Two-player Turtles or not at all.
PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous
PUBLISHER: Ultra Games
DEVELOPER: Konami
GENRE: Beat-em-up
RELEASE DATE: December 1990
TMNT II: The Arcade Game,otherwise known as, “What kids wanted all along.” While the original TMNT for the NES sold like gangbusters, one wondered why Konami didn’t just port the arcade game and call it a sweet money explosion of a day. All wrongs were righted by Christmas 1990, however, when TMNT II came to the NES, complete with two-player co-op, extended levels, and a seemingly endless supply of pith and vinegar.
TMNT II is your standard repetitive NES brawler, albeit coated in a half-shell of Turtle power. Defeat three Foot Soldiers of varying colors, walk forward a few steps, fight three more Foot Soldiers, repeat until you reach a boss or mini-boss. The Turtles have a weapon attack, a jump attack, and a special attack that takes off a piece of their life bar. Avoid the special attack because you’ll need all the life you can get. TMNT II is one of the hardest brawlers on the NES. Getting punched isn’t happenstance, it’s inevitable. Unless you repeatedly jump kick an enemy, you will not be able to give a hit without getting hit yourself. How can a Foot Soldier’s punch successfully power through a pair of katanas, nunchucks, sais or bo staffs? Only Konami knows. Three lives and three continues is a pathetic pittance, even with an additional player. And what’s with the point system? 200 points nets you an extra life, but doing so takes far too long. If you beat a Foot Soldier, you gain a point, which is fair. But if you beat Rocksteady, Baxter, or any of the bosses, you also get a point. The bosses should give you at least ten points or more.
Perhaps the definitive question for any co-op brawler: is TMNT II worth playing without a friend? That answer depends on if you enjoy defeating similar-looking enemies repeatedly ad nauseam. There are no power-ups (save for the all-too-rare pizza slice) and few interactive elements, other than the occasional exploding barrel or detachable sign post. With the exception of the snow level (newly added for the port), the environments feel indistinguishable from one another; if I never fight on a boring Manhattan street again, it will be too soon. The lone Turtle has his limits.
TMNT II placated fans’ desires, but twenty-some years later, the game isn’t as memorable as other co-op brawlers like Double Dragon II or River City Ransom. Its repetitious nature is lessened with a comrade fighting alongside you, but the game’s excruciating difficulty will test even the most patient of players. Indeed it’s the Turtles’ presence and their world that makes the game worth playing. Without Leo, Mike, Raph, and Don’s involvement (and really, what choice did they have?), TMNT II would have likely been forgotten.
ONE-PLAYER: C+
TWO-PLAYER: B
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10 replies on “#649 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game”
The game may have been repetitive and hard as college trig class, but hey, free pizza! (I wonder if Pizza Hut would still honor those coupons?)
I was as into Ninja Turtles back in the day as anyone, but man…I had a friend who got this for Christmas and was really, really super-excited about it, but playing it with him, I just found it so…so…boring. Not that I was ever a big brawler fan in general, but this was just soporific to me. I don't know that I can justify that in any quantifiable way, but there you go.
This was a fun one with a friend. I didn't think it was particularly hard – we beat it repeatedly back then. Far less difficult than the original platforming Turtles game
The thing that bothered me the most about this game was the cheap one-hit kills that Shredder could dish out. Back in the day I my brother and could get to Shredder repeatedly but only beat him once.
I'm invincible!
I remember the special moves were really tough to execute in this game; by the time I got it done, one of the purple foot soldiers would have landed a massive punch. And speaking of punches, those mofo's could counter jumping attacks most of the times and send the turtle flying. So basically the player was left with only one attack for most of the gameplay
That's exactly how I felt. I remember having an easier time with it as a kid.
Jeeze hope you guys never have to play a double dragon game or you’ll never be able to do the jumping parts
I remember getting this for Christmas in 1990 and being so excited. My brother and I woke up really early, snuck the present into our room, and played the game until our parents woke up. It was hard to contain our excitement though so we surely must have woken the folks several times.
I've played the XBox Live port here recently and I can agree with you that the game feels boring. If you have multiple players it can be slightly better, but still repetitive.
With the extra lives code, this is the perfect fidget toy for retrogamers. You can put on a podcast, or a Ted talk, and just zone out while you learn. It won’t ask you to pay attention to the plot, or plan meta strategy. There’s just evil fan pandering on the loose, and the heroic fan pandering must defeat it.