This 1989 classic is made for the arcade halls and it shows. It looks gorgeous, is full of details and the soundtrack kicks ass. But this machine is made for devouring your hard-earned quarters and the game plays accordingly. Even the regular foot soldiers are a severe threat either because the game throws many of them in your way or because the hit detection is pretty wobbly. In fact, the whole game feels imprecise. It doesn't feel like you are hitting an enemy. There is no real impact. Also, it feels like you have to be right in front of them but they can hit you slightly above or below you. And then most of them hit back without a real pattern that you can learn and anticipate. Same for the stage bosses. They look cool and just like in the SNES and Genesis games have a lot of charm. But you never really know how to get out of combat because they will throw a punch or a kick at you. At least the enemy throwing looks so satisfying. But also here I am missing a certain noticeable punch to it. The regular enemies and stages look awesome too but it misses the variety of Turtles in time. The fun of the game here comes entirely from the design and style of the Ninja Turtles setting. There are rarely any real tactics due to the spongy hit detection. If you want more beat 'em up turtle action, take a look here. Fortunately, with MAME you don't need real quarters any more. Also, I bet it is a lot more fun when you play with friends.

Technically played via the Cowabunga Collection on Nintendo Switch.

After the heroes in a half shell made their less-than stellar video game debut with the piece of sadistically designed torture masquerading as the NES title, naturally Konami saw fit to bring the Turtles over to the arcade for a slice of beat em up action.

To say this game was popular would be an understatement. In fact it went on to become one of the biggest arcade games around for the company with countless people, kids and fans all gathering round the machine to quench their "Oh just one more go even though deep down I know I'm never gonna beat that damn Shredder boss" thirst.

While it definitely has aged especially where difficulty is concerned (and yes, the later sections are filled with the classic arcade bullshit such as cheap shots and a Shredder boss you'll have probably never beat unless you were rich back then), it still manages to be a slice of good ol' fashioned quarter munching fun from back in the day.

And hey, it sure beats the NES travesty where the Turtles had to deal with pesky seaweed and getting run over by giant trucks even in the early sections of the game.

The turtles’ first attempt at a video game didn’t really work out so well, with it having some level of promise, but being held back by horrible level design, awkward-ass movement, and just a general lack of care, which isn’t something you would expect to see from an early Turtles game made by Konami. But hey, at least the worst is behind us, and we can now move onto the good stuff. Like I mentioned in the TMNT NES review, Konami was primarily responsible for developing a good handful of the early TMNT games for a while, and a good number of them are held in high regard, so needless to say, I was in for some good ol’ fashioned arcade beat-’em-up fun… at least, that’s what I thought going into it, and yet, I had a somewhat different experience with TMNT for the arcades.

Going into this game, I was expecting an absolute BANGER of an arcade beat-’em-up, similar to what TMNT: Turtles in Time gave me and many others. After all, it was made by Konami, and Turtles in Time was made afterwards, so surely the original arcade game has to have some sort of similar quality that Turtles in Time borrowed from, right? Well, I mean… it kind of does. Don’t get me wrong, this game isn’t bad at all, as it does lay the groundwork for what TMNT back then games should be, and it does have some good qualities that hold up to this day, but… it is pretty rough, for more then one reason. For these reasons, I can only say that the game is alright, and nothing more. Yes, I did enjoy my time with it (to an extent), but there are several big factors holding this game back from being great, or even that good.

The story is your average TMNT affair: Shredder’s fucking about, go stop him, which is pretty much all you need for one of the earliest TMNT games, so I will allow it, the graphics are really damn good, being very colorful, with enjoyable animations from the turtles, and extremely well done sprites for the characters, the music is absolutely fantastic, having some of the best, and dare I say, raddest tunes of any liscensed arcade game out there, the control is very solid, with all the usual actions you would expect, and the gameplay is… extremely basic, which would usually be enough for me to get behind, but again, there are some issues with it that we will get to.

The game is your average 2D side-scrolling beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, go through several stages of a very hostile New York (even more hostile than normal), beat up as many Foot Soldiers or other threats that attack you, grab any pizza that is lying about (which is probably all moldy and disgusting by now) to give you and edge up on your foes, and take on plenty of iconic bosses from the comics and TV show that will certainly put you to the test. Now, all of this should make a pretty incredible arcade experience, and for a good chunk of it, it does, as the presentation is still absolutely fantastic, but the gameplay does hold it back from reaching that potential.

First and foremost, the game is way too basic in terms of a beat-’em-up. Yes, that is to be expected for a game like this released around this time, but there is a way to provide a memorable environment while still sticking to the basics for your gameplay. Captain Commando is a good example of it, and even Konami’s own The Simpsons Arcade Game could also fill out these roles. Sure, those did come out later, but they both have a very unique world and energy to them that still makes them endearing, and therefore, more fun. With this game, however, it is pretty much a checklist for what you would expect to see in a TMNT beat-’em-up, and nothing more, which was all that players and fans needed back in the day, but considering the leaps and bounds that future games would take, like with Turtles and Time and even Shredder’s Revenge much later down the line, it does make this one seem less preferable, and just stands as “the first one” as a result.

And secondly, with this being the main problem I have with this game… this game is pretty damn hard. Now, I know what you are thinking, “Yeah, no shit, it’s an old arcade game, of course it is hard”, but something about the difficulty of the game doesn’t feel right, and even feels somewhat unfair at times. There are many times where you can easily be ganged up on by both enemies and bosses, take a lot of damage before you can do anything about it, and your pocket full of change will quickly diminish as a result. Seriously, there were many points where I could barely get a good amount of hits on a boss before I then got smacked down for even trying to attempt to play the game. The part that fully encapsulates this unfair difficulty balance would be with the fight against Shredder. It is appropriate that he would be the hardest part of the game, as he is the final boss, but good GOD, the amount of damage he deals to you and how fast he can kill you is ridiculous, with clones that will happily interrupt your attacks on the regular, attacks that you can’t avoid too easily, and one attack that INSTANTLY KILLS YOU. Yeah, that is bullshit, and I don’t care what anyone says against my statement on that.

Now, with all of that said, it is still a good game. Like I mentioned before, the presentation is absolutely incredible, and the gameplay still serves as the basis for what all other TMNT beat-’em-ups should be, but again, it’s the difficulty and the somewhat blandness of the game that makes it less than desirable when compared to other titles. Would this be sufficient enough for someone who hasn’t played any other TMNT game, as well as being one of the first games from the turtles? Absolutely, but considering where we have come since then, and the things that I mentioned earlier, it is definitely a game that I am not gonna be coming back to in the near future.

Overall, while the game has great graphics and music, while also giving off the exact feeling of what a TMNT game should be, the gameplay is basic enough and unfairly challenging enough to the point where I can only consider it alright in comparison to other similar titles. I would only recommend it for those who are either fans of the later TMNT games, or for those who are fans of TMNT in general, but otherwise, there are plenty of better options out there. Also, can we just talk about how, for the promotional illustrations of this game, the Ninja Turtles themselves are illustrated, but April ‘o Neil and Shredder are being portrayed by real people. The fuck’s that all about? Let’s just hope that those two actors got paid a hefty sack of cash for that, because they look really stupid in those poses.

Game #303