Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game (Video Game 1989) Poster

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8/10
They just don't make games like this anymore
DanielJosLeary30 July 2001
This is simply one of the most important arcade games of my youth. Aside from being based on the greatest pop phenomena of the time, the game was incredibly well designed. Similar arcade games like The Simpsons and The X-Men, were equally as addicting, but Ninja Turtles took the cake. The game was adapted to the NES home system, but the transition didn't work well. Aside from the poor 8-bit graphics compared to the arcade's original 16+, many of the games hidden treasures like smackable scenery, background jokes, and between stage animations were cut. No wonder extra stages and Pizza Hut ads were placed in the game to poorly compensate. If you are to play this game your better to find the arcade itself. In the days of NES, Super Nintendo and Genesis, Konami was simply a master maker of great games. But they fail big time with the over rated 3D revolution. They just don't make games like this anymore. No one does.
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7/10
Fun game
gangstahippie11 August 2006
Rated E(Contains Violence)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the games I played on NES.Its an old game but it is also a fun game as well.Its basically a ninja fighting game for the NES.Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon(which spawned three live action movies and another cartoon).

I don't really remember the game that much.You can choose between all the Ninja Turtles and you fight thugs and try to save new york.Teenange Mutant Ninja Turtles is a pretty fun NES game and its worth a try if you are a fan of the ninja turtles.

7/10
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8/10
Great and fun no-brainer for the NES
Field788 June 2018
Compared to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, its sort-of predecessor, this game is (sometimes literally) a walk in the park. This being originally an arcade game ported to the NES, the gameplay is much simpler and more straightforward. The goal is to simply walk to the right in side-scrolling levels, defeating everything that Shredder, Krang and the Footclan throw at you before you can proceed. Footsoldiers, small robots, wild animals, helicopters, you name it.

Actually, the simplicity of this game was a welcome change of pace after the much more complex (not to mention frustrating) first NES game, which featured maze-like stages, impossibly tough enemies, and one-hit-kill situations. You will find none of that here. Gameplay is purposely easy, just beat up everything that gets in your way over the course of ten widely varying areas. Every now and then you get to use a fire hydrant cap, manhole cover or parking meter to hit the baddies with, and there is one very cool level where you fight from a skateboard, but that's about all the variation in gameplay there is. This game was clearly made for mindless beating rather than strategy, but fortunately it worked.

In the beginning of the game, you can pick your Turtle to fight with, but theya re quite interchangeable, since their attacks have more or less the same effect (Leo and Donatello have a better range, though). Your attacks are somewhat limited anyway, to normal attacks, jump kicks and special attacks. Mastering the latter two is basically key to finishing the game. You get to use them on a significant horde of enemies, quite varied and some more tricky than others, so never a dull moment. But the real challenge lies in the boss fights. Several of these bosses are old acquaintances of the animated TV show, which makes battling them extra fun, and some of them, like Shredder and Krang, really put up a good fight.

People complained about this game looking significantly less good on the NES as compared to the arcade version. Yeah, what'd you expect? It didn't bother me, because it still looked much better graphically than the previous game. There was always good level music to enjoy, and the NES version had some extended and additional levels, so I'm not complaining.

This game offered a nice alternative to all the Legend of Zeldas and Castlevanias of the time that were more immersive, but also more headache-inducing. Nothing wrong with a little button-bashing every once in a while. Especially not when it envolves our four favorite green ninjas.
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10/10
An Honest Review
generationofswine9 July 2019
I think this was the arcade game version, and I think, THINK this was TMNT II: The Arcade Game for NES.

If it wasn't, then I might be reviewing the slightly lamer TMNT NES game that had nearly impossible underwater missions that were so frustrating, and in a bad way, that it made you want to give up on gaming.

This was fun, if it't the one I'm thinking about, and it was more fun in two-player mode in the way that games designed for multiple players always were.

It was your basic side scroller that was challenging enough to keep you hooked, relied ultimately on split second timing and predictive movements, had enough action to be thrilling, and was able to divert expectations to seem new for Nintendo (and not so new, but just fun for the arcade).
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9/10
One of the best arcade games I've ever played!
Catherine_Grace_Zeh14 August 2008
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, in my opinion, is one of the best arcade games I have ever played. Even though I haven't owned a Nintendo Wii for very long, I enjoy this game very much. In addition, beating the game makes me want to play it even more. When and if you can get a Nintendo Wii, this game should definitely be on your list of downloads. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that the people at Konami know how to keep video game fanatics entertained. Now, in conclusion, if you're a video game fanatic, this is definitely one you'll want to play and own. I can guarantee you that you will become hooked once you start playing.
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10/10
Half Shell Arcade Heroes
hellraiser71 October 2020
This is another one of my favorite video games of all time. Yeah, I'm a "TMNT" fan, I was when I was eight years old back in the day and I still am no. When I heard this game, I felt it was a dream come true, I always felt this franchise had potential to be an arcade game and I was correct.

This game is a beat em up which best fits and makes sense as the turtles are ninjas and fighting is one of the things they do best in life. And yeah I also played the NES port of the game which was also really fun and one of the my favorite arcade ports and games for the NES, it was actually good in it's own way as it was closely accurate to the arcade game but added a few things to stand on it's own like a snow level and other music tracks not in the arcade. The game was also one of the first in Konami's long arcade line series of licensed games and beat em ups which were both genres in gaming is specialized in at the time.

But anyway, back to the subject at hand, this game was a lot of fun and has a lot going for it.

From the graphics which were very good and still look good to this day as they looked accurate to the 1986 cartoon and you saw most of the characters you knew and loved from the good guys to the bad. I really like the amount of variety in enemies which keep the game from getting dull, and each of them have their strengths and weaknesses.

Most of them mainly consist of different kinds of foot soldiers who are all armed with different kinds of weapons depending on which color unit their from.

There are also other types of enemies like the Rock Soldiers from Dimension X who are a little tough but not unbeatable as their pretty slow, they are walking rocks after all.

But also, certain machines like those damn annoying wheeling robots from an episode of the show, you can imagine how good it felt to smash them like junk. As well as those rat catcher robots, those things I always was a little afraid of because of those sharp jaws that look painful if they ever decide to take a bite out of you.

I also like the bosses which consist of the enemies we know from the show most notably Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, etc. And others that are either made up or were from the toy line. The boss battles with them are balanced as they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I like is how lively the environment is as there are certain things that happen in the background which are sight gags which give the game it's humor.

But what I really like is how the game is formatted as each of the levels are different and slightly varied, one stage I like is when your on skateboards and kicking ass while in motion, that I thought was cool I always love the moving stages as it's just fast action coming at you and you coming at it.

The game is paced well and not too long nor short. Most importantly I really love its format contributed to the feel of the cartoon series, each level felt like a scene to one big episode of the show.

Combat is also very good each of the turtles have a combat system each to make them unique from the other. The control is tight, really like how the Turtles move which is fast and fluid, from the regular walk/speed walk and tapping the direction twice to execute a run. A run you can use to pass off a move like a forward jump kick or a power swing depending on which buttons you push while running. Even like it when you can hit certain things in the enviorment which acts as a secondary weapon for a quick take down.

I always like playing Leonardo in the games as he was believe it or not actually my favorite character in the 80's series whom I think is a bit underrated. But also, his character in the game I just thought was more balanced of the bunch and the double short/med katanas are my favorite kind of weapons in martial arts because of their fluidity.

Another I like playing is Raphael whom is a favorite character in the comic series and I even liked him in the 80's cartoon despite the fact the character in that show talks a good game but doesn't play much. Here in this game he gets to kick plenty of ass which is what he does best in the comic series. I also like the Sai weapons another kind of weapon I like as their almost a slightly elegant weapons and great on defense.

Another thing I really love about the game is the music, this game has one of the best music tracks for any video game which is why this game has some of my favorites of all time. Some are different reeditions and remixes of the 80's cartoon theme song but there are others that are different.

Like the music for scene one stage one which just electrifying with excitement, instantly gives you the jolt to kick some ass immediately. Another I love is scene three stage one which just pumps you up and in a way is sort of motivation music to make you want to move forward. Both tunes are the kinds I love to play when practicing martial arts.

This game is a timeless classic that I loved playing when I was a kid and I still love playing as an adult. Same with ever other Turtles fan from the new generation to the old generation forever young at heart.

Rating: 4 stars
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Great 4 player 'beat em up' Arcade game that started a trend.
Nic_hse30 December 2003
First of all this section is referring to the 4 player ARCADE game and not the much inferior 1 player Nintendo game. I noticed the first reviewer was commenting on the NES game. If you played the arcade game then you know that the 8 bit NES version is not the same game. Just like Double Dragon did for 2 player beat em ups and Street Fighter 2 did for fighting games, the Turtles arcade game started the 4 player beat em up trend that lasted to the mid 90's. The Simpsons, Turtles 2: Turtles in Time, and X-men are just some of the games that came off the success of this game. The voices came straight from the TV show actors. This game is still very fun and playable today if you can find it. This game is much more fun when playing with at least one other player. Not to mention easier and cheaper because you'll use less quarters. When with playing three others this game was downright addictive. Anyway check it out.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game!
Movie Nuttball7 January 2005
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is one of the most unique fighting video games! The characters, the action, and the sure thrill of excitement makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the regular Nintendo System! The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game! If you like excellent flying adventure up games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game and other Street Fighter II games check out Amazon.com!
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Cowabunga!
Angry_Arguer11 May 2003
Ok, as a kid I couldn't watch the TV show, so I was stuck playing the game...and what fun it was! It was tough, but I finally beat it! SCORE! This has almost everything you could look for in an 80s action/ninja game...cool villains, equally kick ass heroes, and much more! Break out the katanas, get rocking with that annoying soundtrack, and watch out for the bouncing balls!
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The original video game!
Movie Nuttball6 January 2005
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is one of the most unique fighting video games! The characters, the action, and the sure thrill of excitement makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the regular Nintendo System! The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game! Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! If you like excellent flying adventure up games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game and other Street Fighter II games check out Amazon.com!
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One on the best for the old NES.
vertigo_1429 July 2004
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of my favorite Nintendo games, probably topping somewhere around the top ten, hitting a little low because of the limitations on lives per character (unless you were suave enough to have the cheat codes on hand).

It had swell graphics and great music to boot. With this game, you play each of the four Ninja Turtles (Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello) and guide them through the underworld, the sewers and the waters, fighting all of Shredder's foot soldiers and other assorted goons to save April, the turtle's number one girl. You guide your turtles around, one at a time (when you're character loses all life squares, then you select another turtle until you run out--then it's GAME OVER) with the narration of the master, Splinter, who tells the Turtles what all they have to do in each stage.

It was the great game. I absolutely loved the soundtrack, though I wasn't very good at the game play. It was pure 8-bit fun. And, in the following the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Games for both NES and later, for SNES, the format changed with better graphics and a different game play function (you could play two player format) which sort of modeled something like the Battletoads or Double Dragon games. Start at a stage, complete all foot soldiers and other enemies in each section, and then move on, interspered with scattered bits of the story and the impending doom of April who is captured by that scuzzbucket, Shredder. Actually, you'll see less of Splinter in the games to follow. In fact, I think I liked the whole Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. They were really fun games (Part II: The Arcade was what I thought to be the best of the sequels).
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