Battletoads

Battletoads is fun to play but far from perfect.

The greatest success of Battletoads is to have understood what it means to revive a franchise like this, which dates back so long: each of the elements were reviewed, polished and recreated with a lot of heart, encouraging new and unknown ideas, always faithful to the original game.

If the developers had focused more on the beat'em-up sections, we would have had in our hands one of the best exponents of the genre of modern times. As it stands, however, it is just a compilation of well-made half games.

Despite its mistakes, I enjoyed both of my games from start to finish. If you have Game Pass, you need to give it a try, whether on Xbox One or PC, you won't regret it.

Battletoads revives what was thought to be a long-dead franchise without missing a step. The game benefits from modernized game mechanics but maintains the overall gameplay feel of the original titles. If you have fond memories of the earlier titles, it’s a no brainer that this is a title worth playing. The game does rely on nostalgia, but this is one of the better reboots around. Battletoads succeeds at making a game look and feel modern while maintaining the essence of what made it good so many years ago. Battletoads does offer a variety of different modes in addition to primarily being a beat ’em up title. It’s a truly ridiculous game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s good to see that after such a long break the ‘Toads are still on top of their game.

The new Battletoads is almost as beefy as its musclebound heroes, serving up a substantial 5-to-7-hour campaign as well as additional collectibles and high-score challenges. Not bad for $20. Battletoads 2020 probably won’t be quite as durable as the NES original, but you may find yourself hopping back into the game more often than you expect.