This game brings back many fond childhood memories for me. I remember wasting many summer afternoons beating this game over and over again on the NES. Of course, every kid knew the cheat code for 10 Rests and level selection (B, A, B, A, Up, Down, B, A, Left, Right, B, A, Start). The concept of the game is exactly what a TMNT videogame should be, a side scrolling beat ‘em up with constant action. Oh…and of course, you have to save April because she’s been kidnapped by Shredder…again.
The graphics of this game are pretty good for an NES game. The backgrounds and environments are not only visually appealing, but they also interact with the game play quite often. Mousers with gnaw through brick walls to attack you in the sewer, Foot soldiers will jump out of sewers and throw manhole covers at you (which leaves open manholes for your turtle to fall through), robotic snowmen will come to life and try to blow you up with missiles, and you can’t forget that there will be an occasional car that attempts to run you over on multiple levels.
The boss battles, however, do leave something to be desired. While there is some varieties to each boss as far as their
attacks go; it seems that the most effective way to defeat every single boss is with the good old flying jump kick approach. While that will get you hurt occasionally, it pretty much is the only option you have.
That being said, the controls in the game are extremely good, especially with the flying jump kick (trust me, you will live and die by this move). Only complaint: sometimes it is difficult to execute your turtle’s special move, which is done by pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously. That is only a minor headache, however, and other than that the controls are practically flawless.
As far as the sound goes, Konami did an excellent job making TMNT 2: The Arcade Game sound like a ninja turtle game. While there is really nothing spectacular to note, the ever-present Ninja Turtles theme song serves its purpose and satisfies the TMNT fan.
The main complaint that most people have about this game is repetition. While Konami did make quite an effort trying to keep the game fresh (especially with the environments), there really is only so much side-scrolling beat ‘em up that a man (or woman) can take in a day. However, if you get a group of friends together to play this game and trade off, it could be the hit of the party…seriously.
