So far, the TMNT games that were made for the Game Boy back in the day have been…. lackluster as a whole, to say the least. The first of these games, Fall of the Foot Clan, was quite possibly one of the most generic and lazy platformers that I have ever played in my life, doing enough to where I couldn’t say it was bad, but oh look, is that a bed? DON’T MIND IF I DO! falls asleep........... wakes up suddenly Yeah, you get the picture. As for the second game though, Back from the Sewers, it was a minor, yet welcome improvement, adding some more variety to the stages and some interesting life mechanics, but as a whole, it was still your average TMNT platformer: nothing to get too excited about, even if it was still decent. Of course though, because the rule of threes is a great rule to go by, the Game Boy would get one more of these games before calling it quits, and this time around, there would actually be EFFORT put into this one, as can be plainly seen when you take a look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue.

Not gonna lie, I was actually kind of excited to get to this game over the previous two games, which was a little surprising to say the least. I mean, after all, since the last two games were nothing more then just standard license game filler that you could easily dismiss as fast as you would discover this, how could this one stand out from the rest? Well, let’s just say that I heard from a little birdie that this game was different from the rest, and that little tidbit turned out to be completely correct, making this, without a doubt, the best game in the Game Boy trilogy. It is actually a really good game, introducing new elements to this series as a whole while still staying true to its roots, making for what I would say is one of the best TMNT games to be released from this era.

The story is only slightly different from your average TMNT video game plot, where while Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello are enjoying their time in their sewer home, they suddenly get a transmission on their TV that shows that April O’ Neil has been kidnapped, so they set out to go save her. Shortly after, Michelangelo arrives in the sewer base, noticing that everybody is gone, and wonders what happened to them. Soon enough, another broadcast emits on the TV, informing him that all of his friends have been captured, so it is up to him to set out to rescue all of his friends, defeat some dangerous foes, and find out who is really behind all of this…… even if it is painfully obvious. I will give the game credit for somewhat changing up the premise of your typical TMNT game here, but it isn’t too much more different from what you would expect, so I ain’t giving it too much credit.

The graphics are Game Boy graphics, and the locations, enemies, and character sprites aren’t really all too creative or impressive, but for what it is worth, they do look solid enough for this game, the music is alright, having plenty of neat tunes to listen too, both new and familiar for the TMNT series, but it is nothing all too exciting or memorable for me, and the gameplay/control is mostly what you would expect from your typical TMNT game, but with a new twist that adds a whole extra layer to the game, making it much more interesting and fun to play as a result.

The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, primarily Michelangelo before you unlock everyone else, go through many different areas deep underground, whether it be through the caves, the sewers, or other places, defeat the many enemies that you will run into while using your trusty ninja weaponry both in and out of combat scenarios, gather plenty of different items such as pizza to heal yourself, and several other items that will help you proceed through the game, and take on several bosses that will actually provide you plenty of challenge if you don’t know what you are doing, but of course, with a little time and patience, they go down like nothing. Once again, most of it is your standard TMNT affair, and it works just about as well as you have come to remember, but even as soon as you start proceeding through the game yourself, you will notice that something is quite different here, all in the game’s favor.

If you haven’t already looked it up for yourself at this point, then let me go ahead and inform you on what this new twist on the game is: the game is now a Metroidvania. Rather than worrying about simply getting to the end of a linear level and taking down several bosses, you are tasked with exploring the depths of these chasms, seeing what new pathways you can find, gather plenty of items to help you rescue your reptilian brothers from their cells, and figure out how to reach new areas. This certainly came as a surprise to me when I started to play the game for myself, because while the genre wasn’t completely alien to video games at this point, you just didn’t see too many other Metroidvanias back around this time aside from….. well, Metroid. However, it is a change that I was able to quickly get used to, and it made me have a great time with the game as a whole, and while it certainly as complex, beautiful, or mechanically deep as others in the genre, it still has a lot of the trademark features you would find in one, like a handy map with markers and figuring out your way around, making clearing through many of these areas and rescuing the turtles that much more fun and satisfying.

Speaking of which, that is one of the key factors that plays into this entire game: the turtles. For the first time in any TMNT game, the Ninja Turtles actually feel like proper, unique characters here that you can distinguish between, all because each of them has a unique skill dedicated to them that you can use throughout the game. Michelangelo has the ability to hover through the air using his nun-chuks, Leo can drill through solid rock using his swords, Raphael can retract into his shell and roll around to get through tight spaces (even though they should all be able to do that, but whatever), and Donatello can climb up walls using his staff. Not only are all these abilities very helpful to use when you are caught in a jam, but they are essential for finding new pathways to hidden areas, making it feel very rewarding and satisfying whenever you do figure out what you are supposed to do with what turtle at what time.

However, not everything is quite perfect about this TMNT Metroidvania, as there are a few marks against it that don’t make it quite the completely solid package you would hope for it to be. First and foremost, this game does suffer when it comes to how it implements backtracking, which is a common thing that you will find in plenty of Metroidvanias, but for those who have played any of the games in these genres before, you know that there is a right and wrong way to do this. Radical Rescue decides to do things in the wrong way, making so that you have to travel a HUGE ways back just to get to certain areas to proceed forward, all with very little help to let you know where you are going, as the map just shows you the general layout of the whole area, not what parts lead to where and what is accessible or not. This can make it so that you will need to bust out a guide to help you get through, if you don’t have that much time or patience, like some random blue Backloggd reviewer you know all too well.

Secondly, this game has a boss rush in it, and you all already know how much I LOVE those, but when it comes to Metroidvanias, I don’t usually have too much of a problem with them when they show up there. Most of them work because, at that point, you most likely have plenty of new gear, upgrades, and powers that you can use to your advantage, making it so that you can approach these familiar fights in all new ways that you couldn’t possibly achieve before. Here, however, there are no new powers, upgrades, or gear that you get on your journey, making this all feel like a complete waste of time. Yeah, you do have all of the extra moves you get with each turtle, but those are only meant to help you in moving through these areas, not for combat. Instead, you have this dinky little thwap attack you use the entire time, which doesn’t help make this feel anymore tedious and annoying.

Overall, despite both the boss rush and backtracking being a real bitch in this game, this is the best game of the TMNT Game Boy trilogy by far, not only keeping the gameplay familiar enough for fans of those older titles, but adding plenty more so that both old fans and newcomers alike can have plenty of fun with it and enjoy one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania that I can think about. I would recommend it for those who are huge TMNT fans, as well as those who think that all of these old TMNT games are just the same, because you…… may be right for the most part, but this one will show you just what these games can do when they are willing to take some kind of a risk, and it definitely pays off here. But anyway though, now that I covered that game, I think that…. that’s it. Sure, there are some Tiger Electronic games I haven’t touched, but I still have some dignity left in me, and there is this one other game called Manhattan Missions, but that one kinda scares me, so, for now anyway….. that is all of the TMNT old-school games played and reviewed. It’s kinda sad to say goodbye for a bit, not gonna lie….. we had so much fun together, too! Aw man…. well then, what other cultural, cartoon icon can I review games from and simultaneously make fun of at the same time now?............... oh, hey there, Michael Rat, what are you doing here?

Game #625