Battletoads vs. Double Dragon II: Which Game was Better?
Posted by Steven Collier on Jan. 16th, 2016
We've talked a lot about what was the best Nintendo Beat 'Em Up game, but there's only one real way to pick a champion: pit these classic titles against each other in true brawler fashion. So, let's meet the competitors!
Battletoads
Battletoads is an 8-bit masterpiece that pushes the Nintendo to its absolute limits. Racing, platforming, cliff-rappelling and some of the finest fighting game mechanics ever programmed make it a must-own title for any NES owner. It's a technical masterpiece that's just plain fun to boot. There is nothing that this colorful game does wrong, which is why despite its thumb-blistering difficulty, gamers still return to it to this day.
Double Dragon II
Double Dragon 2 takes everything that made its predecessor great and ramps it up to eleven. Just knowing it was now a two-player game was awesome. But, when the second level has you jumping from rooftop to rooftop to keep up with a military helicopter that won't stop throwing enemy ninjas at you... Well, that's when you know you're in for a wild ride. It's a fantastic game and possibly the greatest sequel ever.
The Verdict
They're both great games, but there can only be one victor. For me, it's Double Dragon 2, simply because it's consistently a fighting game. Battletoads' strength is also its greatest weakness: it's a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. Its different game modes ensure that you'll never be bored, but if you're looking for non-stop pixelated pummeling, you'll have to endure some pretty frustrating intermissions between bouts. Double Dragon 2 plays it safe, sticks to its guns (or fists) and wins this round easily.
But maybe you disagree. Feel free to throw down in the Comments section. I welcome all challengers.