Was fun to re-visit this after Turtles in Time. Unabashedly a truncated, cheaper version of the original, but thankfully nothing has damaged the core gameplay loop.
Re-assigning dash to its own button rocks, it made the body slam and slide attacks so much easier to chain off of combos. Felt really satisfying to just slide my thumb over C-B-A for a bullet of hurt.
This version's music gets shat on sometimes and I genuinely cannot see it. There's less punch, but the FM patches are closer to their respective instruments and have a fuller, more organic sound. Very good use of slap bass, arpeggios and guitars. The two original tracks made for the original stage are great too.
Speaking of, stages are the bulk of what makes and breaks this version. TMNT:HH does the same thing as Sunset Riders MD and cuts the stage count in half, but makes each stage several mini-acts ala Sonic. This should be the better way to do it - get you through more scenic areas more frequently, - but the stage selection within is really paltry. My favorite levels from Turtles in Time were cut (Big Apple 3AM, Bury my Shell at Wounded Knee, Neon Night Riders), and a lot of what's left are bland sewer and cave stages. This also impacts the boss selection - there's only six, plus a boss rush in stage 4. Stockman from the original arcade game is here and sucks, and the new Tatsu fight is a pretty lame 'fight my minions then attack me' affair.
At least you don't have to beat Hard mode for an ending anymore, thank god.
I definitely feel this is the worse version overall; TMNT is really basic and repititious in the brawler sphere, so it needs that stage variety and setpiece design as window dressing for everything else. Without it, you have a game that's less gimmicky and MAYBE a bit better for raw action, but not as aesthetically interesting.
Re-assigning dash to its own button rocks, it made the body slam and slide attacks so much easier to chain off of combos. Felt really satisfying to just slide my thumb over C-B-A for a bullet of hurt.
This version's music gets shat on sometimes and I genuinely cannot see it. There's less punch, but the FM patches are closer to their respective instruments and have a fuller, more organic sound. Very good use of slap bass, arpeggios and guitars. The two original tracks made for the original stage are great too.
Speaking of, stages are the bulk of what makes and breaks this version. TMNT:HH does the same thing as Sunset Riders MD and cuts the stage count in half, but makes each stage several mini-acts ala Sonic. This should be the better way to do it - get you through more scenic areas more frequently, - but the stage selection within is really paltry. My favorite levels from Turtles in Time were cut (Big Apple 3AM, Bury my Shell at Wounded Knee, Neon Night Riders), and a lot of what's left are bland sewer and cave stages. This also impacts the boss selection - there's only six, plus a boss rush in stage 4. Stockman from the original arcade game is here and sucks, and the new Tatsu fight is a pretty lame 'fight my minions then attack me' affair.
At least you don't have to beat Hard mode for an ending anymore, thank god.
I definitely feel this is the worse version overall; TMNT is really basic and repititious in the brawler sphere, so it needs that stage variety and setpiece design as window dressing for everything else. Without it, you have a game that's less gimmicky and MAYBE a bit better for raw action, but not as aesthetically interesting.