Battletoads (arcade game)

Super Battletoads
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	1994
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up/Platformer, Action
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Battletoads aka Super Battletoads is an arcade game developed by Rare and published by Electronic Arts.

Overview

Super Battletoads is different from the console Battletoads games in a few ways. First of all, it is a three player game, and all of the toads (Zitz, Rash and Pimple) can be selected. The only other game to have all three toads as selectable characters was Battletoads and Double Dragon. Secondly, the game is more of a scrolling fighter, than the console games. While there are vehicle levels, the emphasis is merely on fighting enemies.

Additionally, while some levels are in 2 and a half dimensions, others are two-dimensional, allowing the players to duck. The game also features more graphic violence than other Battletoads games. For instance, enemies can be violently decapitated by Smash Hits.

Super Battletoads is the last known Battletoads game, and was not ported to any console. It is also the second game in the franchise to not feature The Dark Queen as a actual boss.

Mature themes

As stated above, the arcade game is extremely violent compared to the home platformers and contains strong crude humor as well. These include:

• Every landed attack causes a visible splatter of blood.
• Certain smash hits transform into more objectional objects. For instance, Zitz' fist attack will sprout needles, his knockdown attack turns his fist into a drill and his jump attack turns his leg into a sawblade. Rash's boot attack also sprouts needles.
• Some rat enemies can be bloodily decapitated with smash hits. The severed heads land on the floor and remain on screen for several seconds.
• When rat enemies are defeated, they turn into piles of bones.
• When kicking pig enemies off the screen, they squeal and boot marks are visible on their posteriors.
• When encountering General Vermin (and his clones) the toads can grab him by the scrotum & punch it.
• The rat enemies' names include: Giblet, Gonnad, Frazzle and Gertle.
• SWAT rats vomit after being knocked down. They also use guns and the toads can pick them up and use them after the SWAT rats are defeated.
• In Mission Three (the Dark Queen's battleship level), a rat soldier is seen sitting on a toilet straining to defecate, then flatulation and flush sounds are heard.
• The Dark Queen's nipples are visible through her outfit and her breasts jiggle slightly as the hologram representing her moves. Her breasts are larger than before.
• Karnath dies by getting decapitated, which causes a huge torrent of blood to issue forth from his neck, then the toads can kick his head off-screen.
• General Slaughter gets scarred and loses teeth everytime he gets knocked out or kicked off the screen.
• Robo Manus takes damage in stages. First, his hands are blasted off with a lot of blood evident. Then, his (very gory) brain becomes exposed and bleeds whenever it is shot. Finally, his head explodes and sails off screen when he's defeated, splattering even more blood.
• When completing a level, the scoreboard contains the words "Korpse Kount" which is in blood format.

Enemies

• Giblet: A short, fat rat wearing a leotard, attacks using its tail.
• Gonad: A taller skinny rat who can punch and pick up guns. Some are also seen in World 3 behind a door where they are defecating in a toilet.
• SWAT-rat: A fat short rat wearing bulletproof vest who also welds a gun, which can be picked up after being killed. When they get up, they usually vomit.
• Frazzle: A rat wearing a fireproof suit who can only kick.
• Wrenchie: A short rat that uses a giant wrench as a club.
• Grunty: A large psycho-pig soldier that kicks and punches. Some wear spiked armor and carry electrified maces.
• Mr. Frosty: Disguised as a snowman, it comes alive when you venture near it. They throw snowballs and transform into large snowboulders.
• Scammy: A tiny rat in elf clothes that runs and jumps on top of the player.
• Rabid Rudolph: A muscle-bounded reindeer that charges with its antlers. Blue versions withstand more hits.
• Grogg: Small frog-like wyverns that rapidly bite at players. Orange Groggs are easy to kill, brown Groggs take twice as much damage, and black Groggs take even more. Groggs will appear both alone, and in swarms.
• Snapper: Small spear-like creatures that emerge from boil-shaped holes.
• Ugly mug: An ugly face on the walls that use their eyes as clubs and spit out giant red blood cells.
• Assault craft: Stingray-shaped robots that shoot diagonally.
• Turrets: These machines come in different types. Rising up and firing left or right, ball-shaped turrets that drop electric orbs, and small flamethrowers.
• Defense drone These orbs come in two kinds, homing towards the player, and exploding, projecting clusters in an X shape. Robo-Manus uses a variation of the second type in one of his attacks.
• Robot walkers: Large yet slow robots that shoot homing rockets. Yellow ones are weak, red ones are medium-strong, and blue ones are strong.
• Gurtle: Rats piloting aircrafts in the shape of rat heads. Some drop enemies on the ground, and in World 6, they shoot lasers.

Bosses

• General Slaughter: Fights by charging at the player, attempting to gore them with his horns. Defeated by dodging his charge and attacking him while he lines up another attack. Every time he's knocked down, he is scarred and loses teeth
• Karnath: Originally an obstacle in the previous games, he now appears as a boss. Karnath attacks by biting the player with his enormous fangs, causing a disproportionate amount of blood to gush from the player as he shakes them about the screen. If this attack depletes the player's lifebar, he also slams the player into the ground a few times before swallowing them. If he misses, though, his fangs become lodged in the soil, leaving him open for retribution from the player. When Karnath is defeated, the player decapitates him, causing a torrent of blood to gush out of his neck as it swings wildly and retracts into the wall.
• Scuzz: Blag's lackey, encountered piloting a giant robot, with a hologram of the Dark Queen watching in the background. Scuzz attacks primarily with arm-mounted lasers. When the robot sustains enough damage, the arms are removed, and Scuzz resorts to eye lasers. When the robot's head and torso have sustained enough damage, his last remaining recourse is to kick the player, and attempting to stomp on them.
• General Vermin: Only a sub-boss, he is usually accompanied with recolored clones. Fights by kicking the player in the air, and grabbing the player and kneeing them in the head. When the player deals damage to General Vermin, it is dealt by repeated blows to the groin.
• Big Blag: When normal sized, he punches and executes a rolling attack. When grown to his giant size, Blarg attempts to flatten the player by leaping into the air and squashing them under his immense weight. When Blag is defeated, his bellybutton pops and he comically deflates, flying around the area like a balloon.
• Robo Manus: The final boss of the game. Robo Manus attacks by using rockets, fireballs, bombs, and orbs. First, his hands must be shot at and blown off, followed by his helmet, to reveal his weakspot: his brain. He also suffers a gruesome death where his head explodes and hits the screen. However, he cries out "I'll be back!!"
• Admiral Oink: A new villain who is pictured in the background of World 4-B, Oink resembles a giant pig wearing a Santa Claus suit. There is speculation he may be a secret boss hidden in World 2, which was a snowy, Christmas-themed level.