So far in my adventures through the TMNT games of yesteryear, I haven’t really found much to get excited about. Sure, there were some good games to be found so far, but nothing that is gonna make me want to come back to one of these games over and over again in the future, especially with the original NES title. So I figured, since I did just recently play through a bad Spider-Man game and a bad Simpsons game, I want to play through a GOOD licensed game for a change. Yeah, I may be skipping a couple of other games when making this decision, but who cares, we can always come back to them later, and then we can properly give them the ripping that they deserve. For now though, I have decided to revisit what many consider to be one, if not THE best TMNT game of all time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
If you have heard anyone singing any praise about any TMNT game, chances are that it is either this one or Shredder’s Revenge, which did take most of its inspiration and ideas from this game. I myself have played through the SNES version before back in the day, and yeah, I remember loving it back when I did, thinking it was one of the best beat-’em-up games I had ever played at that time. It has been a while since that original playthrough though, so I figured that I should give it another shot, and yes, I am sticking with the SNES version of the game, because that is the best version of the two despite not looking as good. So, after playing through it again, I would say it is still pretty great to this day. It may not be that unique from other TMNT games, or other beat-’em-ups, but it makes up for it with its fun and satisfying gameplay that I didn’t get sick of at any point.
The story is about as simple as a TMNT story can get, about them needing to get the Statue of Liberty back from Shredder, which is about as goofy and ridiculous as you would want one of these plots to be, the graphics are pretty great, definitely being the best looking TMNT game so far, and while it doesn’t look as good as the arcade version, the SNES version still looks pretty good for a port, the music is FANTASTIC, being without a doubt the best soundtrack in any TMNT game, having some incredible tracks throughout the entire game, and not a single dud I can think of, the control is simple yet satisfying, with there being a good impact present for whenever you beat up anybody, and there are no problems with the general setup to speak about, and the gameplay is familiar, yet still satisfying to run through, especially with a friend to join you along the way.
The game is your typical Ninja Turtles beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, take on a set of stages from your home in New York City, or throughout multiple points in time, even including 2020 (looks a lot different then what we ended up getting), beat up every single Foot Clan member, robot, and Pizza Monster that get in your way throughout the game, gather plenty of pizzas and special invincibility boxes along the way to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on plenty of familiar foes to come from the TMNT from either the classic cartoon or the movies of the time. As is expected, it is pretty much what you would expect from your typical beat-’em-up of the early 90s, with not much else going on to make it stand out from the crowd, but there is one aspect of the game that I have to admire over everything else: it does everything it sets out to do, while also not fumbling the ball at any point.
This is, in my opinion, the quintessential TMNT game. Sure, the other games had some positive qualities about them, and there would be future games that would also reach the same level of quality as this, but when it comes to some good ol’ classic Ninja Turtle action from the 90s, you can’t get any better than Turtles in Time. Everything about the gameplay feels extremely fun and satisfying, from beating up your foes, to the different types of stages that you can play through, to the rockin’ tunes that go through your head whenever you do play it, and of course, fighting for the pizzas against your friend so you can be the ultimate jerk. There aren’t many other experiences like this. And not to mention, when it came to the SNES version of the game, it did add more to experience and enjoy, such as with new bosses, new types of stages that take advantage of the console’s Mode 7 capabilities, as well as the ability to throw enemies directly at the screen, which is the main gimmick for one of the bosses. Granted, it does take away some other elements, like the lack of four-player co-op, but aside from that, it is still the great game you experienced in the arcades.
With that being said, if you aren’t into TMNT or even into beat-’em-ups, then I can’t really say that you can find much to love about this game. Like I mentioned, there isn’t much else that this game does differently when it comes to others like it, so if you are looking for anything new and unique from a beat-’em-up, you won’t get that here. Not to mention, there are some elements that, while they don’t bother me personally, they may bother others. First off, when it comes to the SNES version, just like other Konami games, they lock the true ending behind the hardest difficulty, but thankfully, they don’t lock any content behind the difficulties, so it really only matters if you really care about some text boxes. In addition to this, those annoying-ass instant kill attacks from the original TMNT arcade game make a return in this game, and while they aren’t that big of an issue this time around, it does still suck whenever they are thrown at you. But then again, I could always just get better, so whatever.
Overall, despite a lack of originality and some bullshit moments here and there, this is, without a doubt, the best TMNT game so far, and one of the best beat-’em-ups of the 90s that I have ever played. I would definitely recommend it for fans of the Ninja Turtles, as well as fans of beat-’em-ups in general, because while it may not become one of your favorites of the genre, I can guarantee that it will be a good time with a good buddy to play it with. Anyway, now with all that out of the way, how do I end this review? Uh… maybe by making a snide comment towards the remake of this game, but I never played that one. So, uh… ooh, remake bad, ah, they ruined my childhood, ugh, Konami should throw themselves into a pachinko machine and never come back out.
Game #393
If you have heard anyone singing any praise about any TMNT game, chances are that it is either this one or Shredder’s Revenge, which did take most of its inspiration and ideas from this game. I myself have played through the SNES version before back in the day, and yeah, I remember loving it back when I did, thinking it was one of the best beat-’em-up games I had ever played at that time. It has been a while since that original playthrough though, so I figured that I should give it another shot, and yes, I am sticking with the SNES version of the game, because that is the best version of the two despite not looking as good. So, after playing through it again, I would say it is still pretty great to this day. It may not be that unique from other TMNT games, or other beat-’em-ups, but it makes up for it with its fun and satisfying gameplay that I didn’t get sick of at any point.
The story is about as simple as a TMNT story can get, about them needing to get the Statue of Liberty back from Shredder, which is about as goofy and ridiculous as you would want one of these plots to be, the graphics are pretty great, definitely being the best looking TMNT game so far, and while it doesn’t look as good as the arcade version, the SNES version still looks pretty good for a port, the music is FANTASTIC, being without a doubt the best soundtrack in any TMNT game, having some incredible tracks throughout the entire game, and not a single dud I can think of, the control is simple yet satisfying, with there being a good impact present for whenever you beat up anybody, and there are no problems with the general setup to speak about, and the gameplay is familiar, yet still satisfying to run through, especially with a friend to join you along the way.
The game is your typical Ninja Turtles beat-’em-up, where you take control of one of the four Ninja Turtles, take on a set of stages from your home in New York City, or throughout multiple points in time, even including 2020 (looks a lot different then what we ended up getting), beat up every single Foot Clan member, robot, and Pizza Monster that get in your way throughout the game, gather plenty of pizzas and special invincibility boxes along the way to give you an advantage over your foes, and take on plenty of familiar foes to come from the TMNT from either the classic cartoon or the movies of the time. As is expected, it is pretty much what you would expect from your typical beat-’em-up of the early 90s, with not much else going on to make it stand out from the crowd, but there is one aspect of the game that I have to admire over everything else: it does everything it sets out to do, while also not fumbling the ball at any point.
This is, in my opinion, the quintessential TMNT game. Sure, the other games had some positive qualities about them, and there would be future games that would also reach the same level of quality as this, but when it comes to some good ol’ classic Ninja Turtle action from the 90s, you can’t get any better than Turtles in Time. Everything about the gameplay feels extremely fun and satisfying, from beating up your foes, to the different types of stages that you can play through, to the rockin’ tunes that go through your head whenever you do play it, and of course, fighting for the pizzas against your friend so you can be the ultimate jerk. There aren’t many other experiences like this. And not to mention, when it came to the SNES version of the game, it did add more to experience and enjoy, such as with new bosses, new types of stages that take advantage of the console’s Mode 7 capabilities, as well as the ability to throw enemies directly at the screen, which is the main gimmick for one of the bosses. Granted, it does take away some other elements, like the lack of four-player co-op, but aside from that, it is still the great game you experienced in the arcades.
With that being said, if you aren’t into TMNT or even into beat-’em-ups, then I can’t really say that you can find much to love about this game. Like I mentioned, there isn’t much else that this game does differently when it comes to others like it, so if you are looking for anything new and unique from a beat-’em-up, you won’t get that here. Not to mention, there are some elements that, while they don’t bother me personally, they may bother others. First off, when it comes to the SNES version, just like other Konami games, they lock the true ending behind the hardest difficulty, but thankfully, they don’t lock any content behind the difficulties, so it really only matters if you really care about some text boxes. In addition to this, those annoying-ass instant kill attacks from the original TMNT arcade game make a return in this game, and while they aren’t that big of an issue this time around, it does still suck whenever they are thrown at you. But then again, I could always just get better, so whatever.
Overall, despite a lack of originality and some bullshit moments here and there, this is, without a doubt, the best TMNT game so far, and one of the best beat-’em-ups of the 90s that I have ever played. I would definitely recommend it for fans of the Ninja Turtles, as well as fans of beat-’em-ups in general, because while it may not become one of your favorites of the genre, I can guarantee that it will be a good time with a good buddy to play it with. Anyway, now with all that out of the way, how do I end this review? Uh… maybe by making a snide comment towards the remake of this game, but I never played that one. So, uh… ooh, remake bad, ah, they ruined my childhood, ugh, Konami should throw themselves into a pachinko machine and never come back out.
Game #393
Kago
5 months ago