The NES Battletoads game is infamous for its crushing difficulty. One major influence on that difficulty was the game's lives system that tasked players with completing the entire game, which was already challenging, with just nine lives. I recently played Dlala Studios' new Battletoads game and while it was still pretty challenging, I noticed it didn't have a lives system. I asked Dlala Studios' CEO AJ Grand-Scrutton about this and he confirmed to DualShockers that a lives system will be reserved for the highest difficulty.

Zitz, Pimple, and Rash still have health bars in the beat 'em up sections, but they have the ability to respawn upon death. The same applies to the bike sections, which were infamous in the original Battletoads. That being said, if all three players die they will be booted back to the last checkpoint. This should definitely make this new Battletoads game more enjoyable to complete, but I'm sure those who enjoy playing a difficult game will appreciate the difficulty level that does have a lives system.

Other than the lives system, my other major question was about the game's release date. Battletoads' E3 2018 trailer stated that it was coming in 2019, but Microsoft's E3 2019 showcase lacked any concrete date. While AJ Grand-Scrutton would not tell me when exactly the game was coming, he did say that they will be taking more about when exactly the game will be releasing at Gamescom. This rules out a release between June and August, but does still leave some hope for a 2019 release. DualShockers will let you know when an official release date is unveiled for Battletoads.

A lot of new screenshots have been released for Battletoads to celebrate its appearance at E3 2019 and you can check those out below. Currently, Battletoads is slated for a PC and Xbox One release sometime in 2019, though we will not have a more precise window until Gamescom.