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[Tizoc]

Quick question for you-
Back in the 90s which gaming company was synonymous with games based on cartoon licenses?

If Capcom was the first thing to come to mind, then I don't blame you but back in the day good old Konami wanted a piece of that licensed video game pie.

And among Konami's acquired licenses were the world's most fearsome fighting team; heroes in a half shell and they're green!


Konami made about a dozen games based on the 80s cartoon and later Archie Comic TMNT series.
HG101 touched upon the TMNT games in one of their articles
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tmntbeatemups/tmntbeatemups.htm

Let's go a bit over the games Konami made shall we and relive some of those awesome childhood memories

OK maybe not the BEST game to start talking about, but let's get it out of the way
I have no memories of ever playing it, I just know it had a BS water section, but it had cheats that let you skip stages or something apparently.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released in 1989 in US and Japan

Now we get to the good stuff. TMNT Aracade was released between 1989-1990, and sports some of the most fluid and colorful animations an arcade game could have from that era. I am still mindblown at the visual quality fidelity of this game.

The game got a release on the NES as TMNT 2 in 1990

Which was a good conversion all things considered. In addition it added some stuff not in the Arcade release and featured Pizza Hut product placement.

From then on Konami's TMNT games focused on being more of beat'em-ups than the first game they developed, for the most part at least

In 1991 2 TMNT games were made

First let's talk about Turtles in Time, the arcade ver. of the game kept that trademark fluid Konami arcade game animation and was a straight, colorful and simple beat'em-up.
However most people remember it's SNES ver. which was released in 1992

The SNES ver. added stuff that weren't in the Arcade ver. such as extra bosses and used the Mode 7 for the Neon Riders stage for example.

In Dec. 1991, The Manhattan Project was released in Japan for the Famicom, with the Eng. release being in 1992. This was titled as the 3rd TMNT game after the NES game.

When Turtles in Time was ported in 1992 to the SNES, it was titled as the 4th game.
I think I played this particular game at a neighbour's house back in the day.

In Early 1991, Konami published a TMNT game for DOS systems

This is my first time hearing about it, anyone got any impressions of it?

Konami developed 3 TMNT games for the Nintendo Gameboy in 1990, 91 and 93-

I never had a gameboy but I assume the games were well received for what they were?

In 1992, Konami released the first SEGA Genesis/MD TMNT game: Hyperstone Heist!

Some rate the game lower than the SNES and arcade games, but this was among the handful of games I owned as a kid and really loved it, and would love to replay it again someday, so I'm not bothered by how it's viewed.
Dat JP cover doe.

Now we come to a cult classic, the 1993 fighting game TMNT Tournament Fighters

You'd think with me being a big FG buff I'd have tried this game out at least once.
I never really did, i didn't even know it was on the Genesis/MD.
Generally speaking the SNES ver. of the game is the best ver. and the game is so well regarded that it is worthy of being in FG tournaments, though heaven knows when we'd see it at EVO
Interestingly enough the game was released to 3 systems: NES, with Leo on the cover, SNES with Donnie on the cover and the Genesis/MD with Raph on the cover. Though for all I can see it's Leo on both SNES and NES covers @_@

From what I've read online that was the last known TMNT games that Konami ever developed at the time. They wouldn't get the chance to make any new games under the TMNT license until the 2003 revival. I sadly didn't get any of these games, but would like to hear impressions on them.

In late 2003, Konami developed and released a game based on the 2003 series to the GBA, PS2, Xbox, GC and PC.

In 2004 and 2005, Konami released 2 fighting games for GC, PS2, GBA, XBox and Windows-

I hadn't known about either and am interested in knowing which ver. of these games is good.

The last TMNT game Konami developed and published was TMNT Mutant Nightmare, also based on the 2003 series. This game was released in 2005, and interestingly enough the game didn't get a PC release or ver., but was released on the NDS, PS2, Xbox and Gamecube

Apparently the game had unlockable Turtles in Time but was editted slightly.

Konami eventually lost the TMNT license, and it was taken up by Ubisoft who held the license until 2011. Among their notable titles were
The GBA TMNT game, considered the best game based on the movie, compared to the half dozen versions of the game Ubi released on most systems at the time, including the NDS, 360 and PC. The games were released in 2007.

I'd like to hear impressions on which other ver. is worth getting though.

One debatable and divisive game they is the remake of the Arcade ver. of Turtles in Time, released in 2009 under the title TMNT: Turtles in Time ReShelled

Those more familiar with the SNES ver. of the game didn't like the game much and I am of the assumption that the 3D graphics and changed music was not well received either.
Personally I like the game: It's TMNT, I beat enemies up, it's simple to get into and they use the classic 80s cartoon/comic designs.
It's among the most played games on my PS3, AND i RATHer like the boss theme and overall soundtrack.

Among the last few games Ubisoft developed was TMNT Smash-up, a Smash Bros.-like game featuring various TMNT characters. The game released on the Nintendo Wii and PS2 in 2009.

From what I'm reading it was well received so I'll prob. try it out some day.

There was one last TMNT game Ubi made for the NDS but apparently the less talked about it the better

So that's a quick write up of the TMNT games made and released since the 90s. What are you favourite games, your memorable moments playing the games, and what impressions would you like to discuss or bring up?

In closing I leave you with a few more cover arts

and the music theme that started it all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNa2Fr6CA0E

 

[bjork]

Fall of the Foot Clan was my first "get this game as a gift and beat it in under an hour" game. But man did I play the hell out of it, TMNT on the toilet was awesome. I went back to it a couple years back and it's super basic, so I'm not sure if it really holds up for anyone without a memory of it as a kid.

Played a lot of Hyperstone Heist as well, but that arcade one is probably the winner out of what I've played. I will always wish I could 1cc it, but I don't know if that's even possible. It has to be, right?

 

[ponpo]

Trigger warning

 

[Tizoc]

Fall of the Foot Clan was my first "get this game as a gift and beat it in under an hour" game. But man did I play the hell out of it, TMNT on the toilet was awesome. I went back to it a couple years back and it's super basic, so I'm not sure if it really holds up for anyone without a memory of it as a kid.

Played a lot of Hyperstone Heist as well, but that arcade one is probably the winner out of what I've played. I will always wish I could 1cc it, but I don't know if that's even possible. It has to be, right?

Supposedly do-able on Easy difficulty

 

[Ethelwulf]

Turtles in Time is my favorite SNES game. I played through the game who knows how many times. Co-op was extremely well balanced and all levels and bosses were super cool. I replayed it recently and I found it too easy maybe but loved it anyways.

Oh, and the credits roll... Wow

 

[jadedm17]

Turtles in Time was the best.
The PS2/GC games were alright but forgettable. Never played 3 but the other two seemed to play fine and be fun for a short time.
The TMNT movie game on 360 was pure garbage. (No co-op?!)
SmashUp was a waste of time. Turtles in Time Reshelled was a travesty.

The only true game worth playing is the 360 XBLA version of TMNT 1989 Arcade.
Thanks to this thread I'm gonna pencil some time in for Christmas since my 360 is at my moms.

We are due for a good TMNT game, even if just mediocre like the PS2/GC games.

 

[Forkball]

There is no god.

 

[ponpo]

There is no god.

Good music though.

 

[Lord British]

Turtles in Time is the best belt-scrolling beat-em-up ever made, and probably the best SNES game.

Sorry, Streets of Rage 2, you're a (very) close second.

I really enjoyed the GBA/DS games based on the 2003 series, fight me.

 

[Tizoc]

Turtles in Time is the best belt-scrolling beat-em-up ever made, and probably the best SNES game.

Sorry, Streets of Rage 2, you're a (very) close second.

I really enjoyed the GBA/DS games based on the 2003 series, fight me.

I'll check them out~

 

[unknownstranger]

I've played the original NES game, Turtles in Time, Fall of the Foot Clan, and the SNES fighting game out of that list. Only have vague memories of the NES game and the SNES fighter. Loved Fall of the Foot Clan. Short game but really enjoyed it. Not much needs to be said about Turtles in Time.

 

[Lord British]

I'll check them out~

They're aesthetically excellent beat-em-ups with a nice side order of platforming/exploration, especially TMNT: Battle Nexus, the second one.

Double pack is <$15 on Amazon.

 

[Jinjo]

I loved The Hyperstone Heist to death. Spend many sunday mornings playing that with my bro or dad.

 

[Lord British]

The GBA game based on the TMNT movie gets a lot of hype but I found the gameplay quite bland and repetitive. It looked fabulous though.

 

[Tizoc]

I loved The Hyperstone Heist to death. Spend many sunday mornings playing that with my bro or dad.

*Bro Fist*

Dat boss theme doe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHFtKbUJpBg

 

[DSix]

The often forgotten predecessor to Castlevania SOTN. The director was involved with both games.

Radical Rescue is the first Konami Metroidvania, and a good one at that.

 

[Sayad]

Trigger warning

There is no god.

First TMNT game I've ever played, thank god for the other NES TMNT game is all I'll say. >__>

 

[Horseticuffs]

My god. Those were great games for sure. Even the first was memorable at least. The Arcade Game though; playing it for the first time was like seeing the face of God. And the Christmas when I got the NES port? One of my most magical childhood memories. It was so accurate, it was crazy (At the time lol).

I'm very interested in the new Platinum game, supposedly.

 

[bjork]

The often forgotten predecessor to Castlevania SOTN. The director was involved with both games.

Radical Rescue is the first Konami Metroidvania, and a good one at that.

I'm interested in this.

 

[wondermega]

Trigger warning

ah geez dude you just can run across it. Don't you read the tip section in Nintendo Power?

Seriously this game still gets ton of hate even to this day. It was not a wonderful game by any stretch of the imagination, and it seemed terribly lopsided for a Konami-pedigree title - but it was still quite fun back in it's day. It at least tried to do things rather differently than many platformers of that period, and the characters all played differently and felt properly representative (for a mid-era NES game) of the license it was supposed to be based upon.

The seaweed section was gnarly and painful, but with some doing it could be pretty easily dispatched. I think after awhile I was able to nail it without getting hurt at all. Getting deep into this game required some steely nerves, but the sense of accomplishment was fulfilling enough to keep me coming back. The game actually got weirder and more interesting as it wore on, and some remarkable graphics (GIANT Mouser to fight, and then the actual Technodrome...!) This was back in the day when no NES game ever had fullscreen animated enemies to speak of, and here they had a few of them. Konami pulled out all the stops..

Ultimately I couldn't defeat Shredder without cheating (game genie) but getting there under my own power was satisfying enough. Yeah even I will admit it, for a final boss he was way too cheap (one hit and you are done).

So overall, probably not aged as well as the beat 'em ups, but I enjoyed TMNT on the NES when it launched and will defend it as a decent-to-above average NES game which I would actually get back into today.

 

[Lord British]

The often forgotten predecessor to Castlevania SOTN. The director was involved with both games.

Radical Rescue is the first Konami Metroidvania, and a good one at that.

Ehhhh. I found it a sprawling, confusing mess.

Unless I missed something with the map.

Daily reminder: TMNT: Danger of the Ooze was super good.

 

[Tizoc]

Ehhhh. I found it a sprawling, confusing mess.

Unless I missed something with the map.

Daily reminder: TMNT: Danger of the Ooze was super good.

Which ver. do you recommend getting?

 

[Misuta]

Turtles in Time was my childhood game and is my favourite Side-Scrolling Beat ’em up ever.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

There is no god.

Warning: This game may induce mania in children

 

[cireza]

I love those games (and old Konami games) a lot. Hyperstone is my favorite, amazing gameplay. The game lacks content compared to Turtles in Time, but plays better and also has some graphics improvements.

I also love the 2 and 3 on NES. Fantastic games.

Arcade games have shitty hitboxes and are so unfair. But of course, they are very pretty.

 

[Lord British]

Which ver. do you recommend getting?

I only have it on 3DS. I'm fairly sure the console versions are the same, just uprezzed.

 

[Synth]

Ultimately I couldn't defeat Shredder without cheating (game genie) but getting there under my own power was satisfying enough. Yeah even I will admit it, for a final boss he was way too cheap (one hit and you are done).

As a kid I barely got past the Technodrome fight, only to be immediately defeated at the beginning of stage 6. I had always intended to return to the game and beat it... but what you've just stated here has crushed my motivation.... fuck that shit.

 

[Justinh]

I loved the first TMNT game. I never did beat it though.

I never thought seaweed part was hard. Although, I did play the game a lot when I was younger. I'd probably have a harder time now since I don't remember where the bombs are and would have to re-figure out the right path.

I've played a bunch of 2: The Arcade Game (as well as the actual Arcade game) and a little bit of 3 recently. Never did get to play Turtles in Time. Kinda wish I bought that reshelled game on XBLA even though people hated it, just so I can say I've played it at least.

I loved Manhattan Project and always feel sad that it gets overlooked due to being such a late NES release and getting overshadowed by Turtles in Time.

That was the Genesis one, right? I think I remember wanting it because I was a Genesis kid but never did and haven't gotten to play it. Oh wait, no I'm thinking of Hyperstone Heist. I got Manhattan Project just recently actually.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I loved Manhattan Project and always feel sad that it gets overlooked due to being such a late NES release and getting overshadowed by Turtles in Time.

 

[lazygecko]

I thought the first TMNT game was released earlier than 1989. I read up on the development of it a while ago, and it was being made at the same time as the cartoon was being developed, and this is why the game is this weird mishmash of both the cartoon and original comic since planned material was being shared with Konami.

TMNT3 on Game Boy definitely deserves more love. I played it back in the day and was probably my introduction to metroidvanias before that was even a term.

Tournament Fighters on Genesis wasn't a very good game, but I really liked the general vibe/atmosphere of the game with the cosmic setting, with very cool spaced out backgrounds. I thought this was actually based on the Archie comic universe at first, but apparently it's not and just borrows elements from both that and the original comics, while the SNES version is more in line with the cartoon series.

I would actually have loved a TMNT brawler game based on the Archie comics.

 

[Tizoc]

Interesting tidbit regarding Tournament Fighters
http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.co...he-ninja-turtles-in-japan/#comment-1414947508

The "Mutant Warriors" game had some slight differences from the US version.

* The female ninja Aska wears a thong in the Japanese version, and also has an extra win pose with "breast jiggle" animation.
* The Channel 6 stage has an extra feature in the Japanese version. The walls at the sides of the stage are breakable (by throwing your opponent through them) and you can see the behind-the-scenes TV control room, with technicians with multiple monitors for the different cameras in the TV station.
* IIRC, the Turtles have different voices in the Japanese version than they do in the US version.

 

[cacildo]

Trigger warning

I got the water stage, but can someone explain this to me?

 

[LiQuid!]

Pretty much across the board, TMNT games have some of the most savage music in all of video games. Just watched a bit of a playthru of Radical Rescue and discovered this jam.

Even tho I own both of the first two original Gameboy Turtle games, I've somehow never played Radical Rescue. This needs to be rectified. It looks awesome.

I got the water stage, but can someone explain this to me?

The distance between the top of the platforms and the ceiling means you don't 'jump' but instead just limply bounce when you try to clear that gap, so the timing required to make it is VERY precise. You have to jump at the very absolute tip of the ledge to hop across it. Then when you finally get across all you get is a lame health restore, the irony of which is that you lose so much health just trying to get to it because the way up is full of cheesy enemies. This was made (in)famous in an old Angry Video Game Nerd video.

ed: Oh that's right, you just have to run across it. Haven't seen the video (not to mention played the game) in a very long time.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Major league butt kicking is back in town

 

[Tizoc]

I got the water stage, but can someone explain this to me?

Generally the player thinks they need to JUMP to cross that gap, but there isn't enough vertical room for the Turtle to get past it, thus the player falls down and repeats that section.
Turns out you only need to run and you'll cross the gap.

 

[Justinh]

I got the water stage, but can someone explain this to me?

You have to jump as hard as possible to clear this jump. It must be pixel perfect on the edge and if you mess up you'll fall down.

No, but really.-language warning

beaten.

Major league butt kicking is back in town

I like this thing, this thing you have said.

 

[Amalthea]

Radical Rescue is the secret best TMNT game.
I found it very confusing as a kid but nowadays, after countless Metroid and Castlevania games, it makes suddenly sense.
It really helps that it has a map unlike Metroid 2.

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

Turtles in Time was my childhood game and is my favourite Side-Scrolling Beat ’em up ever.

.

 

[Tizoc]

Dat NES TMNT1 ending
http://zippy.gfycat.com/ThirstySpryFlyingfish.webm

And then April takes the gang out for a Pizza.
Just one Pizza :V

 

[MaverickHunterX]

To be honest, GAF, I was thinking of making a thread like this, but with a twist.

While I had all of the classic Nintendo/Sega Turtles games when I was a kid, I was also a big fan of the first 2003 Turtles game on GC/Xbox/PS2. Sure, the other 2 sequels had the arcade ports, but the first was exactly what I was expecting from a modern TMNT game - a 3d beat em up.

For someone who didn't get a chance to completely watch the new series until later, the game did a great job catching me up with the first season through the story and cutscenes. Granted, the game definitely needed a four player mode (and I liked the fact that you needed to beat the game with each turtles to fight the final boss/see the best ending), and it had its pacing problems, but I remember nearly every magazine out there tearing this game a new asshole when I honestly think it didn't deserve it

I dunno, GAF, maybe it's me being biased, but I always felt that this was a good case where terrible, harsh reviews led to a series' downfall, as the gameplay changed further and further away from the classic beat em up style with each new one from there on (and yes, I had to suffer through them to unlock the ports...)

What says you?

 

[MrCunningham]

Trigger warning

That part of the AVGN video hit so close to home with me. I never owned this game, but a friend of mine that lived down the street did when I was a grade school student. I used to go over to his house and we would play this game. We spent so much time handing the controller to each other and trying to reach that platform. Only to find out that you can just walk over it. Fuck? In all fairness, it did have great music, and it is not the worst NES game ever. But TMNT 2: The Arcade game on the NES was more like: "This is how you do a Turtles game".

 

[Spikematic]

My uncle had a few arcade cabinets in the basement of his restaurant back in the early 90's and Turtles in Time was one of them. My cousin and I spent many, many hours on that. Good times. And on the Genesis I had The Hyperstone Heist. Those were the days!

 

[Koobion]

Hyperstone Heist is my favorite of all of these games. I'm not sure what always puts it behind Turtles in Time according to seemingly most people.

 

[jett]

Thinking back on it, Turtles in Time on SNES was probably the only one that is any good today (I assume Hyperstone Heist is more or less the same thing), but I have fond memories of the first NES game's shenanigans.

 

[antitrop]

I could actually get past the dam in the first NES game when I was a kid, the problem was just that it left me so fucking crippled that I was guaranteed a Game Over on the next stage.

Never got to the Technodrome.

 

[Bleepey]

There was a TMNT game on the NES that was co op. One of my favourite multiplayer experiences of my life.

 

[spekkeh]

I think the original TMNT for NES/Amiga/C64 gets a lot of undeserved flak. Yes in hindsight it's total trash, but in 89 it did exactly what needed to be done for a seven year old turtles maniac. The Turtles franchise and that game were my crack, and finally beating it after a year was sooo good. It was actually my first real (boxed) game come to think of it. I might have gotten it for my swimming diploma?

Turtles in Time was much better of course, but still.

 

[Tizoc]

There was a TMNT game on the NES that was co op. One of my favourite multiplayer experiences of my life.

There are at least 2 TMNT games on the NES that were co-op

 

[Violence Jack]

While Turtles In Time was my favorite, I must have played TMNT 2: The Arcade Game over 100 times. I was obsessed with Ninja Turtles back then, and I would use the code at the start screen to get 9 lives, and run though the game.

 

[revolverjgw]

The original NES game holds a lot of nostalgia for me, and I still appreciate it quite a bit. It's a real adventure, the kind of thing that made console games feel so different from arcade games at the time. The 2nd and 3rd games were fun back then, and got by on their great presentation but I can't go back to them now, there's no technique at all. Turtles in Time hit the sweet spot, still an enjoyable romp.