So I just beat TMNT IV: Turtles In Time for the SNES. Actually,I've been playing it on emulator..but who cares.

Yep, just nursing the remnants of this bottle of sake as I trotted through the final few stages. I remember playing this a lot at the nearby arcade as a kid, but I don't think I ever got as far as the first Shredder fight.
I've noticed how relevant this title has become lately due to the "Reshelled" remake for XBLA and in the near future, PSN..but that title seems to have earned very little praise. A shiny coat of paint? I'll pass, and indulge upon the original..for the price of FREE!

Nothing too innovative here when it comes to gameplay. Simple beat-em up with your favorite turtle heroes. Aside from a simple chain of melee attacks executed with the mashing of a single button, you can pull off an air attack, throw baddies off the screen, and even smash them on the ground like a dirty sack of laundry. You also have the ability to pull off a "supercharged" attack with the sacrifice of several bars of health, as well.

This aspect pisses me off, however. There are other games that do this too..why is that? Why must you trade off 1/6th of your life bar just so you can jump kick a few dudes across the screen and pull off an instant kill. Handy when Foot Soldiers are gang banging you in a corner, but really annoying when you're low on health and there's no precious pizza in sight. I wish these old school side-scrolling beat 'em ups did away with this this gameplay feature. It sucks even more when you accidentally pull off the supercharge attack!!

I counted around 8-10 levels. The first four taking place in "present day" (1992, hahah) and another four being various points in time, themed with the appropriate props and littered with bad guys in some of the freshest costumes straight out of wardrobe. There are some other "mini stages" that tie the locations together, but frankly the story is extremely lackluster and disjointed. You really shouldn't even be playing this game other than for nostalgia's sake.

There's no point in going in to detail about who and what you encounter. If you know and love TMNT, you already know what to expect. There's an average variety of enemies you encounter, but unfortunately most of them are just varying degrees of Foot Clan. You can even predict when different enemies will be implemented as you progress through a stage - it's that easy to read.

I'll admit there were plenty of frustrating moments. The occasional boss or Foot Soldier will pull off cheap moves and repeat them continuously. I also found it frustrating when trying to gauge what plane an enemy was on, so I could line up an attack. Failing to do this usually leaves you open for a cheap shot, which can lead to a brutal gang raping, and, well yeah.

I prefer this game over similar titles, such as Final Fight. It's probably because of my childhood memories of the toy franchise and cartoon, but really, hopping from prehistoric times all the way to the far future is just a feast for the eyes. The sprite graphics are rendered beautifully in this title, with some really funny animations if you pause the game and look closely.

Personally, I only gave a shit about the final 3 levels. AD2020 and onward was just awesome, in my book. Of course, there wasn't even really an ending to the game. I got Splinter telling me to be a man and try Hard mode, and I think I will..but for now, I'm putting this title aside.

Fun stuff, but I think if you're going to invest in a version of this game, get the original SNES cartridge. At least Bebop and Rocksteady are in it!





If only I could kick that offensively large Campbell soup can at you like in the Railroad stage..