Battletoads was a great game when I was a kid, and I can still have fun playing it with friends today.  For the most part Battletoads popularity was due to extremely difficult game play, exaggerated fighting moves (heads, fists, and feet would enlarge into gigantic versions while performing attacks), and also the variety of level styles they had.  Although after its release in 1991 many more versions and sequels followed, I will still favor the original Battletoads for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Continue on to see a brief overview, history, and where to find downloads.

Notice the similarities between the Battletoads and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Enlarged reptilian people must have been a popular genre.

Being named after bad skin conditions two of the Battletoads, Rash and Zitz, were on a mission to save a third, Pimple, along with Princess Angelica from the Dark Queen who rules Ragnarok with armies of Giant Rats and Pigs among other things.  Professor T Bird and his ship, The Vulture, assist the toads as they battle through 12 various levels including:

• 3D and 2D beat em’ up style levels.
• Racing (ground and air) through obstacles levels.
• Getting chased by a one hit kill enemy level.
• Climbing and jumping, as well as falling levels.
• An underwater level.
• And 2 tower scaling levels which included the last level when you climb the Dark Queen’s tower.

This game has always been considered a very infuriating game to play.  From friendly fire in 2 player mode to only having the very low amount of 3 lives.  No continue, save, or password options existed in Battletoads.  There were a few tricks for people who could find them though.  On the 2nd level a quick player could end up getting 10 or so lives to use through the rest of the game (I wont ruin the secret how.)  And also, throughout the game you could find warp points and if used efficiently could bypass half of the game without using a life.

Battletoads was considered to be one of the most graphically advanced games for the NES at a time when the gaming industry was breaking into the Sega Genesis system and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.  After the initial release and success of the first game a game with the same title was released for the Gameboy.  Although they had the same title the Gameboy game was completely different with a dissimilar story and levels.  Later after that another Gameboy game that was a copy of the NES version was released as Battletoads in Ragnarok’s World, with a small change making it only 1 player.  Between 1 and 2 years later Battletoads & Double Dragons was released for NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, and Gameboy.  In this game the Double DragonsLee brothers team up with the Battletoads as the Dark Queen and Shadow Boss make an alliance.  Soon after Battletoads in Battlemaniacs came out and had better graphics and bigger characters.  Most notably though in this game the characters each had their own set of attacks and a special that suited their personality.  Lastly, there was the arcade game Super Battletoads which differed from any console version a great deal.  The biggest differences included being a 3 player game, being mature rated (some people would consider this game violent, disgusting, explicit, or offensive – I call it fun.  The game adds blood, vomit, decapitation, piles of bones from the dead, crotch grabbing, gun use, toilets being used, nipples, and overall very gory scenes.)

You can find emulators for these systems everywhere, and roms for the games too.  Google!  If you want a much better experience and some multiplayer, I would recommend tracking down a copy of one of the games and the system it fits in.  On eBay they sell those generic double systems that play both Sega and Nintendo games for pretty cheap.  You do get what you pay for though, so if you have a legit Sega, NES, or SNES they would be much more enjoyable to play on.  Especially when it comes to controller quality.