'Battletoads' Revival News, Rumors: Microsoft Signals New Game in the Franchise?

Microsoft and its recently filed trademark for the "Battletoads" name, led some gamers to believe that a revival of some sorts is on its way. While, the trademark was filed a while back, it's not the only classic or retro title that has been trademarked by the company.

It seems as though the Redmond based technology titan is stepping into the realm of nostalgia as they are trademarking various classic titles. Beyond 'Battletoads', the company has trademarked the classic titles "Killer Instinct," "Phantom Dust" and even "Crackdown."

The first hint that Microsoft might be resurrecting Rash, Pimple, and Zitz (the primary characters in the 'Battletoads' series games), was when they acquired its developer, Rare Ltd, in 2002. However, since then, nothing has come out of the Microsoft stable in this regard.

For those who may not know, 'Battletoads' is an extremely difficult platforming beat 'em up game that has somewhat of a cult following. The original 'Battletoads' was released in 1991 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, better known as the NES.

On a side note, the title was created to rival the popular 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' games at the time, which is apparent as the main characters are toads instead of turtles.

One of the reasons why this game is receiving a lot of hype about the new Microsoft trademark, is that it's a game that has been renowned for its difficulty. Much like other classic retro titles, 'Battletoads' involves a lot of trial and error type gameplay which tends to draw on the frustrations of gamers.

That difficulty did not seem to falter in the other games in the series, as another 'Battletoads' title, this time on the SNES, is also known for being very difficult to beat.

'Battletoads in Battlemaniacs' was released two years after the original, in 1993, and featured an upgrade in graphics, while retaining a similar style of play. In this game, players can expect to beat up enemies as they progress through the level, much like in the original 'Battletoads' title.

Going one step further, the SNES title also incorporated the infamous "Speeder Bikes" stage that surely resulted in a multitude of "gameovers" worldwide and a couple of destroyed controllers.

As it stands, there's no news about a 'Battletoads' revival, but retro gamers and new gamers alike can always hope to play as Rash, Pimple, or Zitz, once again.

Check out Microsoft's Trademark here.