Battletoads

バトルトード (Batoru Tōdo)NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear +31991

  1. JP1991
  2. NA1991
  3. EU1993
  4. RUDendy

Battletoads kept its name in the West and was released in Japan as バトルトード (Batoru Tōdo); the Game Boy port of the NES game was renamed Battletoads in Ragnarok's World. The easiest legal ways to play the NES original today are the Nintendo Switch Online NES library and the Rare Replay compilation on Xbox.

Battletoads is a beat 'em up developed by Rare and published by Tradewest for the NES in North America in June 1991. Rare made it in response to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze and set it apart from other brawlers with racing and climbing sections. The studio also made it extremely hard on purpose to extend its lifespan, and it is often named among the most difficult video games ever made; GameTrailers put it at No. 1 on its hardest-games list. In two-player mode the toads can hit each other, and if one player runs out of lives, both have to restart the stage.

The version history is unusually rich. The Japanese Famicom release, published by Masaya on 20 December 1991, is noticeably easier, with more lives and continues and toned-down stages, and the Genesis port by Arc System Works is based on it. Ports followed for Game Gear, Game Boy (as Battletoads in Ragnarok's World) and Amiga.

In 2015 the game was included in Rare Replay for Xbox One, which also fixed the stage 11 bug that stops Player 2 from moving. On 26 November 2025 it joined the NES library of Nintendo Switch Online. In Russia it is widely known as «Боевые жабы» and was a staple of the Dendy era.1234

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Battletoads NES June 1991 TradewestNES-BT-USA 5
NA BattletoadsPort by Arc System Works Genesis March 1993 TradewestT-97026 6
NA Battletoads in Ragnarok's WorldGame Boy port of the NES game (not the separate 1991 Game Boy Battletoads) Game Boy June 1993 TradewestDMG-R7 5
NA BattletoadsSingle-player port by Arc System Works Game Gear 1993 Tradewest 5
NA Battletoads (Legacy Cartridge Collection)Licensed cartridge re-release NES Aug 20, 2020 iam8bit 5
JP バトルトードBatoru TōdoEasier rebalanced version NES Dec 20, 1991 Masaya (NCS)NCS-8T 2
EU Battletoads NES Feb 18, 1993 TradewestNES-8T 5
JP バトルトードBatoru TōdoPort by Arc System Works Genesis Mar 26, 1993 SegaG-4074 6
EU BattletoadsPort by Arc System Works Genesis July 1993 Sega1064-50 6
EU Battletoads in Ragnarok's World Game Boy 1993 NintendoDMG-R7 5
BR Battletoads NES 1993 Playtronic 5
JP バトルトードBatoru Tōdo Game Gear Jan 14, 1994 SegaG-3311 5
EU BattletoadsAmiga and Amiga CD32 ports by Mindscape Amiga 1994 Mindscape 1
WW BattletoadsIncluded in the Rare Replay compilation Xbox One Aug 4, 2015 Microsoft Studios 1
WW BattletoadsNintendo Switch Online / Nintendo Classics NES app Switch Nov 26, 2025 Microsoft 3

Also known as: バトルトード JP2Batoru Tōdo JP7Battletoads in Ragnarok's World NA5Боевые жабы RU4

Box art by region

  • Battletoads box art, North America release
    NA Battletoads
  • Battletoads box art, Europe release
    EU Battletoads
  • バトルトード box art, Japan release
    JP バトルトード

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • DifficultyNES (JP)Genesis

    The Japanese Famicom version is much easier: it starts with 5 lives and 5 continues instead of 3 and 3, and from the Turbo Tunnel onward most stages have slower hazards, fewer enemies and traps, and weaker bosses. The Genesis/Mega Drive port is based on this easier version.2

  • Bug fixNES (JP)NES (EU)Rare Replay

    In the US NES release, a bug in stage 11 (Clinger-Winger) leaves Player 2 unable to move, so a two-player game cannot be finished. The Japanese and European versions fix it, as does Rare Replay.2

  • GameplayNES (JP)

    The Japanese version adds a title-screen menu for choosing one or two players; in the Western versions Player 2 joins by pressing Start on the map screen.2

All differences (8)

Where to play legally today

  • Xbox Game Pass Subscription

    Rare Replay

    NES version inside the Rare Replay compilation

    Checked: 2026-10-138xbox.com

  • Nintendo Switch Online Subscription

    Battletoads (NES)

    NES version

    Checked: 2026-10-139nintendo.com

  • Microsoft Store (Xbox) Purchase

    Rare Replay

    NES version inside the Rare Replay compilation

    Checked: 2026-10-138xbox.com

Reception

Reviews were mostly positive, praising the graphics, cartoon style, humor and variety, while the extreme difficulty divided opinion. Nintendo Power readers voted it as high as No. 2 in the magazine's January 1992 chart.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2tcrf.net
  3. 3videogameschronicle.com
  4. 4stopgame.ru
  5. 5gamefaqs.gamespot.com
  6. 6gamefaqs.gamespot.com
  7. 7ja.wikipedia.org
  8. 8xbox.com
  9. 9nintendo.com
  10. 10dtf.ru
  11. 11emu-land.net

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.