Skip to main content

Beloved Nintendo classic Battletoads seems primed for a return on… Xbox?

microsoft trademark hints battletoads revival
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Microsoft has filed a trademark for “Battletoads,” hinting at a possible revival for Rare’s early-’90s brawler, according to the eagle-eyed geeks of NeoGAF. The possibility of a Battletoads revival was hinted at earlier in 2014 with a card appearing in the background of a cut scene in Kinect Sports Rivals (which Rare developed). Xbox head Phil Spencer also mentioned his fondness for the franchise on Twitter back in 2013 when discussing which Rare franchises to look at next after the success of Killer Instinct.

Battletoads launched in 1991 to compete directly with the popular Ninja Turtles. The original game was a notoriously difficult beat ’em up for NES in the vein of Double Dragon. Rare would go on to earn great acclaim for ’90s classics like Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007. The Battletoads franchise spun off into a few other games, including a Double Dragon crossover, as well as an aborted TV pilot.

Recommended Videos

The anthropomorphic, amphibious heroes of the series are Rash, Pimple, and Zitz. The first game came out in the same year as ToeJam & Earl when the video game industry was experimenting with crude humor and the boundaries of taste in a medium still ostensibly for children.

Despite its reputation for serving up a punishing challenge (particularly in the racing sections that demanded perfect reflexes or just brute-force memorization), the game is remembered fondly by fans, and has been featured in numerous lists in recent years of series that need reviving (including our own). This new filing hints at a long-anticipated return that ought to be well-received by gamers in their 20s and 30s.

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
This classic Rare title is finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online
Banjo hangs from a ledage in a Banjo-Tooie promo.

Nintendo 64™ – October 2024 Game Update – Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

Another classic Rare Nintendo 64 game is coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Banjo-Tooie, the sequel to Banjo Kazooie (of course), is being added to the service on October 25, Nintendo announced on Friday.

Read more
After years of promises, Xbox might let you stream games you own
An Xbox controller being held up in front of an Xbox Series S

Xbox may soon be testing the ability to let you stream games you own over Cloud Streaming, instead of limiting you to just titles available in Xbox Game Pass.

The Verge's Tom Warren reports that the functionality is a part of Project Lapland, and will be coming to the Xbox Insider program in November. Barring any problems, it'll release to more users after that. Based on previous statements, it'll likely only be available to Ultimate subscribers.

Read more
Prime Big Deal Days board game deals: All the classics are on sale!
Catan board game close up.

Update 10/9/24: The first day of Prime Big Deal Days is officially in the books and Amazon is now into day two of Prime Day deals. There's plenty of entertainment available at a discount in the form of Prime Day board game deals. Below you'll find all of the good leftovers from yesterday as well as some additions for today.

We have one more day of Prime Big Deal Days deals, so now is the perfect opportunity to pick up a board game, especially since it's one of the few days of the year where board games have some solid discounts. To that end, we've gone out and collected some of our all-around favorite board game deals for you to check out. That said, if you're a more traditional PC gamer, then check out these Prime Day gaming laptop deals and Prime Day gaming PC deals while you're at it.
Candy Land -- $10 $12 17% off 
Candy Land is a rainy day classic and it's one of the most affordable board games this Prime Big Deals Day. It's only seeing a $2 discount but that drops the price to just $10, and with its status as one of the most well known board games it's likely to be a hit with this Prime Day deal.

Read more