Following the release of the fantastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge last June, Digital Eclipse (developers of compilations such as the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection) has teamed up with Konami to create a game based on the 1987 series. TMNT game was re-released. The Kowabunga Collection brings together his 13 titles from the NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy and Mega Drive into one radical package.
The advertised 13 titles may be a bit of an exaggeration.Among the games included, three of which are his tournament fightersthree more iterations of Turtles in Time, and two 1989 editions. teenage mutant ninja turtles arcade game. Note that these versions are not identical, but there are only 8 games that are completely original.
The show stars beloved arcade fighting games — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Turtles in Time — both of which are still highly regarded by fans to this day. TMNT 1989 is a lot of fun when viewed as a product of its time. However, with each turtle’s limited set of moves, it can quickly become repetitive. An NES port of the game is also included: TMNT 2: Arcade Gameadds two extra levels and a new boss, but as you can imagine, it doesn’t quite match the arcade original.
Turtles in Time is generally considered the gold standard for TMNT releases, and for good reason. It took what TMNT 1989 did and enhanced it in every way. The Turtles this time have a lot of new techniques such as special moves and slide kicks that drain physical strength. The game’s time travel plot makes the level design much more original than its predecessor, allowing you to replace the streets of New York with something of a prehistoric feel, as well as train battles in the wild west. increase.
Shockingly, Turtles in Time is one of those rare cases of its era where the console version qualifies as superior to the arcade original. Alongside better music, extra levels and bosses, the SNES port doesn’t come with unlimited lives like his Arcade version, so you risk losing if you don’t play strategically.Also included TMNT: Hyperstone Heist, a Mega Drive game based heavily on Turtles in Time — borrows music, user interface, and plot elements, and recontextualizes some stages to account for the lack of time travel (pirate ship to mysterious shipwreck , etc.). It’s a solid entry, but it feels lackluster compared to the other two.
Tournament Fighters is Konami’s take on the Street Fighter 2 craze in Turtles fashion. Each of his three versions of the game are radically different from each other, each boasting a different roster. SNES he is by far the best of the three. This is a four-button fighter that feels more in line with his SF2 with his two-button megadrive and his NES. TMNT Fighter sounds great in theory, but each version’s roster leaves a lot to be desired. Characters like Splinter, Bebop, and Rocksteady don’t exist at all, and characters like Krang, April, and Casey are just parts of the lower Mega Drive and his NES version.
Rounding out the collection is the TMNT from the NES. This is, to put it politely, terrible. TMNT 3: Manhattan Projectis the sequel to the NES port of the arcade game and arguably the best of the NES trilogy.Finally, there’s the Game Boy trilogy Collapse of the Foot Clan, return from the sewerWhen radical rescueThe first two are very basic side-scrolling games, consisting almost entirely of left-to-right combat.
For us, the greatest surprise in the entire collection is TMNT 3: Radical Rescue. This is a very impressive game for the Game Boy. Rather than continuing the side-scrolling efforts of its predecessor, TMNT 3 is Metroidvania, the genre Konami would later revolutionize. You start the game as Michelangelo and set off to rescue other turtles. Each Turtle has a specific ability, Mikey can spin Chuck and hover, Donnie can climb walls, and access more of the map. It may not be as good as the great Metroidvanias, but it was a solid game for its time and I’m looking forward to playing it again.
So what’s new in the collection? In addition to expected features such as screen filters and rewind functions, each game comes with its own set of ‘enhancements’ such as God Mode, Tournament Fighters bosses his character, slowdowns and removal of sprite flickering. doing. Famicom game. Each game also comes with its own in-game strategy guide with video tips and other thoughts. Online play is also available in TMNT 1989, Turtles in Time Arcade, Hyperstone Heist and Tournament Fighters SNES. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the game during our review period.
The Cowabunga Collection is one of the best gallery modes I have ever seen in a collection like this. Turtle Rare has the usual suspects like concept art and soundtrack. There are also four show screens, sprite sheets, box scans of every game in both the US and Japan, comic book covers, and even magazine ads for the games. It even has its own search function, so if you just want to see Mikey (best turtle) pics, we’ll compile them from all categories.
Conclusion
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a great package. Not all games are winners, but many are variations of other games in the collection. It brings two of history’s most beloved fighting games to the modern platform and hosts some hidden gems like Radical Rescue. This is all polished up with many great enhancements and an amazing Turtle Rare Gallery, and for TMNT fans it might just be worth the price of admission.
