If you have ever played Battletoads, you might have wondered how the developers came up with such crazy and hilarious ideas. Could it be that one or more of them were avid The Doors' fans and wanted to honor them by making a videogame based on one of their songs?.
They could've been under the influence of exotic substances while trying to find the muse that would lead them through the path of enlightment and let them make one hell of a game. And what better music to listen during their trip than that which was also written (and possibly performed) under the influence of similar products?
It's been a while since I last played the game, but there are things I can remember that could be related (in some farfetched way) to the song.
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
The game Battletoads begins when Princess Angelica gets kidnapped during a space trip with her friend, the mutant frog Pimple. This could very well be what Angelica says to Pimple when they get caught. Of course, it could be the other way around, but we know what kind of role women have in these kind of videogames.
It could also be what The Evil Dark Queen says to Princess Angelica when they met (if they did), announcing her demise. The "my only friend" reference, could be a cruel joke made by the Queen, alluding the fact that she and the Princess were the only royalty present (perhaps even left in the universe).
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again
I'd say that could've been said by the Evil Dark Queen, as it tells about "elaborate plans", and their end and the destruction ("of everything that stands") that will take place. And that Princess Angelica will die (mentioned in the last sentence).
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers' hand
In a...desperate land
So far, we've just been speculating with something that could have happened in the game (and it pretty much didn't happen). Where's the hardcore evidence that demonstrates this song is related? It might start here, where they mention "strangers' hand", which could be interpreted as need for help, but perhaps it could've had a use in the game. We will have to remember that the main characters use their hands (and other limbs) as their primary weapon. Sure, most characters from any beat'em up game use their hands and feet as their tool to inflict pain, but in the case of Battletoads, they happened to "grow" when they perfom their last attack. That could've been the line that inspired such action. Or maybe not.
Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
This could mean nothing, or could mean a lot. The main characters, who happen to be mutant frogs, have to go through excrutiantingly difficult stages in order to rescue Princess Angelica. Also, I think if you ask anyone who has played the game, if it could be called a "wilderness of pain", you might receive an affirmative answer.
"All the children are insane" wether because of the frustation and despair they endure while trying to get to the end of the game, or because they witness surreal environments and wicked creatures on their way to the Evil Dark Queen hideout.
Another bit of (not so farfetched) evidence is the last phrase. As we know, frogs are amphibious creatures, which would mean they would favor a moist environement. That could have been the line that influenced the origins of the game's heroes. Or it could have not.
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the kings highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
This could describe the game. Danger everywhere and things never seen before its appearence.
The part about riding the king's highway could also be a reference to the stages in which the players use a hoverbike, surfboard and other devices. Some of the stages required lots of skill in order to be completed. You have to be a very good player, a "king" if you are willing to finish it.
Also, "Ride the highway west" could mean the direction the characters move (mostly) through the game. You might say "Hey, but they're moving from left to right, that would be from West to East", but we'll have to realize that we're looking them move from a "mirrored" point of view. So that if we exchanged places with them, we would be moving (mostly) to the West (of course, most if not all games of that kind move in that direction. I'm just adding more bs).
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...hes old, and his skin is cold
Aha! this is the least farfetched piece of evidence that relates the song and the game. In one of the stages, the player is required to go upwards, using a giant snake that comes in and out of holes in the wall as some kind of ladder.
I recall a stage in which the characters use a surfboard to travel through a river, or lake. I can't actually tell if it was ancient though.
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest
As previously stated, the direction where the main characters are heading, if we put ourselves in their shoes. Once they get to the end, the final battle will take place.
The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken us
Coincidentally, the spaceship which the main characters use to travel in distant space is blue. Light blue. It could be considered their ambulant headquarters, the one that gives them the news about the kidnapped princess and gets them to the first stage, where it all begins.
The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...i want to...fuck you
Can't say much here. The killer could be the Evil Dark Queen, who wishes only to destroy, specially those who share a similar status (of royalty seemingly).
I can't recall if the Evil Dark Queen used a mask, but she definitely wore boots.
Cmon baby, take a chance with us
Cmon baby, take a chance with us
Cmon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin a blue rock
Cmon, yeah
I can't find any reference here, other than the one previously about the bus.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
The purpose of the game. Destroy everything that moves. Battletoads isn't a simulation or rpg. As a beat'em up the goal is to kill, kill, kill.
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Phrase that could have been said either by Pimple or the Evil Dark Queen to Princess Angelica, as they knew the abductees were going to be rescued. Something that could've possibly happened in the game, but didn't.
It hurts to set you free
But youll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
Ah, the Evil Dark Queen saying goodbye to Princess Angelica. No, it didn't happen, but they would've been some cool last words.
This is the end
It is.