The problem is it does too much away from what it’s known for. It’s all part of what’s supposed to be a lighthearted package, and while the majority of the jokes in this romp will fall flat, it’s all tolerable because the game flows well. To add to the humor, you even take part in QTE segments to perform their mundane tasks. As a result, they end up hilariously taking dead-end jobs–Pimple, the muscle of the group, becomes a masseuse Zitz, the quick-fisted leader, writes e-mails and hits his computer excessively and Rash, the cool toad with the sunglasses, is a handler collecting autograph money for one of the characters in Sea of Thieves. The game follows the Battletoads as you punch your way through its first level and through a series of Kim Possible-like cutscenes where you find out that they’ve been in a hologram all this time and nobody knows who they are or what they might’ve done to make them think so highly of themselves. The series hasn’t seen a new entry in 26 years, and as much of a cult-hit as Battletoads is, that’s all it’s really ever been. If this version of Battletoads is anything, it’s very self-aware.

Initially thought up as an answer to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Battletoads are three larger than life amphibians who pretty much have the same claim to fame as Marvel’s Avengers… or so they think. Fast forward five years, and Battletoads is finally back, exclusively on the Xbox One and PC. As it enjoyed some success in the 1990s, it all became surreal until they got some attention back as two games in the series were a part of the superb 2015 compilation that was Rare Replay. When Microsoft acquired Rare almost two decades ago, one of the IPs they got in the deal was Battletoads, a beat-em-up that helped games of that era earn the “Nintendo hard” moniker. Yep, these toads are pretty full of themselves, but who wasn’t in the ’90’s?

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