T-U-R-T-L-E POWER! Turtles mania was sweeping the world when this came out in 1989. That's probably why this game was so popular despite it being an unfair bag of dog's droppings!
So popular was the franchise that Nintendo even bundled the NES with this game in Europe replacing the mighty Super Mario Bros cart.
It's easy to see why so many persevered with this at the time. It had the turtles in it! Unfortunately none of the music and not many of the bad guys from the TV show appear in the game. A bit of an oversight you might say. Instead baddies are hopelessly generic and could be from any other game instead. They did put in Bebop and Rocksteady but that was about it!
Basically the game is a platform game but there are overhead driving sections as well. Both are probably as irritating and unfair as each other. The 4 turtles you can play as are hopelessly unbalanced; Raphael and Michelangelo have terrible reach with their weapons so it is much too easy to get hit. Coupled with the lousy collision detection you will be tearing your hair out before long. Things are better with Donatello and the reach of his staff, so try to keep him alive!
Other problems are the endlessly respawning enemies which are difficult to take out and unfair precision jumps which you will have to progress in the game. One slight mess up and you have to backtrack several screens taking more and more damage. This just doesn't work in a game of this nature, it adds to the frustration factor.
Thankfully some of the sequels on the NES are generally better than this. Don't let childhood nostalgia blind you to the flaws this game has. By all means if you have fond memories of this from when you were a kid download it, but don't say we didn't warn you!
Note: Due to licensing issues, the game costs 600 Wii Points instead of 500.
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1. BJ
23 Feb 2007, 16:08 GMT
That's cool! Even though it wasn't my favorite of the earlier TMNT game it was still very challenging. I hope they bring the other games like Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project.
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2. Hillis
27 Feb 2007, 19:48 GMT
Wait, is this the first TMNT game on the NES, the one that gave me nightmares and caused The Angry Nintendo Nerd to rant so hatefully about? What manner of just pure evil would unleash this on a whole unsuspecting legion of little Wiiers who never knew the pain that was the Dam Level. They should have just did what they did with Castlevania, that is skip ahead a few games to when the series wasn't such a pain in the ass.
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3. Dazza
27 Feb 2007, 19:56 GMT
Yes it's one and the same! Sure we all put up with it at the time (cos it was free with the NES) but it's a stinker. I think Angry Nintendo Nerd sums it up best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjUz8IT0CYg
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4. Jon
02 Mar 2007, 01:11 GMT
I hope they come out with some of the later sequals to the TMNT series for the SNES, I really liked those.
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5. Fred
05 Mar 2007, 18:56 GMT
God! That game was just impossible. After, many many hours of practice me and my brother made it to the Technodrome but that's where it stopped for us, the incredible amount of enemies in there just crippled our remaining turtles.
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6. Zweck36
05 Mar 2007, 20:50 GMT
I liked this game, a lot, and did not find it challenging at all. Shredder was a bitch
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7. Flemmonthang
05 Mar 2007, 23:53 GMT
I hate this game.....but I must buy it. I always turned into turtle soup thanks to those steamrollers! BAH!
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8. Patrick
06 Mar 2007, 00:16 GMT
This game was hard?
QQ
It was made back in the day when games were fun AND difficult.
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9. Sasahara
07 Mar 2007, 09:20 GMT
This game wasn't that hard, I was possible to complete it only ever using one Turtle.
People are too soft these days.
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10. Jamym
09 Mar 2007, 10:33 GMT
oh my god, Hillis not the DAM level its taken me nearly 15 years to get over that. I must get this when its out
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11. PM
09 Mar 2007, 11:11 GMT
LOL - I remember the spectrum version of this game. Again damn near impossible - I couldn't even get past the first semi boss in the sewers - until I found a cheat to make me invincible, then I played it through and enjoyed it quite a lot (was only 10 at the time!!)
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12. metallicorphan
11 Mar 2007, 23:42 GMT
is this the game that comes on xbox live arcade this coming wednesday(or so they say)?
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13. Dazza
12 Mar 2007, 07:27 GMT
No the version coming to XBLA is the arcade version which is scrolling beat-em-up. This NES version is a platformer. Very different games.
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14. justin
13 Mar 2007, 17:16 GMT
dont buy this one! ITs the bad one!
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15. Mark
15 Mar 2007, 12:16 GMT
Finally!! I haven't played this game since I was 5. It may be the only reason why I couldn't beat that first water level! I always drowned! This was the ONLY game I couldn't beat. It's time for retribution!!! Vindication!!! (insert another big word here)!!!!
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16. Bass X0
16 Mar 2007, 00:04 GMT
I'm surprised to see a licensed game on the virtual console. But then Konami still has the license so its not a big surprise a guess. I hope this paves the path towards its sequels.
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17. Masuyo
16 Mar 2007, 03:23 GMT
oh god no... anyone but that! All the others were awesome arcade versions. I remember completely geeking out with my friend on TMNT2. We counted all 8 colors because we couldn't believe that there were only 8
I still loved that underwater level with the electricity spikes or w/e I don't even remember /sigh :F it was just so insanely hard and incredibly unforgiving. This isn't a game you can master, just shut your eyes and hope you make it to the end.
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18. Brian Drayton
16 Mar 2007, 03:48 GMT
Don't be an idiot, Bass XO. Of course, this is going to pave the way for the TMNT 2: Arcade Game (NES version), Manhattan Project, Turtles in Time, Tournament Fighters, and Hyperstone Heist.
It's a case of if you see one, you're going to see them all. Get it, got it? Good.
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19. Coop
16 Mar 2007, 07:57 GMT
Hardest. game. ever.
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20. neuzd
16 Mar 2007, 14:11 GMT
I think most readers missed the youtube link Dazza posted.
Check that video because beyond the irony (but it's also really funny) there's a realistic view about the design-flaws of this game.
I mean: a "challenging" or "hard" game are welcomed, but this does not look like a "game", it's a "collection of rules".
In 2 words: no fun.
Anyone is free to love this game, of course, but I ask myself: "Do these people ever played a Mario, Kirby, Metroid or Zelda episode?".
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21. Zero
16 Mar 2007, 20:17 GMT
Ah!
T'would appear that my quest to beat this game shall begin anew.
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22. Eric
16 Mar 2007, 20:39 GMT
Good game with lots of challenges. I want Battletoads on VC!!!
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23. Normo
16 Mar 2007, 22:26 GMT
I remember this on the commodore 64, to be honest i thought it was a pretty decent game, never finished it though. I will be getting this
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24. PumpkinPieman
17 Mar 2007, 16:12 GMT
This game is great! I don't really agree with the review though. Sure, looking back on the overall series, side-scrollers were much better choice for this type of game. But this game still remains difficult and fun. It does have it's fare share of glitches, but during the NES days these gliches weren't uncommon ..
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25. Sicnic
18 Mar 2007, 17:17 GMT
I remember owning this game and it was a pain in the ass. I gave up on it at some point.
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26. Pazzled
18 Mar 2007, 20:55 GMT
I was 8 years old when this game was released and I discovered so many glitches in the game play. I killed it hard back then and I even bet new people I meet money that I can beat it in less than 30 minutes not dying once. Even though the game was insanely unbalanced and difficult there are ways around certain things. The Angry Video Game nerd complained about some the dumbest things in that video. That one jump where you just walk over the hole to get the missles, you don't even need to go all the way around, just jump up there and press against the side of the floor. Once you get the scrolls this game is done and done. It's good, don't listen to the reviews, if you're smart enough you can get through this game every time you start it up. I would have given this game three stars and Zelda II at least four. P.S. I think there's a glitch with Raph where if you switch to him from Donatello, he has Don's strength power. It might just be me though, I noticed that sometimes Raph can kill enemies in one strike and sometimes it takes two.
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27. Jadelouise
19 Mar 2007, 23:44 GMT
This is an hard game i have still not completed years later. I can do the Dam level i could at the time but the part i cant do is the part after that, where is splinter where do you actually go. I had to wait ages to get this as Nintendo thought it was a jolly good idea to not sell this seperately for ages. I had a nes in 1987 when i was 4 i got super mario with it i have a mattel version for goodness sake Nintendo you should have given me the game for free. I moaned and got a free membership of the nintendo fan club instead but that was a bit rubbish really.
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28. Mark
20 Mar 2007, 06:28 GMT
After this game is beat i'll only want to wait for Ninja Turtles: TURTLES IN TIME! Who remembers that? Was the best game ninja turtles had!
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29. Emma
20 Mar 2007, 09:39 GMT
Angry Nintendo Nerd loves it really. The pizzas he said were hard to get were so easy for me and I'm a girl. Also - pretty obvious you could just walk over that gap.
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30. romanista
23 Mar 2007, 07:55 GMT
i actually bought this for the miggy, i feel ashamed now
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31. michinmuri
26 Mar 2007, 18:56 GMT
I remember loving the game. Heck yeah is was hard and buggy, but back then we didn't have much, and it felt great being the turtles and kicking Shredders @$$. Basically, if you're into nostalgia like me, it's worth the 500 points. For most people, it might be 500 points you shouldn't spend. In my opinion, this is at least a 3 star game.
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32. Jon
02 Apr 2007, 17:10 GMT
Looks decent, but 600 points? I mean, doesnt that imply that its somewhat superior to all of the other NES games? What a joke. I hope the Angry Video Game Nerd might have something to say about this.
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33. Eric
02 Apr 2007, 17:54 GMT
It's funny that their original review says the difficulty is easy/med.. lol.
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34. jayj
02 Apr 2007, 19:45 GMT
i kept dying in the swimming stage! i honestly don't think i passed the part with the turtle van..
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35. Bass X0
02 Apr 2007, 20:31 GMT
Maybe they think they can charge more because of the hype generated from the movie? Or maybe the turtles license is more expensive in america than it is for europe. *shrugs*
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36. Eric42
02 Apr 2007, 21:26 GMT
Ugh. 600 points for TMNT? I won't be buying it for sure. I may check out Starfox 64 and finally see what the hubbub is all about.
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37. Jeff
03 Apr 2007, 03:19 GMT
To Pazzled:
The reason why Raph seems stronger sometimes isn't the result of a glitch. Not many people seem to know this, but each turtle has a different attribute. Leo's defense is higher than everyone elses, but his strenth is low. Raph gets stronger after the dam level and even stronger than Donatello on the last level. Mike becomes as strong as Donatello when his health is reduced to half, and Donatello's strength is countered by a really low defense.
Once you get to the last level, Raphael becomes one of the best characters to use.
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38. tj
05 Apr 2007, 09:16 GMT
OK.... This is for the guys who seem to be confused about why sometimes the turtles will do more damage to enemies.
Whenever your turtle is under 50% health their strength seems to go up. try it you jackasses
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39. Bazoon
06 Apr 2007, 15:33 GMT
HAHA 2.7'd by gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/teenagemutantninjaturtles/review.html?sid=6168657
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40. Dazza
06 Apr 2007, 17:37 GMT
So it's not just us that doesn't like it much then!
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41. Kevin
10 Apr 2007, 03:39 GMT
I loved this game. It was very challenging, and the characters WERE unbalanced, but the game was great fun. Glad I downloaded it.
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42. Jadelouise
10 Apr 2007, 20:00 GMT
I wont download it as I have the NES cart. I love Turtles at the time, I loved them when the rest of the kids jumped ship and I still love them now. The new cartoon and cgi film are great but I have a soft spot for the 1990 film(have it on uncut dvd yay) and 1987 cartoon. Yes brown weapons no I didnt get it either but I still have them and they really were very well made.
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43. BJ
13 Apr 2007, 19:12 GMT
I agree with you Mark. Turtles in Time was the best. However, I have a feeling Konami will release TMNT 2 and 3 before they get to 4. And Eric I too would like to play Battletoads, as I have never played it before but hear good things about it. The only problem is that Rare is owned by Microsoft now, and they even don't intend to put Battletoads on Xbox Live Arcade beacuse the people at Rare believe that Battletoads has an "inhuman difficulty".
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44. Hadrian
16 Apr 2007, 15:47 GMT
I loved this game on the Amiga and NES but now I dont, its aged badly! Manhatten Project, Hypstone Heist, Turtles In Time and Tournement Fighters were a lot better. TMNT Movie GBA is pretty good beat em up unlike the other recent games.
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45. Argroww
04 May 2007, 12:23 GMT
I remember playing this game on the Commodore 64, sure it was hard, but I loved it none-the-less.....Although I do remember that the further you got into the game, the wierder things got, almost as thoguh the designers didn't actually know much about the turtles franchise so just started making things up to lengthen it.
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46. superfurryfox
26 May 2007, 10:17 GMT
This was the first game I ever owned so had to download it, but feel cheapened that Xbox live got the arcade game for a similar price... gits
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47. Bass X0
29 May 2007, 23:26 GMT
Maybe you will feel even more cheapened when the NES port of the arcade game gets released.
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48. Garland Russell
07 Jun 2007, 21:29 GMT
Ugh, this game stinks. I can't believe I used to like this. Just because it has "Turtles" in it doesn't mean that it can be good. The beat 'em ups were so much better. Out of place enemies, Mousers, Foot Soldiers, etc. (who they look & act ABSOLUTELY NOTHING at all), harder difficulty, dumb A.I., bad graphics, I can go on & on. I did manage to beat it a few times when I was a child. I will definitely be ignoring this, & wait for the other ones to arrive.
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49. steelington
13 Jun 2007, 20:54 GMT
I dont want to argue about this one, just ask how the hell are you supposed to get passed the endless amount of flying guys with lasers in the technodrome? whoever said they beat it with one turtle only was clearly lying
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50. Mii be you
31 Jul 2007, 22:34 GMT
A game like this looks bad once it's reviewed by the Angry Nintendo nerd.(A.K.A Angry Video Game Nerd)
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51. McCabe
02 Aug 2007, 20:29 GMT
my dad and I used to play this game a lot...it was a bonding experience, I suppose...and I had fond memories of it...although the farthest we ever got was the first water level (no save feature...sigh.) and so I eagerly downloaded it...and cried a little. not really, but you understand...it's upsetting...it's a game better left in my memories, I suppose.
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52. Djack
27 Aug 2007, 01:27 GMT
I remember playing this game and it being extremely hard! Everytime I got to this one sewer level there was an extremely hard jump that I never made over, so I would say I'm scared to download this.
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53. peda
27 Aug 2007, 11:23 GMT
i suggest strongly to wait for "turtles in time" for the SNES! not because it's that easy, but it is the much better game! Above all it has one of the best two-player modes like "contra 3"! If you want a real challenge, download this NES-version!!
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54. hawth
13 Sep 2007, 03:28 GMT
This game stinks. I remember jumbling it up with game genie back in the day. Now that was fun! Leave this one in your memory or watch Angry Nintendo Nerd's video of it.
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55. BrandonG
17 Sep 2007, 04:51 GMT
I actually loved this game! It was challenging and fun all at the same time. I remember the first time I got to the Technodrome. This game is a classic and deserves respect.!
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56. Chris
28 Sep 2007, 14:44 GMT
Ok I know this probably sounds really stupid, but I cannot get the dang game to start? Which button equals start on the wiimote?
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57. Dresse
29 Sep 2007, 14:28 GMT
i used to love this game back in the NES days, bu now it kinda sucks.
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58. Matt
09 Oct 2007, 03:57 GMT
Save your money for the other TMNT games if they ever get released. This TMNT game was horrible and never should have been released on the Wii VC.
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59. hibhober
14 Oct 2007, 17:12 GMT
I hated that underwater level it was impossible eveything you touch you die! The time limit didn't help much either...
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60. Richard
01 Nov 2007, 01:35 GMT
First game I downloaded from the Wii VC and also the first one I deleted.
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61. Lone
02 Nov 2007, 18:07 GMT
Heh, I used to play this game a LOT when I was younger... I never managed to beat the stage where you got the Turtlemobile though... I think you were supposed to save Splinter in it... When I think back I think you were supposed to use a rope or something to cross between two roofs but I was too young to understand that back then.
People complain about the dam level, but as far as I remember I thought it was a very easy level... as soon as I had memorized the locations of all the bombs that is.
In any case it's not worth 600 points, and there is no chance that I'll get it for the VC.
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62. Rossi
16 Nov 2007, 11:47 GMT
Like the comment Richard.. lol very funny. But how come the xbox version we get online 4 player mode and for this you dont.. im sure nintendo could do sumit like this..
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63. Beau
23 Nov 2007, 11:01 GMT
I say to heck with what the "The Angry Nintendo Nerd" says. Regardless of this games' high challenge, I loved this game as a child, and still do so as an adult. The game did have some frustrating moments, and could definatelly of used a stage-skip password feature, or something, but overall I enjoyed it.
If you like challenging old-school games, and want a TMNT game that isn't a "beat 'em up as you go" Final Fight-like arcade game like every other TMNT game made, give this a shot. You may be surprised. (You might wanna check out a walkthrough, or something if you get stuck for to long though.)
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64. Sharecrow
05 Dec 2007, 17:01 GMT
This game is definitely a tough one in my opinion. I too didn't have too much trouble with the dam level at all, though. I generally got stuck after that, but I can't remember exactly where...I know only made it inside the Technodrome once, though. I don't know if I'll download this one or not. There are other super-tough games that I never beat that are higher on my priorities list....Ninja Gaiden for one....
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65. miraimike
17 Dec 2007, 14:59 GMT
Even though I have some happy memories of this game, I will NEVER play it again. Water-mine level... nuff said.
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66. Lwaad
27 Dec 2007, 13:27 GMT
Their warning is for people like me. When you're a kid you play whatever you have, so we played this constantly. I think we even beat it, although the underwater level was impossible. Anyway, I'll pass on this one, in spite of the nostalgia
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67. gravitywheel
08 Jan 2008, 05:21 GMT
This game is so horrible. Bring on Turtles in Time!
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68. Pua
21 Jan 2008, 13:47 GMT
This game was the first video-game I ever had! I have great memories of it, but I remember it to be too difficult to me when I was 6. :S
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69. StarSoldier1
22 Jan 2008, 17:23 GMT
The game has a lot of problems but it can still be decent once you learn how to beat certain areas.
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70. 90's Gamer
03 Feb 2008, 08:17 GMT
What a underrated classic :s
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71. WaddleWave
05 Feb 2008, 20:19 GMT
Sidestep, Tackle, Intercept, Nudge or Kick it aside and do everything you can to avoid this.(PRO TIP: unite all capital letters, and find out what it spells and add it to"It does ___.".)
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72. Capt K
22 Feb 2008, 14:21 GMT
I loved this game, the first game i bought with my own pocket money. I didn't think the Dam level was as hard as some poeple make out but inside the technodrome was almost impossible, esp when i was 8!!!
Would have to give it 4/5 simply for the value for money. Going to download it now...
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73. BJ
04 Mar 2008, 02:34 GMT
This game shares alot of similarities with the TMNT game. What's ironic is that both games share the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" name and yet they have literally nothing to do with the famous gameplay that they are well-known for or both television series (old and new) for that matter.
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74. BJ
04 Mar 2008, 02:36 GMT
In fact, they both are the worst Ninja Turtle games of all time! Isn't that weird, anyone?
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75. TheWiiMan
20 Mar 2008, 20:17 GMT
This game is a disgrace! Good thing i don't have it!
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76. WaddleWave
24 Mar 2008, 15:33 GMT
Good thing we didn't waste our money...although I feel bad for the editors to have download it...biting the bullet first so we dont have too.YES!
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77. Drake
28 Mar 2008, 14:15 GMT
I got the original cartridge for free a few years ago, so I certainly didn't have to download it
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78. Adamant
08 Apr 2008, 02:32 GMT
Apparantly, the TMNT franchise hadn't reached Japan at the time of this game's creation, which might be the reason why there's such a lack of familiar enemies - the development team was completely unfamiliar with the series. Probably also the reason why the game is titled Gekikame Ninja-den in Japan despite the franchise itself, and the later videogames, keeping the TMNT name there as well.
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79. Worenx
18 Apr 2008, 20:24 GMT
Game was as hard as twenty year old candy corn, which is pretty bad considering it was targeted for little kids who liked the Turtles (me). Simply put, it has a lot of memories of almost my entire family getting addicted despite its overwhelming difficulty and we finally defeated Shredder, the big pansy. e e 2 / 5 because it's far from the best game around, it's way too hard even for me today, and the final boss is friggin easy. Good for download if you love old school games, and that's about it.
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