I don’t know why, but when it comes to the subject of the Ninja Turtles, I always think they work better as video game characters. Yes, I know they were originally comic book characters and popularised by a TV show, but whenever I think of my earliest enjoyment of the 4 brothers, I always tend to go back to the NES games. Think about it, these are giant reptiles’ fighting robots, what about that doesn’t SCREAM video game? The popularity of the TMNT has died down since the 80’s and early 90’s, and so has their appearance in video games, but one of the games I still hear people bring up today is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Listen and you’ll see there’s a good reason why.
Now, I’m going to get this out of the way right now: yes this is called an arcade game when it is really a console game. The explanation is simple: it’s a port. The arcade game was just originally called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but a game by that title already existed on the NES’s library. Despite liking it as a 6 year old, I now see that it is a flawed game (mostly thanks to the AVGN), which would explain why they decided to port this much better game. Looking at the screenshots (since I never played the original arcade machine), I can notice just a few differences between the versions. One is a severely downgraded look (16 bit to 8 bit it appears) which is to be expected and luckily handled well. The second is that the arcade version allowed for 4 played, while you can only play 2 on the NES port. Disappointing yes, but what are you going to do with the Four Score only coming out in that same year? However, not all changes between the versions are downgrades: upon doing a little research, I found out that there are actually MORE levels in the NES port. There are other changes, but most of them just don’t matter. So, if you’re like me and aren’t bothered too much about the downed graphics or the two missing turtles on screen, then this might be one of those ports that’s more fun than the original.
In true typical Ninja Turtles fashion, the main focus of the game is a “Stop/Defeat Shredder plot” with of course the need to save April at one point. To do this, you need to beat up wave after wave of Foot soldiers coming at you, by far the most common enemy. You also do have some Mouser Unit and other random robots, not to mention the boss battles, which feature known turtle rivals such as Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman and others, so don’t think it’ll get too boring. Even the Foot Soldiers themselves aren’t that dull since they come in noticeably different colors and have different abilities: some wield weapons while others can jump or have better endurance. All this to say “Don’t think you’ll get bored by the beating up of enemies”.
As a matter of fact, the way you beat them up is pretty fun on its own. Unlike other typical brawlers like Streets of Rage, when the Turtles jump in this game, they FLY! This helps with the combos, which includes ones that may make the game a little too easy, but might be useful for someone just looking to beat the game. Anyways, the combat system is otherwise basic: you can move in 8 different directions while you simply try to punch the surrounding bad guys out before they do it to you. If all of this still isn’t enough to keep you satisfied, then maybe the level designs will: they’re full of things that could take your life away (such as mines, holes you can fall down or giant balls that can knock you over) that will need your attention. And there is also a skateboarding level, and that’s pretty cool in itself.
Like I said when I started, this game is a classic. On the surface, its music is kicking, the graphics are “ok” and there’s generally nothing to complain about. Playing the game itself is just a joy: easy game play that’s always familiar, but with enough of a challenge to keep it interesting. It also has a really smooth style and is well paced. But… there’s just something missing, and I think its variety: you still fight a lot off Foot Soldiers (who are easily dispatched) and most of the levels are just areas around New York, which is a little bland. That might not be the whole problem, which I can’t really put my finger on otherwise, but it could be a factor. Anyways, this game is great; if you haven’t played it, I am ashamed of you, but seriously, go find a copy (it’s apparently coming to the Wii Virtual console soon too). I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System 9 Levels out of 10.
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