The intrinsic of appeal of games like Battletoads is its flat out refusal to engage with any sentiment of fairness or rational discourse. The game will throw nonsensical hazards, unforseeable traps and twitchy, white-knuckle obstacles without a moments notice and upon the player's failure to complete them will respond in a mocking and cheeky tone.

Though obstensively a parody or possibly even satire of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise the game blends a distinctly British science-fiction aesthetic not unlike the social satire of 2000 AD or Jude Dredd magazine. Enemies are grusomely dispatched, the colours are vivid and pointed and the characters talk in a tone that seems to be mocking the edge and 'tude of the 90s long before it was mainstream.

What elevates Battletoads beyond what aforementioned sounds like a bad game is its refined control scheme: the toads behave exactly as you intend and none of the player's pratfalls seem ever attributed to the game's mechanical shortcomings. It is this precision that allows the experience of the player to enjoy the constant beatings and failures to master one of the hardest games ever made.


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