Enlarge / The Battletoads are back. We wish that were better news. (credit: Dlala Studios / Rare, Ltd. / Xbox Game Studios )

When Battletoads arrived on the Nintendo Entertainment System in June 1991, it rode on a wave of limited-time momentum in the West. Ninja Turtles fever was still a thing. The NES ruled the charts, even though Sega's own attitude-filled mascot was about to emerge. And Nintendo's official US magazine devoted page after page to a new, weirdly named toad trio: Zitz, Rash, and Pimple.

As an early '90s pre-teen, I was convinced that Battletoads was absolutely massive. I later realized that wasn't the case; a lot of people hated how hard the first game was, while subsequent games flopped. But I'll always be fond of the original game's graphical tricks, over-the-top combat, and wacky mix of genres.

Nothing—not even this week's inspired-yet-messy series rebirth—can take that away from me. For all of its good moments, this year's 10GB version of Battletoads is somehow less diverse and exciting than the 256KB original.

The Looney Tunes -caliber stuff

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  When three players are battling simultaneously, the results can be a mess to keep track of. [credit: Dlala Studios ]

The new game, simply titled Battletoads , sees the series' corporate handlers at Rare Ltd. hand their web-toed fighters to Dlala Studios, an English developer with an eye for hand-drawn 2D art. You can tell why they got the job after playing the first two levels. The game's best bits are a delight to play, either solo or with friends.