Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (in Europe, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles), is a platform action game that was developed by Konami and published by Ultra Games. Released in May 12, 1989 in Japan, then the next month in North America. The game was released once again on Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in April 2, 2007. TMNT is a video game based on the cartoon and comic book of the same name. Now I remember this game way back when I was a child. This game will have old school TMNT fans rocking out of their chairs as they play as their favorite turtles.
Plot. Four Turtles, four brothers, reborn genetically in the sewers of New York City, named after the great masters of the Renaissance, and trained as Ninjas. The Ninja Turtles are trained by their rat sensei, Master Splinter. One day, the Foot Clan led by their worst enemy, The Shredder, attacked the city and captured news reporter, April O'Neill. The Turtles set out to rescue her, and stop the evil plans of Shredder. Like the cartoon, Master Splinter is not a rat, like in comic books and movies, he is in fact Hamato Yoshi, who was mutated by the Shredder. The game's plot is mostly based on the cartoon series, in which Shredder's army of ninjas are from Dimension X sent by his boss, Krang.
Concept. The game is comprised of six different missions, in which the turtles must go from sewers to buildings, fighting enemies, obtaining weapons and even rescuing characters such as April O'Neill and Master Splinter. The first mission is Fifth Avenue and Greenwich Village, in which they must rescue April from Bebop and Rocksteady. The second mission is the Hudson River near Holland Tunnel, in which they must go underwater to disarm all explosives before the dam blows up. At Wall Street, they must confront Mechaturtle, and save Splinter. After that they must fight through the airport to get the Turtle Blimp, fight their way in the Foot Clan's territory, and then the Technodrome, for a showdown with The Shredder.
Design. The game is rendered with an overview perspective in the overworld of each mission. In sewers and buildings, the turtles, bosses, and enemies are rendered in 2D sprites. Now I really like how the sewers look like in the first mission, and the rooftop battles are awesome, which you can see a view of the city. I always believed that the rooftop battles were something out of Double Dragon. They put so much work into the sewer areas, the cavernous areas, and the overview. Konami really knows how to make very good games.
History. TMNT began in the 80s as comic books, created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The comic books were popular that it spawned an animated series in 1987. Also, Mirage Studios created many toys of the series, and it also spawned three live-action movies, and the first one is the best out of all of them. TMNT also had 2003 cartoon created by 4Kids. The 2003 cartoon was more true to the comic book series, but then it went downhill with crappy shows like: Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer. A 2007 CGI movie was created, but I did not like how they looked. In 2009, 4Kids Entertainment made for TV an animated movie which combines the comic book with the 1987 and 2003 cartoons, it was called "Turtles Forever". Now Nickelodeon will premiere a new CGI show of the Turtles in March 2011. Turtlemania has been kicking so much ass in the 90s, and even Japan made an anime show.
Rantings. Raphael and Michelangelo had very poor fighting skills. Raphael should have stabbed instead of twirling his "Sai's". I mean, Raphael is supposed to be the turtle with a bad temper for crying out loud! The enemies I hated were the flame guy, the dragonfly robots, which were annoying. The frog enemies were also a bother too. The Shredder always pissed me off with his gun, which reduced mutation. Also, in the third level, why the Turtles are dragged away to the beginning by the water in the lower sewers? I mean, they're amphibian, they're supposed to swim. The underwater stage was staggering due to electrified plants. The jump mechanics can be excruciating when trying to jump through ledges. Not forgetting, the game becomes harder and harder the more you progress.
Good Aspects. I am a very big fan of the TMNT, and the design is unique. Also I liked the mechanics of switching Turtles to your favorite ones. My favorite weapon has to be the scroll weapon, which is the best for boss fights, making this game a walk in the park. The overview gameplay reminds me of both Zelda II and Metal Gear, which was awesome. Seriously, Konami is like the LucasArts of video games in Japan. The game has so much replay value, that is is epically enjoyable.
Overall. TMNT is a great game, and it is a must play. You can download this on the Virtual Console for 500 Wii Points. This game gets an 8 out of 10.