Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nintendo, 1989)

Based on the hit cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has players go up against Shredder and his Foot Clan followers. Leonardo's weapon are the Katana Blades, which makes it easy to strike far and fast. Raphael carries a Sai in each of his three fingered fast hands. His striking range is short but a little more powerful than Leonardo. Michaelangelo uses Nunchuks, and Donatello, a master of the Bo has some serious reach and power though he is a bit slow to strike. Unlike most games, rather than just give the plot at the beginning, here the story unravels throughout the adventure. First Shredder gets Beebop and Rocksteady to capture the Turtles friend April O'Neal. Once April is rescued it turns out that Shredder has set eight bombs around the local dam. The dam though was a ploy to lure the Turtles away from their lair so that Mechaturtle, another of Shredder's minions, could kidnap Splinter.

Doesn't come close to part 2. From the first level I thought it was a pretty boring game. Your game is played with the same color turtle (Rafael). Game play could be a lot better but it isn't horrible. I've given it an average rating because it's a fair game but not a must buy. You want a must buy? Get TNMT 2 Arcade Game. That will definitely spice things up.

It's a little hard to get adjusted to the controls in an age of XBox and PS2 and PS3. Overall a good game, a little challenging at first, but definitely achievable. Reminds me of the old days growing up.

This is an old school TMNT game that appeared on the NES before the beat'em up versions. It isn't a horrible game, but it must be approached the right way and by the right kind of person. A person who enjoys the difficulty of Contra is much more likely to enjoy this than a person who enjoys the difficulty of Mario. And just like Contra, once you figure it out, it turns from an impossible game to an easy game.

Once you get used to the quirks, TMNT on the NES is quite enjoyable. You have to realize a few things first though.
1. Donatello generally makes progressing much quicker
2. Boomerangs make your life much easier.
3. Items make the other turtles much more useful.
4. Trying to kill every enemy is much more likely to get you killed than accomplish anything.

When I was a kid, I enjoyed playing this game. But what I also remember it was difficult ! Today, is hasn't gotten any easier. The game starts with 4 turtles; Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. Your mission is to save April from shredder. Each Turtle has his own weapons with each their advantages and disadvantages. When you lose your life, the Turtle gets caught. When your 4 Turtles are caught, it's game over ! I gave this game a 4/5. It's a classic and a must have in your Retro collection. But the difficulty made "only" a 4