Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are a group of four anthropomorphic turtle brothers, who, as one might infer from the name, are also teenagers, mutants and ninja. The Turtles are each named after a famous Renaissance artist: Leonardo (Leonardo da Vinci), Raphael (Raffaello Santi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), and Donatello (Donatello). The TMNT live in the sewers of New York City.

Video games

Not only did the Ninja Turtles have a successful toy line, cartoon series, and movies, but they also starred in many video games. Japanese video game manufacturer Konami was largely responsible for them.

Related Topics:
Video games - Konami

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The older TMNT games are based on the old 1987 TMNT cartoon show, while the modern TMNT games are based on the new 2003 TMNT cartoon show.

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1980–1990s

The first Famicom/NES TMNT game was the side-scroller Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (retitled 激亀忍者伝 Gekikame Ninja Den in Japan, which loosely translates to "Fierce Legend of the Ninja Turtles", affecting the numbering of its two Famicom sequels), released in 1989. It was unique in that at any point, the player could switch from one turtle to the next; each Turtle used his unique weapon (Donatello's bo, Michelangelo's nunchaku, Leonardo's katanas as well as Raphael's sai). The game was also unique in that the player starts off in a strategic map where the player may explore sewer holes as well as engage patrolling enemy foot soldiers before entering any in-game portals or entry points of their choice. There are also several 'objectives' which must be completed before completing any of the 5 available levels, such as rescuing April in the first level. During the course of the missions, the player also gets to collect several useful expendable weapons such as the use of boomerangs as well as shurikens. As with the custom of most video games of the era, there is inevitably a 'boss' character at the end of every level. The game, however, is only for single-player. The game scenarios involve diving into the Hudson River, securing a warehouse and descent into an active volcano and more.

Related Topics:
NES - Side-scroller - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1989 - Boomerang - Hudson River - Volcano

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Released also in 1989 and popular in the arcades during the 1990s was the first TMNT arcade game, also titled simply Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a side-scrolling "beat-em-up." It was successful enough to be followed by an arcade sequel known as ' in 1991, which later appeared on the Super Nintendo.

Related Topics:
1989 - 1990s - TMNT arcade game - Beat-em-up - 1991 - Super Nintendo

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The second NES TMNT game, known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, released in 1990, is an adaptation of the original arcade game, with two additional levels and some graphics changed to advertise Pizza Hut. It was featured in Nintendo Power Volume #21.

Related Topics:
1990 - Pizza Hut - Nintendo Power

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The third NES TMNT game was called ' and was released in 1991. It was featured on the cover of Nintendo Power Volume #32. This game has the distinction of being the first to introduce unique special moves to each turtle (e.g. Raphael leaping into the air and spinning, with the sound of a jackhammer, known as the Turtle Drill).

Related Topics:
1991 - Nintendo Power

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The turtles' first Super NES and Sega Genesis game was ', which was a home port of the arcade game Turtles in Time. There were minor alternations made to the game (some enemies could be defeated in a single hit on the SNES version). After some levels of regular gameplay, the turtles are warped to a prehistoric time, then several other time periods until they reach the future, where they battle first Krang, and then The Shredder for The Statue Of Liberty.

Related Topics:
Super NES - Sega Genesis

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When the Ninja Turtles' popularity began to decrease by the mid-nineties, the video games changed direction. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters was issued on the NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis. Each version had major differences in plot, gameplay, graphics and characters, but the basic concept was the same in each: a one-on-one fighting game similar to the Street Fighter series.

Related Topics:
NES - Super NES - Sega Genesis - Street Fighter

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Several games were made for the Famicom/NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Famicom/Super NES, and others.

Related Topics:
Famicom - NES - Game Boy - Mega Drive - Genesis - Super Famicom - Super NES

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2003 - Present

Konami was recently commissioned to transform the current 2003 series into a video game franchise, resulting in two games (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus), with versions for the PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. Most of these games have been panned by critics as being uninspired and not living up to the legacy of the NES and SNES games. Some theorize the poor reviews may have more to do with the games being based on the 2003 series instead of the 1987 series, the latter of which the current generation of gaming journalists quite probably grew up watching. For this reason, the 2003 series has also endured unfavorable criticisms from fans of the 1987 series. Game Boy Advance versions of both games were also released, although they diverge from the other versions due to the Game Boy Advance's limited hardware.

Related Topics:
PC - Sony PlayStation 2 - Nintendo GameCube - Microsoft Xbox - Game Boy Advance

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A third game in the new series is planned titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare is scheduled to be released in the future, along with a party game spin-off titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Melee.

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