Now I remember playing this game a long time ago with my cousins and friends, and the game is really fun to play, like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Each version of the game features many different characters that are part and others not part of the TMNT Universe.
Plot. A tournament has been organized and many fighters have entered, including The Shredder. The Turtles must enter the tournament to stop their nemesis, and also prove their worth. On the other hand, April O'Neil and Master Splinter have been captured by Karai, leader of the Foot Clan in Japan, and the only ones that can save them are the TMNT themselves.
Concept. As a fighting game, you choose one of ten characters in the game and battle against a number of opponents until you get to fight the bosses such as the Rat King and finally against Karai herself, when playing on a harder difficulty or in Story Mode.
Design. The game is rendered in 16-bit graphics in the SNES and Sega Versions. The NES version is rendered in 8-bit graphics. Characters are rendered in 2D Sprites, and the stage designs look amazing. Also, the fighting mechanics are very similar to those of the Street Fighter series. The Turtles fight almost in the same fighting style of Ryu and Ken from that series.
Censorship. Aska is an original character of the game, created by Takemasa Miyoshi. Now, Aska had very provocative looks in the Japanese version of the game. In America, they had to fix her up because of the partial nudity when she attacked with her butt, showing it bare. Her winning poses had to be fixed up as well because she exposed too much cleavage as well. I guess that because America has too many laws of censorship, they believed that many parents would be offended. I played the Japanese version before, and I was in no way offended with that.
Rantings. The control mechanics can be excruciating at times, especially when attempting to perform the ultimate finishers. Also, when you battle against the two bosses, the game becomes very hard. When fighting against Michelangelo, despite being the most wisecracking of the four, he is like the game's version of Ken and Guile. If you attacked him in the air, he would counterattack with his "Rising Thunder", which is similar to the Dragon Punch.
Good Aspects. This fighting game is really fun to play, and it is more fun when playing against a friend or family member. It has a lot of replay value, and it is a must play. Unfortunately, the game is not on the Wii Virtual Console as of yet.
Overall. TMNT: Tournament Fighters is a great game, and one of the best TMNT games ever created by Konami. This game gets a 8 out of 10