Timed exclusivity really sucks, you know what I mean? Like, you have this brand new game that is coming out, it looks so cool and fun, and you can’t wait to get your hands on it to play it for yourself… but then you find out it is exclusive to a console that you don’t have, and you have to wait even longer for them to release it to the console that you actually have. It is a real kick in the nads to be sure, and what’s crazy about this is that this has been a practice that has been a part of the industry for quite a while. For example, back in the days of the NES and SNES, Nintendo had a strict grip on their titles from third-party developers, requiring them to be exclusive to their systems for a year or so before they can be ported over to any other system (yeah, bet you thought they were only shitty towards their customers, didn’t ya?). However, there have been several cases over the years when developers have managed to find loopholes around this rule, managing to bring their games over to other systems while altering them just enough to where they won’t be upsetting the big N, such as the case with today’s game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist.
For those of you who are aware of this game, then you would also know that this game is, in the most technical sense, the Genesis version of Turtles in Time. A lot of the game looks and plays exactly how that game does, but again, due to Nintendo being the spoiled child of the video game industry, Konami had to change A LOT of the game around, which in turn pretty much made it its own completely original game. Because of this, I had debated for a long time whether or not I should actually play the game for myself, because if it was essentially just another version of Turtles In Time, then why would I even bother? However, I looked into it more extensively, realized how different the game is from the original, and figured I would go ahead and give it a shot anyways, and I’m glad I did, as I thought it was pretty good for the most part. Is it better than Turtles In Time? HELL NO, but on its own, it is still a really good TMNT game that was fun to run through, and as an alternative for those who couldn’t get Turtles In Time back in the day, it does a great job at bringing the feel of that game over to this system.
The story is somewhat altered from the original game, where this time, instead of just the Statue of Liberty being taken away by the Shredder, the entirety of Manhattan is taken away, and the Shredder himself looks JACKED AS FUCK, so it is up to the turtles to set out once again, take down the Shredder and other foes, and save Manhattan, which is just about as ridiculous of a set up as the original game, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The graphics are pretty good, looking just about on par with the original game in terms of the general visuals, animations, and character designs, making it still very pleasing to look at, the music is great, with plenty of great tunes to be heard throughout, but a lot of the tracks are pretty much just lower quality versions of the original game’s tracks, so needless to say, I would much rather be listening to this over this, and the gameplay/control is what you would expect from a TMNT game as before, being just as action packed, fluid, and fun as ever, even if you have less options then before in a multitude of areas.
The game is your typical arcade style beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, go through a set of five different levels themed around many different locations you would expect from this kind of game, cut your way through many different enemies such as Foot Soldiers, Pizza Monsters, The Thing from Marvel (obviously), and so on, using whatever ninja skills and tools that you have at your disposal, gather plenty of different pizzas that can not only heal you whenever you need it most, but it can also give you a temporary special attack so you can show those foot soldiers what’s what, and take on plenty of familiar faces as bosses, who can give you a hard time unless you have played Turtles In Time as much as I have, in which case, they aren’t exactly much of a threat. You know the drill by now, it is your typical TMNT experience, where you beat up dudes, eat the cheesy good stuff, and make the Shredder cry for his mommy, it comes with the territory, but it still manages to be fun regardless, and somewhat refreshing for those who were much more familiar with the original game.
Let me tell you, as someone who has been playing Turtles In Time for years up to this point, it was WEIRD going into this game, because despite how similar it is to that original game, it changes things up dramatically in several ways. Rather than focusing on a bunch of short, yet fast levels, the game only has about 4 and a half really long levels, which is an interesting change, as it not only excludes several levels from the original version, but it also combines several levels together from that game and the previous TMNT arcade game, which was neat to see. Not to mention, with these new levels comes with new bosses, with some obviously returning from the original game, but then you got new ones like a human version of Baxter Stockman, and even Tatsu from the live-action TMNT movies, both of which are… slightly annoying to fight, but it was cool to take these guys on regardless. Oh yeah, and you can also switch between different styles for the turtles themselves, which is a neat little feature, for those of you who care about that kind of shit.
But regardless, the game is still a TMNT beat-’em-up, which means you know exactly what to expect, which can cause those who are getting tired of these TMNT beat-’em-ups to groan and move onto something else, but it is perfectly fine for the rest of us. The game still manages to have satisfying combat, a good sense of speed with how you move about and take down your foes, and with a friend to join you by your side, you will be able to have a great time with this as you would with any other version of the game. It does kinda suck that some things did have to be omitted from this version, such as the fact that you can’t throw enemies at the screen, but hey, even with all that was lost in this version, what was left over and added onto it still makes for an experience that is well worth going through.
However, not everything about this game managed to live up to the original game, as there was one level of the game that I did not enjoy at all, which would be the fourth level of the game, The Gauntlet. Not only is the level itself really short, but it is also really boring, not having too much going on, and instead, it just leads you right into a boss rush, which not only feels completely unnecessary for a game as short as this, but also manages to piss me off specifically, as the guy who hates most boss rushes with a burning passion. Yeah, there is the Baxter Stockman boss at the end of it all, which is fine and all, but that doesn’t make up for most of this level being a repetitive slog that acts as a stain on an otherwise perfectly fine revision of a beloved arcade classic.
Overall though, despite The Gauntlet needing to go fuck itself, The Hyperstone Heist will never quite outshine Turtles In Time in terms of overall quality, but it still manages to be a really fun and very well done version of the game regardless, bringing you the same fast and fun gameplay of the original, new features and stages that were neat to see in action, and a great co-op experience if you have the right buddy to go on the journey with ya. I would recommend it for those who are big fans of Turtles In Time, as well as those who are big fans of beat-’em-ups in general, because while it may not blow you away, it still manages to be an entertaining romp through and through, and isn’t that what really matters at the end of the day? I’m just glad that I finally managed to play this game after so long, so I can get that demon off of my back for the foreseeable future. Although, now that I think about it, since I did play through this now, I suppose now I’m gonna have to play TMNT Re-Shelled at some point, aren’t I?......................... uhhhhhhhh………… don’t worry, I’ll think of some way to get out of playing it, just give me some time…
Game #582
For those of you who are aware of this game, then you would also know that this game is, in the most technical sense, the Genesis version of Turtles in Time. A lot of the game looks and plays exactly how that game does, but again, due to Nintendo being the spoiled child of the video game industry, Konami had to change A LOT of the game around, which in turn pretty much made it its own completely original game. Because of this, I had debated for a long time whether or not I should actually play the game for myself, because if it was essentially just another version of Turtles In Time, then why would I even bother? However, I looked into it more extensively, realized how different the game is from the original, and figured I would go ahead and give it a shot anyways, and I’m glad I did, as I thought it was pretty good for the most part. Is it better than Turtles In Time? HELL NO, but on its own, it is still a really good TMNT game that was fun to run through, and as an alternative for those who couldn’t get Turtles In Time back in the day, it does a great job at bringing the feel of that game over to this system.
The story is somewhat altered from the original game, where this time, instead of just the Statue of Liberty being taken away by the Shredder, the entirety of Manhattan is taken away, and the Shredder himself looks JACKED AS FUCK, so it is up to the turtles to set out once again, take down the Shredder and other foes, and save Manhattan, which is just about as ridiculous of a set up as the original game, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The graphics are pretty good, looking just about on par with the original game in terms of the general visuals, animations, and character designs, making it still very pleasing to look at, the music is great, with plenty of great tunes to be heard throughout, but a lot of the tracks are pretty much just lower quality versions of the original game’s tracks, so needless to say, I would much rather be listening to this over this, and the gameplay/control is what you would expect from a TMNT game as before, being just as action packed, fluid, and fun as ever, even if you have less options then before in a multitude of areas.
The game is your typical arcade style beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, go through a set of five different levels themed around many different locations you would expect from this kind of game, cut your way through many different enemies such as Foot Soldiers, Pizza Monsters, The Thing from Marvel (obviously), and so on, using whatever ninja skills and tools that you have at your disposal, gather plenty of different pizzas that can not only heal you whenever you need it most, but it can also give you a temporary special attack so you can show those foot soldiers what’s what, and take on plenty of familiar faces as bosses, who can give you a hard time unless you have played Turtles In Time as much as I have, in which case, they aren’t exactly much of a threat. You know the drill by now, it is your typical TMNT experience, where you beat up dudes, eat the cheesy good stuff, and make the Shredder cry for his mommy, it comes with the territory, but it still manages to be fun regardless, and somewhat refreshing for those who were much more familiar with the original game.
Let me tell you, as someone who has been playing Turtles In Time for years up to this point, it was WEIRD going into this game, because despite how similar it is to that original game, it changes things up dramatically in several ways. Rather than focusing on a bunch of short, yet fast levels, the game only has about 4 and a half really long levels, which is an interesting change, as it not only excludes several levels from the original version, but it also combines several levels together from that game and the previous TMNT arcade game, which was neat to see. Not to mention, with these new levels comes with new bosses, with some obviously returning from the original game, but then you got new ones like a human version of Baxter Stockman, and even Tatsu from the live-action TMNT movies, both of which are… slightly annoying to fight, but it was cool to take these guys on regardless. Oh yeah, and you can also switch between different styles for the turtles themselves, which is a neat little feature, for those of you who care about that kind of shit.
But regardless, the game is still a TMNT beat-’em-up, which means you know exactly what to expect, which can cause those who are getting tired of these TMNT beat-’em-ups to groan and move onto something else, but it is perfectly fine for the rest of us. The game still manages to have satisfying combat, a good sense of speed with how you move about and take down your foes, and with a friend to join you by your side, you will be able to have a great time with this as you would with any other version of the game. It does kinda suck that some things did have to be omitted from this version, such as the fact that you can’t throw enemies at the screen, but hey, even with all that was lost in this version, what was left over and added onto it still makes for an experience that is well worth going through.
However, not everything about this game managed to live up to the original game, as there was one level of the game that I did not enjoy at all, which would be the fourth level of the game, The Gauntlet. Not only is the level itself really short, but it is also really boring, not having too much going on, and instead, it just leads you right into a boss rush, which not only feels completely unnecessary for a game as short as this, but also manages to piss me off specifically, as the guy who hates most boss rushes with a burning passion. Yeah, there is the Baxter Stockman boss at the end of it all, which is fine and all, but that doesn’t make up for most of this level being a repetitive slog that acts as a stain on an otherwise perfectly fine revision of a beloved arcade classic.
Overall though, despite The Gauntlet needing to go fuck itself, The Hyperstone Heist will never quite outshine Turtles In Time in terms of overall quality, but it still manages to be a really fun and very well done version of the game regardless, bringing you the same fast and fun gameplay of the original, new features and stages that were neat to see in action, and a great co-op experience if you have the right buddy to go on the journey with ya. I would recommend it for those who are big fans of Turtles In Time, as well as those who are big fans of beat-’em-ups in general, because while it may not blow you away, it still manages to be an entertaining romp through and through, and isn’t that what really matters at the end of the day? I’m just glad that I finally managed to play this game after so long, so I can get that demon off of my back for the foreseeable future. Although, now that I think about it, since I did play through this now, I suppose now I’m gonna have to play TMNT Re-Shelled at some point, aren’t I?......................... uhhhhhhhh………… don’t worry, I’ll think of some way to get out of playing it, just give me some time…
Game #582