Battletoads

Battletoads returned in 2020 after a long hiatus, in a form nobody quite expected — a cartoonish, visually exaggerated brawler with a heavy dose of humor at the expense of its own past. Rash, Zitz, and Pimple wake up after years spent in a simulation and discover that nobody has cared about them for a long time. From that grows a story about chasing lost glory, one that pokes fun both at nostalgia and at how much games have changed over the years. The trio then tries to make their way back into a world that has since been taken over by someone else entirely.

At its core is a three-player co-op beat 'em up that tries to have a deeper combat system than is typical: each toad has a different reach, tempo, and set of attacks, enemies have color-coded defenses that require the right type of attack, and deflecting projectiles is a given. Between brawls, the game keeps breaking into other genres — puzzles, arcade sections, a hoverbike ride that's a tribute to the notoriously infamous level from the original, and utterly absurd minigames. This constant switching is both the game's main asset and its biggest weakness, since not all the interludes are equally well made. Difficulty can be adjusted, and the game even offers a mode in which you can practically not lose, which, given the franchise's reputation, is almost ironic.

The visuals are entirely hand-drawn and animated in the spirit of modern TV cartoons, which makes the game a great spectacle and also contrasts noticeably with the original's rougher style. The music is energetic, and scenes are full of voiced humor. Reception was mixed — the game was criticized for inconsistency and reduced difficulty compared to the legendarily brutal original, while its look and co-op were praised. Today it's an enjoyable short game for one evening with three players, and also an interesting attempt at reviving a brand that survived mostly on its reputation. The game was also released straight into a subscription service, so it reached far more people than would be typical for reviving such an old brand.