Battletoads

Battletoads is a platformer video game created by Tim and Chris Stamper and developed by Rare as the first installment of the Battletoads series. It was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and subsequently ported by Mindscape to the Amiga in 1992, by Arc System Works to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, by Rare to the Game Boy in 1993 (retitled as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World), and by Mindscape to the Amiga CD32 in 1994. Ports for PC DOS and Atari ST were planned by Mindscape but never released.

Battletoads is arguably one of the most graphically advanced video games ever released for the NES, at a time when the video game market was turning to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game became famous for its extreme difficulty and humorous ways of beating enemies, as during finishing attacks, the character's body parts transform into gigantic, exaggerated appendages for devastating attacks and comic effect.

The levels of Battletoads vary in gameplay style. Most prominent are "beat-em-up" levels that appear as either traditional side-scrolling stages or as isometric platforming stages, in which the players progress by defeating enemies. The players can finish off enemies in special ways, such as punching or kicking with an enlarged fist or boot, or by transforming into a wrecking ball.

In obstacle course and race levels, the character must dodge a series of obstacles while driving or flying at high speed, or outrun an enemy that can instantly kill a player's character. Other levels include a climbing/jumping "snake maze", an underwater level with lethal spikes and dangerous monsters, and two "tower climb" levels.

There are four "warp points" hidden in various levels that, when found, allow the player to automatically advance by two levels. The players start with three lives each time the game is started or continued after receiving a game over.

The plot of Battletoads is described in the instruction booklet and in the short cutscene after the title screen. Professor T. Bird and the three Battletoads, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple, are escorting Princess Angelica to her home planet using their spacecraft, the Vulture. Pimple and Angelica decide to take a temporary leisurely trip on Pimple's own ship. They are ambushed and captured by the Dark Queen and her troops, who were recently defeated by the Galactic Corporation and have retreated into hiding. Pimple sends out a distress signal to the Vulture, alerting Professor Bird, Rash, and Zitz that Pimple and Angelica have taken to Ragnarok's World. The Vulture flies to Ragnarok's World, where Professor Bird releases Rash and Zitz. The two descend beneath the planet's surface, where Pimple and Angelica are imprisoned.