E3 2019 preview: Xbox predictions, rumors and expectations

What we will see: Battletoads

Why Battletoads has hung on as a franchise anyone has cared about beyond the mid-1990s is honestly a mystery to me. The series peaked with its first entry, which wasn’t great and the whole concept was an unabashed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rip-off. The last actual game they starred in was made 25 years ago. They have popped up as Easter Eggs here and there, and Microsoft has been teasing something new with Battletoads for years; but, never announced anything official.

However, at last year’s E3, that all changed. Battletoads was one of many games Microsoft showed off. A vague trailer without any actual footage was enough to get fans excited, though. The brief teaser did, however, promise that the trio of Rash, Zitz and Pimply would be returning in 2019.

What do we know about this new Battletoads? Well, it’s not some massive AAA 3D action relaunch of the series. It’s a “2.5 HD” game with 3 player couch co-op. Apparently, it’s not online multiplayer, but maybe that has been added since. Perhaps that will be mentioned this year. It’s also not a straight-up side-scrolling brawler as “genre mashups” were specifically mentioned in the trailer.

Frankly, I have no fondness or nostalgia for the Battletoads franchise, but that also means I have little to no attachment to the incredibly hard (and downright cheap) brawling the series is known for. Show me something creative and new and maybe I can get on board with this, otherwise, I’m not even sure who this game is for.