The Clinger Winger style stages in the Battletoads are insanity (Battletoads NES, Battlemaniacs)

[entremet]

I never played Battlemaniacs and finally got a chance thanks to SNES Online and MS and Nintendo finally playing nice with the legacy Nintendo console stuff.

I've tried beating Battletoads NES many times, including on Rare Replay with the rewind function and save states. I can never past Clinger Winger. This stage is just crap lol. And cruel. No checkpoints. You need to be frame perfect on some of the turns. So I gave up. Battletoads drained my spirits.

I then played Battlemaniacs. It's slightly easier. Only slightly. The Snake Pit was insanity in that game. I then made it to the Clinger Style stage there and it was a hard wall.

Here's a perfect run of the NES version. Read the comments lol.

Now that the game is mega old and has a lot of time to look back at it, many do feel Clinger Winger is the hardest stage. I agree.

I've looked up strats involving pausing (in the Rare Replay version), memorizing the turns, etc. Nothing works for me.

Fun fact: This stage is bugged in the original NES version with 2P. One of you will die and you can't beat with two players. It's fixed in the Japanese version of the game (which is easier overall and should've been the actual difficulty) and Rare Replay.

I still do love this game. But honestly, kinda like a balance of today, the Japanese version rocks because they fixed all the craziness. It's still challenging game, just not frustratingly so.


View: https://youtu.be/3wnAO4XZNOQ?si=0vxcho-Yfys8MG4T

SNES version, technically called Roller Coaster, but same design.


View: https://youtu.be/PRBdwPvh0U8?si=8OJjlmoCD26qKjoT

 

[Fallout-NL]

Did the sort of speeder stages where you have to dodge the obstacles come before this section? That would explain why I never even saw these...

 

[Jakenbakin]

Did the sort of speeder stages where you have to dodge the obstacles come before this section? That would explain why I never even saw these...

Click to shrink...

Me coming into this thread like "huh I didn't know the vehicles were called that oh they're not what the fuck is this?"

 

[Liminal Cat]

I've beaten NES Battletoads before, but I've never beaten Clinger Winger without using the pause trick.

 

[entremet]

Did the sort of speeder stages where you have to dodge the obstacles come before this section? That would explain why I never even saw these...

Click to shrink...

Yeah.

In the NES game, the third stage, Turbo Tunnel, is an infamous wall and skill check lol.

Clinger Winger is the penultimate stage. The had to eff you before the final level lol. You then have a boss fight, which is more crap to deal with lol. Unlike the other vehicle stages, which don't have bosses.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Did the sort of speeder stages where you have to dodge the obstacles come before this section? That would explain why I never even saw these...

Click to shrink...

Yep, the speeder bikes are the first vehicle stage, and they're nothing compared to Clinger Winger or Volkmire's Inferno. I personally think Volkmire's Inferno is harder, just because it's memorisation vs reflexes, but they're both ridiculous.

 

[lordmrw]

Nintendo Power had maps of every stage of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. I memorized every one, inluding Clinger Winger to beat that game. Every single turn, everything. That was a long process. I maintain the Battletoads games would be looked back on more fondly if the difficulty weren't so god damn ridiculous.

 

[entremet]

Nintendo Power had maps of every stage of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs. I memorized every one, inluding Clinger Winger to beat that game. Every single turn, everything. That was a long process. I maintain the Battletoads games would be looked back on more fondly if the difficulty weren't so god damn ridiculous.

Click to shrink...

I remember that issue. It was basically a strategy guide for the game.

 

[Lowblood]

Did the sort of speeder stages where you have to dodge the obstacles come before this section? That would explain why I never even saw these...

Click to shrink...

The fun part is if you get past Turbo Tunnel you might die on the damn snake stage instead, lol.

(I did occasionally make it to the clinger winger stages but I'm pretty sure I never actually beat NES Battletoads back in the day)

 

[Why would you do that?]

I really like Battletoads, but this stage is absolutely wild. It seems actually impossible. This is the worst kind of stage to have in a game with limited continues.

The Genesis game and SNES game dialed back the difficulty a bit, so it's slightly less impossible.

 

[Euler007]

I remember that issue. It was basically a strategy guide for the game.

Click to shrink...

A lot of the NES Era games are basically tied to Nintendo Power. For lots of "secrets" or even regular ways to beat a game there's no organic ways for people to figure it out.

 

[entremet]

I really like Battletoads, but this stage is absolutely wild. It seems actually impossible. This is the worst kind of stage to have in a game with limited continues.

The Genesis game and SNES game dialed back the difficulty a bit, so it's slightly less impossible.

Click to shrink...

Yep, I like challenging games, but it's a ridiculous stage. Along with the 2P bug.

I will always recommend the Japanese Famicom version. It's like a balance patch--literally. It also has 5 lives and 5 continues, instead of 3 lives and 3 continues as default.

Only wish that version was on Rare Replay. I guess we need to wait for the Famicom Online version for official access.

It's still hard, just actually doable.