Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Cowabunga! Players take control of the turtles in a half shell and rescue reporter April O'Neil from the clutches of the evil Shredder. Battle against the Foot Ninja Clan as Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Raphael with their trademark weapons and ninja abilities.

Search through five stages and dozens of areas throughout the New York City sewers, rooftops and ultimately Shredder's Technodrome to save April. Players must scarf down some pizza to keep up their energy, as they'll need it to defeat Shredder. Turtle Power!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Review

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Review by Darren Calvert

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot

T-U-R-T-L-E POWER! Turtle 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 not many of the bad guys from the TV show even appear in the game. A bit of an oversight you might say. Instead baddies are just generic looking and could be from any other action platform game instead. They did put in Bebop and Rocksteady, but that was about it!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot

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.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot

To add insult to injury, there are also an abundance of graphical glitches and slowdown which further hampers the enjoyment factor. To make matters worse, the game's score is devoid of any recognizable TMNT tunes, including the main theme. This is a travesty, to say the least. The sound effects are all right, but by no means compensate for the lack of TMNT inspired sounds and music.

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: Presumably due to licensing costs, the game costs 600 Wii Points instead of 500 which is the cost of a standard NES game.

2/5

Average reader rating: 2.85 (60 ratings)

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Screenshots

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Screenshot

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Video Clip)

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Have your say about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

1. BJ United States 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.

2. Hillis United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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.

5. Fred Canada 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.

6. Zweck36 United States 05 Mar 2007, 20:50 GMT

I liked this game, a lot, and did not find it challenging at all. Shredder was a bitch

7. Flemmonthang United Kingdom 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!

8. Patrick United Kingdom 06 Mar 2007, 00:16 GMT

This game was hard?
QQ
It was made back in the day when games were fun AND difficult.

9. Sasahara United Kingdom 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. :)

10. Jamym United Kingdom 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

11. PM United Kingdom 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!!)

12. metallicorphan United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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.

14. justin Canada 13 Mar 2007, 17:16 GMT

dont buy this one! ITs the bad one!

15. Mark United States 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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 :D 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.

18. Brian Drayton United States 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.

19. Coop Norway 16 Mar 2007, 07:57 GMT

Hardest. game. ever.

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20. neuzd Italy 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?".

21. Zero Canada 16 Mar 2007, 20:17 GMT

Ah!
T'would appear that my quest to beat this game shall begin anew.

22. Eric Italy 16 Mar 2007, 20:39 GMT

Good game with lots of challenges. I want Battletoads on VC!!!

23. Normo United Kingdom 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

24. PumpkinPieman United Kingdom 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 ..

25. Sicnic United States 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.

26. Pazzled Canada 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.

27. Jadelouise United Kingdom 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.

28. Mark United States 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!

29. Emma United Kingdom 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 Netherlands 23 Mar 2007, 07:55 GMT

i actually bought this for the miggy, i feel ashamed now

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31. michinmuri United States 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.

32. Jon United States 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.

33. Eric Italy 02 Apr 2007, 17:54 GMT

It's funny that their original review says the difficulty is easy/med.. lol.

34. jayj United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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*

36. Eric42 United States 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.

37. Jeff United States 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.

38. tj Australia 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

39. Bazoon Israel 06 Apr 2007, 15:33 GMT

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40. Dazza United Kingdom 06 Apr 2007, 17:37 GMT

So it's not just us that doesn't like it much then! :-)

41. Kevin United States 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.

42. Jadelouise United Kingdom 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.

43. BJ United States 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".

44. Hadrian United Kingdom 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.

45. Argroww United Kingdom 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.

46. superfurryfox United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 29 May 2007, 23:26 GMT

Maybe you will feel even more cheapened when the NES port of the arcade game gets released.

48. Garland Russell United States 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.

49. steelington United States 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

50. Mii be you United States 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 United States 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.

52. Djack United States 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.

53. peda Austria 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!!

54. hawth Canada 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 Canada 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.!

56. Chris United States 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?

57. Dresse Denmark 29 Sep 2007, 14:28 GMT

i used to love this game back in the NES days, bu now it kinda sucks.

58. Matt United States 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 United Kingdom 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...

60. Richard Canada 01 Nov 2007, 01:35 GMT

First game I downloaded from the Wii VC and also the first one I deleted.

61. Lone Sweden 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 United Kingdom 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..

63. Beau United States 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 United States 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. Gonz United States 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.

66. Lwaad United States 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

67. gravitywheel United States 08 Jan 2008, 05:21 GMT

This game is so horrible. Bring on Turtles in Time!

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68. Pua Spain 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 Canada 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 Netherlands 03 Feb 2008, 08:17 GMT

What a underrated classic :s

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71. WaddleWave Puerto Rico 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 United Kingdom 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...

73. BJ United States 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.

74. BJ United States 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 Puerto Rico 20 Mar 2008, 20:17 GMT

This game is a disgrace! Good thing i don't have it! :)

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76. WaddleWave Puerto Rico 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 Netherlands 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 :p

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78. Adamant Norway 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 United States 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.

80. tbs22 United States 11 Jun 2008, 21:19 GMT

This game deserves at least a 3 out of 5. There are a lot of frustrating parts in the game, but if you know how to get past them it's not as bad. Plus they give you free pizza on every level and the game has great music. It's a must download for any player regardless of their playing ability.

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81. Gonz United States 12 Jun 2008, 16:31 GMT

I loved it when I was younger. The underwater mine level was crazy hard, and the overworld portion that followed that level would often kill me off when I was lucky enough to plant the mines in time. My friends and I still share horror stories about some of the levels in this game.

I think I may have been a better gamer when I was younger than I am now, because I can see no way I'd be able to get as far in this game as I did then.

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82. yoshisegg United Kingdom 13 Jun 2008, 18:23 GMT

I wanna get it, but im just gona wait and hope that the bring out 'Turtles in Time' for the SNES.

83. BJ United States 20 Jun 2008, 14:46 GMT

Ninja Turtles 2 has been taken out of the VC coming soon line-up! Man, now we're stuck with this piece of trash!

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84. Mr. Cheez United States 08 Jul 2008, 03:07 GMT

I remember the AVGN's review on this game. Funny stuff.

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85. Mike United States 10 Jul 2008, 17:58 GMT

I'd give it four out of five stars. The game is very difficult and the game itself isn't perfect, but I like the game. It's funny about how many people complain that this game is so tough. This was how many games were back in the NES era. Mega Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, even Super Mario Bros. were harder than most games made today. I'm wondering if all of the people complaining of the difficulty are 15 year olds.

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