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[Ludist210]

The game wasn't that bad...sure, it wasn't nearly as good as the arcade game (in my opinion) but it worked. I beat it, I can get through the Dam without taking any damage. Hard at times, sure, but not that bad.

 

[Heart of Black]

That article was written poorly, and I'm sick of the "this is for kids, so it should be easy and have only recognizable enemies in it".

I was a kid when it came out, and loved it. Loved the extended enemies too. The Mock turtle? HELL YEAH.

I mean I read the Shredder gets murdered brutally in the 1st issue and Baxter Stockman is black comics, so the cartoon even had inconsistencies.

It's still one of my all time favorites and I want to make a new game following some of its design tenets.

 

[lensoftruth]

Awful game, damned if I didn't play it to death though

 

[joffocakes]

I didn't know this game was considered terrible. I loved it as a kid and I still think it's amazing; better than the side scrolling beat 'em up version, certainly. Taking out enemies with single slashes of a sword was so satisfying. It gets super, super hard from stage 4 on, though.

 

[Mindwipe]

I had the IBM DOS version of this game. Many of the problems in the NES version are exasperated in the DOS version, and a lot of the tricks, like using Donatello to easily beat rocksteady, weren't possible in that version.

Many years later, when I played the NES version, I found it to be a cakewalk in comparison.

I only had the Spectrum version.

Which I can assure you makes the NES version look like a masterpiece.

The controls were so bad it was basically unplayable.

The most entertaining part of it was it's DRM system (you had to enter a four digit code when starting, which were listed in a table to cross check against on dark red paper in the manual to make it harder to photocopy).

 

[Jazzkokehead]

I loved the box art for this game. It's taken from one of the early issues of the original Mirage comics (that's why all the turtles had red masks - something which confused me to no end when I was a child). I actually have a poster of this art, slightly beat up now because it's pretty old. But yeah. Probably my favorite piece depicting the TMNT.

Also, try to listen to this and not get it stuck in your head. You can't.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I played this game recently, having had confidence I could at least get pretty far because I beat it as a kid.

It basically broke me. It's a terrible, shitty game.

 

[Zee-Row]

I didn't know this game had hate until the AVGN review. Everybody I knew in school loved it and yeah it was hard but I didn't think it was impossible.

 

[khaaan]

As a kid I don't know how much I got into the concept of good and bad games. I just knew I liked Ninja Turtles and so I liked that game. My cousins were the ones to have the first game while I owned the second and third so my favoritism obviously leans towards those.

 

[RS4-]

I've only cleared the dam level maybe twice, only to get owned in the area after it.

Nightmares.

 

[McNum]

You can always find out who actually played this game as a child by how they react to this music. If they dive under the covers and assume the fetal position, then you've got a match.

There's just something wrong about having an extended version of that one. It should be no longer than two and half minutes.

On the other hand, the ability to just rock that level is one of the few things I know that can make oldschool gamers stop and take notice. I did it as a kid on the C64 version, but I have no idea if I could pull it off again. Probably with some practice. Just have to re-memorize the route. Lots and lots of dead turtles in the seaweeds on that level.

 

[Santar]

The AVGN, as usual, made a big case of 'problems' with the game that were not as big as they really were. The dude plays a persona and obviously screws up on purpose and makes games look much harder than they are.

tmnt nes was incredible when it came out and the graphics were very distinctive. I remember being impressed by it; the engine felt superior to other action titles available at the time on the NES. It came out during the second or third wave of nes titles and the feeling of the game was amazing.

The game was hard but it was just like that back then. The dam level is incredible easy once you figure out the path to take.

The intro sequence was the shit. I still have the music burned into my head.

I honestly don't remember if the first TMNT arcade game was out at the same time; but konami eventually ported it as TMNT2. The game was so much easier; I could finish it without losing a life

I think it's such a shame how so many people (especially the younger generation) seem to take what the AVGN says as gospel and fact when as you said he's just playing a character and exaggerating everything in the games.

I too have fond memories of the first TMNT game, it got hard after about the third level for me but I still have bits of it like the underwater part in my fingers to this day.
Shame we didn't get any more games in that vein.

 

[bengraven]

Played at a friend's house at first

- awesome music
- loved the cover
- loved the free roaming
- first level was really fun
- FUCKING HARD - fuck the controls, fuck the water level, fuck the randomized "find your turtle" system

So imagine my surprise a few months later when I sneak a peak at my Christmas presents and find this game.

I've never felt so much love and depression at the same time. I was like "fuck yeah, I love that game" and "goddammit mom, I've already played that game and it's fucking hard".

I hate the game. I love the game. I never did figure it out.

I've only cleared the dam level maybe twice, only to get owned in the area after it.

Nightmares.

Story of this game for me. I played so much you'd think I would master the dam level, but it seemed random - I may or may not beat the area. And when I did? The next level kicked my ass.

 

[dcx4610]

It was too hard for kids that just wanted a game about TMNT but the difficulty is what made it memorable.

That's one thing I kinda miss as a kid. Since you didn't get a lot of games, you just ended up playing the same games over and over. Since most were short, part of the fun was playing them often to beat them and see the ending. Despite playing it constantly, I only managed to beat TMNT once.

It still holds a special place in my heart. The music, the graphics and the sound effects were great. You definitely knew you were playing an Ultra game since it had that distinctive style.

The game was definitely obtuse. You just had to figure it out yourself. Now that I could easily read a guide on where you to go and in what order, I have a feeling it wouldn't be nearly as difficult. I might have to make a go of it this weekend.

As far as AVGN, the TMNT episode is what won me over to him. At first I hated him until I realized it was a character and the TMNT episode perfectly captured my feelings as a kid. I also learned that you could "walk over it". I did the same as he did and would repeat that part over and over until I made the jump.