Review: TMNT II for the NES and Arcade!

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Game and System - Arcade and NES

Year released in the United States - 1989 (arcade) 1990 (NES)

Manufacturer/Publisher - Konami/Ultra

  One thing I love about the Nintendo Entertainment System is that when I play certain games using the NES Advantage joystick I actually feel like I’m playing in the arcade. It’s the combination of using the joystick with the large buttons along with playing a title that was originally an arcade game to begin with that totally brings me back to the days of pumping quarters into arcade machines. Today I wanted to bring into the spotlight a game that means something special to me and had a big part in making my childhood as fun as it was. A game that has supplied me with so many fond memories that I can’t even begin to bring into light because there are just so many. And lastly, a game that I consider to be the greatest 2-player experience in the history of the medium, as well as the best 4 player arcade experience you could ever have. Today I give you my written review of TMNT II: The Arcade Game (or TMNT: The Arcade Game if you're not playing on the NES).

  My first experience with TMNT: The Arcade Game was actually in an arcade called “Great Times” where I pumped coin after coin into the unit to play alongside 3 other strangers as we tried to battle our way to The Shredder, but because the game was so damn difficult (even with all 4 players) that never came to fruition. I played the game quite a bit back in those days and when I found out that it was going to be ported over to the NES I knew I just had to have it. Sadly I wouldn’t own a copy of this game until well after the life-cycle of Nintendo’s famed console was over. However, I did rent the game quite a few times circa 1991-1992 and thanks to the help of Game Genie I was able to complete the home version a number of times, including a few times over the past several years just for kicks. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is about this game that has drawn me to it so often throughout the years but it does have a charm to it that brings me back to a time growing up where I’d be watching the original TMNT cartoon on Saturday mornings, and I'll be honest when I say that I do have a soft spot for “beat ‘em up” games so that could be a big reason why. But one thing that stands out about TMNT II is I’ve played this game alongside some of the best friends I’ve ever had and I’ve experienced a lot of fun doing so. It's odd how sometimes the memories you have with a game can draw you back into a game time and time again, especially if a game is as stellar as this one is. In TMNT II the gameplay itself is quite simple. You clear stage after stage of enemies as you rack up points and pizzas until you fight the boss and hack n’ slash your way on to the next level. It’s really no different from games like Double Dragon or Final Fight except that it’s got a TMNT theme to it. The game is extremely fun as a single player experience but where this game really shines is in co-op mode with a second player (or 4 in the arcade) and that's where the core of the experience begins to shine through.

   The NES port was given an additional few stages and some new bosses to expand upon the original arcade game, which in itself didn’t have too much content. Sure, the game had to take a dip in graphics to be successfully ported to the NES, but graphically speaking it still shines on the console hardware and holds up against pretty much every game in its genre around the time of its release. The arcade version featured graphics similar (but better) to the SNES TMNT game and had some amazing audio to it that made the game feel almost like a live action comic book and very similar to the cartoon. It was truly an amazing experience to play this in the arcade as a kid, I’ll never forget the fun I had with this game and I always look for it whenever I visit an arcade to this day. Sadly, I’m almost always disappointed when I see that the game is nowhere to be seen in modern day arcades, though I have discovered an arcade not to far from me that has it out to play on occasion. The audio in the arcade version was one of those little things that made going to an arcade special back in those days and I've never felt like home versions of arcade games nailed the audio anywhere near the way cabinets did. The same could be said about the visuals. Some have come close but it's usually always apples and oranges. Back around 2010 I stumbled upon an arcade faithful port on the XboX 360 store and downloaded it because I saw that you could co-op with 3 other people and I had an absolute blast and the game felt as close to the original arcade game as it possibly could. I was instantly paired up with 3 other people and we chatted and shared memories of the game while we played on XboX Live and ended up breezing through and making it to the end with almost no problem at all. One guy I played with was an absolute pro and was kicking ass like you wouldn't believe and it was a pleasure watching him do his thing and you could tell he was a pro at the TMNT games. Sadly I've been told that the game is no longer available to download on the Xbox 360. Luckily not to long after that I found the X-Men game that brought me almost as much joy in the arcades and ended up downloading it and playing with the same people thanks to having them on my friends list. More arcade faithful ports should come to console via download like this one did, it’s such a nostalgic experience and done so well on modern hardware. Again though, I'm told it's Xbox 360 release was limited and it's since been removed from the market. I fucking hate that companies do that, just let the fans enjoy the content and stop pulling games off the market for download you greedy corporate dicks!

  Now, getting back to the production portion of the game and its pros and cons. Wait.....what cons? The only con I can think of is the music and audio in the game and only when it comes to the NES port. The music in TMNT II is reminiscent of the cartoon from the 80’s and the audio in the game is fantastic in the arcade and merely good on the NES, but all in all I’d rate the game high as it’s surely a pleasurable experience to listen to and is faithful to what we grew up with from the cartoon. The controls in this game are tight and responsive and I’ve never had an issue with hit detection or the characters performing the commands from the controller and I’d rank the control among some of the best I’ve ever experience in a side scrolling beat ‘em up style game. But as good as the graphics are, as fun as the music is, and as tight as the controls are, the strength of this game settles in just how fun it is to play and if you aren’t playing video games to have fun than you may as well drop your controller and walk away. TMNT II ranks among one of my personal favorite video games of all-time and is a game I revisit every year or so and there have been very few 2-player games on the NES (or any console for that matter) that stack up to it and absolutely none that can touch it in the arcade. It’s a true classic that has risen above the test of time and a game that I’ll always remember how much fun I had playing it with friends at home and with strangers at the arcade and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s never had the pleasure of firing this bad boy up and giving it a go. Go ahead....I dare you....

Graphics/Visuals - 8.5 (NES) 9.0 (Arcade)

Sound/Music - 9.25 (NES) 9.75 (Arcade)

Control/Handling - 9.25 (NES) 9.0 (Arcade)

Fun/Enjoyment - 9.25 (NES) 9.25 (Arcade)

OVERALL SCORE - 9.25 (NES & Arcade)

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