Battletoads/Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team, also known as Battletoads & Double Dragon - The Ultimate Team, is a 1993 beat 'em up game developed by Rare and published by Tradewest. The fourth game in the Battletoads series, it is a crossover with the Double Dragon series of beat 'em up games developed by Technos Japan. It was first released for the NES, with ports for the Super NES, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and Nintendo Game Boy. Despite the presence of the Double Dragon characters, Technos had no actual role in the game's development outside of providing the license to Tradewest.
Plot[]
Following her crushing defeat at the hands of the Battletoads on Ragnarok's World, the humiliated Dark Queen hightailed it to the outer reaches of the universe. Months have passed... and the Queen's parting threat of revenge has become a distant memory to Professor T. Bird and the Battletoads - Zitz, Rash and Pimple.
However, when a mysterious energy beam from outer space renders Earth's military might powerless, and a city-sized spaceship called the Colossus smashes out of the moon, the Professor knows it has to be the Dark Queen trying her latest galaxy-dominating plan.
He's right, of course, but what he doesn't realize is that the shady lady's taking no chances this time, and she's cunningly teamed up with the equally shady Shadow Boss! This means that the Battletoads will not only have to fight the Queen and her sidekicks, General Slaughter, Big Blag and Robo Manus - but Abobo and Roper, the Shadow Boss's minions, as well!
So, that's how it stands 'toads: the Dark Queen's got herself some serious back-up and now she's comin' to take over your Earth - what're ya gonna do about it? First of all you're gonna get the sides EVEN! Those terrific twins, Billy and Jimmy Lee, otherwise known as the Double Dragon, are just rarin' to get in on the action, 'specially since the Shadow Boss is their archest of enemies!
After picking up the Dragons in the Battlecopter, it's time to play space-cadets and intercept the mighty Colossus. Now's the time to get MAD n' BAD, as you begin your epic quest to save Earth from the bad guys. It's not gonna be easy, team - the Colossus is a BIG ship and there's bound to be a whole ton of trouble waiting within it's neutronshields. And with trouble, comes questions: will the team-up between the 'toads and the dragons be tight enough to defeat the dark hordes? And if so, will the Dark Queen and the Shadow Boss hang around long enough for you to settle the score?
Gameplay[]
The player has a choice of five playable characters: Billy and Jimmy Lee from Double Dragon, and Zitz, Pimple, and Rash from Battletoads. Though the five characters have slight differences in performance, in general the 'Toads are faster and have slower, but more powerful Smash Hits, whereas the Dragons use Dragon Techniques that reacts better but aren't as damaging. The player must proceed through seven stages, kicking and punching each enemy that comes onscreen. A boss is included at the end of each stage, challenging the player before they can progress to a higher level of the game.
Credits[]
- Director: Tim Stamper
- Producers: Joel Hochberg and Chris Stamper
- Designers: Chris Stamper and Tim Stamper
- Programmer: Steve Patrick
- Additional Programmer: Mark Betteridge
- Graphic Artists: Kevin Bayliss and Dean Smith
- Music Composer: David Wise
- Sound Programmer: Chris Stamper
Reception[]
Chris Bieniek of VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine reviewed the Genesis port of Battletoads/Double Dragon, rewarding it with 7 points out of 10. While Bieniek complimented the sharp graphics and solid controls, he found the game to be less challenging than previous Battletoad entries and saw fault in the lack of heavy drum sounds for the music.[1] Mega (UK) was less impressed with the title, with Andy Dyer only scoring it 42%. Dyer denounced it as a basic, unchallenging game with simplistic graphics, unconvincing sounds, and repetitive gameplay.[2]
Trivia[]
- Since the developers at Rare were not familiar with the Double Dragon source material, there were discrepancies with certain characters. The Shadow Boss, for explain, is not based on a particular enemy, but rather is a loose amalgamation of various characters from the earlier games. He serves as the nemesis of the Lee brothers in the same way Willy did in the original arcade game, while the "Shadow Boss" name itself apparently comes from Jimmy Lee's title as the secret leader of the Black Warriors in the NES version of that same game.
- Roper, despite sharing his name with a recurring underling and being nothing more than a stage boss, is clearly intended to be Willy Mackey, the leader of the Black Warriors and arch-nemesis of the Lee brothers in the first two Double Dragon games.
References[]
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