Battletoads Arcade

Battletoads Arcade, also known as Super Battletoads or just Battletoads, is a 1994 scrolling beat 'em up arcade game in the Battletoads series developed by Rare and published by Electronic Arts. Up to three players, as the Battletoads, brawl aliens and mutant rodents through six levels to save the universe from the Dark Queen. The game also includes vertical and bonus levels. Each Toad has its own signature attack, and as customary for the series, players can knock enemies towards the screen, breaking the fourth wall.

Rare took greater liberties with violence and gore in Battletoads Arcade since the product was not destined for home consoles. It was Rare's first game to use the 3D graphics technology later implemented in Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct. Although the game playtested well and appeared financially viable, the publisher hesitated to release it. The game proved unsuccessful in the arcades and Rare canceled its in-production ports, including its finished and tested handheld Game Boy release. Battletoads Arcade's poor performance led to a 26-year franchise hiatus that ended with the 2020 series reboot.

Battletoads Arcade received its console debut when it was emulated in the 2015 Rare Replay, a compilation of games from Rare's history for the Xbox One. Rare Replay reviewers were surprised by the arcade game's quality and some considered it a highlight of the package.

Gameplay

Battletoads Arcade is a coin-operated, scrolling beat 'em up arcade game. Up to three players, as the Battletoads (Rash, Pimple, and Zitz), punch and kick oncoming enemies through six levels to save their alternate universe from the Dark Queen. Arcade was the first Battletoads game to feature three-player cooperative multiplayer. Players control their characters with eight-directional joysticks and two buttons (attack and jump). Characters can run if the player pushes the joystick twice in the same direction. The Toads vary in fighting style: Rash is nimble, Pimple is burly, and Zitz is a balance of the two. As customary for the series, the Toads can knock enemies off-screen such that they appear to fly towards the players, breaking the fourth wall. The Toads can also eat flies to regenerate health. Each Toad has its own signature exaggerated power and attack, in which their limbs turn into objects such as axes and drills. Enemies include aliens, mutant rodents, and snowmen.

Each level has a unique theme, such as a "Christmas grotto", and a boss fight finale. Some bosses, such as General Slaughter, return from previous games. Some levels differ in presentation and gameplay. Some levels are Double Dragon-style 2.5D brawlers, while others are strictly two-dimensional. In one level, the Toads wear jetpacks and descend a tunnel, and in the final level, the Toads shoot enemies from a vehicle. Players can also destroy a spaceship in a Street Fighter II-style bonus stage. Battletoads Arcade is displayed in standard definition raster graphics in horizontal orientation with either mono or stereo sound within an upright arcade cabinet.

Development and release
The game was developed by Rare, published by Electronic Arts, and released in 1994 as the fifth game in the Battletoads series. Rare founders Tim and Chris Stamper created the series in response to interest in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Battletoads series—especially the 1991 original Battletoads for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)—became popular in its own right and led to a series of sequels. Since this sequel was in development for arcades rather than consoles, Rare took greater liberties in its depiction of violence, unlike their obligations in the rest of the series. While the original NES Battletoads censored blood, Battletoads Arcade showed gore and decapitation (although this could be turned off in the game's DIP switches). The Dark Queen was also depicted in a more lascivious style. Rare had begun to experiment with 3D graphics around this time, and went with PowerAnimator (later Autodesk Maya). Battletoads Arcade was the first Rare game to use PowerAnimator, well before it was implemented in Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country.

Despite being finished, the game remained unreleased "for ages", according to Rare's George Andreas, who had worked on the game. The game had playtested and sold well in their market tests, but its release did not meet expectations. Rare had completed and tested a handheld Game Boy port of Battletoads Arcade but it was cancelled following the arcade game's poor sales.

Developer(s) Rare
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Producer(s) Chris Stamper
Tim Stamper
Designer(s) Gregg Mayles
Kevin Bayliss & Chris Sutherland
Pete Cox & Chris Stamper (hardware)
Programmer(s) Chris Sutherland
Artist(s) Steve Mayles
Kevin Bayliss
Composer(s) Dave Wise
Series Battletoads
Platform(s) Arcade
Release 1994
Genre(s) Beat 'em up
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

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