And considering that this is an old school arcade title that was meant to suck every last quarter from your pocket, you are going to die a lot because of traps you don’t see coming, hoards of irritating enemies and overly strong bosses.īut that doesn’t mean the game isn’t fun. I mean there isn’t a world of difference between the limited move sets (jump, kick, strike, throw) for each of the turtles, with the exception of the effectiveness of their weapons. Gameplay: What else is there to say about the gameplay other than it is your typical arcade beat’em up with drop in and drop out co-op that supports up to 4 players (both on and offline), unlimited continues and the uncanny ability to re-emerge in the exact spot you were killed? Not much really.
The only real disappointment when it comes to sound is that the theme for the original TMNT animated series is nowhere to be found, except for the main menu but it only plays the last couple of lines rather than the entire song. (Donatello is in for a real shock, thanks to this mouser) Too bad they couldn’t get James Avery or any of the other members of the cartoon’s voice cast to reprise their roles for this port.
Like how the turtles talk when falling into a manhole or when the bosses talk smack before you fight them or how Shredder appears on a large TV screen in level 2 and says “Tonight I dine on Turtle Soup!” Now that was awesome. I also like how the voice acting was implemented into the gameplay. It doesn’t exactly age too well but it’s good for a few giggles and it does add to the game’s nostalgia. Even if it sounded like Microsoft SAM with a New York or Japanese accent. The horrible voice acting from the arcade version is of course intact as well but you have to remember that hearing any voice in a video game back then was awesome. Sound: The soundtrack features each and everyone of the solid tunes you remember in their original arcade format, which suits this port just fine.
One last thing worth mentioning is that developers decided to use the character designs from the last TMNT movie and the newer games for the character selection screen, which is neat I suppose. But if you look at the Turtles closely, they are kinda blurry but that isn’t too much of a problem. With backgrounds and character models being well detailed and animated and the game’s art style and cutscenes perfectly captures the essence of the animated series. With that little history lesson out of the way, I really must say that the graphics are quite good.
In the old days, some of the biggest innovations in terms of graphics and gameplay (4-player co-op anyone?) were proudly showcased in the arcade scene. I mean this had better graphics than anything seen on home consoles like the NES and the Sega Master System and Genesis. Think 16-Bit but sharper and more polished. No updated graphics, just some of best and most innovative graphics that 1989 to offer. Graphics & Design: It looks exactly like the arcade game it is based on.
(These turtle boys don't cut him no slack!) Now if you want vintage Saturday Morning fare, this may be the game you’re looking for. If you’re looking for that, you are in the wrong place. What did you expect? A strong, character-driven narrative. What? This is a port from a 1980’s arcade machine. Story: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles must rescue reporter April O’Neil and their ninjitsu trainer Master Splinter (who BTW is a radical rat) from the evil lord of the Foot Clan, The Shredder.