Minor Introduction
Finally, I am now here. I am ready to tackle the two highest acclaimed TMNT games of all time and I am so fucking excited! First for the list, it’s the sega genesis game: The Hyperstone Heist. Welcome to the sixth review of the marathon, courtesy of the cowabunga collection. Let’s get this shit started, cuz I am so hyped!
First Impressions
Oooooh yea baby, that’s what I’m talking about! This is pure quality right here! What we have is a partial reskin of turtles in time, one with many changed aspects and honestly…I think it is great! It has very very minor shortcomings, but it is a damn good time throughout and i’m genuinely so happy we’re back to the turtles in time formula, and it’s executed so well in this semi-port on the genesis!
Gameplay
The combat is exactly like turtles in time and oh my god it feels so goooood!! It is fast, it is fluid, it has more fun and satisfying combos than NES, combining for a gameplay loop that feels so much better to go through than previous games! The special attacks are nerfed a lot in terms of usefulness, but I don’t personally mind. There are also other factors that contribute to the fun gameplay, like the fair enemy designs and the energetic presentation! The bosses are the best so far (even if they’re mostly rehashed from turtles in time) with clear patterns, fair attacks and understandable attack windows that doesn’t feel at any point like the game cheaps out on killing you. The biggest QoL addition has gotta be a health bar system for the bosses, making it so much easier to keep track of how close you are to finishing the boss and plan out your moves. The level variety remains largely the same as other tmnt games, with a surfing level, two sewer levels, two cave levels, a level on the streets and the technodrome, but there are some highlights due to the omission of time travel from the story, such as a ghost ship level and shredder’s hideout, which serve as welcome additions and are visually very distinct from previous level designs in the series. The number of levels is reduced from turtles in time, but the present levels are extended just enough that they never feel like they drag at any point, which is a fair compromise. Plus they all look good on genesis hardware.
Story
The story concept is a lot of fun. Once again, Strangely More Muscular Than Usual Shredder interrupts April’s broadcast, except instead of kidnapping April…he decides to shrink Manhattan as a weird flex of the hyperstone that he possesses. The turtles have to show him why constantly interrupting april’s broadcasts may not be such a good business and world domination choice in the long-run and beat him to save manhattan and the world. The presence of cutscenes and “text cards” for intermissions is still welcome and the story and its usual progression allows for the two interesting environments I mentioned above (the ghost ship and shredder’s hideout). It’s yet another standard tmnt plot that is a very enjoyable addition.
Presentation
The presentation in general is top-notch and surprisingly faithful to the arcade (specifically in spritework and animation), but with a slightly darker artstyle to fit with the genesis market that still looks great. The spritework and animation for the characters and enemies is amazing, the backgrounds are great, the sound effects are kickass and the soundtrack is also what you would expect from a genesis game: freaking awesome! It combines for one of the best looking TMNT games and it still looks great even today, with smooth performance to boot! Long live 16-bit sprites I suppose.
Negatives
My only complaints are that the game is amongst the easiest of all tmnt games, even on its hardest difficulty…basically the entire way through. It’s in large part due to the predictable patterns of the bosses and the small number in enemies. It tries to compensate by making them hit like trucks whenever they strike you…but it also happens that I wasn’t hit as often. The game is also strangely shorter than I expected, as I managed to clock in 45-50 minutes to beat it (most of the others took me 1 hour or above to beat). I don’t personally mind it, since it makes it highly replayable to me, but something to keep in mind. But those are my sole complaints.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I absolutely fucking loved my time with this game! It’s a great “remix” of turtles in times that makes itself just distinct enough that it is worth experiencing on its own. It’s better than the manhattan project, but falls slightly lower to snes turtles in time. Still, this comes highly recommended, it is just so much fun for the many reasons I mentioned above! Final rating: 8.5/10, please check it out!
Finally, I am now here. I am ready to tackle the two highest acclaimed TMNT games of all time and I am so fucking excited! First for the list, it’s the sega genesis game: The Hyperstone Heist. Welcome to the sixth review of the marathon, courtesy of the cowabunga collection. Let’s get this shit started, cuz I am so hyped!
First Impressions
Oooooh yea baby, that’s what I’m talking about! This is pure quality right here! What we have is a partial reskin of turtles in time, one with many changed aspects and honestly…I think it is great! It has very very minor shortcomings, but it is a damn good time throughout and i’m genuinely so happy we’re back to the turtles in time formula, and it’s executed so well in this semi-port on the genesis!
Gameplay
The combat is exactly like turtles in time and oh my god it feels so goooood!! It is fast, it is fluid, it has more fun and satisfying combos than NES, combining for a gameplay loop that feels so much better to go through than previous games! The special attacks are nerfed a lot in terms of usefulness, but I don’t personally mind. There are also other factors that contribute to the fun gameplay, like the fair enemy designs and the energetic presentation! The bosses are the best so far (even if they’re mostly rehashed from turtles in time) with clear patterns, fair attacks and understandable attack windows that doesn’t feel at any point like the game cheaps out on killing you. The biggest QoL addition has gotta be a health bar system for the bosses, making it so much easier to keep track of how close you are to finishing the boss and plan out your moves. The level variety remains largely the same as other tmnt games, with a surfing level, two sewer levels, two cave levels, a level on the streets and the technodrome, but there are some highlights due to the omission of time travel from the story, such as a ghost ship level and shredder’s hideout, which serve as welcome additions and are visually very distinct from previous level designs in the series. The number of levels is reduced from turtles in time, but the present levels are extended just enough that they never feel like they drag at any point, which is a fair compromise. Plus they all look good on genesis hardware.
Story
The story concept is a lot of fun. Once again, Strangely More Muscular Than Usual Shredder interrupts April’s broadcast, except instead of kidnapping April…he decides to shrink Manhattan as a weird flex of the hyperstone that he possesses. The turtles have to show him why constantly interrupting april’s broadcasts may not be such a good business and world domination choice in the long-run and beat him to save manhattan and the world. The presence of cutscenes and “text cards” for intermissions is still welcome and the story and its usual progression allows for the two interesting environments I mentioned above (the ghost ship and shredder’s hideout). It’s yet another standard tmnt plot that is a very enjoyable addition.
Presentation
The presentation in general is top-notch and surprisingly faithful to the arcade (specifically in spritework and animation), but with a slightly darker artstyle to fit with the genesis market that still looks great. The spritework and animation for the characters and enemies is amazing, the backgrounds are great, the sound effects are kickass and the soundtrack is also what you would expect from a genesis game: freaking awesome! It combines for one of the best looking TMNT games and it still looks great even today, with smooth performance to boot! Long live 16-bit sprites I suppose.
Negatives
My only complaints are that the game is amongst the easiest of all tmnt games, even on its hardest difficulty…basically the entire way through. It’s in large part due to the predictable patterns of the bosses and the small number in enemies. It tries to compensate by making them hit like trucks whenever they strike you…but it also happens that I wasn’t hit as often. The game is also strangely shorter than I expected, as I managed to clock in 45-50 minutes to beat it (most of the others took me 1 hour or above to beat). I don’t personally mind it, since it makes it highly replayable to me, but something to keep in mind. But those are my sole complaints.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I absolutely fucking loved my time with this game! It’s a great “remix” of turtles in times that makes itself just distinct enough that it is worth experiencing on its own. It’s better than the manhattan project, but falls slightly lower to snes turtles in time. Still, this comes highly recommended, it is just so much fun for the many reasons I mentioned above! Final rating: 8.5/10, please check it out!