BattleToads/Double Dragon

Lets talk about video game crossovers.

Nowadays, they are common.  You have Marvel Vs. Capcom, Mortal Kombat vs D.C., Mario and Sonic’s Olympic Games and dozens of others.  That’s to say nothing of Super Smash Brothers, which is arguably the greatest crossover game of all time.  Just look at all the characters in the latest version.

They weren’t always as common as they are now, but gaming crossovers have always had a place in the medium.  For all the things developers mess up, they are also something that is usually done right.  In 1993, Tradewest probably figured “hey, our two biggest IPs are among the gaming world’s most popular beat em ups, lets mix them together!”  So, we got Battle Toads/Double Dragon on SNES/Genesis. 

Anyone who owned an NES is probably very familiar with these two franchises (this game also came out on the NES, by the way). Both were two player co-op beat em’ ups where you moved to the right and put the boots to anyone in your way.  They had similar control schemes, presentation and graphics.  Double Dragon spawned a pair of 8 bit sequels, while BattleToads is notorious for its insane, unfair difficulty.  But with the 16 bit era came waning popularity.  Now these franchises are largely forgotten by casual gamers, particularly BattleToads.  

While the games are similar, they did have their slight differences and Tradewest decided to lean more towards BattleToads than Double Dragon for the crossover.  That was likely a mistake, as it retains what I think are slippery controls and awkward hit detection from the former.  You have a regular punch and throw, along with a slam attack and other special moves.  These are somewhat difficult to pull off and which one actually activates is essentially up to chance.  This isn’t as big an issue with the dragons, as the Lee brothers can consistently land jump kicks to do top damage.  The BattleToads, however, rely on these special attacks against stronger enemies and bosses, making them far more difficult to play as.

The graphics are nice, the characters are fairly detailed and so are the enemies.  The backgrounds are excellent and showcase some of the best graphics on the 16-bit consoles.  The same is true of the bosses, who are big, menacing and incredibly detailed.  There are some really cool effects, including the scrolling on the speeder bike stage (which, side note, is way shorter and easier than Turbo Tunnel) and the first boss fight, where you send Double Dragon stalwart Abobo flying towards the screen.  The character attack animations, especially the BattleToads’ attacks, are really cool.  I crack up every time they turn into rams or bells or whatever.  It’s clear that the developers had done this before, everything here is quality.

That being said, the difficulty is incredibly unbalanced.  Difficulty in video games should look like a rising arc.  That is most certainly not the case here.  I don’t know how they managed to pack such a schizophrenic difficulty curve into a game with only seven levels, but here we are.  The first level comes at you hard and fast, with tough to hit flying enemies, tough mini bosses and the potential for one hit deaths. Level two, you could beat with your eyes closed (although it is MUCH tougher for the toads).  Level 3 is absurdly, unfairly difficult with unfair jumps and a crazy boss.  Then, you get a space shooter stage that starts tough and gets easier as it goes.  Level five turns up the difficulty again, but levels six and seven are among the easiest.  It’s kind of frustrating and makes for a very uneven experience.

The biggest reason to play this game is going to be multiplayer.  While its overall a better experience with two people, there are a few flaws.  The biggest is that when one player dies, both players go back to the last checkpoint immediately. The player who died will come back with full lives, but the player who didn’t will still have whatever was left.  This may not seem like a big deal, but it makes it way easier to completely lose all of your progress.  It’s almost better for the other player to purposely lose their last life bar or two just so you can be at the same point.  

The game offers two multiplayer modes, an “A” mode where you can’t hit your partner or a “B” mode where you can.  Unless you want to lose friends or aggravate your siblings, I suggest you not touch “B” mode.  Anyone that has played the original BattleToads will back me up on that.

In conclusion, BattleToads/Double Dragon is fun, especially with a second player.  It’s difficult, but the difficulty is such that it makes you say “alright, time to take another shot at this” far more than “I am tired of constantly dying and want to play something else.”  There really isn’t anything to write home about though and there are certainly better beat em’ up options on either 16 bit system.

Version differences:  Of course, we have to compare the the SNES and Genesis versions.  The SNES version looks and sounds waaaay better.  The Genesis version does have a few additional tracks, but that doesn’t change the fact that the sound is terrible.  Sega is a little smoother, but it doesn’t matter as this game isn’t exactly fast paced.  It also has blood on the game over screens, but that isn’t enough to put it over the top.  Controls and gameplay are generally similar, there would be no issue playing this on a 3 button Genesis controller and the SNES layout is just fine.  The better graphics and sound give the edge to the SNES.

7/10

Play this if:

You love BattleToads and Double Dragon

You are looking for a co-op beat em up

You like beat em ups that cut a little quicker pace

Avoid if:

You are easily frustrated by being sent back after dying

You like more consistent controls

You are looking for something that will last for more than a single sittingBa