| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Arcade flyer | |
| Developers | Konami Probe Software (Amiga) |
| Publishers | Konami
|
| Directors | Hideki Ohyama K. Takabayashi (Arcade) H. Toyoda (NES) |
| Producer | Masahiro Inoue |
| Programmers | Gen Suzuki Sadaki Matsumoto (Arcade) Kouki Yamashita Yūji Shibata (NES) |
| Artists | M. Moriyama K. Hattori Yuji Asano Kouki Yamashita (Arcade) Junko Maruo Masaaki Kishimoto (NES) |
| Composers | Mutsuhiko Izumi Miki Higashino (Arcade) Kozo Nakamura (NES) |
| Series | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
| Platforms | Arcade,NES,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,Commodore 64,MS-DOS,ZX Spectrum,Xbox 360 |
| Release | |
| Genre | Beat 'em up |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
| Arcade system | PlayChoice-10 |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released in Japan asTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Kame Ninja[a] and in Europe asTeenage Mutant Hero Turtles, is a 1989beat 'em up game developed and published byKonami forarcades.[9] It is based on theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, including the firstanimated series that began airing two years earlier. In the game, up to four players control the titular Ninja Turtles, fighting through various levels to defeat the turtles' enemies, includingthe Shredder,Krang and theFoot Clan. Released during a high point in popularity for theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, the arcade game was a worldwide hit, becoming the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990 in the United States and Konami's highest-grossing arcade game. Versions for various home systems soon followed, including theNintendo Entertainment System (under the titleTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game).[10] A sequel,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, was released in 1991.
The player chooses from one of the four Ninja Turtles:Leonardo,Michelangelo,Donatello, andRaphael. Depending on the version of the game, the characters are either chosen via an in-game select screen or based on which coin slot the player placed their credit into. AfterShredder kidnaps the Turtles' friendApril O'Neil and their mentorSplinter, they must give chase, save their comrades, and defeat the evil Shredder. Up to four players (two in some versions) can take control of any of the Turtles. Donatello has slower attacks but a longer range, Michelangelo and Raphael have faster attacks but a shorter range, and Leonardo is a well-rounded Turtle with average range and speed.
The eight-way joystick controls the movements of the Turtle, the jump button makes them jump and the attack button makes them hit in front of them using their weapon. The Turtles can also perform special moves, including throwing Foot soldiers overhead and performing a special attack by pressing the jump and attack buttons; Raphael rolls along the ground and finishes with a kick, while the other Turtles do a sweeping jump attack with their weapons. The Turtles can also spring off the wall in certain areas. Enemies can be defeated more quickly by slamming them into walls or solid objects. Many objects such as traffic cones, parking meters, fire hydrants and exploding oil drums can be hit or damaged with attacks in order to help defeat nearby enemies. In theattract mode, the game shows the first part of the cartoon opening, along with a portion of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song.
Most of the enemies the Turtles face are theFoot Soldiers, all color-coded to indicate their attack patterns and weapons of choice. Some enemies, such as the standard purple-clad Foot Soldiers and Roadkill Rodney robots, have the ability to restrain the Turtles' mobility and drain their health, leaving only the player open to attack for other enemies. The bosses in the game includeRocksteady and Bebop (individually at first in that order, and later the two of them together),Baxter Stockman (in his human form), Granitor, General Traag,Krang, and Shredder himself.
InTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, the Arcade version ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has six enhancements.
Konami acquired the license for theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise around the same time theanimated series began airing in 1987. Konami began development on both an arcade game and console game shortly after.[8][11]
The arcade game was distributed asTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Kame Ninja in Japan,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in North America, Oceania and continental Europe, andTeenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the United Kingdom. The game was released primarily as a dedicated four-playerarcade cabinet in all regions except Japan, where it was sold as a 2-player conversion kit. 2-player conversion kits of the game were released in other regions, serving as less expensive alternatives to 4-player cabinets.
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The game wasported to theNintendo Entertainment System in 1990. This conversion was titledTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game in order to avoid confusion with theprevious NES game based on the franchise.[12] The Japanese Famicom version was titledTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, without a number nor a subtitle, due to the fact that the first NES game was localized in Japan under a different title.
This version includes two new levels (the first part of Scene 3 and all of Scene 6), which feature new enemy characters, including two new bosses created specifically for the NES port: Tora (a Polar Bear-like "blizzard beast") and Shogun (a robotic samurai). Most of the original stages from the arcade version were extended as well, and the second half of Scene 3, the parking garage stage, replaces the arcade version's end battle with bothBebop and Rocksteady with a battle against the mutated fly form ofBaxter Stockman. The NES port appeared inNintendo'sPlayChoice-10 arcade system.
The NES version featured notableproduct placement advertising:Pizza Hut logos. The rear cover of the instruction manual provided a coupon for the restaurant, with an expiration date of December 31, 1991.[13]
Computer ports of the arcade game were released byImage Works and ported byProbe Software in 1991 for theZX Spectrum,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,DOS PC andCommodore 64. The title was changed toTeenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Coin Op in the European versions, reflectingcensorship of the 1987 TV series in certain regions at the time.
Anemulated version of the arcade game is included as a hidden bonus game inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus for thePlayStation 2,Xbox, andGameCube, but with altered music and most of the voice clips edited out. The game is unlocked by finding an antique in Stage 9-1; the antique turns out to be the original arcade machine.[14]
AnXbox 360 version of the game was released viaXbox Live Arcade under the nameTMNT 1989 Classic Arcade on March 14, 2007, published byUbisoft under license from Konami and ported byDigital Eclipse.[15] The game was priced at 400 Microsoft Points.[15] Like other classic arcade games on theXbox 360 platform, portions of the original arcade game were emulated with network code and other new features added. Players could earn achievements as well as play 2-4 player co-op (both online and offline). Unlike the unlockable inBattle Nexus, this rerelease retains the music and voices of the 1989 arcade game.
In 2019, the game was re-released as a replicaarcade cabinet for home use by manufacturerArcade1Up.[16] The reissue is nearly identical to the original, but there are a few changes: the opening theme is a new recording by a different singer, players do not need to insert quarters to play, and Konami's name on the arcade marquee is replaced byNickelodeon's.[16]
The arcade and NES versions of the game were re-released as part ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection in 2022.[17]
The arcade game was a blockbuster hit, especially in North America.[3][18][19] Konami was unable to keep up with high demand and outsourced additional US manufacturing production toDynamo Corp.[8] The release of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in March 1990 gave the arcade game a further boost in earnings.[6] By early April 1990, Konami had sold over 20,000 arcade cabinets internationally outside of Japan, including over 14,000 cabinets sold in the United States, where it became the biggest arcade hit sinceDouble Dragon (1987).[6] By early May 1990, the game had sold 25,000 arcade cabinets in North America and Europe, with more units still in production to meet continued demand at the time.[20][21]
In North America,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the highest-grossing upright cabinet on theRePlay arcade charts from January[22][23] through spring,[24][25][26] summer[27][28][29] and autumn[30][31] to December 1990.[32][33] During November and December, weekly coin drop earnings averaged $163 per cabinet.[34] It ended the year as the highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1990 in the United States,[35] and it won a Diamond award from the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) for sales achievement in 1990.[36]
The game was also a major hit in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom,[1] where it was one of the top four highest-grossing arcade games during early 1990 (along withTecmo World Cup '90,Super Masters, andLine of Fire).[37] On Hong Kong's Bondeal charts,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the top-grossing dedicated arcade game from December 1989[5] to January 1990.[38][39] In Australia, the game was a record-breaking arcade hit in 1990 with high earnings during its first six months on the market, which was unusual for licensed arcade games which typically disappeared after several months.[40] In Japan,Game Machine listedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the fourth most popular arcade game of August 1990.[41]
TheXbox Live Arcade digital version ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sold 984,271 units on theXbox 360 console, as of 2011[update].[42]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Famitsu | 7/10, 9/10, 6/10, 5/10 (Famicom)[43] |
| GamePro | 23/25 (NES)[44] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Sinclair User | Gold[45] |
Zzap! reported on the arcade game after it appeared at theAmusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI), calling it a "great coin-op which is best in four player mode."[46]
In the Japanese gaming magazineFamitsu found the home console version was highly appealing in terms of graphics such how enemies leap out of hidden spots. While one reviewer found the turtles unappealing, another found them drawn especially cute in this game. One of the reviewers called it the best of the recentFamicom games, while one said the gameplay was monotonous and another said the game would appeal to fans of this style of action game.[43]
British gaming magazineThe One reviewed the home computer versions (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles under the British title,Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, giving credit for the game's graphics and sound, but criticizing the enemy AI and the ports' scrolling, concluding that the game "lacks depth and imagination".[47]
Time's Jared Newman named to his list of "14 Important Arcade Games Not Available for iPhone or iPad", citing the game's pioneering 4-player simultaneous play.[48]
GamesRadar ranked it the 25th best NES game made. The staff attributed the Ninja Turtles' continued success to the game and praised its visuals, audio, and combat system.[49]
