Games

Pixel Perfect Memories: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

49 Comments

Release Date: 1989
Platforms: NES, Xbox 360, many computer systems
Developer: Konami

I never really cared for the port to the NES.  The graphics were okay, but not great.  You could only use two turtles at a time.  There were new levels and bosses, but it always felt a bit flat to me.  I honestly like the original TMNT game for the NES better, despite its flaws.  Regardless, I'm not here to talk about the NES.  Today we're talking arcade.

When I was a kid, my mom brought me to Circus Circus about three to four times per year, usually around report card time (they gave out extra tokens for good grades).   I pretty much played the same games every time.  Double Dragon (a hundred times better than the NES port), Arch Rivals, the basketball and pitching games, Skee-Ball, and a few pinball games like Joker's Wild.  But the game I put the most quarters into was TMNT.

The cartoon series was an absolute perfect choice for an arcade game, as you had four primary good guys in Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.  They had different weapons, different moves.  You had colorful bosses in Bee-bop, Rocksteady, Krang, and of course, the Shredder.  The graphics were awesome, the sound was mesmerizing, and the cinematic sequences made my eyes light up.  But my favorite part of this game is how it could make complete strangers become instant friends.  Whenever I saw an opening (hoping it was Donatello so I could use his bo staff), I'd rush to the console and plug in tokens until the game was won.  The satisfaction felt at winning was palpable.

I never cared much for winning tickets.  All they were good for was cheap, plastic prizes you could get cheaper at the dollar store.  Winning TMNT was tangible.  And if I saw it an arcade today, I'd be hard pressed not to plug five bucks into it.

Whatcha playing?

 

49 thoughts on “Pixel Perfect Memories: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game”

  1. I only played the NES port, since it was free. Could never, ever beat it without help from a Game Genie though. Then, in my freshman year of college, someone else in the dorm had an NES with the game. I finally learned the jump+attack combo and we promptly beat the game. It was very satisfying.

    I also played the Manhattan Missions on DOS, but I was terrible at it.

  2. I spent far too many hours playing both the Turtles games, but I played them for NES, as well. My trips to Circus Circus usually involved the X-Men arcade game, since there were so many players to choose from.

    1. more or less. That's a problem with a lot of ports, though. The difficulty in the arcade is amped up to get you to put in more quarters. They then forget to ramp it down for the console.

      1. Really? I certainly found it hard when I was young, but it wasn't difficult when I played it again as an adult.

            2. right, which is the game I reviewed above.

              The original TMNT game was crazy hard. That underwater scene where you had to diffuse the bombs was stupidly pointless and difficult.

                1. I know for a fact that I didn't. Because I didn't have a NES, and always had to play it at my friend's house, and always got stuck and annoyed at that part, and then we played football or something. The end.

                  1. Heh. I think we only got through that part about one out of ten times. And then our life meters were so low getting through level 3 that it was soul crushing.

                    1. We pretty much always got past it, but we used one of these, which helped immensely. I always stalled out in the airfield level (I think level 4?), though I usually ended up killing Rafael and rescuing him in level 3.

                      This sure brings back memories, though.

                    2. how did the Advantage help exactly?

                      I got rid of mine. Still have a NES Max, though. Don't really like that either, but I only have two controllers.

                    3. The turbo button for the jump button. That way, you could just hold the button instead of repeatedly pressing it. You could also adjust the rate or repeat so you would rise more or less slowly, or you could set it so you hovered. It took a bit of experimentation, but after you got a hang of it, it made it quite a bit easier.

                    4. ahh! NES advantage. i loved that thing. man, today is just ghosts of nintendo hardware past.

  4. Ah, the CR Circus Circus. I definitely played this there. I was also big into The Simpsons and X-Men arcade games there.

  5. I'm playing a lot - mostly on my Vita now. I have no time to comment on this stuff at work, though (I mean, I do, but I probably shouldn't do this for too long).

    A part of me really wants to announce what game Adam Everett bought from me a couple of days ago, just because it was so unlikely, but it might be...icky.

  6. You'll all be pleased to know that the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Toronto Raptors for the 2015 NBA championship. (in 2K11). Now that that is completed, I can get back to Skyrim dungeon diving before I move the main story line back along. (must achieve Dragon Armor smithing...)

    1. Daedric Armor is better. It made me sad when I crafted a set of both and found out. How far are you in the main story?

      1. Is it? Well then, I already have a full set of enchanted Daedric Armor! But, I've been saving all those dragon bones and scales, so I'll probably make some anyway.

        As for the story:

        Spoiler SelectShow

        1. Yeah, they at least look cool. Plus its a better set of light armor if you're into that sort of thing.

          1. Its light armor? That's stupid. I assumed, since those stupid scales/bones weight like 80 lbs each, that it'd be heavy armor.

            1. There's a set of each. The Dragon Scales are for light armor and the Dragon Bones are for the heavy armor.

              1. Ahh, gotcha. Well, my house in Windhelm only has ebony and drawven armor on display. Dragon would be nice to have in there.

                Damn I'm feeling less than cool right now.

                1. Yeah, I know what you mean. But if you can't let your geek flag fly in a video game post at the WGOM, where can you?

      1. That, I think, depends on roster. Mine consisted of a second year PG named Jamie Knox (backed-up by a probably superior rookie PG Jim Davenport.), James Harden at the 2 (missing piece!), SCB at the 3, Love at the 4, and the Shaq-esque Joel Andrews (another second year guy) manning the 5.

        Buffalo, this is exactly the same as the 2014 starters, right?

  7. Oh man I loved this game. I remember being part of a rotating crew of kids determined to beat the game at a movie theater. I have no idea how much money we pumped into the machine, but it was a glorious accomplishment.

    The multiplayer Konami beat-em-ups were fantastic.

    Has anyone in the Twin Cities checked out Rusty Quarters? They have 20+ old arcade machines, I want to check it out soon.

  8. i got 100% on red dead redemption (and also got the "dastardly" trophy without realizing it was a thing). to continue the rockstar kick, i started l.a. noire. it's pretty sweet so far, i must say.

    1. I just started getting into LA Noire this week. I'm not very far in, but it's pretty cool. I can't stop myself from driving around like I'm playing GTA and they make the faces crazy easy to read, but it's fun so far.

      1. yeah, facial recognition/animation software is crazy. i also had to tone down my driving from GTA levels since crashing and hitting people causes you to lose points during cases.

    2. I enjoyed Noire. The ending is a little bleh but there is a sequence in the middle of the game that was super fun.

        1. I feel like I can't say without giving too much away. Also, I don't remember.

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