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

Same Lake is just on another level, at this point. 20 years of making games and now he can finally be as playful and weird as he wants to.

This DLC was super fun; at a surface level, it's a fun homage to Twilight Zone, but of course with Remedy there's always more to unpack underneath its layered interior. There are several tie-ins to the other games in their connected universe, which feels rewarding because of my investment in it.

This just makes me want more and more video games from this company.

This is probably the first game where I had to pull up a guide to beat the "name entry" menu. Bravo! Still a less tedious game than the first one :p while yall are debating whether this game is actually a hidden gem or the worse slop known to man, know that I am taking double the amount of misinformation. Link is like Robin Hood except he's stealing little kids in caves and giving them to single mothers??? Very weird. I suppose this segues into my political stance about Link wielding magic, a crystal clear case of identity crisis. But make no mistake, the game only gets real good right when you get the fire spell. Me when unlocking the full moveset actually makes the game as good as it should always have been. It's more common than you think.

While I'm a big fan of most of the game, fuck that one room in particular in the 3rd temple where you're digging stone blocks to get to a key (Minecraft reference) because these dog heads got hands damn! The point is that they don't, so I am... shocked, as they say! Now imagine my surprise when I finish the 1st temple and find out what God it reveres: it's a moyai! You're putting something in his brain... hnnng moyai brainrot... ahah I hope I'm more than a niche internet micro-celebrity to you guys, I also am a variety gamer, and that means I vary my approach to the game: nope, I'm tackling Zelda II like it's a DMC-like. It really is high octane at times, though. All is manageable, however. Even Link's crippling rupee debt. He just does not engage with the currency. Modern problems require modern solutions.

Combat is just really funny. You get pulled into the narrow streets of Kamurocho every 10 steps in the overworld that suspiciously looks like The Legend Of Zelda on the NES, and whenever you hit somebody, I can't believe how many mfs I'm using za warudo on, but I better believe. And also, the regular attack just looks satisfying for some reason. Link is poking them. But don't poke the bear, though! Thankfully, it's just a bunch of unmemorable enemies here. That Lizalfos be looking stiff as a gyatt 🥰 but yeah that's it. I'm not sure how to convey how I really feel about all this. But, know that enemy placements is pretty fair. Atleast, that's what I said as my graduation quote. ¡ No mames !

It's funny when he does the upwards thrust... because it feels like he's offering his hand in marriage. LoL ¿quieres? The way I creaaaamed when I got the opportunity to do this attacking shit down below AND above me. Although this ties in to a mucho problemo that the OG had, where the missable content is way too important, the average joe is liable to it, and I will call the manager about it. Only then will they learn Link has actually entered people's houses without their permission, marking the grand premiere of his criminal record. The only way he has to redeem himself is by vanquishing Ganon once more, as his death was GREATLY exagerated. Yep.

I gotta hand it to Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. It bumped my opinion of Spyro 1 up half a star. That game stuck to its guns as a platformer with simple mechanics. Spyro 2 is constantly changing things up so often that I'm not sure what it wants to be.

Everyone in this game is very chatty, except for Spyro, strangely enough. He never talks back or makes quips, he just silently accepts whatever requests fall upon his shoulders (wings?). I think Tom Kenny voiced more lines for The Professor than the titular purple dragon on the cover of the box, and that's just weird to me. No one ever has anything remotely interesting to say, either. It's a lot of "please do the thing", followed by "thanks for doing the thing, here's the macguffin". I also have to wonder if Moneybags being the embodiment of capitalism was the catalyst for Ratchet & Clank (aside from, y'know, Spyro not being able to hold a gun).

I can at least admire the world design. Every level is made to feel like its own distinct area, with their own inhabitants and culture. Isekai-ing Spyro out of the World of Dragons was a good call in that regard. Instead, we get a variety of fantasy/storybook locales. I just don't think these worlds make for very engaging levels. Every area has its standard, linear platforming challenge. Completing that gets you a talisman, basically the consolation prize. Beyond that are the Dragon Orbs, which you usually earn by completing side-objectives in levels. Some of these are meagre challenges for Spyro's moveset, many of them are just minigame fodder.

I'll admit, there's bothing particularly wrong with this game. It's perfectly enjoyable on most fronts, but it really wasn't what I was hoping for, especially coming off the first game. Spyro's chosen a dark road to travel on: one that prioritizes variety over consistency. I hope he knows what he's getting himself into.

The adventure continues...?

Miraculous how a game that's only 33 MB contains a world that I was far more compelled to explore every nook and cranny of than most AAA games that are 1000x the size of this game have done in years. It's a game that challenges you to be curious and rewards your curiosity with more secrets than you can count. Animal Wall encourages constant exploration and delivers an immensely satisfying experience beginning-to-end that's filled with innumerable "Ah-ha!" moments. Brilliant.

+ Incredible art design
+ Puzzles that make you constantly feel clever
+ Fantastic exploration
+ Fresh take on the genre

- Checkpoints can occasionally be spaced out a tad too much requiring redoing some sections over and over

It was my second time beating this game. The first one was during its release.

You know, there're not that much games which capture my soul entirely, but this one... It's one of them.

Hi-Fi Rush is a helluva banger, and I despise Microsoft for closing Tango Gameworks. It's a game which doesn't have a deep, hard plot or something like that, but instead it has a striking and fun gameplay, a bunch of jokes, some adrenaline attractions, and, after all, a fucking soul put in it.

The entire soundtrack is a banger, especially the selected copyright songs (I mean, there's Prodigy!!!), and... Damn, I have no words to describe how cool this game is. It's just so well done, that it grabs and doesn't let you go 'till the very end. Just try it out for yourself, and spend a couple of hours of yours playing a game that actually deserves your attention and all the praise it has.

Fuck you, Microsoft. I'll never forgive you.