Trailer Impressions: Battletoads – Official Release Date

A surprise teaser was shown at Microsoft’s E3 2018 for a Battletoads reboot coming in 2019. That didn’t happen, but the game was shown again during a sizzle reel the following E3. Most were not digging the new art style, only to discover that Rare is not working on the title but Dlala Studios is with Rare overseeing the game. Early gameplay showed it running at 60 fps, but the hit detection was off and the slowdowns were horrendous.

Not to long after the Xbox Games Showcase this new trailer appeared with a release date of August 20, which in itself is weird since games are usually released on a Tuesday and Fridays for Nintendo games. The trailer gets meta about their comeback and shows off new gameplay. My history of Battletoads is small. I didn’t play the games, but I’ve heard about it being a difficult game. It wasn’t until Rare Replay where I played the original and the arcade that’s included in the collection.

The big talk is about the visuals. While it is surprising to see a series go from a gritty comics design to parody TMNT, to something you would mistake for a show on Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network, it’s something I got used to (changing Dark Queen’s attire is something I knew would happen given the “gaming climate”).

While the visuals will turn a lot of fans off, the gameplay shows that it will (hopefully) retain the gameplay that you’ll remember, along with the fan favorite bike levels. Thanks to this being on Game Pass, I’ll give it a try and see if this reboot is worth a go.