Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES game)
Encyclopedia
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, and in Japan, is a 1989
platform game
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
. The game was developed by Konami
and originally released in Japan through Konami themselves, then in North America
through Konami's Ultra Games
imprint, followed by a release through the European equivalent, Palcom Software, in PAL region
s.
This was the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game, and is based on the 1987 TV series
, which was in its third season at the time of the game's original release, although the art style more resembles the original comic series. The game was ported
to various home computer
platforms in 1990; the original NES version was ported to Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade system in 1991, and the Wii
's Virtual Console
service in 2007.
. Enemies can attack the player while exploring in the overhead view; Foot Soldiers, Roller Cars (effectively steam rollers), and in later missions, even aircraft can assault the player. However, the Turtle can strike back with his weapon or, in Mission 3, either missiles or cannon fire from the Party Wagon. Once inside a sewer or a building, the player encounters enemy characters such as Fire Freaks (beings of living fire), additional Foot Soldiers (who jump, kick, and throw shurikens), and Mousers. The player can also acquire weapons and special items, and collect pizza
to restore health. A screen accessed with the Start button shows a summary of each Turtle's health and whatever special weapon he has picked up, a map grid of the current area (not available inside Mission 6, the Technodrome), and messages from either Splinter or April O'Neil. A Turtle who runs out of health, falls into a fatal trap such as a fire pit, or is run over by a Roller Car, is not actually killed; instead, he is captured by the enemy, losing whatever special items he had acquired. Captured Turtles can be rescued starting in Mission 3, though only one Turtle can be freed per level.
In the second half of Mission 2, the Turtles dive into the Hudson River to find and disarm a total of eight time bombs that have been planted at a dam. In this level, the Turtles must navigate a number of traps, such as electrical currents and electrified seaweed, with a time limit of two minutes and twenty seconds to find and disarm all of them. Should the player fail to find all bombs within the time limit, the game immediately ends.
The stages for the game are as follows, according to the game's instruction manual:
Mission 1: Fifth Avenue/Greenwich Village: The goal is to rescue April O'Neil, who has been kidnapped and is held hostage by Bebop (a mini-boss in one of the sewers) and Rocksteady (the level's final boss).
Mission 2: Hudson River near the Holland Tunnel: After fighting through multiple levels of enemies, the Turtles dive into the river from atop the dam to try and disarm all the explosives before the dam can be blown up.
Mission 3: Wall Street: The Turtles find that their lair has been trashed and Splinter kidnapped. In this mission, the goal is to navigate the streets of New York, using the Party Wagon for transportation, ultimately defeating Mechaturtle and freeing Splinter.
Mission 4: JFK International Airport: Shredder escapes in a helicopter at the end of Mission 3. The goal of Mission 4 is to find the Turtle Blimp to follow him to his secret base somewhere in the city. A Big Mouser capable of firing eye beams and dropping smaller Mousers guards the blimp.
Mission 5: Shredder's Base inside the South Bronx: The Turtles sneak into this base at night, and the compound is patrolled by overhead Searchlight Mechanisms that will dispatch Foot Soldiers to ground level if a Turtle is spotted by one of the beams. The goal here is to locate the Technodrome somewhere underground; in fact, the Technodrome itself is the level's guardian.
Mission 6: The Technodrome: After disabling the Technodrome itself, the Turtles invade to finally track down and put an end to Shredder's operations. Shredder himself confronts the Turtles at the end, possessing a ray gun that can reverse mutations.
A number of items can be picked up during the quest, including shurikens (throwing stars), triple shurikens (allows the launch of three shurikens simultaneously in a spreading pattern), boomerangs, and the "Kiai", a scroll that expands into a crescent-shaped beam and inflicts devastating damage on even boss characters. These items are occasionally dropped by enemies. Other items, none of which are dropped by enemies and can only be found lying around in buildings or sewers, include "Anti-Foot Clan Missiles" for the Party Wagon in Mission 3; ropes for crossing wide gaps between buildings; and Mr. Invincibility, a turtle-head icon that supercharges a Turtle for several seconds, making him impervious to attack and able to instantly kill any enemy with a single hit. There are also three kinds of pizza that can be retrieved: a single slice of pizza restores 25% health (two life boxes); a half pizza restores 50% health (four life boxes); and a whole pizza restores the Turtle's entire life gauge. The Turtles can attack either with their standard ninja weapons while jumping, walking, or crouching, or use one of the alternate weapons that he has picked up along the way by pressing the Select button to choose one. The aforementioned ropes are used automatically from buildings with the appropriate pipes for making the connection.
platforms in 1990, including the Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
and Amiga
. The MS-DOS
version is infamous, as it contains a gap that is impossible to cross without cheating.
It was also released in 2007 on the Wii
's Virtual Console
. It was released for the Wii in Europe and Australia for 500 points. In North America, it was released for Wii on April 2, 2007 for the price of 600 points—100 points more than the average NES game—due to a licensing issue. The game's price in Europe and Australia was later raised to 600 Wii Points. This is the very first licensed game to appear on the North American and European Virtual Console.
version sold extremely well during its release, selling roughly 4 million copies. It is one of the all-time best-selling NES games not made by Nintendo
. Various computer conversions were rushed out in time for that year's Christmas season, but did not fare nearly as well, commercially or critically. The game received criticism for it's difficult gameplay.
The game received Nintendo Power's 1989 Game of the Year
award. However, Nintendo Life's review on the game was not positive, earning only a 3/10.
In 1990, Konami
released an arcade game
, also called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
. In 1990, it was ported to the NES as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, as a follow-up to the original NES game, even though it wasn't a "true" sequel (in terms of gameplay). Instead, the second game had stronger ties to the TV series (including using the cartoon's art style), more straightforward beat 'em up
gameplay, and support for 4-player simultaneous play (2 players for the NES version). This new style became the standard for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games for the next few years.
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The game was developed by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
and originally released in Japan through Konami themselves, then in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
through Konami's Ultra Games
Ultra Games
Ultra Software Corporation was a spinoff company created in 1988 as a subsidiary of Konami of America, in an effort to get around Nintendo of America's strict licensing rules for the North American Konami release games for Nintendo consoles. One of these rules was that a third-party company could...
imprint, followed by a release through the European equivalent, Palcom Software, in PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
s.
This was the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game, and is based on the 1987 TV series
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. The pilot was shown during the week of December 28, 1987 in syndication as a five part miniseries and began its official run on October 1, 1988...
, which was in its third season at the time of the game's original release, although the art style more resembles the original comic series. The game was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to various home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
platforms in 1990; the original NES version was ported to Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade system in 1991, and the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in 2007.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles begins with an overhead view used for navigating around the mission map, switching to a side view whenever the Turtle being controlled enters a manhole or a building, similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
. Enemies can attack the player while exploring in the overhead view; Foot Soldiers, Roller Cars (effectively steam rollers), and in later missions, even aircraft can assault the player. However, the Turtle can strike back with his weapon or, in Mission 3, either missiles or cannon fire from the Party Wagon. Once inside a sewer or a building, the player encounters enemy characters such as Fire Freaks (beings of living fire), additional Foot Soldiers (who jump, kick, and throw shurikens), and Mousers. The player can also acquire weapons and special items, and collect pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
to restore health. A screen accessed with the Start button shows a summary of each Turtle's health and whatever special weapon he has picked up, a map grid of the current area (not available inside Mission 6, the Technodrome), and messages from either Splinter or April O'Neil. A Turtle who runs out of health, falls into a fatal trap such as a fire pit, or is run over by a Roller Car, is not actually killed; instead, he is captured by the enemy, losing whatever special items he had acquired. Captured Turtles can be rescued starting in Mission 3, though only one Turtle can be freed per level.
In the second half of Mission 2, the Turtles dive into the Hudson River to find and disarm a total of eight time bombs that have been planted at a dam. In this level, the Turtles must navigate a number of traps, such as electrical currents and electrified seaweed, with a time limit of two minutes and twenty seconds to find and disarm all of them. Should the player fail to find all bombs within the time limit, the game immediately ends.
The stages for the game are as follows, according to the game's instruction manual:
Mission 1: Fifth Avenue/Greenwich Village: The goal is to rescue April O'Neil, who has been kidnapped and is held hostage by Bebop (a mini-boss in one of the sewers) and Rocksteady (the level's final boss).
Mission 2: Hudson River near the Holland Tunnel: After fighting through multiple levels of enemies, the Turtles dive into the river from atop the dam to try and disarm all the explosives before the dam can be blown up.
Mission 3: Wall Street: The Turtles find that their lair has been trashed and Splinter kidnapped. In this mission, the goal is to navigate the streets of New York, using the Party Wagon for transportation, ultimately defeating Mechaturtle and freeing Splinter.
Mission 4: JFK International Airport: Shredder escapes in a helicopter at the end of Mission 3. The goal of Mission 4 is to find the Turtle Blimp to follow him to his secret base somewhere in the city. A Big Mouser capable of firing eye beams and dropping smaller Mousers guards the blimp.
Mission 5: Shredder's Base inside the South Bronx: The Turtles sneak into this base at night, and the compound is patrolled by overhead Searchlight Mechanisms that will dispatch Foot Soldiers to ground level if a Turtle is spotted by one of the beams. The goal here is to locate the Technodrome somewhere underground; in fact, the Technodrome itself is the level's guardian.
Mission 6: The Technodrome: After disabling the Technodrome itself, the Turtles invade to finally track down and put an end to Shredder's operations. Shredder himself confronts the Turtles at the end, possessing a ray gun that can reverse mutations.
A number of items can be picked up during the quest, including shurikens (throwing stars), triple shurikens (allows the launch of three shurikens simultaneously in a spreading pattern), boomerangs, and the "Kiai", a scroll that expands into a crescent-shaped beam and inflicts devastating damage on even boss characters. These items are occasionally dropped by enemies. Other items, none of which are dropped by enemies and can only be found lying around in buildings or sewers, include "Anti-Foot Clan Missiles" for the Party Wagon in Mission 3; ropes for crossing wide gaps between buildings; and Mr. Invincibility, a turtle-head icon that supercharges a Turtle for several seconds, making him impervious to attack and able to instantly kill any enemy with a single hit. There are also three kinds of pizza that can be retrieved: a single slice of pizza restores 25% health (two life boxes); a half pizza restores 50% health (four life boxes); and a whole pizza restores the Turtle's entire life gauge. The Turtles can attack either with their standard ninja weapons while jumping, walking, or crouching, or use one of the alternate weapons that he has picked up along the way by pressing the Select button to choose one. The aforementioned ropes are used automatically from buildings with the appropriate pipes for making the connection.
Releases
The game was ported to various home computerHome computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
platforms in 1990, including the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
. The MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
version is infamous, as it contains a gap that is impossible to cross without cheating.
It was also released in 2007 on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
. It was released for the Wii in Europe and Australia for 500 points. In North America, it was released for Wii on April 2, 2007 for the price of 600 points—100 points more than the average NES game—due to a licensing issue. The game's price in Europe and Australia was later raised to 600 Wii Points. This is the very first licensed game to appear on the North American and European Virtual Console.
Reception and follow-up
The original NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version sold extremely well during its release, selling roughly 4 million copies. It is one of the all-time best-selling NES games not made by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. Various computer conversions were rushed out in time for that year's Christmas season, but did not fare nearly as well, commercially or critically. The game received criticism for it's difficult gameplay.
The game received Nintendo Power's 1989 Game of the Year
Game of the Year
Game of the Year is a title awarded by various magazines, websites, and shows to a deserving game. Many are only for PC or console video games...
award. However, Nintendo Life's review on the game was not positive, earning only a 3/10.
In 1990, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
released an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, also called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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...
. In 1990, it was ported to the NES as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, as a follow-up to the original NES game, even though it wasn't a "true" sequel (in terms of gameplay). Instead, the second game had stronger ties to the TV series (including using the cartoon's art style), more straightforward 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...
gameplay, and support for 4-player simultaneous play (2 players for the NES version). This new style became the standard for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games for the next few years.
External links
(NES version)- Complete Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video on archive.org