The Turtle boys are at it again and they still haven’t given anyone free rein. That’s right, shortly after their latest incredible adventure inspired the resurrection of Turtle Fever, these four guys bring us even more. Shredder’s Revenge impressed TMNT and beat ’em up fans everywhere, so it makes sense for new players, as well as old cape heads, to look for more big green machine action, and the best way to do that is by going back in time. . This is where Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection comes in.
The opportunity to replay these classics from the 8 and 16 bit era is already fantastic and they have also added a ton of upgrades and bonuses to make the games more fun. Some of the titles even offer online co-op now, which should keep things interesting. For those of you unfamiliar with the 13 games that come in this collection, don’t worry, some of them are just versions of other titles, here’s a little description of each and a ranking of the order I think you should play them. in, from smallest to largest.
9.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Game Boy)
Unfortunately, the middle child on the Game Boy is the one to be forgotten. back from the sewers It’s not a bad game per se, but its biggest sin is having less responsive controls, which takes a lot of the fun out of it. The title is only hard in the later levels, where if players don’t experiment and figure out how to blow up bosses, it can take some time. Once their secrets are discovered, everyone is a pushover. What the game does well is improve the graphics, displaying larger sprites and more detail than some probably thought could be done on the handheld system. However, this could be where they tried to overextend themselves, as the parts that featured 2.5D environments simply made movement more of an issue and left hitboxes feeling off. This entry also tried to take some hints from other TMNT games of the time, but those ideas weren’t implemented well. Of all the games in this collection, this one has the potential to be the one that players spend the least time on overall.
8.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy)
Fall of the Foot Clan It was the first TMNT adventure on Nintendo’s awesome little handheld, offering action-packed gameplay with all four heroes that can be played on the go. It’s It wasn’t just a snappy title, but a simple and entertaining test for any true ninja who wanted to punch and slash their way to victory. Being on the Game Boy it didn’t look that impressive and was pretty short, consisting of only five levels, but the areas feel unique and they still try to fill in the 2D environments when they can. It feels like the developers focused on creating something fun to play while keeping the controls light but fluid. Fall of the Foot Clan it’s pretty easy and should only cause frustration in a few small encounters, but the replay value is there for sure.
7.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Tournaments (NES/SNES/Genesis)
TMNT it’s such a huge franchise that it’s no surprise that they eventually expand outside of their normal genres. With the series’ action-focused premise, a fighting game makes sense. There are three versions of tournament fighters, each different enough to be worth noting. The NES even got its own port of the game. It pales visually in comparison to the other two, but it’s impressive what the developers were able to do with a two-button fighter on the 8-bit console. The Genesis version had similar controls but better graphics and a different roster, but it wasn’t nearly as engaging when combat started. In general, the SNES tournament fighters it’s probably the best version to play, with the sharpest presentation and grouping of characters to fight, but this is one fighter that’s hard to truly love. The computer is merciless and punishes mistakes, so it’s easy to get frustrated and quit this one. Although it is not an exceptional example of the genre, it is worth a try.
6.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Game Boy)
The third Game Boy title did something most didn’t expect from the property or the system: expand the standard turtles go out there and turn it into what is colloquially called Metroidvania. Now there is a map full of dangers and secrets to explore. The player starts as Michelangelo and has to rescue all three of his brothers, each with their own unique traversal abilities, meaning that specific characters can access new areas. Players will spend a lot of time going back and looking at the game map, but radical rescue, thankfully, makes good use of a password system to keep it from being too frustrating. That said, the bosses can be pretty tough, but at least it’s a set of new villains, including the fan-favorite Dirtbag. It’s an interesting and ambitious game, and a solid adventure that offers a break from beat ’em ups. Definitely worth going back for a while.
5.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
For many, this will be the most infamous game in the collection, and certainly the one that will benefit the most from the rewind feature and save states. It was the first mainstream console entry for the Turtles and was highly anticipated, until people realized how far removed it was from the popular cartoon. This NES game was also incredibly difficult and had overworld sections where players could simply get run over, but at least it featured the Turtle Van. It was bold, ambitious, and there’s a good chance it probably started out as something else entirely and was redesigned for the TMNT property considering random enemies and gameplay. There’s no co-op here and a lot of brutality, even if players know some of the tricks. Combine that with the bad rap the game has gotten over the years and most players won’t give it much time, but it has merit for those who want a unique experience and challenge.
4.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)
Shredder is up to his old tricks again, but he’s gone from stealing the Statue of Liberty to taking over all of Manhattan. The Manhattan Project is an original game that is packed with entertainment on the NES. This entry takes a lot of inspiration from arcade games, cartoons, and action figures, creating a great mix of TMNT action in a beat ’em-up that many people skipped the first time. The developers tweaked the controls and improved the combat to try and make it more engaging for players, while giving us a solid visual presentation, without the usual limitations with sprite flickering, and some interesting stages. The music is decent and players can swap turtles between stages. The fighting is fun overall, but the bosses can be annoying even when trying to be strategic, but hey, at least they included Groundchuck in this one. As the, The Manhattan Project it’s easy to overlook TMNT discussions, but it’s a fun and solid beat ’em up.
3.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Genesis)
Most of these games come from Nintendo consoles, but the Sega Genesis needed some Turtle Power too. The Hyperstone Heist it is sometimes considered an altered port or a redesigned version of turtles in time, but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from trying. The game not only comes with an original stage that doesn’t appear in the other title or was simply reused, but also has the Shredder’s trusted commander, Tatsu, as its boss. The game had the foresight to give run its own dedicated button, which is useful for people who can’t master double tapping. The music isn’t bad at all, and the visuals do a couple of cool things, like allowing the player to change the Turtles’ artwork to be different shades of green. Yet, Hyperstone Heist it has a couple of frustrating quirks and is complete with a boss run near the end, which is where a lot of people stop playing. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that those who grew up with the Genesis and this game hold it in higher regard, but we stand by its position on the list.
2.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES/Arcade)
This is the OG for popular TMNT games: the arcade title of grandpa who swallowed so many coins. It was a real hit and probably part of the reason we received so many other titles featuring the characters in the years that followed. The arcade version of this was the experience that showed us just how fun co-op fighting experiences can be, even when they had basic control schemes. The home console port on the NES was given a number 2 so parents wouldn’t be confused, plus it came with a Pizza Hut coupon – sick! It also added additional levels as well as boss fights with the newly introduced Tora and Shogun. The NES couldn’t handle as many sprites on screen and wasn’t as visually impressive, but that didn’t stop this game from selling out in stores. Both versions are worth a look. They’re simple, fun, and challenging enough, but it may just be nostalgia in this case. For gamers who’ve never tried either, let the arcade visual spectacle win, and then head over to the NES for more. turtles action.
1.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES/Arcade)
This is the one. If someone can’t have at least a little fun with turtles in timeso he Cowabunga Collection is not for them This is the game that many think of first when they talk about this era of TMNT games and it’s just one fantastic example of a great beat ’em up using an established IP. The arcade version is super smooth and the game has great music. There are some amazing settings that make solid use of the time travel element, while the animations are colorful and detailed. That said, I have to give the SNES version a slight edge. This was one of the best arcade to console ports at the time. It has everything mentioned above, but slightly downgraded for consoles. As with many other conversions, they added more content, replaced a boring boss to give us Slash and that memorable encounter of launching foot soldiers onto the screen to hit Shredder. For many gamers, the SNES version simply has better controls and the combat feels smoother. Again, they’re both great, but the SNES turtles in time it will probably be played to the maximum of everything.
