Battletoads

Battletoads was a 2D scrolling video game from Rare Ltd.[?] for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was arguably the most graphically advanced video game for the system, in a time when the game market was turning to Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo.

The plot was that three teenaged mutant toads named affectionately after skin disorders (Zitz, Pimple and Rash) had to save Princess Angelica from the evil Dark Queen, ruler of Planet Ragnarok, with the assistance of Professor T. Bird and his space ship, The Vulture.

Play consisted of different types of levels: there were various types of racing levels that half the battle was memorizing all the obstacles that were ahead of you, "snake" levels where you climbed twisting, twirling snakes to the exit, "climbing" or "falling" levels where it was a race to the top or bottom of the level through deadly, complicated obstacles, and a water level full of sharks, electric eels and other baddies.

The game was a balance of challenge and skill: it was very challenging but not impossible, and luck played almost no part in the game.