Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Encyclopedia
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, released in Europe
as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist and in Japan
as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return of the Shredder is a side-scrolling
beat 'em up
based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(TMNT) franchise, and was also the first TMNT game released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
.
is reporting from Ellis Island
when, in a sudden flash of light, her audience and herself witness Manhattan Island suddenly starting to shrink. Shredder
then hijacks the airwaves and announces to the world that this was only a demonstration of the power of the Hyperstone, the treasure of Dimension X. With the Hyperstone in his possession, he now has the power to take over the world. The Turtles have no choice but to go after Shredder and stop him.
, which was also released for the Super NES
during the same year. The controls are similar to Turtles in Time, but the ability to dash is now assigned to a specific button and the player can no longer throw enemies towards the screen.
There are a total of five stages ("New York City", "A Mysterious Ghost Ship", "Shredder's Hideout", "The Gauntlet", and "The Final Shell Shock"), which comprise a combination of new levels created specifically for this game and ones based on levels from the first arcade game
and Turtles in Time. The bosses include Leatherhead
, Rocksteady (having an attack pattern similar to the one that he had in the first arcade game), Tatsu (Shredder's right-hand man from the first two live-action films, who also appeared in TMNT: Manhattan Missions), Baxter Stockman
(in his human form like in the first arcade game), Krang
and Super Shredder. The Hyperstone Heist is notable for being the only game to feature Rocksteady as an enemy character without his partner Bebop.
When compared to Turtles in Time, The Hyperstone Heist features fewer but longer levels, has less special effects, louder and somewhat raspy digitized voices and loud sound effects. Thanks to the superior color palette
of the SNES, Turtles in Time looks brighter and more colorful and uses special zooming effects in some areas and with some moves, but the Genesis includes more background layers, faster and clearer animation frames and overall faster gameplay. Both games share nearly the same soundtrack and sound effects, but the songs play faster in The Hyperstone Heist.
Though there are fewer than half the levels in the Genesis game compared to the SNES game, each level is longer. Furthermore, The Hyperstone Heist is arguably more difficult, thanks to a more aggressive enemy AI
and faster-moving characters.
Screwattack
named it the 19th best Genesis game ever in their top 20 list, although they dismissed it as a direct clone of Turtles in Time, which they consider to be the best beat'em up ever.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist and in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return of the Shredder is a side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
(TMNT) franchise, and was also the first TMNT game released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
.
Plot
April O'NeilApril O'Neil
April O'Neil is a fictional character in the Mirage Studios franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In each of the many TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo.-Comics:...
is reporting from Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
when, in a sudden flash of light, her audience and herself witness Manhattan Island suddenly starting to shrink. Shredder
Shredder (TMNT)
The Shredder is a fictional character and primary antagonist from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. At one point or another in every incarnation of the TMNT stories, he has been the archenemy of Splinter and the Turtles...
then hijacks the airwaves and announces to the world that this was only a demonstration of the power of the Hyperstone, the treasure of Dimension X. With the Hyperstone in his possession, he now has the power to take over the world. The Turtles have no choice but to go after Shredder and stop him.
Gameplay
The gameplay of The Hyperstone Heist is heavily based on the second Ninja Turtles arcade game, Turtles in TimeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles in Time in Europe, is an arcade video game produced by Konami. A sequel to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, it is a scrolling beat 'em up based mainly on the 1987 TMNT animated...
, which was also released for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
during the same year. The controls are similar to Turtles in Time, but the ability to dash is now assigned to a specific button and the player can no longer throw enemies towards the screen.
There are a total of five stages ("New York City", "A Mysterious Ghost Ship", "Shredder's Hideout", "The Gauntlet", and "The Final Shell Shock"), which comprise a combination of new levels created specifically for this game and ones based on levels from the first arcade game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Kame Ninja in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released by Konami as a coin-operated video game in...
and Turtles in Time. The bosses include Leatherhead
Leatherhead (TMNT)
Leatherhead is a fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. He was created in 1987 by Mirage Studios artist Ryan Brown, who also went on to create the Saturday morning cartoon series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa for the ABC television network...
, Rocksteady (having an attack pattern similar to the one that he had in the first arcade game), Tatsu (Shredder's right-hand man from the first two live-action films, who also appeared in TMNT: Manhattan Missions), Baxter Stockman
Baxter Stockman
Dr. Baxter Stockman is a fictional scientist who has appeared in several versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, videogames, and comics. In each version, he is depicted as the creator of the Mousers, machines meant to seek out and destroy sewer rats...
(in his human form like in the first arcade game), Krang
Krang
Krang is a fictional supervillain who appears in the Sonic The Hedgehog TV shows and most frequently in the 1987 STH cartoon and its associated media, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book and most of the classic TMNT video games....
and Super Shredder. The Hyperstone Heist is notable for being the only game to feature Rocksteady as an enemy character without his partner Bebop.
Critical response
By itself, The Hyperstone Heist is considered a good adaptation of the TMNT show into game form.When compared to Turtles in Time, The Hyperstone Heist features fewer but longer levels, has less special effects, louder and somewhat raspy digitized voices and loud sound effects. Thanks to the superior color palette
Palette (computing)
In computer graphics, a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images , or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors .Depending on the context In computer graphics, a palette is either a given,...
of the SNES, Turtles in Time looks brighter and more colorful and uses special zooming effects in some areas and with some moves, but the Genesis includes more background layers, faster and clearer animation frames and overall faster gameplay. Both games share nearly the same soundtrack and sound effects, but the songs play faster in The Hyperstone Heist.
Though there are fewer than half the levels in the Genesis game compared to the SNES game, each level is longer. Furthermore, The Hyperstone Heist is arguably more difficult, thanks to a more aggressive enemy AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
and faster-moving characters.
Screwattack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
named it the 19th best Genesis game ever in their top 20 list, although they dismissed it as a direct clone of Turtles in Time, which they consider to be the best beat'em up ever.
External links
- GameFAQ — Game strategies and walkthroughs.
- IGN — Game information, professional and amateur reviews.
- Game Pilgrimage — Comparison with the SNES version of Turtles in Time.