjoyed this reboot of the Battletoads. The backlash wasn't as brutal as say the 2016 female Ghostbusters movie lol...but I like that after 26 years I was treated with a game that both me and my son enjoyed. The original will always hold a soft spot in my heart and I still enjoy on my Sega Genesis and Rare Replay game. This has introduced the Battletoads to a newer generation and watching my son enjoy and laugh with this game had me enjoying even more.
This game is a poster child for why you don't allow nu males and feminists make a reboot of a classic macho franchise, it literally makes no sense at all. It's too obvious that the devs didn't find the original game appealing, and thus why they wanted to alter it so drastically.
I see exactly why this game wasn't recieved well, it looks horrible and the source material has been altered so yes this version of the franchise is horrible 👎.
@@buckwild1628 Who looks up IGN(orance) nowadays ? That side is pure trash with their reviews . And about the fans of the new game ..... where are they ? Ohhh yes . They already forgot this game and playing new/different games now.
@@buckwild1628 Likely paid reviews. Its not a good game, so many bad design choices as highlighted in the video. The graphic style alone makes me want to run away from it.
Rather than thinking of NES Battletoads as offering brutal but rewarding difficulty, I think of it as offering brutal and unfair difficulty. While it would become infamous for its high difficulty, I feel that difficulty did make the game itself a worse experience. It is understandable that any attempt at a modern sequel would try to address that issue, though a better solution would probably have been to build it around a selectable difficulty option, offering a reasonable game experience for the majority and a pointlessly cheap and completely unfair hard mode for the "true gamers" that have to be able to (at least pretend to) prove their "real gamer cred."
I have to disagree. It’s really no different than almost all of the NES platformer type games. As soon as you learn the mechanics, enemy attacks and placements it’s really not that hard. That’s why I’d agree that it’s rewarding. As soon as you know what’s going on and what to expect up ahead you can fly through it and blow people’s minds that haven’t learned the game.
@@Zazzaro703 Difficulty by design and not by random RNG bullshit, like it should be. One problem I have with difficulty "selectors" is that implies putting more health on enemies and more damage in their attacks. I think it's possible to increase difficulty by making better AI, like "unblocking" different new combos performed by the enemies alone or teamed up, instead of the usual "put more enemies in the screen with long health bars", thats's not hard, it's just annoying and boring.
The designers claimed that the difficulty of the original was basically a mistake, they thought the game was too easy because they had become too skilled at the game from constant playtesting. However it would be a mistake to think that easy = accessible, game design doesn't work like that, if you indiscriminately make a game easier then you are actually destroying it, by reducing it to a march through various settings where you do pointless busywork.
For those who wish to see an example of a classic franchise getting a more cartoon-like redesign and having a subplot involving the main character teaming up with their female enemy that got an updated look and did that right, look up Wario Land: Shake-It.
Problem is that no one of the original Rare staff except Greg Mayles is still at Rare. This is why Killer Instinct was handled by another studio, and it's also why Battletoads was handled by another studio.
Are you crazy? The Battkefoads arcadd gane was way better than an other port. It was one of the reasonsxwhy people bought the Rare Replay on XBOX ONE. Itcwas fun, looked great, had replay value, you can play as all 3 toads, and no level that everybody hated (turbo vikes and snakes). It everybody expected and wanted.
it's sad I was so excited when I heard it...then I read Saturday morning cartoon, the ugly Toad designs, the unsexy Dark Queen and the attempt to use the game to mock the old fans for criticizing it and went yeah screw Rare
I don't know why exactly. The battletoads has a vibe that would allow it to fit into the rick and Morty universe. As an alternate reality. Sci Fi and brutal violence sprinkled with humor.
I played this game on gamepass and was immediately not a fan of the art style or the characterizing of the toads themselves and the defiling of Dark Queen!!!! I personally thought the story was bad, the jokes not funny and stopped playing it after I completed the 1st act. Haven't played it in over a year. Great video like always sir! \m/
The animation looks good and it's very colorful but the art style does NOT fit at all. I'm also tired of seeing classic franchises getting sequels or reboots with hand drawn graphics. I want pixels and sprites with lots of detail. And with today's hardware they could do a lot more with that style, but instead we get this garbage.
I can say this is a case of IP abuse, specifically (name recognition push), that is they tried to use the pre-existing franchise to push something totally new that they had low hopes would survive on its own. Basically just slapping the names and basic appearance of the main characters into a completely unrelated game with minor tweeks to the story to accommodate this.
battletoads reboot makes me so sad due to the amount of potential it had. there was a real fanbase if they could have satisfied would have made this game one of the best reboots of all time..the character model design of Rash in Killer Instinct had me so excited for what was to come..
Add in the really bad writing/comedy elements and the characterization (or lack there of) and you see a game made by people who have absolutely no connection to the series. Not made by rare, not made by fans, not made by anyone that actually cares about the franchise
Yeah I have to say that the writing in this game was hilarious. I might be one if the few that loves the art style since the 3 brothers really have distinct personalities and one of the parts of the game have them play a toads version of rock paper scissors. The ONLY thing I can even complain about is how they dressed up the dominatrix queen. They should have kept that in and added the previous entries bosses. Otherwise this game is a banger.
@@Wendy_O._Koopa You, know i never really thought of that, i double checked with the wiki and the lore actually states that Zitz, Pimple and Rash were human game testers who were transformed into a toad upon entering the Gamescape. Pimple's human name is George Pie. Zitz human name is Morgan Ziegler. Rashes name is Dave Shar. Based on the different surname, it seems that they are unrelated. Thanks for heads up on that, i assumed they were brothers but looks like they are just buddies haha.
@@kaptainkommando6568 If you want to know the truth, that was literally just a quote from the (2020) game. The gamer lore is news to me. Though, I wonder if it's actual canon, or just for that cartoon pilot I've heard about from the 90's? Later on there's a callback like "Just this once, let's talk about it." or something, but like that's something to be addressed later... and it's never expanded upon in game. Maybe even the writers couldn't decide if they were brothers or not?
Battletoads didn't start out good at all, contrary to what the internet thinks now. It was a "hit" because of marketing and it looked good, but most kids put it down pretty quick. All the technical achievements were ruined by the difficulty curve which kept most kids from getting very far. It's very similar to Bayou Billy in that way. That game was also everywhere because it looked good and because of heavy marketing, but you got real tired of playing the first part and dying. In both cases, the games used arcade style beat 'em up difficulty for the gameplay without the ability to stick more quarters in to keep playing. The high difficulty curve creates the kind of challenge many modern gamers like to go back to, but for most kids who wanted a full game experience without the frustration, it would be better to go back to TMNT2 or similar.
Also... In both Battletoads and Bayou Billy... The Japanese versions were easier... The increased difficulty in the US versions were supposedly to curb rental sales... In other words, so people couldn't beat in a weekend while renting it...
Hmmmm. I was in elementary school, the 5th grade, when Battletoads came out and EVERYONE was playing it. It certainly wasn't put down quickly like you're suggesting. Was the game insanely hard? Yes, but that didn't stop anyone from playing it. The graphics and music were cutting edge at the time. Moreover, the gameplay was smooth and satisfying, which kept us coming back and determined to figure it out, just like any excessively difficult game from this era. However, what you're saying about Bayou Billy is more accurate. Again, a game with great visuals and sound. However, unlike Battletoads, the various gameplay engines were clunky and just didn't play all that great.
I have to disagree with you, or state flatly that your generalization is plain wrong. I remember playing these games when they were new and I was quite young. First off, children had a longer attention span and less alternatives, so if you liked the visuals and feel of a game you would keep going back to it regardless of difficulty. My sister and I spent countless hours on the Battletoads titles despite being of mediocre play skill and the constant gameovers. This is by no means a unique story to my experience, nor is this experience exclusive to Battletoads, a harder gaming experience did not mean kids calling it quits by any means. Again I am not basing this using my own experience as the universal truth, kids play games, kids talk about games, what people say today is concurrent with past experiences.
You also had kids that would get one or two games a year. And games such as Battletoads and Contra 3 were fun and challenging for many months, where as other games were clockable in a few hours and the kids stopped playing it after a week or it was only worth a rental. Same reason why people love the one vs one fighting game genre. Some of us like a challenge.
The only thing I see that held it back was that, well, it held itself back in the general tone of the series. While it was originally marketed as an edgier TMNT back in the day, it had a more cheesy, risky feeling to it with its themes and character design. What I don't understand is that they toned things down in general for that Saturday Morning Cartoon feel, but then you'd have "adult" moments like the Dark Queen swearing or flipping the toads off. That, and the minigame sections at the end felt more like padding rather than something that enhanced the story or at least provided a nice change of pace. While the previous games also had minigames for variety, they still made sense for the world and were fun and frantic, while most minigames here felt weak and half-baked. The animations are gorgeous though and I personally like the new art style, except for the Dark Queen which they totally butchered. I have a lot more to say on this, but this is getting pretty long already so I'll stop it here. I look forward to a sequel that focuses more on the beat 'em up aspect and a fewer but more developed and fun minigames.
The original Battletoads on NES was BRUTAL! I never could have finished it without infinite lives! And the whole need to memorize so much, and be brutally precise with everything was just absolute HELL! But bringing down the Dark Queen at the very end was an epic payoff! Battletoads for Arcade was awesome, but it feels like an entire level was cut before the cabinet was released! I was hoping for a final level where we'd get to go 1-1 with the Dark Queen herself, and not her minions! The SNES game was fun, though buttons needed to be tweaked... Still good. Battletoads 2020? I never got to really play it, but I saw a longplay of it. The story was dull as crap, like... 4Kids level of dull cringe. The de-sexualization of the Dark Queen was just a betrayal to the fans. Part of the reason we liked Battletoads was the stark differences between Princess Angellica whom was wholesome and adorable but also beautiful and gentle, and the Dark Queen whom was visibly hyper-sexual but ruthlessly commanding. One could say the line between the kind of man you are could be dependent on which of the two human monarchal figures you were more fond of. The more traditional Princess Angellica? Or the more commanding and sexual Dark Queen? Battletoads 2020 has the same identity problem as Ghostbusters 2016, but a lot less political. Battletoads 2020 could have been better if they didn't change the Dark Queen's design. Keep her sexy, make the art style more serious, boost the gore, make blood fly! Take for formula of the console versions, add the violence of the arcade game, and the visual of the more serious games. Don't cop out and go full California CN style for the characters, make the story more apocalyptic! Hell, I'd be fine with the concept of the Utopians as reality-sapping parasites that want to force all realities into their cookie-cutter design of boring and bland rhetoric where there is no such thing as fun, no culture, and no hope! Forcing the Battletoads to align with the Dark Queen, and we see a whole expansion of the lore of the Rareverse! Do crossovers with Banjo-Kazooie as a gag, maybe a cameo by Joanna Dark sniping bad guys for you? I mean, the way Battletoads 2020 was, it felt hollow, or shallow, a shallow hollowed out husk of what we knew Battletoads to be. An unlikely alliance between the toads and the Dark Queen could have been great, like adding the Dark Queen's minions to the mix as playable characters like General Slaughter, and Big Blaig to flesh out a total of 6 playable characters! At this point, I think Microsoft should just sell the Battletoads IP to Nintendo. Nintendo should buy out Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, and so many more older developers. Microsoft has been trying to phase out the Xbox hardware for years now. And Sony is just dying.
Yo what they did to the Dark Queen was an insult. It wasn’t subtle, it implies the OG design was wrong hence you were wrong if you liked it. And chances are if you were into Battle Toads you did like it. Nobody wants watered down sloppy seconds. They want a cool idea to be a relevant again with fresh new games that build on the old.
![Street Fighter II - The Animated Movie - Dee Jay Alternative [UK] dub scene - "D.J."](/img/n.gif)
I suspect the reason the Dark Queen is not an enemy in the game is because they didn't have the balls to create a game where the male protagonists punch a woman in the face.
But Street Fighter do it
The thing that turned me off was it didn't look like a follow-up in the world of Battletoads, but looked like the Battletoads were guest characters in some weird Adult Swim game. All of the enemies looked like they were from a Cartoon Network-style series and nothing at all from ANY of the previous games. So I could never get into it, because it didn't feel "right".
That's pretty accurate. It felt like the toads were guest starring in Teen Titans Go! or something
@@Mephitinae That's a perfect comparison.
Seeing how the art styles for cartoons have changed since the 90's it doesn't surprise me that they went with an art style that is more like the art that is popular now. A lot of cartoons have that look these days. They want it to appeal to new audiences so they made it look like the cartoons that younger players are used to seeing on TV. And far too many cartoons have that style now and I don't like it. It reminds me of the early 2000's where everything was trying to look like anime even if it wasn't from Japan. You know how one cartoon will get popular and then all the other stuff tries to copy that different art style that got popular and everything starts to look like it all came from the same studio. For us over 30 it just looks like flash animation that was really popular in the 90's
@@IdentityCrisis1581 Too bad the style wasn't coherent with the edgy style of the 90s, especially the arcade game.
If the developers wanted to really catch a new audience, they could've use the animaiton style from Metalocalypse but with anthros.
Y'know, that's it. I was having trouble putting my finger on it.
The original characters had a grimy look to them, the game shouldn't look like a Butch Hartman cartoon.
One of the biggest disappointments about this game for me was the lack of returning characters and bosses. Where's Professor T. Bird? Robo-Manus? Big Blag? General Slaughter? Characters that any fan of the original run of games would recognize?
"Everything gamers know and love is a lie! Also sexist, racist and homophobic."
Post-2014 game development 101.
They completely destroyed the world they existed in.
@@clawofthefallen college is where game development goes to die. You coukd extend that to most of society actually.
@@DannieRay23 It's where creativity and passion goes to die as well.
I went in am artist, with wide eyes and high hopes. Design school taught me to take art, destroy it, make a product out of it, sell it back to the masses as a lazy angular jumble of nonsense made out of the corpse of art amd call it a masterpiece.
Not just that, the Dark Queen was lame af. And the pro-atheist agenda was as forced and hamfisted as you could imagine.
I love Battletoads Arcade. It's a shame the reboot took such a massive disrespectful dump on its legacy.
What a shame
hipsters ruin everything
@@alanmalcheski8882 how unreasonable
@@jaygooese4242 Thank you
Why they decided to give Battletoads the Teen Titans Go treatment is beyond me.
One of the funniest things in the old games was when your character sees a boss their mouth opens as wide as their body. A small detail like that makes all the difference.
Every revived classic looks like a mobile flash game these days. I haaaaaaaate it.
Except SoR4.... That 304 is fye fye 🔥🔥🔥
Pixels and sprites>hand drawn any day of the week. Thankfully Pocky & Rocky and TMNT: Shredder's Revenge are getting it right.
@@derek-64 not all the time. Check out Aladdin on Genesis or Beyond Oasis...
@@theprofessorjg not gonna lie, thats a game I was thinking of. I say that as a gigantic Streets if Rage fan too, I really dislike 4.
@@sufamidan1006 I can understand. SoR3 looks worse than SoR2 in some aspects but overall 4 has a great flow. I do pixel and hand drawn art style but I LOVE pixel art. 4's art style is more in line with fighting games like Skull girls, etc.
Again, I understand
The Dark Queen's sex appeal was what made her look so damn intimidating. The way she looks in the new game is just looking like they took like they took inspiration from Fairly OddParents.
They Nerfed the Dark Queen, that's why.
nah
Yup
Not the main reason but it's one of them.
@@EsThirt33n nope
Just one of them.
The toads deserve better than this, the dark queen looks like she came from Kim Possible...smh
I wouldn't be that bothered by her redesign if it wasn't for her lanky arms that don't match her body.
@@URFTBOUND4LIFE and dont forget those horribly unaturall long fingers
Hate her posh brittish voice!
I like to call this 'Battletoads Go', or 'Battletoads Roar' where an old property comes back in the form of a post modern one that ridicules it's long time fans.
I was thinking just that.
That's a great way of summing it up.
I dunno, man, I really enjoyed Pokemon Go! (And Let's Go!)... but this also really looks like they dropped a big ol' ball here. Poor luck =/
@@MrCathands I was referring to 'Teen Titans Go'.
How about "Boom! Battletoads"?
I HATE how they changed up the Dark Queen and got them teaming up together and it was way too cartoony
I second that. The art style was so lazy..
so offensive
and cringe
its insane
Being fair here. The series has always been cartoony. The older games were just late 80s and 90s cartoony.
This was just 2020 cartoony.
@@Magnet_Chaos they were "cartoony" because of console limitations, and never so motley. You can see how in "BT in Battlemaniacs" and "BT Arcade" the authors opted for a more serious and brutal look when the hardware allowed it
@@VeganCossack this. The reboot just made everything look so child like and disneyfied. The only reason they removed so many characters and censored tf out of this game is to please the minorites of senile activists that have 0 interests in videogames.
They basically gave Battletoads the 'Thundercats Roar!' treatment.
@TETCOM. It's not that bad. Besides maybe Splinter's design.
And I don't even like Rise that much. But comparing it to this games feels like an insult to Rise. XD
AVGN should add this to his list of shitty games
Battletoads on NES is the perfect example of love-hate relationship - i love the art, levels, characters, sound and gameplay; but i hate the difficulty spikes, no 2 player B mode (when you can't attack each other) and too few continues. I actually almost broke my controller on that race part, almost near the boss fight, my controller disconnected and i lost my last 1up, most frustrating moment of my life probably. Then Battletoads & Double Dragon came and it was miles better, we spent countless days playing it with friends, so much fun.
Now, this version is... soulless, i guess? There's nothing interesting, it's the most average and boring game i've played. I do not like the art style (especially what they did with Dark Queen) but that's subjective, fights feel very chaotic when some attack take like 50% of the screen. When i was playing with friends, i often lose my character among the chaos. I had some issues hitting enemies sometimes (like they were on slightly different "height" but it didn't look that way). Fighting was meh, driving was meh, story was meh, locations were too bright and colorful. And probably the worst thing, the whole game was easy enough, i didn't feel like i was progressing in the game or improving, there was no «ugh, that was hard, but fun», it was just «... ok». I played for 2-3 hours and never finished it. That's another thing, i could've beat original Battletoads and Battletoads & Double Dragon in those 2-3 hours.
I don't think Battletoads were supposed to be in this game, like the developers were pitching some other game and then someone at Microsoft said «Hey, that would make a perfect Battletoads game! Just add those -turtles- frogs there»
LOL "soulless" my ass, I like that art style and I found the fights fun and I enjoyed the locations quite a bit. I finished the game and had fun with it.
@@jadedheartsz That's the twitter/trans/furry art style. Outside of twitter, no one likes that art style. Please stop, you're embarassing yourself.
@@liteney lol
@@jadedheartsz Whatever floats your boat, man. Or sinks it!
I absolutely hate this art style. I can't even give the game a chance because of it.
They ripped off Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Give the game a chance. Its really not kiddie and will give you a challenge. The humor is more along the lines of an Adult Swim show
To think 2 different Battletoads games can ruin a franchise 26 years apart (at least the 1994 game was actually good and easy on the eyes to look at.)
Killer Instinct and Shovel Knight did the franchise significantly better than DLaLa did.
That generally why many studio prefer to stay away from old franchise but you know people keep asking for them so they try. It generally end with various effect to bad - meh - good. Battlletoad was mostly a Meh in general, not bad to be unplayable, still fun and questionnable decision. People keep asking Rare to produce their old IP when they keep saying they don't want do to it so let it be and even if they want to do it most of the old staff from the Nintendo Era is no longer there which is why some game end up to other studio.
the 1994 game kicks ass. this version sucks ass. two totally different ways of approaching ass
My brother absolutely hates this game he says it's the worst thing he has ever played
Same here I grew up with the originals...this was sad
Then he really loves to overreact
Well, can you blame for overacting to this game? It is still a let-down.
That was such a confusing mess. Lampooning your main characters is such a bad idea. People just wanna punch and stomp.
". Lampooning your main characters is such a bad idea. "
Thanks. I'm starting to have Last Jedi flashbacks.
@@XellosNi Oh Lord. Don’t say that. If the next game turns out to be like Rise of Skywalker, I’m killing myself.
For some reason this is ridiculously common in modern American games, this weird compulsion to constantly emasculate every character.
What really hurt Battletoads was Streets of Rage 4 coming out around the same and being a far more effective sequel that subtly evolved series elements while being very affectionate to the games that came before it. The Rare game's misguided humor and inconsistent gameplay in comparison to that title simply did it no favors.
What really hurt Battletoads was that it never was released in physical version but only in digital..street of Rage 4 was released in physical for all consoles.
@@ozzie.l.6035 Yep. This is an old school franchise and this game didn't pay homage to the series in any way, while also getting no physical release. Who EXACTLY was this game intended for??? Everything Microsoft acquires turns to sh!t.
@@ozzie.l.6035 sor4 released physical because of its digital success and fan request. Xbox had zero incentive to make this physical..not to mention their archaic print requirements for distribution.
Physical copies have nothing to do with it.
A) Battletoads 2020 sucks on it's own merit.
B) Most gamers move on from the previous generation of consoles when they get the latest one.
Let's not act like whether you can hold the game in your hands and carry it around is the reason the latest Battletoads effort blows hard.
The END.
^Pretty much.
The moment I saw the Dark Queen's new design, I was out. This new version is visually unattractive compared to the original just so feminists wouldn't sperg out like when Musk bought twitter.
why does dark queen look like a teen titan
Nice review as usual. The Heel promo really fits in with the style.
If anyone is wondering why this game failed, despite it being decent; that's because no matter how you good you make something, if you piss off the buyers, they won't buy from you.
I followed the development of this game, and Top-Hat was right-- at 1st it was the hardcore old-timers telling people it was gonna be bad. Most waved them off despite good reasons, then it was revealed that the creators wasn't taking the directors' position like it was originally announced. This caused a big stir. It was lead to believe that Rare was taking control, until the reveal of Dlala Studios. This rightly caused concern 'cause the IP is going from their creators who just made a banger with KI, to a literal app- game company [a small one].
The crazy thing is that most fans was still arguing with the slowly growing support of the old-timers [this maybe largely due to the Rare Plays and Rash for KI advertisement]. Then it was announced that the creators were overseers, this is when "all out war" broke and support went downhill. I'm not talking about the fact that the creators wasn't technically involved, but what Dlala or X-Box was doing (which was actively antagonize the buyers). The thing about the art style is that not only is it cheap [and lazy], but it has become a hallmark [a calling card] of a certain agenda in Hollywood Animation. This agenda are starch believers of "Post-Modern" art and it shows. Most (if not all) don't know how to scope, shape, nor develop space, characters, and meaning; so their products come off as half'ed-ass'ed or just bad [this is also due to them being really f'ing lazy].
When Dlala/ X-Box started posting images of the game and character design, there was legit questions about the vision used; and Dlala/ X-Box started attacking. This is when the shit hit the fan[s]. Either you be of one political group or another, no one cares when the topic is about giant Frog-People pugilistic murdering a Mutant Rat, made in a lab by a 6ft tall woman. So when lefty views and agenda points of misogyny, and male gaze, and etc. started to surface, a lot of people knew what was up. It was the same thing that happened to the animation sphere in America and now the fans [the ones that just went through seeing their fantasy characters destroyed by this same agenda] don't want it. So, they lost the old-timers (30 somethings) and now they lost the prized money pool-- the people that actually liberally buy things-- the 20 somethings.
And when the Dark Queen was released that was the nail. It isn't about the Queen herself or the lack of boobies; it was about seeing a staple of the agenda that was warned (at this time) like 2 years ago. These people [agenda loons] have a certain belief, but they are too lazy to actually learn how to convey this into art, so they half-ass it and it looks horrible. Now the Cal-arts can work if you put work into it [that's true of any animation media], but they didn't. Dark Queen looks like a Kim-Possible knock-off "do not steal O.C." character. Her face don't match her head, her proportions keep changing, the dynamic of hair is an afterthought, and many many more. Seeing the Dark Queen like that was a banner displaying their purpose, and later it became a gaiden.
At this point, they pissed off everyone: the old-timers by not sticking, or paying homage, or not trying to capture the same ideology of the Battletoads, the people that would try out anything new if it looks fun to play, the people that needs a reason to play a game and not just mash button [story crowd], and the ones with moral will.
That leaves only the child market, which they said they thought the Battletoads wasn't suited for [the 90's version]. Now you got the real money looking at you strange [the parents]. If it (by their standards) wasn't for kids then, why would it be for kids now? Really sus' things. So, they killed their entire market. The only people that played the game were journalist and people that wanted to judge on experience (which isn't a lot).
This is a lesson in business.
I won't say "Go woke; go broke"; I will say that when you start to view people as "consumers", then you get entitled real fast 'cause you keep telling yourself that the product doesn't matter and people like pigs will guzzle down anything with the right coating. It is better to view people as "costumers", then you are reminded that people can always say no and go elsewhere. The best way to make money is to give the best (or most convenient) service. And if this service is married to art, then learn your art and respect the ideology of that art. If you are given a base to something then go with it, and don't try to pull the roots out; it is better to do your own than to usurp another's.
Fuck Battletoads 2020.
nicely put
Sounds like skitzophrenia. Honestly gans of niche games sound more crazy then sane. But honestly the only people who would care about flash games are ones that still care about this franchise
Battletoads doesn't look fun at all but it is obvious it is due to the studio bring a mobile dev. It isn't le sexism, cortana has been a villan in halo since 5.
So, just going on the explanation for the changes you provided, I'm going to assume the Dark Queen created the simulation the Toads were stuck in? If so... that's a catfish and a half to get out of the simulation she created and find out she's not this tall, leggy amazonesque dominatrix, but this tiny little dumpling of a human who can't see herself for what she is? It's self insert fanfiction trying to pass off the OG as the fanfiction... that's weirdly meta.
That or that they secretly hired Anita Sarkeesian for the game's development.
the art style is absolutely horrendous... wtf?! it looks like all the cal-art garbage coming out in recent years, like that thundercats roar atrocity
I played this for a bit. There's a level where you're riding on a track and have to do jumps and I kept failing over and over so I quit the game and never went back.
Its meant be challenging, like the originals. Nothing wrong with that
That's no different than the 1st 2 Battletoads games.
I hate the art style of the new battletoads 🤮
You can always tell when people who didn't play video games as a kid, grow up and makes video games as an activist.
So Rare was only "overseeing and supervising" development of this game? Wow, was Rare even in the same building? I don't think anyone at Dlala Studios had ever played, or even seen a Battletoads game. Rare should be ashamed. I wouldn't want my logo on that "product".
After reading about how angry people were about the art direction, I purposely didn't look at any screenshots before buying. I don't think anything could have prepared me for what these people shat out.
To be fair, it wouldn't have mattered much if Rare was making the game or not. All the original staff from their glory days are long gone, especially those that made the original Battletoads.
yup. The game is literally nothing like battletoads at all.
Dark Queen was inspired by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Team at Rare wanted a female that can leave a presence. They did her dirty now. This would be the same as if they would make new TMNT, but Shredder is a little kid. In any case, I love Battletoads but hate the last entry. The artwork is hideous to me.
As I'm watching this, I'm completely overwhelmed by the gameplay screens, there is just TOO MUCH going on at one time to even see everything.
I agree its a real mess!
This game really should’ve stayed as a beat ‘em up with platforming, turbo tunnel and maybe shooter sections mixed in along the way.
I respect what they tried to do, one of the things Rare did in their games a lot back the. was mix in a bunch of different gameplay styles in one game to try and keep things fresh, we’d see this in Battletoads and this even carried over all the way into the N64 era with games like Banjo Tooie and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, but with Battletoads 2020, it’s clear that the beat ‘em up gameplay was the most developed part so it probably would’ve been better if they just stuck with that and build on top of it however else they could. People still would’ve been upset over the artstyle and other thematic differences between this and the older Battletoads games but it at least the gameplay would’ve been more focused.
The biggest problem with the Dark Queen isn't the outfit
It's the flatscreen-tv head
I saw a lot of people praising this game.
I'm 40 y o and a hardcore fan of the old ones.
I gave it a chance in a friend's house who owned it.
AND I F..... HATE IT.
Hearing your words was like nectar to my ears Mr Top Hat, I really appreciate it.
KUDOS!
Epitome of current media, yeah it can be competent... but when you try to appeal to everyone with everything you do; it never resonates for long.
I knew this game was up sh*ts creek when they had that fugly version of the Black Queen.
Didn’t bother once I saw they changed the dark queen to some math blaster extra
This game made me lose interest in calling GameStop and asking for it
What the hell is goin on at the bottom center starting at 7:32???
Just chill guys,in 20 years or so we will have another one.maybe..
Adding the SOR4 as a comparison was great. Never got in to any of them but I can tell it is SOR.
My main issue with the game was the inclusion too many mini games which were not even fun to play. The beat em up sections while looking funny , functional and beautifully animated lacked the flexiblity of even newly released Asterix game. New Battletoads wasn't a bad game but a disappointing one.
The transition from beat'em up to other style of gameplay never felt out of place in the old Battletoads, and were always action oriented, not a little minigame. The shoot 'em up segment felt really out of place to me.
@@DrDelon worst than that was the override the ship mini game it was so awful that almost led me the point of resentment.
@@DrDelon really? So you're ignoring the battle against the rat ship un Battletoads and double dragón? Or the fight against robo-manus in the arcade one?
Another example of how to ruin a Franchise is Banjo Kazooie Nuts N BoltZ
Battletoads 2020 was way better did nuts and bolts
Funny enough, for a TMNT plagiarist, Battletoads 2020 also came out during "Rise of TMNT," a similarity criticized reimagining. (Also, I said it to n Twitter, but the gameplay's animation was like Rise, but the cutscenes felt like "Kid Danger.")
I was instantly turned off by the artstyle. Whish it would look more gritty/edgy and not like a cartoon network show.
The artstyle is giving me ed edd eddy and also madgascar vibes
The new designs were disappointing! It felt like it was made for children but also not? Like they had a character give the middle finger and have adult jokes. Yet the script was filled with kiddie humor and basic dialogue.
Battletoads should have gotten a N64 game, the entire genre took a huge hit in the 32/64 bit era with only really Die Hard Arcade being noteworthy while the N64 and PS1 had to do with lesser titles like Fighting Force and Nightmare Creatures.
I would not consider the first Nightmare Creatures a lessor title.
I actually dug Fighting Force 64. Lots of weapons.
@@GMUACW
Yeah that was a fun game, It was actually supposed to be the 3D Streets of Rage. Very few people realize that though. It wasn't a game you could play through too many times but it was a great game with a buddy for a night or two!
Yes I was waiting for an N64 Battletoads game but nothing, and I was thinking if the 1994 battletoads arcade would be the one to come out on the N64 with enhanced graphics and more added levels.
@@lordterra1377 That's really not an honest way of explaining Fighting Forces origin IMO. It was at one point pitched to Sega but they didn't want it. Probably because they already had the better and in-house developed Dynamite Deka to compare it against.
Damn bro you cried so much I had to wipe my computer screen
I myself enjoyed this reboot of the Battletoads. The backlash wasn't as brutal as say the 2016 female Ghostbusters movie lol...but I like that after 26 years I was treated with a game that both me and my son enjoyed. The original will always hold a soft spot in my heart and I still enjoy on my Sega Genesis and Rare Replay game. This has introduced the Battletoads to a newer generation and watching my son enjoy and laugh with this game had me enjoying even more.
right i agree , i played it with my sons to
100% agree we have a way to bridge with the next gen and tastes change. This is their version we had ours. The spirit still there to me.
It's OK. It could have been a lot better, but it wasn't dreadful. Playable and entertaining in spurts but completely forgetable.
This game is a poster child for why you don't allow nu males and feminists make a reboot of a classic macho franchise, it literally makes no sense at all. It's too obvious that the devs didn't find the original game appealing, and thus why they wanted to alter it so drastically.
These days, all you have to do to ruin a beloved franchise is be one that doesn't star humans.
I see exactly why this game wasn't recieved well, it looks horrible and the source material has been altered so yes this version of the franchise is horrible 👎.
It was acutely received very well IGN gave it a 8 out of 10 and other fan’s and critics loved it too
Best way to make a bad sequel.
@@buckwild1628 Who looks up IGN(orance) nowadays ? That side is pure trash with their reviews . And about the fans of the new game ..... where are they ? Ohhh yes . They already forgot this game and playing new/different games now.
@@buckwild1628 Likely paid reviews. Its not a good game, so many bad design choices as highlighted in the video. The graphic style alone makes me want to run away from it.
@@Snyperwolf91 a lot of people look up IGN and other game critics just because you don’t doesn’t mean other people are like you🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️😂😂😂
Rather than thinking of NES Battletoads as offering brutal but rewarding difficulty, I think of it as offering brutal and unfair difficulty. While it would become infamous for its high difficulty, I feel that difficulty did make the game itself a worse experience. It is understandable that any attempt at a modern sequel would try to address that issue, though a better solution would probably have been to build it around a selectable difficulty option, offering a reasonable game experience for the majority and a pointlessly cheap and completely unfair hard mode for the "true gamers" that have to be able to (at least pretend to) prove their "real gamer cred."
I have to disagree. It’s really no different than almost all of the NES platformer type games. As soon as you learn the mechanics, enemy attacks and placements it’s really not that hard. That’s why I’d agree that it’s rewarding. As soon as you know what’s going on and what to expect up ahead you can fly through it and blow people’s minds that haven’t learned the game.
@@Zazzaro703 Difficulty by design and not by random RNG bullshit, like it should be. One problem I have with difficulty "selectors" is that implies putting more health on enemies and more damage in their attacks. I think it's possible to increase difficulty by making better AI, like "unblocking" different new combos performed by the enemies alone or teamed up, instead of the usual "put more enemies in the screen with long health bars", thats's not hard, it's just annoying and boring.
The designers claimed that the difficulty of the original was basically a mistake, they thought the game was too easy because they had become too skilled at the game from constant playtesting. However it would be a mistake to think that easy = accessible, game design doesn't work like that, if you indiscriminately make a game easier then you are actually destroying it, by reducing it to a march through various settings where you do pointless busywork.
I really hate the art style of that recent game. Not only is it ugly, it's not at all suited for a fast action game. Makes my eyes hurt looking at it.
12:49 Look how they massacre my dark queen
For those who wish to see an example of a classic franchise getting a more cartoon-like redesign and having a subplot involving the main character teaming up with their female enemy that got an updated look and did that right, look up Wario Land: Shake-It.
Was a super fan of Battletoads back in the day. Never heard about this new version. Kind of wish I didn't.
This game looks like trash. And I totally caught that dig at Will Smith 😅
Microsoft..........That is all I have to say.
I knew this was going to be garbage, but why does Pimple look like Powdered-ToastMan??
My favorite game on nes and arcade. 26 years later, and they look like dang happy tree friends or something...
One of the ugliest games I’ve ever seen in my life. Makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a spork just looking at it.
well, ArcSys wasn't exactly a fighting game giant until they made Guilty Gear. lol
Problem is that no one of the original Rare staff except Greg Mayles is still at Rare. This is why Killer Instinct was handled by another studio, and it's also why Battletoads was handled by another studio.
Damn I didn't even know a thing about this reboot until now
Are you crazy? The Battkefoads arcadd gane was way better than an other port. It was one of the reasonsxwhy people bought the Rare Replay on XBOX ONE. Itcwas fun, looked great, had replay value, you can play as all 3 toads, and no level that everybody hated (turbo vikes and snakes). It everybody expected and wanted.
Mr Top Hat speaks to my soul with his content.
They should have stayed true to the original
The Pokémon Company: Mind if I copy your homework, Rare?
it's sad I was so excited when I heard it...then I read Saturday morning cartoon, the ugly Toad designs, the unsexy Dark Queen and the attempt to use the game to mock the old fans for criticizing it and went yeah screw Rare
I like the art style, but I must say, about the gameplay...
What the HELL does the game want to be?
A brawler?
A platformer?
An arcade shooter?
I don't know why exactly. The battletoads has a vibe that would allow it to fit into the rick and Morty universe. As an alternate reality.
Sci Fi and brutal violence sprinkled with humor.
I quite enjoy the new Battletoads gameplay-wise but the dated Flash cartoon look is a turnoff for sure.
I got the Sega Genesis version of BattleToads. A very awesome version of the NES release. Got to love that Sega Genesis soundtrack and graphics.
I played this game on gamepass and was immediately not a fan of the art style or the characterizing of the toads themselves and the defiling of Dark Queen!!!! I personally thought the story was bad, the jokes not funny and stopped playing it after I completed the 1st act. Haven't played it in over a year. Great video like always sir! \m/
The art style is weird but it's smoothly animated
The animation looks good and it's very colorful but the art style does NOT fit at all. I'm also tired of seeing classic franchises getting sequels or reboots with hand drawn graphics. I want pixels and sprites with lots of detail. And with today's hardware they could do a lot more with that style, but instead we get this garbage.
I can say this is a case of IP abuse, specifically (name recognition push), that is they tried to use the pre-existing franchise to push something totally new that they had low hopes would survive on its own. Basically just slapping the names and basic appearance of the main characters into a completely unrelated game with minor tweeks to the story to accommodate this.
battletoads reboot makes me so sad due to the amount of potential it had. there was a real fanbase if they could have satisfied would have made this game one of the best reboots of all time..the character model design of Rash in Killer Instinct had me so excited for what was to come..
this let me down, I couldn't even complete it
This game in my mind doesn't even exist and I'm still waiting for Rare to get off their ass and give us a proper Battletoads game.
The cutscenes in this game reminds of when The Fairly Oddparents went to flash animation during their final season. Meh
Shhh! Don't give Butch Hartman ideas!
This game was terribly lame. I had to stop playing. The jokes were lame. The graphics were bad. The game was so Uninteresting.
Add in the really bad writing/comedy elements and the characterization (or lack there of) and you see a game made by people who have absolutely no connection to the series. Not made by rare, not made by fans, not made by anyone that actually cares about the franchise
Man that new battle toads game looks like hot garbage
The franchise was dead and dormant for nearly 20 years, Battletoads 2020 was great for how took the literal whiz out of what came before.
Yeah I have to say that the writing in this game was hilarious. I might be one if the few that loves the art style since the 3 brothers really have distinct personalities and one of the parts of the game have them play a toads version of rock paper scissors. The ONLY thing I can even complain about is how they dressed up the dominatrix queen. They should have kept that in and added the previous entries bosses. Otherwise this game is a banger.
Are they brothers? They never talk about it. It doesn't matter.
@@Wendy_O._Koopa You, know i never really thought of that, i double checked with the wiki and the lore actually states that Zitz, Pimple and Rash were human game testers who were transformed into a toad upon entering the Gamescape. Pimple's human name is George Pie. Zitz human name is Morgan Ziegler. Rashes name is Dave Shar. Based on the different surname, it seems that they are unrelated. Thanks for heads up on that, i assumed they were brothers but looks like they are just buddies haha.
@@kaptainkommando6568 If you want to know the truth, that was literally just a quote from the (2020) game. The gamer lore is news to me. Though, I wonder if it's actual canon, or just for that cartoon pilot I've heard about from the 90's? Later on there's a callback like "Just this once, let's talk about it." or something, but like that's something to be addressed later... and it's never expanded upon in game. Maybe even the writers couldn't decide if they were brothers or not?
Battletoads didn't start out good at all, contrary to what the internet thinks now. It was a "hit" because of marketing and it looked good, but most kids put it down pretty quick. All the technical achievements were ruined by the difficulty curve which kept most kids from getting very far.
It's very similar to Bayou Billy in that way. That game was also everywhere because it looked good and because of heavy marketing, but you got real tired of playing the first part and dying.
In both cases, the games used arcade style beat 'em up difficulty for the gameplay without the ability to stick more quarters in to keep playing. The high difficulty curve creates the kind of challenge many modern gamers like to go back to, but for most kids who wanted a full game experience without the frustration, it would be better to go back to TMNT2 or similar.
Also... In both Battletoads and Bayou Billy... The Japanese versions were easier... The increased difficulty in the US versions were supposedly to curb rental sales... In other words, so people couldn't beat in a weekend while renting it...
Hmmmm. I was in elementary school, the 5th grade, when Battletoads came out and EVERYONE was playing it. It certainly wasn't put down quickly like you're suggesting. Was the game insanely hard? Yes, but that didn't stop anyone from playing it. The graphics and music were cutting edge at the time. Moreover, the gameplay was smooth and satisfying, which kept us coming back and determined to figure it out, just like any excessively difficult game from this era. However, what you're saying about Bayou Billy is more accurate. Again, a game with great visuals and sound. However, unlike Battletoads, the various gameplay engines were clunky and just didn't play all that great.
I have to disagree with you, or state flatly that your generalization is plain wrong.
I remember playing these games when they were new and I was quite young. First off, children had a longer attention span and less alternatives, so if you liked the visuals and feel of a game you would keep going back to it regardless of difficulty. My sister and I spent countless hours on the Battletoads titles despite being of mediocre play skill and the constant gameovers. This is by no means a unique story to my experience, nor is this experience exclusive to Battletoads, a harder gaming experience did not mean kids calling it quits by any means.
Again I am not basing this using my own experience as the universal truth, kids play games, kids talk about games, what people say today is concurrent with past experiences.
You also had kids that would get one or two games a year. And games such as Battletoads and Contra 3 were fun and challenging for many months, where as other games were clockable in a few hours and the kids stopped playing it after a week or it was only worth a rental. Same reason why people love the one vs one fighting game genre. Some of us like a challenge.
Poor dark queen. Look what they did to her. Yuck!
There was a Battletoads game in 2020?
look am confused, was the battletoads 1994 arcade that ruined the franchise or this?
I mean. It's a flash game. Nothing to see here, moving along.
The only thing I see that held it back was that, well, it held itself back in the general tone of the series.
While it was originally marketed as an edgier TMNT back in the day, it had a more cheesy, risky feeling to it with its themes and character design.
What I don't understand is that they toned things down in general for that Saturday Morning Cartoon feel, but then you'd have "adult" moments like the Dark Queen swearing or flipping the toads off.
That, and the minigame sections at the end felt more like padding rather than something that enhanced the story or at least provided a nice change of pace. While the previous games also had minigames for variety, they still made sense for the world and were fun and frantic, while most minigames here felt weak and half-baked.
The animations are gorgeous though and I personally like the new art style, except for the Dark Queen which they totally butchered.
I have a lot more to say on this, but this is getting pretty long already so I'll stop it here.
I look forward to a sequel that focuses more on the beat 'em up aspect and a fewer but more developed and fun minigames.
The original Battletoads on NES was BRUTAL! I never could have finished it without infinite lives! And the whole need to memorize so much, and be brutally precise with everything was just absolute HELL! But bringing down the Dark Queen at the very end was an epic payoff!
Battletoads for Arcade was awesome, but it feels like an entire level was cut before the cabinet was released! I was hoping for a final level where we'd get to go 1-1 with the Dark Queen herself, and not her minions!
The SNES game was fun, though buttons needed to be tweaked... Still good.
Battletoads 2020? I never got to really play it, but I saw a longplay of it. The story was dull as crap, like... 4Kids level of dull cringe. The de-sexualization of the Dark Queen was just a betrayal to the fans. Part of the reason we liked Battletoads was the stark differences between Princess Angellica whom was wholesome and adorable but also beautiful and gentle, and the Dark Queen whom was visibly hyper-sexual but ruthlessly commanding. One could say the line between the kind of man you are could be dependent on which of the two human monarchal figures you were more fond of. The more traditional Princess Angellica? Or the more commanding and sexual Dark Queen? Battletoads 2020 has the same identity problem as Ghostbusters 2016, but a lot less political.
Battletoads 2020 could have been better if they didn't change the Dark Queen's design. Keep her sexy, make the art style more serious, boost the gore, make blood fly! Take for formula of the console versions, add the violence of the arcade game, and the visual of the more serious games. Don't cop out and go full California CN style for the characters, make the story more apocalyptic! Hell, I'd be fine with the concept of the Utopians as reality-sapping parasites that want to force all realities into their cookie-cutter design of boring and bland rhetoric where there is no such thing as fun, no culture, and no hope! Forcing the Battletoads to align with the Dark Queen, and we see a whole expansion of the lore of the Rareverse! Do crossovers with Banjo-Kazooie as a gag, maybe a cameo by Joanna Dark sniping bad guys for you? I mean, the way Battletoads 2020 was, it felt hollow, or shallow, a shallow hollowed out husk of what we knew Battletoads to be. An unlikely alliance between the toads and the Dark Queen could have been great, like adding the Dark Queen's minions to the mix as playable characters like General Slaughter, and Big Blaig to flesh out a total of 6 playable characters!
At this point, I think Microsoft should just sell the Battletoads IP to Nintendo. Nintendo should buy out Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, and so many more older developers. Microsoft has been trying to phase out the Xbox hardware for years now. And Sony is just dying.
Yo what they did to the Dark Queen was an insult. It wasn’t subtle, it implies the OG design was wrong hence you were wrong if you liked it. And chances are if you were into Battle Toads you did like it. Nobody wants watered down sloppy seconds. They want a cool idea to be a relevant again with fresh new games that build on the old.
Remake was trash streets of rage 4 showed how to make a comeback and much better game
Streets of Rage 4: 7/10
Battletoads 2020: 8/10
-IGN
🤦♂️
They got it right
@@SDSOverfiend denile isnt only a river.
@@nunayadamnbusiness It’s your state of being. You sound depressed Walter.. are you depressed?
@@SDSOverfiend ha, never thought I'd see a shaft reference in 2022. Love it.
@@nunayadamnbusiness 😂 That line don’t get enough love
I tryed it. hated it. Want back to street of rage 4.
I really enjoyed this game but it was woefully uneven in its difficulty.
I completely agree with you
Yeah everyone is tripping. I enjoyed this game a ton
I wonder have Top Hat ever covered Capcom's Power Stone and aldo Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam Fight For NYC before??