Well, I tried it, and I actually ended up liking it. (This isn't the first time I've tried a game I thought I would hate, but I would end up liking it...) It's hard as hell, but it's fun, and it's better than the AVGN made it out to be.
One of the toads was kidnapped by this evil queen. You play as this toad called Rash, you're on some planet, and you fight all these bad guys.
Here's one screenshot of the intro (there's more than this though):
The game is in a pseudo-3-D perspective, which is very impressive for the NES. In the first level, you fight these weird creatures that keep popping out of the ground. You have to keep punching them over and over, and when you defeat them, your fist/foot enlarges, to make it show you're THAT powerful. You can even pick weapons that enemies drop (sometimes they're part of the enemy) and use them to your advantage! Later in the level, there's some turret shooting stuff at you, and you have to break it by throwing balls at it. Then it cracks and you finished the first level.
Here are some screenshots for the first level:
In the second level, you're down some crater, holding a string to prevent you from falling all the way down. In this well, there are lots of birds that like to break your string (resulting in an instant death), electrical robots that eat away at tons of your health, and some carnivorous plants. You have the awesome ability to transform into a wrecking ball to deal MASSIVE DAMAGE to these enemies. This level takes a lot of practice, especially with the robot-like things that electrocute you. But the level has awesome parallax effects, which is really rare in an NES game.
Here are some screenshots for the second level:
The third level is really hard, and I've never gotten past it. The first part is really simple -- you just defeat a bunch of enemies that appear, which look like ducks, but I can't really tell what they are. After that, you have to ride on a vehicle that goes very fast. This is somewhat similar to the minecart-style stages in the DKC games, but far harder. It goes very fast, and you have to memorize the stage well to play it properly. There are all these walls that come by, and you either have to weave around them, jump over them, or once in a while, stay under them. They flash on the right side of the screen to warn you in advance, but you still have to move FAST, or you'll mess up. There are also ramps you have to take to leap over pits, some of which are in mid-air, but this isn't as hard as avoiding the walls. There are also a few enemies in the mix to make things harder. Like I said, I never got past this level, but it's still fun to play because it goes FAST.
Here are some screenshots for the third level:
Here's a video of me doing my best in this level. This is as far as I ever got. (I probably won't upload the video on YouTube unless a lot of people here want me to, because a lot of people on YouTube are used to me uploading DKC videos.)
And here's a video of someone actually beating the level. Amazing. He makes it look really easy!
Oh, and by the way, this level has an even more impressive parallax scrolling effect. It's almost like it's on the SNES! So, even before Donkey Kong Country, Rareware made games with great graphics!
Also, a lot of the music is awesome. I think it's composed by Dave Wise, and you all know what that means. My favorite music is when you're on the vehicle; it's just that awesome. I also like the music when you're being fired at by a turret at the end of the first level. For 8-bit music (which I'm particularly fond of), this is really nice to listen to.
Oh, and if you ever play the game, be sure to check out the graphics of the intro. Again, great for the NES. For some reason, it reminds me of Super Metroid.
Another thing: The hearts at the top represent lives. Just like in the Donkey Kong Land games. Hell, the hearts in DKL look very similar to the hearts in this game!
Finally, I never tried playing with another player, which was the main thing that the AVGN nitpicked at, because of "friendly fire": you can attack each other and even cause each other to lose lives. Also, if someone loses all their lives, both players have to start at the beginning of the level, which can be frustrating, especially when the other player is worse at the game than you. I only tried a 1-player game, and I really liked it. Also, if you get too many Game Over screens, you have to start all the way back at the beginning -- kinda like the NES version of Super Mario Bros. 2.
Speaking of the Game Over screen, here's what it looks like:
For a Rare game, the Game Over screen is rather bland... you'd think he would look like he's beat up or something like that. Oh well.
And if you want to play this game with me... then GET BACK BEHIND THE DAMN COUCH! (If you saw AVGN's video, you'd get why I said that.)
UPDATE: I finally beat the third level, and the fourth level is hard as hell! It's this icy level with falling icicles and evil snowmen that throw snowballs everywhere. You can defeat a snowman by picking up snowballs on the ground and throwing them at him, but I haven't figured out yet how to defeat these annoying snowmen without getting hit by one yet. There are some really slippery ice cubes that can hurt you, but you can also punch them to knock down weak walls. There's also one part where a snowman throws a snowball down a slope that keeps getting bigger and bigger, which is really tough to avoid. That was as far as I got. I lost all my lives there...
The music in this level is freaking sweet though. Maybe I should upload it so that you can all hear it. Even before Aquatic Ambience and Stickerbush Symphony, Dave Wise was great at composing music.
Screenshots:
