BATTLETOADS By Rare Coin-It Published by TRADEWEST Copyright 1991 All rights reserved ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Dzzy Strategies #6 By James Dziezynski Bruplex@aol.com or Bruplex@thesimpsons.com ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ LEGAL DISCLAIMER: THIS FAQ IS COPYRIGHT 2001 JAMES DZIEZYNSKI; ALL WORK IS THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT OF THE AUTHOR. THIS FAQ MAY ONLY APPEAR AT WWW.GAMEFAQS.COM AND WWW.VGSTRATEGIES.COM; IF YOU WISH TO HOST THIS FAQ SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL AND, AS LONG AS YOU ASK FIRST, IT SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM. IF YOU ARE MEGAGAMES.COM DON'T BOTHER. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Version 1.0-1/13/01= Everything but the walkthroughs for the warp-bypass levels. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Version 1.2-3/13/01= A perfect 2 months later!! Added the missing walkthroughs; I only need to figure out a few minor details on bad guy names and the whole thing will be in the final version!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Table of Contents INTRODUCTION I-The Battletoads Story A-Cast of Characters B-Enemies C-Controls II-Tips N' Tricks A-The Five Toad Code B-Warp Zones C-Little Oddities III-The WALKTHROUGH Level 1-Ragnarok's Canyon Level 2-Wookie Hole(Impact Crater) Level 3-Turbo Tunnel Level 4-Arctic Caverns Level 5-Surf City* Level 6-Karanth's Lair** Level 7-Volkmire's Inferno* Level 8-Intruder Excluder Level 9-Terra Tubes Level 10-Rat Race Level 11-Clinger Wingers Level 12-the Revolution *= Included at end of WALKTHROUGH due to use of warps. **=Included until warp zone in normal WALKTHROUGH; full strategy at the end of the WALKTHROUGH. IV-Appedixes of FUN! A-Talkin' Trash with the DARK QUEEN: List of Insults B-Why I love the Dark Queen C-Observations and Comments D-FAQ's (once they start coming in) E-MINI-SPOILER: Thoughts on the Ending. F-Final Thoughts ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ INTRODUCTION Picture it: 1991. Nirvana was changing the way we looked at music, the Simpsons celebrated their first year on television as a series, and a couple of clever Brits by the name of Chris and Tim Stamper decided to make a tongue-in-cheek adventure game ala Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These two brothers had founded RARE, the same company later responsible for Donkey Kong Country, Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark. A few games existed for the NES by RARE before Battletoads (RC PRO-AM, Cobra Triangle, Wizards and Warriors, to name a few) but it was the three outrageous toads named after various skin ailments that put RARE on the map of elite manufacturers. Combining super-smooth game play, humorous and witty dialogue, zany characters, a super hot villain, and enough challenge to cause the snapping in half of many an NES controller, Battletoads is easily one of the best adventure/actions games ever made on the 8 bit platform. Its elaborate stages and high-reflex challenges continue to stymie gamers to this day! That's why I'm here you lucky gamer, to give sense to the madness ;). So, without further ADIEU.... ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ BATTLETOADS I-The Battletoads Story In a galaxy very far away, the fair and lovely Princess Angelica is out for a cruise with Pimple. Your first thought may be, "What kind of girl would want to hang out with a guy named after a puss-filled skin blemish?" Well, he's not only named Pimple but he's a hulking man frog, so our conclusion would be Angelica likes Eccentric fellows. As they float about space in their 1957 Space Shuttle, their vehicle is swallowed up by the Gargantua, a huge space station commanded by the voluptuous and thoroughly foxxy Dark Evil Queen. Man, is she hot! With that raven-black hair, fine figure, sexy leather...umm, er, I mean uh she's just a video game character. She has kidnapped the Frog/girl couple and dares Professor Bird Guy and his troop of toads to rescue them. Pimple's brothers, Rash and Zitz, are up for the challenge and the game is on!! A-Cast of Characters THE GOOD GUYS PROFESSOR BIRD GUY: This Einstein-esque vulture is the commander of the Battletoads and spends most of his time waving his arms frantically about and looking at a computer screen with horrible reception. He's a little harsh on the toads but he gives them tips about upcoming levels from the comfort of his space ship, the SS Vulture. RASH: Rash is the toad you will command when using player one. He looks identical to his brother Zitz, both of whom are considerably smaller than Pimple. The only difference is Rash is green and Zitz is brown. He wears sunglasses in the game art, making him the wisecracking bad-ass of the group I suppose. ZITZ: Technically, Zitz would be the only TOAD in the group; Rash and Pimple's green skin imply a certain FROGGINESS while we all know most toads are brown. But who am I to trifle with details? He is the toad you get when you play as player 2. PIMPLE: You never actually play as Pimple, all the same is an official Battletoad. Since he is the biggest and tallest; of course he gets the girl (even though she is no where as NEAR as hot as the Dark Evil Queen!) You have to rescue his warty hide by defeating the Hot Queen. ANGELICA: The fair-haired princess who was abducted with Pimple. She certainly doesn't appear much in the game, other than to be the token damsel in distress. It's just as well; I'd rather look at the Dark Evil Queen. THE BAD GUYS THE DARK EVIL QUEEN- Who ever knew such evilness could look so good?! The Dark Evil Queen is not only fox-a-rific but can talk trash like no one else. With her skimpy outfit and stiletto-heeled boots, she constantly berates the frogs with a variety of taunts. I would like to marry her someday. ROBO-MANUS: One of the Dark Queen's two henchman, you do battle with this cyborg at the top of level 8. He's a giant metal fiend who is lucky to be in the good graces of the babe-a-licious Dark Queen. BIG BLARG: A hideous rat in overalls, Blarg guards the water caverns of level 5, Surf City. He is the complete opposite of the Dark Queen as far as looks are concerned. Why does she hang around with such losers anyway? Oh yeah, cause she's evil... ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ B-THE ENEMIES I'm not sure of all their real names, so I improvised where I didn't know. Don't send hate mail if you know their real names and I don't! LEVEL 1 Psyco Pigs-The standard beat 'em up fodder, Psyco Pigs come in two flavors: Red and Silver. Both wield axes. The Silver Pig is slightly tougher than the Red. Be careful not to get trapped in between two or more of them! Walker: A metal walking device whose brutal attack is kicking your toad in the shins. Well, the sound effects in the game make it sound worse than it is! Once you break the walker apart, you can use his head as a throwing projectile and his leg as a baseball bat. Dragon-A flying, compact, red fiend who can be ridden after he is stunned. He's not too hard to defeat, simply line up your toad with his shadow and throw punches or a headbutt. Be wary, fair frog, for if he knocks you down there is a chance he will pick you up and body slam you, killing your toad deader than doorknob and much less useful. Tall Walker-The boss of level 1. When you get to it, it switches to "WALKER VIEW". Hit him with three of the rocks he fires and he'll be smashed to smithereens! Flies-Ok, they AREN'T enemies but they are in level 1. Eat these yummy insects to restore one life block of life to your toad. Level 2 Saturn Toad Traps-Cousin of the Venus Fly traps, these plants come in two assorted varieties: Yellow and Green. The green seems slightly tougher, but both are push overs for giant toad feet or a toad wrecking ball. Raven-A simple black bird who swoops down to annoy our heroes. After knocking one out, continue pounding him for big points and an eventual one up! Razor Raven-Similar to a raven but with a giant beak just itching to cut your rappel cable! Kill them then use their beaks as a sword; the beak-sword makes getting one-ups from the ravens and razor ravens much easier. Evil Electric AM Radio-Ok what would you call them? These hovering boxes break through the walls and shoot beams of electricity at the toads. One well placed toad-wrecking ball will knock them out of commission. The silver one is quicker then the blue one. Electric Beams-These transistors spread across the screen with a deadly charge of electricity dancing between them; they are easily avoided if you rappel down at the very bottom-middle of the screen. LEVEL 3 Rat Pack-While they resemble taxi-drivers, these greasy rodents are pretty easy to kill by pounding them into the soft organic floor of the turbo tunnel and booting them in the head until they are sailing into the stratosphere! Be careful though, if you let them get a hit in it IS gonna hurt! Life Invaders-Pink and Green Space Invaders enter the game Monty- Python style to rob you of your life bricks. Remember to touch any life block they've stolen to put it back into your health meter. LEVEL 4 Frosty the Hit Man-This smug snowman hurls snow balls at the toads. Isn't that kind of cannibalistic? Look for the break in his pattern and knock him into a pile of snowballs. Look out though; if you are too close and make contact with his icy fist, you'll be next week's eighth grade dissection project. Porcupine Birthday Cakes-All these guys do is bounce back and forth between two points. Even though they don't have any special attacks, their presence will keep your toads on their toes! LEVEL 5 More walkers and life Invaders! BIG BLARG-The greasiest rat in town, he's a cross between a rat, the devil, and Elvis Presley. Once you have his pattern down he's not tough but beware of his hefty girth; one stomp flattens your frog into an amphibious frisbee. LEVEL 6 Karanth is the fancy Dungeons and Dragons name for a giant snake. He's not really an enemy per say, but his crazy angular movements can cause your toad to bite it on any of the floating spikes. LEVEL 7 More rats, along with some fireballs and rockets! LEVEL 8 Electric Zingers-Zingers push out two shocks of electricity in rhythmic pulses. You can touch them without sustaining damage so you only have to dodge the bolts for the easy kill. Slime Toupees-Students of the Metroid, these slimy wigs will fuse themselves to your head and drain your life. Your only course of action is to pound the B button until you toss them off screen. Robo-Manus-At the top of the elevator shaft (which, ironically, is strangely devoid of an elevator) you'll meet up with Robo Manus. He has a very predictable pattern and he'll either try to gun you down or stomp you into a two-dimensional toad. For tips on how to beat him, read the walkthrough. LEVEL 9 Armor-dillo-These guys are the first baddies you meet up in the Terra Tubes. They shoot out a single blast of electricity like the zingers. If you run into one it will self-destruct taking your toad to the afterlife with it! Wait for a break in the electricity bullets then attack! Giant Gears-These imports from Mega Man are on a seek and destroy mission to crush the toads. Run through the corridors to avoid them keeping mind they DO defy the laws of physics: they always go the same speed whether it be uphill, sideways, downwards, or in water. Electric Eel-These eels come in a handsome yellow and austere silver. They move somewhat randomly and can usually be avoided; if they get too close for comfort pound em! Hammer Fish-Where's that blasted goldfish? Right here! This tiny orange fellow packs quite a punch and can send your toad careening into the spikes if you aren't careful. These fishies are best left alone. Sharky-A snippy fellow with a zig-zag approach, his clamping jaws have a tendency to send your frog headlong into spikes. Don't underestimate how annoying he can be. Steel Beak-A rubber duck that has sold his tiny rubber soul to Satan. If you get in the first punch, you can usually knock him silly but if HE gets in the first attack, he'll spazz out and annihilate your toad! LEVEL 10 More Zingers! Spazz the Racing Rat-Another suspender wearing rodent, he is your opponent in a race to three bombs. I'm not sure why the Queen put bombs in her own ship and YOU have to diffuse them, but it makes for a good level. He is bigger, faster, more agile then Rash and Zitz but he isn't too keen on picking the fastest way to the bomb. General Steerhorns-The meaty boss of level 10 charges about, lowering his horns and juggling the toads until they are in that big pond in the sky. Avoid his charges and attack him from behind. LEVEL 11 Hypno-Orb-Why you don't fight the orb at the beginning of the level is beyond me! This destructive pin wheel pursues you while on the Clinger Winger then challenges you to a brawl once you have made it through the obstacle course. LEVEL 12 Rhino (yellow)- This cheersome fellow charges you with a smile on his face. His headbutt is strong, but after an encounter or two you'll have his pattern down. If you deal him a death blow with a special toad attack, he'll throw up his arms in horror as he is spun down the tower! Rhino (red)- Looking more liked a stuffed animal then a fearsome frog eating machine, this fiend has an appetite for destruction! His gaping maw means an instant, if humorous death for our heroes. Headbutt him after he shuts his big mouth. Cloud Kids-Come in three types: GREEN-This guy takes a frustratingly long time to defeat. Headbutts or sticks work best to make quick work of this Wizards and Warriors import. He can only hurt you when his mouth is agape. RED-More dangerous then his green counterpart, the Red Cloud shoots a ringlet of poison gas that will have your toad gagging and doing his best little orphan Annie eyes impression. Best avoided. YELLOW-Near the summit of the Queen's Tower you'll meet up with the Yellow Cloud. He's invincible and only serves to blow your toad from the small platforms en route to her foxxy evilness herself. Papa Cloud-A giant red cloud who can't be touched; your only chance for survival is to cling to one of the flagpoles on the side of the revolving tower. After he huffs N' puffs, he floats harmlessly away. Her Royal Hottness, the Evil Dark Queen-The sexxiest kidnapper ever, you'll battle the Queen and her spinning stiletto heels at the apex of the revolving tower. She has won the Ms. Bruplex honor 10 years in a row. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ C-Controls ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 1: A=jump B=Attack, Snare Flies, Grab and use weapons Tap twice fast=Run while running then B=headbutt **These above are the default controls** WHEN ON DRAGON: A=Jump, charge, fly B=Fire AT BOSS: A=jump, B=pick up/throw rock Level 2: B=Attack, Go to side wait,then B=Toad Wrecking Ball Level 3: DEFAULT WHEN ON SPEEDER BIKE: A=jump Level 4: DEFAULT PLUS B=Grab and throw Snowball Levels: 5-8 DEFAULT Level: 9 DEFAULT PLUS Tap A to Swim LEVEL 10: DEFAULT LEVEL 11: DEFAULT PLUS CONTROL PAD=Steer Clinger Winger LEVEL 12: DEFAULT ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ II-Tips N' Tricks A-The Five Toad Code-Don't even try to play through Battletoads without using this code. Those two extra toads in reserve make a world of difference! PRESS A, B, DOWN and START at the same time when you begin the game. All five of your heart-life indicators should be filled in. Make sure to repeat this code when you continue as well. B-Warp Zones-There are several warp zones in Battletoads, though none after level 6. Here they are: LEVEL 1-Right after your toad rappels down from the S.S. Vulture, quickly headbutt the two psyco pigs that appear from the yellow nails. It's easiest if you headbutt the one on the left first then charge the one to the right. After you knock them out, run up to the platform to the right where you should see the warp zone pulsing above. Use it to warp to level three, the turbo bikes. I usually avoid this warp because levels one and two are good for gaining a bunch of extra lives. LEVEL 3-When you reach the fifth course in the turbo tunnel, the walls will come at you very quickly, so fast they won't even blink. The warp zone appears on the bottom in front of the eighth wall. Count them out then drive as if you purposely wanted to crash into it. You'll be warped to level 5, Surf City. This is another warp I generally avoid. Level 4-In the final section of the Ice World ( the one after the flurry of snowballs comes in three high and one low to break the wall) there is a brown platform that drops down when you stand on and floats up when you unweight it. Ride it about halfway down until you see the shimmering white balls of the warp zone above you; jump rapidly to cruise to level 6, the snakes. It generally takes about 4 jumps to reach the warp in the midst of its second pulse. Level 6-After clearing the first section and leaping through the exit, a yellow and red Ronald McDonaldesque snake will dart straight up at the beginning of the second section. Jump on his head and as soon as he turns sharply to the right leap from his head, careful to avoid the floating spikes, and guide your toad to the right and onto solid ground. The warp zone will be fluctuating in the far right corner. Use it to warp to level 8, Intruder Excluder. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ C-Little Oddities Feel free to send in any you may find while playing the toads. Turbo Bike Trick-Simply jump over the bikes to walk around to the right of the starting bar. Not even a little bit useful! Two player toss-There are several places where you can pick up your brother and throw him in some weird places; experiment!! Toad Baseball-When you break apart a walker, have one toad grab a leg and have the pitcher pick up the dismantled head and voila! Toad baseball! Snowball fight-pound each other to death in the Arctic Caverns with the piles of snowballs! Fun but sort of counter productive. The Horrible Truth! Winners can be losers-Level 10, Rat race-Though it rarely happens, if you beat the rat in the third and most difficult race and diffuse the bomb just as he is above you in the electric barrier, you will kick the bomb away but the rat will never fall down! Your only option is to reset; a horrific glitch! Extra rope-Level 9- When the toads grab the flying beanie-copters, you can see the black shadow of the rappel cables in their webbed hands! Send in any other weird things you may find to share with your fellow toaders!! (bruplex@aol.com) ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ III-The Walkthrough Ok, this is what you've been waiting for! A few things to keep in mind before playing Battletoads: ? If you don't use the five toad code the game will be doubly as frustrating. Amongst hard core 'toaders its not even considered cheating, so don't be shy! ? Many of the levels will seem utterly impossible upon first try. Trust me, they CAN all be beat. I like to think of the levels like a rock climbing problem: you have to link together a series of moves over many tries to nail the right sequence. You will get a hang of them after a while; in fact the more you play levels like the turbo tunnel will seem like piece of cake once you've mastered it! It just requires patience and a little dedication! ? Battletoads can seem frustrating at times, but as previously mentioned it can be beat! Even with three continues and the five toad code, there are a lot of cheap places to die. Don't get discouraged, that's just the nature of a challenging game! ? The two player mode is a nice novelty, but to play through requires two VERY skilled players who have no doubt played through the game on 1P mode first. With a new comer don't expect to get past level 3! Once you are physically and mentally prepared, turn on the power of your NES, enjoy the rocking intro music and enter the world of the Battltoads!! NOTE***- This walkthrough uses the warp zones to give you the path of least resistance to the Dark Queen. For walkthroughs for the skipped levels, check out the end of the Walkthrough (this applies to levels 5, 6 and 7). ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ LEVEL 1 Ragnarok's Canyon (Please insert your GWAR CD NOW) ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Battletoads begins with the Frantic Professor hovering the S.S Vulture in the night sky and your toads rappelling down to the surface of the Queen's mysterious planet. As you swerve to the surface, you detach your umbilical cord and stand ready for action. Two psyco pigs appear from yellow nails in the ground. They are easy to defeat, just be sure not to get caught between the two of them. If you expediently headbutt them, you can access a warp zone to the ledge to the right but it's not worth it. Take your time and kill the pigs. Scroll to the right and a walker will materialize in the middle of the screen. Wait until he is fully formed then attack! This will probably be your first taste of the toads comical finishing moves: the giant fist, the big boot, the princess Leia horns, etc. If you want to grab the leg of the walker once it is defeated, feel free. Just know that you will receive less points for hitting enemies with the stick instead of using your normal finishing toad moves. A few more red pigs will bust through the walls. Dispose of them. Fight one more walker, then scroll to the right. Get ready to rumble with the stronger silver pig. He's not too much harder, but he will require a few more shots to knock out. Two flies appear, each one capable of replenishing one brick of health. Your frog will extend his tongue instead of attacking; with that in mind don't scroll too far over or you'll prompt a silver pig who will beat up on you while you try to snare the fly. Also note to grab the fly on the top, you'll have to jump. If you stay flat footed your toad will flail his tongue in vein but never catch the fly! After defeating the aforementioned silver pig, who will bust out from behind the wall, continue to the right. When the screen stops scrolling, a hovering dragon will be poised for attack on the upper part of the screen. The key to beating him is to line yourself up with his shadow, then knock him down with either punches or a headbutt. While he is stunned you can jump on his back and ride him, using A to jump/fly and B to shoot fire from his mouth! I generally just headbutt him, then finish him off with a big boot, but the choice is yours! Be careful he doesn't knock you down while he is flying up near you. If he picks you up and body slams you it's all over! After beating the first one, a second one will appear. A well timed headbutt will send him harmlessly into the crevasse to the right, just make sure you don't miss or you will be the one splatting!! Speaking of the crevasse, don't make jumping it harder then you have to. Go up to the top of the screen as high as you can ( near the waterfall ) and jump the smallest gap. After clearing the span, run up to the right and make it so your back is to the wall towards the top of the screen. Two red pigs will appear, followed shortly thereafter by a third. Even if you take a few chops, staying up here will prevent you from being knocked into the crevasse and killed in one fell swoop. When the coast is clear, keep going to the right. A fleet of four flies will appear; eat them if you need 'em. Before blindly leaping to off the ledge to the right, scroll over slowly to see the one up. Your instinct will be to go high and grab it, but don't be so hasty. To get this one up you must be lined up with the SHADOW. To do this, go to the middle of the ledge and jump from there. If you are still having trouble, use this trick: Go to the hole where the pig broke out and tap down quickly 6 times. This will line you up with the precious one up leap! After attaining the one up, walk on. Your toads jaw will drop to a supernatural level at the site of a walker so big, all you see is the approaching leg! Boss fight time!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ BOSS FIGHT: TALL WALKER ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Once you reach the Tall Walker, the screen will turn crimson and you will watch your magenta-and-pink toad from the enemy's point of view. If you watch the guns aim, the arrows to the right will correspond to the movement and button icon will blink when the gun is firing; nice touch! Maneuver your toad away from the cross hairs when the guns unload. The last thing to come out of the guns will be a puffy rock, which resembles a giant pink Cocoa-Puff. Pick this up and hurl it at the machine. To some degree you can direct where your toss goes. The first two hits will crack the glass windshield and the third will destroy the walker and grant you clearance to stage two. Just remember, when the guns stop moving they are going to fire. A simple leap to the left usually will keep you out of harm's way. Once the Tall Walker is reduced to rubble, collect your 10,000 points and head to the Wookie Hole! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 2-Wookie Hole ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ I'm not sure how any Wookie could fashion a hole of such depth, but it looks as though the mile deep cavern is the only way to go. With enough practice, level two can become your greatest resource of 1-ups. I feel it has been a bad run if I don't come up with at least four one ups from repeatedly whacking the ravens, though at first aim for one or two. My record is 11! Using your "turbo cables", your toads drop down into the hole. Before starting, a couple things to note about play control. Your special attacks are now BIG FOOT and SUPER FIST, but your best quick-killer is to go to either side of the cavern until your toad starts morphing from his normal self to a wrecking ball. Tap B to unleash the wrecking ball! This attack is especially useful against the Saturn Toad Traps and the AM Radios. INTO THE HOLE-The first enemies you encounter will be four ravens, two adorning each side of the hole. Get used to using your feet and notice that when you hit the bird carcasses on the way down, they increase in points until after the 7th hit ( after scoring 10,000 points) you'll be rewarded with a one up! Admittedly, these particular birds are tough to score the one ups with, but they'll give you the general idea. Next you'll see a few of the famous Saturn toad Traps; a series of four of them will appear. This is the perfect place to try out your toad wrecking ball move!! After whacking the four of them there comes a small squadron of two flies. Snack as you see fit. Next to come up from the depths is the first of many Razor Ravens. They resemble normal ravens except they have long pointy beaks. If they cross paths with your turbo cable, it will snap it, sending your toad to a premature doom! Knock the one on the left out quickly and catch the sword he leaves behind. Now you are ready to become a one-up machine!! The next razor appears to the right. Whack him and start bouncing him off the wall. It takes a while to get used to the physics of getting the one ups, so don't feel bad if you don't get it at first. I like to stay right at the middle of the screen and line myself up with where the Razor raven stops as he comes up from the bottom. The reason I stay high is to chop away at the dead razor Raven; if another one floats up I'll be in a good place to knock out the new one while continuing to hit the dead one. In fact, when the second one arises on the right, you can test this idea! Be careful, the next razor raven comes up from the left. It's possible to make a quick turn while you are whacking the dead Razor, kill the newcomer, then resume bouncing the dead one off the wall. This sequence ends with a VERY good opportunity to get a one up. The last razor raven of this group comes up from the right. Hit him and line up in the middle of the screen and quickly go as far down the screen as you can. If you are bouncing the dead Razor raven off the wall when the screen stops scrolling, it will be much easier to score a one up. The reason the screen stops scrolling is because one of the "AM Electric Radios" explodes through the background wall. However, if you are at the bottom of the screen, he will not attack. This is a safe spot to Bounce the defeated Razor Raven. Once you have your one-up, go to the bottom left, become the toad-wrecking ball and thrash the AM Radio in one hit. Two more Radios will bust out from behind the walls; use the same wrecking-ball tactic to defeat them. As a reward, a batch of four flies appears to replenish your health. Next, you'll encounter a group of three ravens. Kill the first two and let them drop (unless you are a pro at getting one ups; in that case go for it!) Use the same technique you used on the razor raven on this third bird; kill him and get to the very bottom, middle screen. A sequence of two electric beams will appear, but as long as you are in the middle bottom you have nothing to worry about AND, if you have the dead raven lined up right, an easy one up chance. After the two beams be careful though, a Razor Raven flies up to the right. If you can get him in a similar position for bouncing off the wall, maneuver to the middle bottom again and whack him while you scroll down past two more electric beams. After the beams, a lone Razor flies up, then you fight a troop of 4 ravens. Beat them, then encounter a group of three ravens. Kill the first two and leave the third. A pair of flies will appear. Eat them or ignore them, but wait until they are gone to kill the raven. Kill the raven, and assume your normal-in-the-middle bouncing position, but stay towards the top half of the screen. In a minute the screen stops scrolling because of a pair of Saturn Toad Traps, one yellow, one green, on the right. Bounce the defeated bird off the left wall. Yet another 1-up chance comes with the raven waiting on the lower left, who you simply have to line up with the left wall and bounce seven times. This one is probably one of the easiest to get, since the screen won't scroll unless you defeat the Saturn Toad Traps. After trying for the Raven one-ups, use the wrecking ball to knock out the Saturn traps. A dense crowd of five ravens awaits you at the next scroll point. In most cases, there are too many to attempt a one-up hit but if you do try and get injured, there will be three more flies coming up after the raven group. After the flies, go to the left wall and become the wrecking ball. A faster Gray AM Radio will bust out but much like his Blue cousin, will die with one swing of the toad wrecking ball. Finally, a sequence of four Saturn traps appears, alternating yellow and green. Line up your wrecking ball to knock out two at once! After the four of them are gone, two razors fly up. Kill the one on the left first, then bounce the one on the right. The final razor flies up to the right so if you are already pounding the dead razor when he comes you should be able to knock out the new one right after getting the one-up. That single razor is good to bounce at the bottom middle as you go through the final sequence of electric beams. Again, your safe spot is the bottom-most middle so park your self there and if you were able to start a razor-bouncing sequence, safely earn your points until you pass the fifth electric beam. That is the end of the stage. NOTE** I make getting the one ups sound a lot easier then it actually is, but I wanted to mark good places to attempt to earn them. Realistically, if you can get two or three in one trip down that's pretty dang good!! With time, you should be able to get quite a few in this area, making your overall game much easier (or at least giving you more chances!) ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 3-Turbo Tunnel or; Frog's Necks were made fer breakin' ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ A quick thought for residents of N.Y.C; am I the only person who thought for YEARS that the THROG'S NECK BRIDGE was the FROG'S NECK BRIDGE? They also have a Throg's Neck Library!! http://www.nypl.org/branch/bx/tg.html Well here it is, the piece de resistance of Battletoads, the famous Turbo Tunnel. From talking to gamers, this is the stage most likely to frustrate people into never playing Battletoads again. I credit Rare for their use of Parallax scrolling and the use of tension music; these details add to the intensity of the speeder bike section of tunnel. But first things first, you have the rat patrol to take out first! You exit the Wookie Hole and find yourself in some sort of soft, organic cavern. Perhaps this is a huge intestinal tract? If that IS the case, I really don't want to know what the Wookie Hole is! In any case you aren't alone. The first enemies you will battle will be a pair of greasy rats. A cool part of this stage is getting to see your toad use the OVERHEAD SLAM and pound the rats into the cushy turf, where you will proceed to throw a few short kicks then wind up for the big boot!! Oddly enough, even if you headbutt the rats, they will end up buried to the neck in the ground. My guess is that they are wearing some sort of strange Swedish Ergonomic Underwear that disperses energy in some unique fashion. While you can rack up some good points kicking the rats before the big boot, if you run up to the grounded rat and tap B you'll automatically do the Big Boot right away. This helps save time when you are fighting two at once. When jumping from platform to platform here, try to stay lined up in the middle. Use your circular shadow as an indicator to where you are. Though it's not common, it's possible to miss an easy jump if you don't line it up! Your next adversaries are the mono-tone Life Invaders!! The Life Invaders might seem quite peculiar at first but they aren't much trouble. Knock out the one to the left first. Let the other two get your life bricks then smash them as they try to escape to the bottom of the screen. Make sure to grab your floating health units before they go off the screen! After the alien invasion is over, battle two more rats. Don't let one of the rats sneak up on you from behind while booting his brother! The rats don't hit often but when they do they can drain your toad of his entire life bar in one shot! Your reward for beating the krunk out of these rodents are a pair of yummy flies. Regain any health you may have lost, then continue to the right. You will have two battles on two separate platforms with the last of the Rat Patrol. Do not let your momentum throw you off the platform when dealing the big boot. As a general rule, I kick the first platform rat to the right, the second one to the left. A few swift jumps more and a pair of speeder bikes stand before you! As a little quirk, you can jump over them to the right of the starting line. This is a useless trick, but if you haven't attempted the Turbo Tunnel consider it graciously giving your toad a little more time on this mortal coil. Hop on the bike of your choice and prepare for one of THE coolest stages on all of video gamedom! TYPES OF OBSTACLES IN THE TURBO TUNNEL Pink Walls: In all section except the fifth, the pink walls will flash before they solidify, giving you advance warning to dodge them. If you smash into them, your toad will slump into the shattered mess so unless you hate your toad, stay away from them. Low Walls (referred to as JUMP walls): A simple tap of the A button will propel your bike into the air for a short time, enabling you to clear these low pink obstacles. Ramps: Ramps send your frog sailing through the air with a comically extreme face on his warty face! Most ramps appear right in the middle of the screen, though some appear towards the bottom as well. To hit the jumps, simply ride over them. There is no need to hit any buttons to launch off of them. Floater: A nasty trick that has crushed many a toad, the floating wall is blue. The trick to getting by it is to simply do NOTHING, just ride right under it. Floating Ramp: Same thing as the RAMP, but floating! All that means is you have to jump up to reach it. Your most spectacular jumps will come courtesy of the floating ramps. Rat Walls: The Rocket Rats will drop a low wall to try to trip up your toad. You can easily avoid them by lining up yourself away from their shadow or by leaping over them. Ketchup Rockets: A posse of blue Ketchup Rockets appear towards the end of the tunnel. If you hit them you will blow up! TURBO TUNNEL CONTROLS Joypad-Moves toad forward, back, up, and down. A-Executes a Jump B-Not Used SECTION 1: The first part of the speeder bike section gives you time to get used to the controls and is not too hard. The pink walls will flash a few times before appearing, so do what you can to avoid them. There are also a few JUMP walls to leap over. While it's not hard, here is a summary of the sequence in section 1: High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Low Wall // High Wall, Low Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, High Wall, Jump Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall Section 2: Made it to section 2? Good job! Section two opens up with your first ramp. Remember to hit it without pressing the A button! This stage will test your jumping skills and your ability to hit the ramps with precision. It also goes a little faster than section 1. WARNING!!! Watch out for the blue floater at the end of section 2. Your instinct will be to jump over it but hold back! You do NOTHING when you reach floater walls, just ride under them. The floater wall appears after the final two jump walls. Here's the section 2 sequence: Ramp, Jump Wall, Ramp, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, Ramp, High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Ramp, High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Low Wall, Ramp, Jump, Jump, FLOATER!!**(see warning) Section 3: Got sweaty palms yet? Section three starts putting the high and low walls up much faster and introduces the Jump-Ramp as well as the Rocket Rats. Don't get nervous when you see the Rocket Rats; just check out where their shadows are and move out of the way. In a worst case scenario, you can also jump over the single tiny Jump Wall the Rocket Rats Drop. WARNING!!! Rare does something REALLY mean at the end of section 3: the infamous Middle Wall. It is the only one in the whole level. After the second Jump-Ramp, there is a Jump Wall then you will see the oddly placed Pink Wall flashing dead center of the tunnel! It is easy to avoid by going all the way up or all the way down, but be ready for it! It is the last obstacle in section 3. The Section 3 sequence is as such: High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Low Wall // (these next walls come a bit faster be ready!) High Wall, Low Wall, High Wall, Low Wall, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, Floating Wall, Jump-Ramp, Rat 1(drops high), Rat 2 (drops low), Rat 3 (drops low), Jump Wall, Rat 4 (drops high), Rat 5 (drops low), Jump-Ramp, Jump Wall, and the tricky Middle Wall (dodge high or low). Section 4: If you have made it this far, you are getting a good handle on the controls! Section 4 has the best leaps, including one that sends your toad clear off the screen for a few seconds! It's a very fast stage and it may take a few tries to wire it completely, but here's a few tips: ? After the first 3 ramps and 2 jump walls, the ramp will appear at the lower part of the screen. Make sure to hit this ramp low!! Got it? good! ? The Ketchup Rockets appear half way through. The easiest way to pass them is to sneak by the first three ships highand to the right, then wait high until the last rocket appears; you should easily pass them. As they fade away, get your toad back to the left of the screen and get ready for some tough jumps! ? After the Ketchup bottles, you will hit one ramp then a big white exclamation point will appear on the screen! This indicates there are no ramps for the next four platforms and you must manually leap from each to the next. This is actually kind of tough. My advice is to get your toad in the middle of the platform and push forward(right) when you leap. Try to get your shadow in the middle of the next platform and pull back left to give you enough time to tap A and repeat the maneuver. After four jumps, you'll be on the home stretch! Here's the level 4 Sequence: (note: Listening to DRAGULA right now!) Ramp, Ramp, Ramp, Jump Wall, Jump Wall, LOW RAMP, Floater Wall, Floater Wall, Jump-Ramp (yee ha!!), 4 Ketchup Rockets(pass high), ramp, FREE JUMP, FREE JUMP, FREE JUMP, FREE JUMP, Rocket Rat(high drop). Section 5: Zen and the Art of Battletoads; that's what will get you through the final section of the Turbo Tunnel. It is a very fast stage and if you pull it off, is quickly done and over. The stage opens up with the walls appearing, without warning, in a rhythmic HIGH-LOW pattern. There are either 18 or 20 overall, they go to fast for me to count! Since I use the NES ADVANTAGE controller, I concentrate more on the UP-DOWN tapping of the controller then actually focusing on the screen. Stay near the middle and nudge out of the way of the fiercely flying walls! There is a WARP at the 8th wall (low) that will bring you to stage 5: Surf City but I suggest avoiding it. Once you zoom by the High and Low Walls, you should be home free. There are two Jump Walls and a final Rocket Rat duo that drop a Brick high and Low! Simply jump over their little walls and you'll have completed one of the most feared stages in gaming! With time, you'll be able to cruise through with one toad, you'll see! Section 5, Final Section, Sequence: VERY FAST High-Low Wall pattern (18-20), Jump Wall, Jump Wall, Twin Rocket Rats (drop High and Low, leap over) Done and Done!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 4-Arctic Caverns: On to plan B! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Welcome to Plan B, the next three stages of the Battletoads Agenda! The first level you'll face are the Icy Arctic Caverns. This is a stage of precision jumps, well timed ducks, and a little bit of luck! Let's start, shall we? Section 1: You begin the stage by sliding down a ramp where you will be greeted by three icicles. You can either dash by them or prompt them to fall then run to the left. Continue to the right where a large ice block will be bouncing back and forth. The easiest way to avoid getting knocked over by it is to run to the right until you see the wall; run back down to the level and leap over the block as it careens to and fro. It will eventually build up enough speed to knock out the wall and get you to the first continue point! You can also punch the ice block to "stun" it then pick it up and bust the wall down that way, but you risk the chance the block hitting you as it reflects off the wall. Section 2: Move down and to the right, where you will encounter your first snowman. He throws three snow balls in a high, high, low pattern; you can either charge him with a toad attack or beat him the fun way: whacking him with a snowball from the pile at your feet! After defeated, he will turn into a pile of snowballs himself! I bet Frosty never saw that coming! Drop to the left and snare the fly. Drop to the right and you will encounter another snowman. This one will be a little closer than the first, but you can use the same tactics. Once you knock him down, it will prompt an ice block to come ricocheting down the corridors. If you can outrun the ice block, do so! If you jump over it as it shoots past it will scroll down beyond the screen and bounce back and forth below you. It is nearly impossible to time the jump and not get hit when you can't see it; thus it is to your advantage to get to the bottom first. Let the block bounce off the wall a few times, leaping over it as it comes back to you. Run through the continue point. Section 3: A huge icicle will be hanging like the Sword of Damocles, waiting to drop down on your unwary wartbody ( to use the Queen's words.) Like the others, you can either dash past it or prompt it then run away. To your left will be a snowman. Rush at him, running, and headbutt him then move quickly up the platforms to the right. A fly will appear; if you don't need it ignore it and move to the right. By now, snowballs will start falling down the zig-zagging ramps, getting larger with each inch of ground they cover. The easiest way to avoid them is to jump to the ramp they were just on as they cross the gap between you and the platform you want to get to. In other words, jump over them as they come at you and land safely on the platform higher then the one you were just on. At the top is the culprit responsible for rolling the snowballs at you: a Frosty the Hitman! The safest way to dispose of him is to crack him with a headbutt, which will kill him instantly even if your toad doesn't make the ram-horns. If you punch him, it will take two rounds to kill him. That leaves you dangerously close to his Snow-Punch of death, which can kill you in one hit! After turning this ice demon into a slush puppy, hurl his snowballs to the wall on the left until it breaks. Go through it and onto section 4. Section 4: This is a fairly easy section to pass. On your left is a Spiked Birthday Cake bouncing between two walls with a menacing spike- ball hanging overhead. Stay to the right and jump over him where you have the ceiling clearance. Run down to the left and be careful of the ice block, which follows you in speedy pursuit. Dash to the right ignoring the snowman to your left. You need him alive! There will be a slight depression in the ground after running by the area with the Snowman and the furiously bouncing Ice Block. All you need to do now is stand there and let the snowman take out the wall with an errant snowball. After a few, it will be destroyed and you will have clearance to pass! Section 5: After the wall is destroyed move to the right and hop on the yellow-brown platform, which is not as slippery as the ice floors. Make sure you DUCK to dodge a random snowball coming in from the right (my guess is that there was a snowman there at some point of the programming, but they removed him.) Be careful jumping to the right, the jump is slightly trickier then it seems. Against the wall is the way down but yet another icicle hangs above you and the red spikes are dangerously close to the platform you are jumping for. Tap A lightly to execute a mid-level jump then fall down to the right, veering to the left once you clear the red spikes to the left. As soon as you land, DUCK! Three snowballs will come at you in a definite pattern (In 4/4 music time, CAPS meaning snowball is thrown, ONE two THREE FOUR). Jump over the pillars and DUCK between the snowballs until you reach the snowman. Cream him with a headbutt, then move cautiously to the left. Snowballs will be hurled in a high/low pattern. To make it to the snowman, you have to avoid the snowballs and duck-slide under a spike between two pillars. Time this so that you duck the spike as you also duck a high snowball. Leap out of from the pillars quickly and smash the snowman. Go left to the continue point. Section 6: Run to the left and drop down; get ready to dodge another ice block which is stalking you down the zig-zag ramps. Get to the level bottom section and jump over the block as it blasts by you. Wait until you see the yellow-brown platform to the right and leap on it, being mindful to duck the Brown spike in the middle. There is a one up that is easy to snag as you jump from the lower platform to the higher one; again make sure to duck so the spike doesn't knock you off. To your right will be a Birthday Cake, clobbering itself between two pillars. He isn't hard to avoid, but when you jump down to the right there will be a similar scene with the birthday cake moving much faster. Keep your cool ( haha! ) and jump over him, being always mindful of the perilous spikes. Drop to the left, and clear the third Birthday Cake. You should be on the right hand side of the screen, with a series of "stairs" heading down to the left. Wait patiently on the first level platform, making sure not to scroll the screen over to the left. An ice block will creep up the slopes. A simple punch will stun it so that you can pick it up; do so and move over to the left until you are right against the pillar. Quickly throw the block to the left; if you were close to the pillar, the block should be slamming between the wall and the pillar and you should be safely on top of said pillar. The reason you grab the block to the right is so the birthday cake doesn't knock you over while you are trying to pick up the ice block. The Birthday Cake will be prompted shortly after you start heading up the "stairs" after the level, lowest point. If you grab the ice block before he appears, your life will be much easier, capeesh?* *=(I'm sure I spelled that wrong!) Section 7: In my opinion, this is toughest part of level 4. It starts off innocently enough, with a mere birthday cake and then a couple of flies. Be careful not to hit the spikes as you shoot your tongue out for the airborne munchies. Ok, take a deep breath.. *Innnnnn---- Ouuuuuuuuuttt* Good; ok get ready to move! As soon as you drop down to the left, a snowball will drip down and grow as it rolls down the ramp you are on. Hustle down to the right and get ready to make a tough jump. The key to NOT hitting the spikes is to lightly tap A when you are at the very bottom of the ramp. This may take some practice; but after you make the jump get ready to smash a snowman. He takes two rounds of attacks so be careful about not getting too close. I know the jump can be horribly frustrating and admittedly I miss it myself from time to time, but if you wait a millisecond later then you would normally instinctively jump, you'll make it. There will be a moving platform and a fatty 5000 points in the air above it; if you are low on lives just aim for the platform and leave the points. Make sure to duck one more time and jump off the platform. As soon as you hit the wall, DUCK!! A flurry ( ha HO!) of three high snowballs and one low snowball (which you have to jump over) will pummel the wall. After 10 hits the wall will break and you can move over to the continue point! Section 8: To warp or not to warp? As far as this walkthrough is concerned, we'll assume you are going to warp but if you choose not to, go ahead and read the rest of this little section. Section 8 is the last part of stage 4 and there is not too much to it after the warp. But I get ahead of myself. To get the warp, hop over to the sinking platform to the right. You'll notice it begins to float up if you take your weight off it. To activate the warp zone, sink down slowly, hopping to keep the platform from dropping down. You should be able to see the white sparks of the warp zone at the top of the tunnel (where you first jumped on the platform) when you get about midway down. The warp appears right about when you would have it knocked off your field of vision at the top; it will take four or five hops to reach the zone as it in between its second and third pulses. Off to the snakes with you!!! If you miss the warp zone, its worth dying to try again. This is a useful warp and will bring you to stage 6. **IF YOU WANT TO COMPLETE STAGE 4-Well here's how! Drop down the platform you would normally use for a Warp, leaping off at the last second before it is smashed into the spikes. Go left where a Blue Birthday Cake will bounce back and forth, opening a gate that looks like a lumpy turd ( sorry!) when he strikes it. You can't jump over the gates, so you have to wait for the birthday cake to open it. The first one is easy; the second one to the left requires waiting right against the wall, hopping the Birthday Cake when he comes over, then running through the gate before it closes. Hop up the two platforms to the left and head right. You have another blue Birthday cake to dodge; use the same tactics to sneak in the turd Doors as he opens them. Finally you will see a platform that sinks down near the first gap you leapt over in this section. Be not afraid! Let it drop down past the ice platforms and hop off it right before it smashes into the spikes. Use the flutter jump ( lightly tap A) if you are uncertain of where the drop ends. Hop to the right, collect 5000 points and stage 4 is fini! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 5-Surf City-- SEE END OF WALKTHROUGH; THIS ONE USES THE WARP TO LEVEL 6!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 6-Karanth's Lair-Snakes Ahoy!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Luckily, you won't have to worry much about this stage. Your goal is to warp out quick and easy! Again, if you want to play Au Natural, check out the level Strategies at the end of the Walkthrough, k? Right! Now, to the matter at hand: the Snakes. To reach the warp you need only complete the first section, which is easy because it is impossible to die here! The snakes slither out of the holes and into another one; from there you have to hop a new snake to get where you want to go. There are four main areas with snakes. Section 1: Easy as pie! There is nothing to kill you, so get used to riding the snakes around. The first one is Red and Blue; ride him to his tunnel and jump up off him and he burrows in. Wait until you see the spiked tail to leap; you will land on a Red and Gray Snake, who travels to the left. Finally, a Blue and Light Blue snake will carry you to the exit! Class Question: Do you think the snakes are wearing sunglasses? Explain your reasoning. Section 2: Only one snake to hop here! I like to call him Ronald McDonald snake due to his red and yellow pattern. Your goal is to reach the warp zone which is off to the far bottom right. To do this, climb on the snake's back. As soon as he sharply turns to the right, jump on (or near) his head and leap to the right, pushing right the whole time. Your jump is dangerously framed by spikes, so be careful. If you miss it a few times, that's ok. Pause the screen and get an idea where the blind spikes are for the next time you try it. When you make the jump, you will be on solid ground and the warp zone will be throbbing to the right against the wall. Run into it and off you go to level 8!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ FOR THE REST OF STAGE 6, CONSULT THE END OF THE WALKTHROUGH ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 7-Volkmire's Inferno-You guessed it! CONSULT THE END OF THE WALKTHROUGH! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ LEVEL 8-Intruder Excluder-Do it up, Duder! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ This level features some nice details, including the parallax scrolling on the sides of the elevator shaft. It has been many stages since you fought an actual boss, but Robo-Manus will be waiting for you at the top of the whole thing! Like any other Battletoads stage, this one will seem like a major pain in the posterior until you get it wired. A note of warning: the Gassers and Suckas will kill you instantly if they get you. The gasser turns you into Little Orphan Froggy while the Suckas grind you into pieces (maybe to be in Pink Floyd video?) Ok, from the bottom up! The bottom floor offers you a chance to walk softly and carry a big stick, so grab it! You'll see the first of many Electric Zingers above you. They shoot out a pulse of electricity at regular intervals, which your toad can duck. In fact, you can actually touch the Zingers without getting damage as long as they aren't firing. Thwack the glorified bug zapper and leap through the moving "brown gap". Hop up through two more brown gaps and you'll get your first chance to try out the spring. The trick is to leap when the spring is compressed, thus launching your toad high in the air. Your first Electric Gap follows the spring. They are the same as the Brown gaps but charge with electricity at regular intervals. Don't rush and you'll have no problem leaping through them. After the Electric Gap, you have another chance to pick up a stick if you dropped or neglected the first one. Your next obstacle are the endless rounds of snotballs coming out of the hole ala Donkey Kong. You can bash them with your stick if you like, but it's better to just jump over them and carry on. Another electric gap, then a 3 spring sequence with a one-up to the left await you. To get the one up, hop onto the third spring and through the brown gap, but be careful not to go too high-- you want to make sure the little nub of a platform that the 1-up is on is still visible. Drop down through the brown gap and fall to the left. The hop back to the high spring is easier then it looks, as the brown gap platform won't hinder you. You'll jump up through a brown gap, an electric gap, a brown gap, then another electric gap. Above you will be a Zinger; the easiest way to defeat him is to leap towards him as you jump over one of his electrical shocks. If you still have your stick, he will be an easy kill. Hopping up to the left, you'll encounter the Mucus toupees! If you have your stick use it, otherwise they can munch on your head and drain your life ala Metroid. I like to set my B button to Turbo, in case one of these buggers lands on my head. With the Turbo turned up, I can usually throw them off without sustaining any damage. Once they are out of your way, tactfully dodge the Zinger ( I don't even bother killing this one.) Hop up through a brown gap, electric gap, brown gap and congrats! You're at the continue point! There are two Zingers to be dealt with here; jump over the electric shocks and pound them both. If you have made it from the bottom, the two flies that appear after beating them could be useful. As always, eat them at your discretion. Now things get interesting! To the left is a poison gas gun, which will instantly choke your toad if the blast touches him. Jump on the spring and stay on the right half of it; the mist will not hit you and it will give you a chance to see the Sucka up ahead. Wait until the Sucka is done blowing and move quickly past it. A zinger waits for you on the next level but if you move fast, you should be able to knock it out with no trouble. It's all matter of timing. Above that is another spring and a red metal platform. If you jump up on it blindly, wait to the right. There is a gas jet on this level, but it can't reach you if you are to the right. Take note of the Zinger above you; when you feel the time is right, run to the right after the gas jet shoots and leap up to the level with the Zinger, making sure to duck as soon as you get on the platform. Go up, through a brown gap and an electric gap. You are now at the trickiest part of the stage. A gas jet guards the spring you need to jump on; before attempting this jump on the platform below it on the far right as many times are you can to expose the deadly Suckas above, who are now INHALING air. The best way to time this is to leap on the spring and head towards the Sucka platform just as it is finishing blowing. Quickly jump up to the right, grab the one up and land on the far right of the lower Sucka platform. If you have enough distance, you should be able to nudge walk ( not RUN)* away from the deadly blades. When it stops, hop up to the safe platform to reveal two more inhaling Suckas to the right. Jump up to the lower one right as it finishes blowing and you will be ok. Remember that great surf Song Walk, Don't Run by the Ventures? Another spring, another brown gap, and you'll be at a fast shooting gas jet and a fast moving brown gap above it. Just time it so you make the jump when the gas jet finishes bellowing. If you don't have the upper brown gap lined up, just jump down and try it again. Avoid the gas jet at all costs. There's one last spring and an electric gap; clear those and you'll come to a bit of a strange thing. There are two platforms leading up to a series of gaps; the one on the left seems considerably more dangerous than the one on the right because it has a gas jet. TRUST ME HERE: go up to the left. You don't HAVE to do it right here, but make a point of making your way to the left. You'll see why in a minute. Take your time and work up through the brown gap and four electric gaps. After the fourth one, your toad will go into AUTOHOP mode. Time for a boss fight!!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ BOSS FIGHT: Robo-Manus ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ I hope you are not on the right when you approach Robo-Manus because he will instantly flatten you and you'll lose a life before the battle even starts. This is why you stayed to the left like I told you to when going through the gaps below, see? Good! now onto beating Robo-Manus... Despite being twice as big as Rash (or Zitz), Robo-Manus isn't that hard. There are two things to note: ? Don't get under him when he jumps. You'll be instantly flattened! ? Duck his gunshots and get in your punches and kicks when he stops; watch out when he does a little short leap! He'll fire faster then. The headbutt works well against him, especially if you can nail him as he comes down from the air. Stay low, and as he gets faster play it more conservative. If you whack him after firing, you only have to avoid him stomping you into Toad Patte. Once you have the pattern down, Robo Manus is a pushover, though if you have five or so lives the first time you get to him you should get a good learning curve! Bash the metallic menace and get ready to head to the Steel Spaghetti!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 9-Terra Tubes ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ The Terra Tubes level is the make-or-break stage in Battletoads. It has a lot of blind drops which must be memorized, as well as some very tough swimming areas. Add to that a few violent living-bath-toys, and you got yourself a tough level! Let's get it on! Section 1:You'll start off in the ducts, facing right. Get ready to duck, as an Armor-dillo is waiting for you. He shoots electric bolts similar to the Zingers, but only in one direction. The easiest way to dispose of these snout-nosed villains is to give them a running head-butt BUT be very careful! If you in any way touch the Armor-Dillo (other than attacks), it will self-destruct taking your Toad with it to the afterlife. The safest way to "rough him up", Mobster style, is by bashing him against the ceiling a few times then finishing him off with a Big Fist. Head down and to the left where you will fight another Armor-Dillo. Be careful to keep an eye on him when he comes through the pipe segment; defeat him and head left to the Beenie-Copters. To descend safely, dodge spikes left then right and dismount. Now you fight another Armor-Dillo, this time in waist-deep water. Since you can't run in water, just use your normal B button attack. Above that is an Armor-dillo who shoots bolts out faster than the ones you've already faced. Take your time and duck his shots, then close in to knock him out. Up and to the left is one more Armor-Dillo; beat him and head up-right. There will be another set of Beenie Copters; this time the spikes come dangerously close to your toad as he ascends! You have to dodge them by going right, left, then finally right. The last set of spikes always come close but you will usually miss them as long as you are thinking to dodge right as soon as you pass the spikes that you dodge to the left. Walk to the right and pass the continue point. Section 2: "The Dry Gears" In this section, the challenge is to sprint away from four oversized gears that will rumble to life and pursue your toad. It is nearly impossible to get through this section without dying a few times your first time through, but once you have the patterns down it's a piece of cake! There are four gears in all: Gear 1: The easiest to dodge just RUN LIKE MAD!! There are no spikes to worry about, so run Right, Down, then left. If you fall in the water, promptly jump out and stand against the gray pillar to the left. Wait there for the gear to fall into the water and explode. Gear 2: This gear isn't hard to beat, but now there are spikes at the bottom of some of the drops. The key is to "hug" the walls as you drop down the corridors to ensure a safe landing. In this case, hug the right wall on your first drop, then hug the left, and finally hug the right. Sprint down the corridor and wait for the gear at the end. Leap straight up when it rolls towards you; it will hit the wall and explode, granting you passage to the next challenge. Gear 3: When you jump up so that the gear is just to your upper-left but not moving, get ready and RUN under it!! As soon you pass it, RUN and JUMP up to the right until you are in the water current. The gear is now in hot pursuit, so you better be on top of you leaping game. There is a series of left, right, left jumps you must make in the plummeting water. Your toad will move a little slower when he jumps in water; that means you MUST make each jump on the first attempt. It's not hard, but the pressure of the incoming gear could break your concentration. When at the top, head left and wait against the wall for the gear to fall into the water and blow up. Gear 4: The Final Gear (for now at least!) This gear puts the pressure on early, but is easy to outrun after you make the first few drops. In the first corridor, hug the right wall then at the second drop hug the left wall. This will put your toad in a dry area where he can dash for a short distance. Do this to put some space between the gear and yourself, then hug right, hug left, hug right and jump into the right-most section of the cross-shaped tunnel at the end of the run. The gear will drop down the corridor; after it explodes head down after it to the continue point! Section 3: Take the Nestea Plunge into the drink and head left. This will be the first of many spiked sections you have to pass using precise tapping. As you rise up into the larger tank, you'll see an electric eel swimming about. While you can usually avoid him, if he gets too close for comfort, pound him! When you get into the narrow channel heading up, "hug" the left wall as far as you can, then simply press A to swim up. You'll be close to the column of spikes, but you won't hit them; lining up your toad in the channel makes jumping over the spikes above water much easier. It can be tricky to understand the physics of leaping out of water. When you are near the filmy top of the water, hit and HOLD the A button as your toad breaks the surface. If you were close enough to the surface, he should jump normally. Use this trick to clear the first spike, then swim over to the left and jump up to clear another stack of spikes. As you emerge from the water for a second, it is imperative you get through this dry section as fast as you can! There will be an Armor-Dillo blocking the corridor; head-butt him and leap far to the left into the tank of water. The reason you want to get through this section quickly is because in the tank you are now in, small vents will supply dangerous amounts of hammerhead goldfish. If you get through quickly, they won't have time to get out! Once in the tank, paddle down right, to the middle (deftly avoiding the spikes) and drop down. If you were quick enough, the two goldfish won't follow you down; in fact you may hear them quarreling amongst themselves above you! Now the shaft goes to the right. A single Goldfish waits for you; wait between the two pink pipe segments until the Goldfish "hugs" the floor. This is your chance to swim by him and leap out of the water. Like the section you just cleared, speed is important in the next bit! Drop into another tank and cautiously avoid the spikes and drift to the right, down then left. If you were fast enough, there will be no enemies here. If you were too slow, you'll have a band of eels to contend with. Cruise on to the left; when you reach the level pipe segment, wait for the gray eel to approach and knock him out! Take the lower path out, and when you come to the next pipe segment another gray eel will appear; repeat your attack in the level section to smush him. Swim low then head up to a large tank with a few Sharkys in it. Be careful the Sharkys don't snip you into the spikes! When you must confront them, make sure you are above them when you attack and your back is to a surface that won't kill you if they knock you into it. There is a Sharky at the bottom, then one in the middle. Knock them down and hurriedly snag the one up at the top of the tank and head into the corridor (and continue point!) to the left. Section 4: Aqua Gears- This is probably one of the most troublesome sections of this level, despite the fact you have to outrun only two gears. Before getting into the actual art of dodging, here's a few quick tips: ? When dropping down the corridors, you can usually come closer to the spikes than you think! Wait until you start heading in the direction you want before stroking; otherwise you will annoyingly float up and get crushed by the gear! ? Don't give up even if you are low on lives! The next section has some good extra life opportunities! Gear 1: This is the "easy" gear, though chances are if will flatten you a few times before you have the hang of it! Drop down the corridor to prompt the gear; as you drop you will have to swim right over spikes-wait until your toad is drifting below the ceiling to paddle! (see tip above!) When you see the wall to the left, drop down above the spikes and wait for the gear to veer into the wall and break the way to Gear 2. SUPER BRUPLEX TIP!!! When you have found a safe spot to float away from the gear it can be very hard to time your paddles to stay between the spikes below and the rushing gear above. A good way to stay put in a safe spot is to punch like mad! Your toad will stand in the water and you won't have to worry above drifting up too high and getting leveled by the gear. You're welcome ;) Gear 2: The "hard" gear! This segment is hard because it tests your ability to drop down corridors and avoid floor spikes while also challenging you to make a hard leap out of the water to escape the gear! Your first drop will be to the right. If you don't make it into the right passage cleanly, consider yourself a frog in the gears (haha- get it? Cog in the gears? FROG in the gears? Weeeee my $80,000 dollar education was worth every cent!!) Uh-umm (clears throat) Ok, anyway...When you get to the right corridor, paddle your heart out! To the right, the tubes turn up and out of the water. This can be a tricky jump to make to clear the water. Make sure you are close to the surface and hit and HOLD the A button to jump high out of the water. This is another spot where, even though I have played through the level many times, I still occasionally get smushed. With practice, you'll increase your odds of safely making it out though. Once you leap out and over the little wall, hug left. You'll have a short but very vital opportunity to run! Dash to the left and drop into the water. You'll have to head right (over spikes!) down, then right over spikes again. You should have some good distance between you and the gear now, but don't get too complacent! Hustle to the right, then head up! You'll notice the gear is a little closer then you thought! At the top of the corridor go right. You'll see the wall to the far right and a small notch before it with spikes on the ground. You want to get into the notch; that's your safe spot when the gear crashes into the wall. It is very difficult to try to wade between the gear and spikes, so use the SUPER BRUPLEX trick! As soon as you drop into the notch, wait until you get just above the spikes and start wailing away on the B button! This will make your toad start punching and more importantly keep him in one place! Sure, it defies the laws of physics but who cares, it's keeping your toad alive! Using this tip, the gear should pass harmlessly above you and its a few easy strokes to the right to the continue point! Section 5: The final section. Thank goodness there is a one up right at the outset of this section! To claim it, dodge the Sharky and leap the spikes to snag the 1-up. If you are desperate need of lives, you can jump back over the spike and start punching on the surface until you clobber the Sharky down. Quickly swim back to the starting point to the left, and wail away on the Sharky! You can hit him 8 times for a total of 16,000 points. Since you get a free life for every 100,000 points (even after you get 999,999!) it may be worth your time to snare these extra points. And if you die, it's no big deal because you got the 1-up! After getting the one up, jump to the Beenie Copters waiting to the right. Dodge left, right, left and drop down into the tunnel with the cute rubber ducky. This adorable aviary is the Steelbeak and boy does he ever have a fowl (HAHAH-HEEEYY OOO!) temper! If you get too close to Steelbeak, he has a violent spazz attack that will kill your toad with one hit!! The key to beating Steel beak is to get in the first hit; this will turn him around and give you license to beat him up. When you finally deal your strong attack it won't kill Steelbeak, it will merely flip him upside down. He'll only be stunned for a few seconds so move past him with haste. Head down right and face another SteelBeak. Use the same caution in approaching him slowly, then flip him upside down. After upsetting the first Steelbeak, you'll come across a second one. Your safest bet is to punch him once to turn him around and jump over him as he reaches the stairs up to the right. NOTE: If for some reason Steelbeak hits you only once, you won't lose energy. This will sometimes happen when you are on the platform above the third Steelbeak. It's a rare occurrence, but the moral is don't give up even if the Steelbeak starts his spazz attack. Ok one more deep breath: almost there! In the narrow corridor, there are two spike patches on the ground that you can pass by tapping the A button once. When you are in between the two patches, wait and watch. To the right, a hammerhead goldfish will appear. If you can lure him to the floor and swim over him, he'll be out of your way for the rest of the level. If he floats up and off the screen, he'll be out of your way for now but remember he is still lurking. In either case wait for him to do one of these two options before swimming over the second set of spikes and heading up and to the left. After a narrow squeeze to the left, you'll head straight up. There will now be a Sharky in hot pursuit! He has a habit of biting you and sending you into spikes, so deal with him now! Get through the opening (where the circle thing is in the background) and put your back to the wall on the left. Wait for the Sharky to come up and pound him down! If he bites you, it will only send you into the wall, not into spikes! Remember though, he is only stunned so move quickly up and to the right. When you are in between the narrow columns of spikes, wait for Sharky to come up again. If you start punching when he rises from the bottom, you should get the drop on him and send him shooting downward. You may have to dodge a hammerhead goldfish here if you let him float up and off the screen when you fist entered the tank. Hopefully, you won't have to though! Drop down and paddle to the right and start heading up! You're almost there and you don't want to rush anything! At the surface is a guardian Steelbeak. Wait until he is to the far left and jump right, landing on the skinny wall. If, while you are waiting, the Sharky comes up, take care of him before attempting your jump. Now you are on the skinny wall with a pair of Beenie Copters to your right. Take one final Deep breath, relaaaaaaxx. You are almost there, and after all this hard work you don't want to blow it. Hop onto the Beenie Copter, staying towards the middle. You don't want to go all the way to the walls when you dodge; in any case dodge, left, right, left, right, left, then push hard to the right and you'll have finished the stage! Even if you miss the final right corridor it IS possible to beat the stage while you die, it's just a little less dignified. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 10-The Rat Race ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ I have a little saying for this stage: Don't go out like a sucker. Your goal is to race the rat and diffuse the bomb ( I think his name was Spazz)(the rat, not the bomb- I think the bomb's name was Steve.) There are a total of three races. The first two are pretty easy; the third one is quite difficult. Before the start of each race are a few petty obstacles; gas jets, Zingers and snot balls. This is what I mean when I say "Don't go out like a sucker"; take your time and get by these obstacles so you have a chance to race everytime. RACE 1: This race is easily won and will give you an idea of the physics of the race. Before heading to the actual race, there are a trio of Zingers to dispose of. After that, there will be four gas jets. You'll be safe as long as you stand on the far side of the beam then run down in between bursts of gas. At the third gas jet, you'll see Spazz start to materialize. Don't let him distract you from dodging the fourth gas jet. After the fourth jet, your toad will be in permanent speed mode, meaning you won't have to tap twice to make him run. Your only job is to get down as fast as possible. It may seem like Spazz is going to beat you with ease, but don't let his zippiness un-nerve you. Though he falls and runs faster than you, you have a big advantage when falling through the staggered gaps (aim for the middle.) This is an easy race and you should give the bomb the big boot long before Spazz is even in sight. Race 2: Race two isn't that much harder than the first, but the approach is a little trickier. There are two Zingers to deal with, then a pair of gas jets with a Sucka below them. since you have no time limit (yet!) don't rush past these jets. Carefully time them and veer right. As you fall right, you'll see Spazz materialize-- Make sure to move quick enough to dodge the third gas jet and the race is on!! There is a section of brown gaps which will help you make up big time if you get through them properly. Wiggle your toad in the middle of them and get to the bomb first! Onto race three!! Race 3: Race three starts off with snotballs pouring out of the wall to the left. Jump over them as they roll at you; as soon as the source-hole is off the screen they'll stop coming. Now there is a matter of four gas jets on the opposing side of the walls to contend with. They won't reach the far wall so as soon as you drop run away from the burst. As you stand ready to dodge the fourth blast (which will be coming from the right)get ready to run! This last race gives you little room for error and you want to take any advantage you can. Drop straight down through the girders and hustle to the left. Your toad won't be in permanent speed mode until Spazz fully forms, so make sure to tap twice to boost your toad. When you land on the first moving brown gap, make sure you tap twice there as well. The race is on! You want to make as few nudging errors as possible; if you try to run of the end of one of the long girders and push in the opposite direction too early ( and don't drop down) you are most likely hosed. As a desperate last chance, you can try punching Spazz, which will send him dashing in the opposite direction and buy you a little time. Make sure you are solid as you plummet through the brown gaps and the staggered girders. When you make it to the bottom there are some bad things that could happen. The first is the electric gap that guards the bomb. If it is not charged, you'll have no problem dropping down and kicking the bomb. If it is charged, even if you've beaten Spazz, you are at a disadvantage because Spazz isn't affected by the beam. In this case, you should try to punch Spazz to prevent him from dropping down before you and start your kick in the air before reaching the ground. The other thing that can happen, but VERY rarely does is: you will make it to the bomb first, kick it, and..... that's it! Spazz never falls and nothing else happens-- the only thing to do is reset the game. I've only had this happen once and I'm not sure what causes it (I never play with Game Genies or on Emulators; it was the normal NES Cart). Chances are it won't happen but MAN it is frustrating when it does. With practice, you'll be able to beat Spazz almost everytime! Before you pat yourself on the back, there's still a little matter of a boss to take care of... ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ BOSS FIGHT: GENERAL STEERHORNS ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ I'm sure that isn't his name and I'm sure I'll get dozens of bitter e- mails from responsible people who haven't lost their instruction books! To them I say PAH! I haven't lost mine, it's 2200 miles away in Connecticut -- and I'm in Colorado. So there! In any case, we'll call this guy Steerhorns, ok? It is quite possible to beat this guy with one toad, IF you know how. When you first drop down, he'll be waiting for you on the right. If you headbutt him once, he'll turn and face the corner like a kid who just got in trouble. Oddly enough you can pound him while he stands still for a while. The safest way to do this is to headbutt him, but make sure you hit everytime-- if you miss he'll toss your toad on his horns and kill you! A good rule of thumb is to headbutt later than earlier to ensure a hit. Eventually one of your headbutts will make Ram Horns and the General will shoot up in the air. He'll start off walking slowly back and forth. Make sure to attack him ONLY from behind; you can't hurt him while facing him. It's easy to get in hits; jump over him and punch or kick him. Gradually he starts getting faster until it's quite hard to hit him. Now it's time to switch to plan B. When he hits the wall and hops up HEADBUTT HIM!! He'll soar straight up, but stay right where you are (against the wall). As he descends, he'll float towards the middle of the screen--if you get scared and move, you could end up under his hulking mass and wind up flatter than a grape under Oprah. Continue the headbutt procedure until Steerhorns is a thing of the past. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 11-Clinger Wingers ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Deep in the confines of my altruistic soul, I wish I could do more to help gamers get by Clinger Wingers, but alas there isn't much I can do. The premise is basic, simply push your controller whatever way the arrows are pointing. You don't even use the buttons! You have to stay ahead of the Hypno-Orb or else you'll be knocked off and have to start from the beginning. There are no continue points until you get to the boss fight (there's a boss fight too?!!!) so you have to have a steady hand and a good memory. I like to use the NES Advantage controller because the joystick is a little more responsive than a joypad. In fact, I often have the hardest problems staying steady on straight-aways! The orb is faster then you on straight sections so your only hope to make up time is accurate cornering. There is a great section to make up time where the path dips down, right, up, right and repeats for three times. Even though your memory is a better guide than anything else, here is a summary of the directions of the path: right-up-right-down-left-down-left-down-right-up-right-up-left-down- right-down-left-up-left-up-right-down-left-up-left-down-left-up-left- down-left-up-right-up-left-down-right-down-left-down-right-up-left-up- right-down-right-up-right-down-right-up-right-down-right-up-right-down- right-up-right-up-right-up-right-down-(quick notch, left down)-down-left- up-right-down-right-up-left-down-right Got it? I'm sure it's easier to just memorize it yourself, but if you need help, there it is. You'll get it with some practice!! And when you do get ready for.. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ BOSS FIGHT: HYPNO-ORB ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ It's not enough that the freakin' orb tailgates you through the whole stage, but you have to fight him at the end! What a pain--He's not that hard though--He'll begin by floating around and landing to the left. Wait for him and punch him as he gets close. If you accidentally pick up the orb, throw it to the right and swiftly headbutt it in the air. After a while the orb will get mad and start bouncing violently up and off the screen. He always aims for where your toad is standing, so if you deftly move to the side as he comes down, you'll be able to get in your punches. Otherwise stay on the ground and throw punches as he moves towards you. Don't walk into him or get squashed from above! Remember, if you MUST throw the orb, throw it into open areas, not corners. Try to spend as little time in the air as possible! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Level 12-The Revolution ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ You are so close to the dark queen you can smell her sweet perfume! This stage features a unique scrolling theme; the whole screen rotates around your toad while he, more or less, stays stationary. While this isn't the first NES game to use this technology, it is clearly the best. The first game to feature this rotation was a game called Castilion. Castilion was revolutionary (hehe!) but the WHOLE GAME used the rotating effect and it got old after a while. Battletoads reserves the best for last! This stage requires a lot of practice to wire it and link the whole process. Let's start at the beginning: SECTION 1: Section one lets you get used to the somewhat tricky playcontrol of the tower. The first floor introduces you to the yellow rhino, a fiend you'll encounter several times on your way up the tower. He'll charge at you then pause; use that pause to smash him! If you beat him with a special attack, he'll throw his arms up in horror as he orbits down the tower to his utter demise. I actually end up feeling a little bad for him; kill him anyway! After beating him you can grab the flag pole if you want and use it as a weapon. The next floor has a speedy spike revolving around it. Jump over it and scroll the tower until you see the blinking green platforms. They only appear for a couple seconds, so jump on the lowest one and leap left as soon as they appear. If you get to the top one and the highest platform isn't there, just wait. It'll appear with enough time for you to leap off the platform you are on. The third floor has another yellow rhino; beat him and move up to a sequence of springboards. They will pop you highest when they are fully extended, unlike the springs of level 8 which shot you highest when they are compressed. Take your time when you are on the springboard just before the next platform. Nudge jump up a little to reveal an erratically bouncing spike ball. Now that you see it, time your jump to avoid it and head right to the platforms. Hop up to the next level and battle another Yellow rhino. Up one more floor and you'll have to fight the green cloud. He's not particularly hard, just make sure to attack him when his mouth is closed. If he starts spinning around the tower either: time a headbutt to smash into him or stand in one place and throw punches. If you still have the stick (flagpole) bash him with it about 5 times and he'll be out of your way. Beat him and hop up to section 2! Section 2: Look out for the red rhino on this level; his gaping maw can swallow you in one bite. You can punch him out or deal him a headbutt after he closes his mouth and is sitting there with a belly full of air. This is the continue point, so after knocking him out take a breath and relax. There will be a colored springboard above you, jump high and true to the next platform; You only have one chance to make it! Once up on safe ground, you'll have another Red Rhino to battle. Going up once more, you'll see a red cloud blowing a puff of wind out. Avoid the ring of wind because it is the equivalent of the poison gas! This cloud is stationary but his gusts of wind are aimed right at the platform you need to jump on to get up to the next floor. Get behind him and punch him; he should turn around and start blowing wind the other way. This clears you to get up to the next floor. A red cloud is speeding around the floor. You CANNOT DUCK HIS WIND!! I always forget this and end up losing a toad! Rather, you have to leap over him as he spirals around. Hop over him and get up to the next floor. AS SOON AS YOU GET UP THERE, STAND STILL!! A pair of red clouds will be dropping poison wind rings. If you stand still, the first pair will miss you and give you a chance to run to the right and get up onto the platforms to the next floor. This floor is close to the top of the screen. If a green wind doesn't immediately appear, walk over to the left and jump up a few times to prompt him. If you jump where you first get on the floor he'll come up under you and knock you over. Use the same headbutt strategy here to dispose of him. Next you'll have a high jump up to a floor with a fast spike on it. Time your jump carefully and get up to a sequence of spring boards. When you reach the top on, lightly tap A to nudge jump and slowly scroll the screen. A super-fast spike will be right below the platform you need to reach. As long as you can see it, you should be able to time it with ease. You are almost to the continue point! You'll see a few flag poles above you. It is in your best interest to grab them because Papa Wind is comin'! The giant red cloud will attempt to blow you off the tower and will succeed unless you are holding onto one of the poles. Your toad will make some pretty funny faces, but don't press any buttons, just wait for the Red Cloud to blow and leave. Time the flashing green platforms up to the next level and you will be at the final section of the tower!!! **A NOTE ON ROTATING PLATFORMS-When going between floors, you will encounter revolving platforms. These aren't too hard as long as you remember that when you are standing on one that is rotating, you have to nudge a little the opposite of the way you are facing to land on the next platform. Practice makes perfect!! SECTION 3: Almost there!! On your left will be four green platforms disappearing and reappearing in a vertical formation. To get up them, jump so that the lowest platform appears under you while you are in mid- air. After that hop up as quick as you can to get to the next floor. If you try to time the fourth platform from the third you'll hardly ever make it. Just go FAST! You'll be on a rather innocent looking floor. Be careful here; nudge jump up until you see a couple flagpoles up in your score at the top of the screen. Don't scroll up too far until you can jump on the spring and grab the flagpoles! This will prompt the second Papa Red Cloud!! Just sit there until he is done. The screen will be cut off on the bottom, but a yellow rotating platform will have appeared on the tower. Press DOWN to grab the flagpole and time your drop just as the platform lines up to the right of your toad (or slightly before). From there, hop up another floor to battle the last Yellow rhino. Bounce up to the next floor and you'll fight a green cloud. You will most likely have a flag pole in your hand, so it should be easy work to clobber him out of the sky. After beating him, repeat the nudge jump to reveal the flagpoles high in the screen (going too fast will prompt the Papa Cloud and make getting to the poles MUCH harder!) As a note, you CAN grab the flagpoles while you have one in your hand. one of them just mysteriously disappears. Hold on tight as the third Papa Cloud exhales on your frantic frog! When he's done you'll have to press DOWN and land on a rotating spring board which will appear below you. As soon as you land on it get ready to hop up to yet another flagpole! Do this quickly before the fourth (and final) Papa Red Cloud appears! Once he is gone, the platform you expected to appear DOESN'T! Instead you have to time a drop onto the spring board you just came from. It will be coming from the left so press down when the rotating spring is a little short of halfway in the middle of the tower. Once on the spring, hop up to the next floor. You will see a yellow cloud blowing all about. He can't hurt you directly and likewise you can't hurt him. His breath won't poison you but it WILL knock you off the platforms. I consider him the Queen's personal guardian because he is the last fiend between you and the final battle. When he drifts over to the right side of the screen start hopping fast n' furious to the left. Don't stop for anything, just go as fast as you can to the left. Hop high and blast your way up until you are on steady ground. The yellow cloud will have pursued you all the way up. The last challenge is to get up the platforms that go left, right, left while the wind blows. I like to wait until he is behind the tower and MOVE FAST!!! After you get on the third spring, hop up-- The screen will explode and the Evil Beauty, the Dark Queen will challenge you to the final fight!!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ THE FINAL FIGHT: HER LOVELINESS THE DARK EVIL QUEEN AKA STAGE 13: ARMAGEDDON ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ The best thing about the Dark Queen, besides her fancy clothes, is the fact that if you run out of lives and still have continues left, you will start right here at the final battle! It's the only break you get in the whole game!! I'll contain my comments here and give you some useful ideas for beating the Dark Queen. She's actually not too hard. She attacks you in two ways: tornado attack and with her black leather stiletto heeled boots! Freudian complications aside, attacking the queen is best done with head-butts. After you score hits, she will fly up in a yellow tornado. As long as you don't jump around, she won't hit you. Smash her with a headbutt as she comes down and run away, otherwise she will jab you with her knees (unless you're into that sort of thing.) Be patient and get in your hits when she drops out of her tornado. When she is defeated, unfortunately you don't get to marry her or even get her phone number. You do get the so-so silver medal of Angelica and the Shameful Bronze of Pimple. Or do you?!!! ;) ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ THE COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH: The Missing stages!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ This last section of the walkthrough will cover the stages skipped by warps in the normal walkthrough. Come on, you're not TOO WIMPY to play without warps, are ya?! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Stage 4:Surf City!!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ SECTION 1: The watery wackiness starts off when you grab your shield...er, Surfboard..and head out into the perilous underground river!! One of the good things about this first section is that your board can whack a log and you won't die! You will lose 3 health though and the next log you smack will send you to the briny deep. The logs in this section are easily avoided; dodge up, down, then up and stay either high or low. Even if the log is dead in front you, you can time your skips to occasionally hop over one without damage! At the waterfall, line up in the middle and push forward to snare a hovering one-up. The whirlpools in the lower section of the river are avoided in the same manner as the logs; if the whirlpool is high, dodge low and vice-versa. After the first three or four, stay high and you will avoid the rest. SECTION 2: Hop onto the logs and begin the ground battle. A couple green and pink life invaders will emerge and try to steal your health blocks. Knock them out early if you can; only 2 of them will float down after grabbing your precious life(giving you a chance to win your life bricks back.) The others will drift off the screen. After the Extra terrestrial encounter, you will battle two very leggy walkers! They are no harder than their shorter counterparts and you are advised to pick up a leg to wield as a weapon. After the second walker, scroll slowly to the right so that you can gobble up the two flies that appear. If you go to fast you will prompt the Mini-Boss, Big Blarg. Your gaping maw will freeze you and allow the flies to zoom off! And they say they fly right in your mouth if you keep it open; so much for THAT little bit of folklore. Bah! Blarg isn't too tough as long as you don't let him get in the first hit. Let him leap and when he lands, sneak behind him and throw punches or a headbutt. If you still have your walker stick, it is a good way to get in some smashes without the normal flurry of punches. When he is close to death he will leap clear off the screen in an attempt to flatten the toads. Use his shadow as an indication to his landing point, dodge and finish him off!! One last section of surf to navigate and you're done! SECTION 3: The surfing gets a little speedier here. The mines that drift in your path must be avoided at all costs, which is OK because they aren't too hard to parry. I prefer to stay at the very top here. When you see the ramps, line up in the middle and clear the big waterfalls (don't worry, RARE fans, they are no where as NEAR as hard as those damn waterfalls in COBRA TRIANGLE!!) After the jump there are more mines, which are best dodged by staying low; there's another big jump coming up. On this one, push forward in the middle to grab the one up, then push back and resume your normal high/low pattern to dodge the mines. One more super big jump, a final flurry of mines, and you are off to the Snake Pit. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Stage 5: Karnath's Lair ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ This stupid stage is the reason I can't make this the FINAL version of the FAQ: not because it is too hard, but because I forget if it is KARNATH or KARANTH. I'll say Karnath, even though my scratchy writing in my notes seems to say K~*&Y(GHR. There are four sections in this stage and you won't have to throw a single punch to get through it! Getting through requires a good memory and skill in tapping the A button light enough so you don't launch your toad into the perilous spikes overhead. Let's walkthrough, shall we? SECTION 1: No need to write anything special here; you CAN'T die here not matter how hard you try. Despite the Dark Queen's observation that snakes eats frogs, these cool reptiles seem more interested in cruising around with their sunglasses on. I know what you are saying, snakes don't even have EYELIDS, why do they need shades? Perhaps their dark lenses prevent them from seeing the toads and thus they don't eat them; sounds reasonable eh? In any case, get used to the physics of riding the snakes, hop out the exit for a cool 5000 points and get ready for the real challenge. SECTION 2: Things start getting a little hairy as spikes are introduced into the fray. Your first snake is Yellow and Red; I like to call him Ronald McDonald. Hop on Ronald and either jump to the right as if you were going to warp ( when he reaches his highest point) or run in place until you hear the swish of his turning below you. Drop down onto his back, jump the spike and ride him as he sucks into the wall. Next up is a pine and red snake who comes straight up from the floor. Hop on his back, jump one spike ball, and ride him to the next snake which is red and mustard colored. There is a tricky part as this snake coils to the right; stay on the snake is almost gone (watch for the spiked tail). Instead of jumping over the spike he curves around below you, dash off his back and onto his head. If you jump there's a good chance you'll clip your head on the spikes. Next a yellow and mustard snake appears; hop over the three spikes are you ride him to the left. When he goes into the wall, a lemon lime snake will veer out to the right. Like the other snake, you'll want to stay on him as long as possible then move forward onto the snake, leap the spikes, and make it to the wall. Your final snake of this section is a red and black snake who zips out of his hole with great speed! Don't panic! Hop on him, cruise to the exit, and head to section 3. SECTION 3: The stakes are higher in this section! There is no safe ground so you MUST be on a snake at all times. The first snake your get onto is red and pink. Run in place till you are at his tail, moving right to clear the spikes with well timed leaps. Be careful not to run into the spike in the wall here. Instead, hold out on the end of the snake as long as you can and jump up high as he finishes up into the wall. You'll land on a peach colored snake. Stay in place as he coils about, deftly jump the spike (being wary of the spikes overhead--either tap A or project your jump diagnally left), and get ready for the next snake. Jump up to a lemom limey and run in place till he is almost all out. He will circle back and you can ride him up. Jump two spikes and then jump up tp a lightning fast black and green snake. Leap the one spike, and stay calm. Even those these snakes really haul, this part isn't too hard if you keep your cool. A mustard and black snake will blast out equally as fast as the green and black one. This snake is a free ride: nothing to duck or hop over. Ride him to the right--and get ready to jump up! A purple and black snake will challenge you to make two fast jumps; make the first one then immediately make the second while holding to the left. The snake's momentum will give you the inertia you need to clear the single spike while avoiding the ceiling. Leap up to the final silver and black snake, hop one spike and voila! Onto the final section. SECTION 4: THE FINAL SECTION! A purple snake is your first guide through this long and twisty maze of spikes. As a common courtesy, hop your warty hide off of his scaly skin and get onto the platforms of solid ground. Quickly jump from the highest one to the left to two similar platforms and catch up to your snake as he curls into the wall. **SPECIAL NOTE FOR LAZY GAMERS: IF YOU REALLY HATE THESE SNAKES....get to the fourth platform to the left and wait-- for a LONG TIME!! Eventually the Mulberry and Black snake will curl down around the spike above you. If you are can time it, leap up onto his back and get ready to head for home-- he is the last snake in the lair!! Anyhow, for the more ACTION inclined gamer, hop up and let the silver snake burrow out under you. Ride him to the right but don't rush! There is a single spike against the wall where he crawls in; stay on him to the very end and leap straight up. A blue-grey snake will magically appear under your webbed feet! Ride to the red and yellow reptile (Ronald). As Ronald winds right and up, stay on him as long as you can. He curves up into a series of spikes that will slash your frog off his back like cheese in a cheese grater. Instead stay on the level until his tail head upward. Hop on and press left to fall off as close to the spikes as you can get without hitting them. You should fall on the front part of Ronald. Jump up to a fast Blue snake, on whose back you have to leap two spikes. A green and black snake is next, darting to the left. Jump a few spikes, and you have made it to the final snake, the mulberry and black snake. This is same one you will encounter is you wait down below. He has only one tricky move; as he comes out keep running left towards the wall, then at the last minute nudge right and land on his back between two spikes! This takes some practice. Be warned to jump as soon as you land to clear the spike to the right. Ride him up and out and you've done it-- Congradulations!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Stage 7 Volkmire's Inferno ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Volkmire's Inferno is similar to the Turbo Tunnel but quite a bit easier. The coolest part of this stage is the fact the dark brown rats get smashed with a super hit in one blow!! At the start of the stage you'll encounter these "punching bag rats" and leap a couple gaps. After the second gap, fight the rats and jump right and back to prompt the log in bewteen the next gap to appear. Do this again for the next gap and when you are on solid ground get to the right with haste! A flurry of rocket rats will fly at you; use their shadows as a guide and avoid them. Jumping usually just gets you knocked over so stay on good ol terra firma. A rougue squadron of Life Invaders will then try to steal your life bricks, followed by another round of rocket rats. Luckily a gaggle of flies appears after all this madness. Along the way are a few more log jumps but if you have made it this far, they will be no problem. If you used GAME SHARK to get here you are a big fat cheater and deserve to die! (Well, not YOU personally, but your toad familiar). As you get to the end of the stage surprise!! The background morphs into a wall of flame! In front of you are two of those little jets you see on the kiddie rides at amusement parks. Hop on and get ready for Volkmire's Inferno!!! SECTION 1: Before you start cursing the game for giving you another course as challenging as the Turbo Tunnel, relax-- the Volkmire Tunnel is much easier and even has two one-ups to snare along the way. The first part requires you to weave through electrical barriers; the gaps appear in this order: high, middle, middle, high, low, high, low, high, middle, high, low, middle, then stay back as a gate opens high. Stay back as three gates open in sucession low, low, then high. Press right after this high gate and get ready to zoom through closing gates middle, high and middle-low. One more closing high and you made it check point number one! SECTION 2: This section hurls spitballs at you from the right. They are easily avoided by staying back to the left and moving up and down and perhaps a nudge forward to miss them. Try to stay lined up in the middle because a one up floats there waiting to be rescued. That is all! SECTION 3: Rockets shoot over to the left below you and then drop from above. Again, this stage isn't too hard as long as you concentrate. Stay middle high (in the flames) as the rockets go up, then get into the purple below the background flames as they drop down. There is a high one up at the very end if you are sneaky enough to get it! SECTION 4: More barriers! The precede as follows: Middle, middle, middle; middle, high, middle; low, middle, high; 3 middle opens (stay back); 3 middle closers (go right), one more middle open, one middle closer and done!! Fast but not too hard. SECTION 5: The final segment features gapped barriers that beep to let you know where the opening will be. They start off middle, high, then swoop up and down like a big W. It is a very natural motion to swerve through the gates. After the W, a few more barriers appear which you can line up pretty easily and then WHOOMP! you are done! Kudos on defeating the least-often seen stage in all of Battletoads!!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ IV-APPENDIXES OF FUN!!!! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ A-Talkin' Trash With The Dark Queen: List of Insults ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ TALK DIRTY TO ME! Not only is she gorgeous and swell dresser, but the Dark Queen is also tough. In fact she has the lexicon of a New York Cab Driver or a Merchant Marine. She can talk trash with the best of them, that nasty girl!! Here's the list of insults I've collected: (referring to both the Battletoads and Professor Bird Guy) Feathered Freak Wartheads Booby (hehe) Swamp Scum Pond Patrol Battlebarf (my favorite) Warty Bottoms Wartheads Quaggy Croakers Snotskins Green Friends (she must not be referring to Zitz, he's brown!) Wart bodies Toadies Slimebacks Battlejerks Prattletoads -If I missed any, let me know. I'll add em! I know she calls the Bird guy a Beaked something. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ B-WHY I LOVE THE DARK QUEEN ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ It's true: the bad girls in movies are always hotter than the hero-good- girl. Maybe it's my partiality to Dark Hair, or the fact bad girls usually invest in leather outfits (ex. James Bond, the One with the Russian Lady who crushes people with her legs-- she's my favorite!) The Dark Queen is no exception. With Her sharp tongue, full thick blue hair, and scandalous outfits she wins the Bruplex Ms. NES award! It's never made clear WHY she is evil; I mean if she is evil for kidnapping a frog then a LOT of teenage boys would be considered the spawns of Satan (well ok, some of them are!) But come on, give her royal loveliness a break-- who hasn't played a round of Frog tennis or tested the explosion threshold of the pond dwellers with assorted fireworks? And how about the sassy way she puts her elbow on her hip when she talks trash to the toads! Right off the catwalk and into my heart! And that fangy sneer? OH! In closing, The Dark Queen makes Jennifer Aniston and Brittney Spears look like pond scum. Thank you. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ C-Observations and Comments I'll write em in when you send em to me! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Add your two cents here! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ D-FAQ'S ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ Once you start askin' em, I'll start answering 'em. ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ E-MINI SPOILER: Thoughts on the Ending ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ I'm glad you don't kill the Dark Queen! I wish there were credits! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ F-FINAL THOUGHTS-Well there ya go kiddies, everything you need to know to beat Battletoads. Yeah it's hard, but you can win with enough practice. I hope you enjoyed this FAQ-- Feel free to send any comments or suggestions to: Bruplex@aol.com Thanks to: Jody Pratt-For watching patiently while I took notes and for dubbing the spike guys in the Arctic Caverns "Birthday Cakes". Marc and David Dziezynski-My ever-gaming cousins who played a ton of toads with me over the holidays of 2000! Jeff Veasey- For hosting FAQS at Gamefaqs. THE DARK QUEEN- For being there and FINALLY BRUPLEX-My cat :) ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~ FINI! ~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~