If you were gaming back in the early ’90s, then you’re likely familiar with Battletoads, one of several franchises that were created to combat the kings of anthropomorphic super heroes of the time, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While the Turtles reigned supreme, the Battletoads were pretty cool in their own right. Their original video game outing on the NES is legendary for its difficulty, and a badge of honor for those who actually have beaten the game.
While Battletoads is mostly a beat’em up type of game, every so often it would feature a level with different gameplay to break things up. One such example is the third level called Turbo Tunnel. Here your heroic toad would ride a hovering jet ski type of vehicle, and as he sped along would have to dodge approaching obstacles from the left, right, up and down or face an instant death. Sound familiar? It’s pretty much a similar formula to most endless runners on the iOS platform.
Well, Elektron Games are looking to pay a much closer homage to that old Battletoads Turbo Tunnel level with their upcoming game Toad Rider. You’ll race across levels avoiding objects and battling enemies just like you’d expect, but Toad Rider looks to have a few new tricks up its sleeve as well, like new abilities and power-up items. Check out the official trailer.
Being that the original Turbo Tunnel level is one of the most notoriously difficult and unforgiving sections of a video game ever, it’s crazy to think that there are people out there who actually wanted to relive that experience. Crazy, and awesome. I remember retrying that level dozens if not hundreds of times with my friends back then, and excruciating as it could be, once we finally passed the level (and eventually, the entire game) it was an incredibly satisfying experience.
I’m looking forward to seeing Elektron’s take with Toad Rider, which is set to launch next week on February 5th. Until then you can discuss the game in our forums or the comments below.
