Battletoads & Double Dragon NES

Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team is Rare’s 1993 beat-’em-up crossover, published by Tradewest for the NES with later ports to Genesis, SNES, and Game Boy. It brings together Rare’s own Battletoads trio with Double Dragon’s Billy and Jimmy Lee, uniting two previously separate beat-’em-up franchises against a shared villain, the Shadow Boss, who has combined the two series’ antagonists into one threat.

Built on the Battletoads engine and design rather than Double Dragon’s, it carries over that series’ signature morphing weapon attacks and surreal stage gimmicks rather than playing as a straight Double Dragon sequel — Double Dragon developer Technos had little involvement beyond licensing the characters. Its four-player-capable brawling and irreverent tone made it a well-regarded send-off for the Battletoads franchise’s NES era.