This is something I am helping John with for some future content..
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DF Retro Let's Play: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - NES Turtlemania Revisited!
- Thread starter chandoog
- Start date
Man the eye taking damage sound on the technodrome is burnt into my memory. My brother and I beat Turtles as well as Battletoads as kids, there's no way in hell I could do that now. I suppose 2 games a year and unlimited time to play will do that to you.
I like that this video discusses the Japanese version of the game/how the Ninja Turtles property is mostly remembered in Japan for these video games vs the Comics/Cartoons/Films/etc... I'm assuming there are other properties like this in Japan as well, as the video mentions a couple of other licensed video games.
Nice! A lot of Americas don;t really know much about the 8 bit computers and those that pushed them to incredible extremes to do things thought impossible.
Yeah I'd love this as well.
There were so many amazing and fascinating ports on the C64 and other home computers of the time.
I've always enjoyed seeing ports of games to lesser powerful systems and how the developers managed to make them do things they really shouldn't be able to do.
Great! Looking forward to the results!
It wasn't fun at all to me as a kid, but when you only get like 3-4 games in a good year when you're a kid you play that shit anyway lol. Most of the time I was trying to figure why there is a guy on fire in a TMNT game that I didn't see in the cartoons.
Out of all the games I owned this was probably the 2nd worst in terms of 'feel'. The only game that was worse in my library was NES Strider, but at least Strider felt like it was trying to be a good game in the level design and mechanics parts, its just that Capcom at the time didn't apply any of the tight controls Megaman 1 had a couple years prior.
Back to TMNT, everything control wise felt squishy, unresponsive, and weird. Enemies would pop up in front of you on like the very next tile you land on, enemies that take multiple hits to kill and none of your turtles can one shot them except Don, which pigeonholes you into using Don because everyone else is progressively worse than Don. You might trade attack speed for range and power with Leo in some occasions with enemies that are fast but are weak enough to be killed by his sword in one shot, but Mike and Raph just don't offer any advantages. Raph is just a way worse mike.
Don.
Leo.
Mike.
Raph.
Thats the order of turtles most people play if you lose one. You're sweating bullets by the time you've gotten to Raph beacause hes damn near useless and you better hope he has sub-weapons because I'm convinced his sais are have negative range. like his sai hit box is in his arm instead of the sprite...which was barely existent anyway.
Getting past the stage wasn't that hard after you tried a few times.
Getting past without losing 1 or 2 turtles to the electric seaweed was the real trick. I always scarified Raphael for this one. Donatello was always saved for bosses.
played through this with a friend back in the days when we were kids, we loved it. sure, it is hard but when the Turtles hype was at max it was awesome to play this game.
also loved the Gameboy one "Fall of the Foot Clan". the big sprites were awesome for an 1990 Gameboy game.
also loved the Gameboy one "Fall of the Foot Clan". the big sprites were awesome for an 1990 Gameboy game.
Yep same. I used the other turtles solely to soak up damage for Donatello.
I find it really weird how people 'despise' this game but love the extremely shallow beat em ups.
It's a great and very ambitious game for the time of release with multiple play styles, great graphics, awesome music and some interesting design. Some issue with enemies being actually somewhat randomised and too hard a difficulty curve. No idea why the water level is considered hard either, it's really in the lower rungs of Famicom game difficulty, it's only after that that becomes very hard. I think the reputation is also somewhat damaged by the home computer ports all being various flavours of crap, some of which are literally broken and most of which should not have been attempted given the limited capabilities of those platforms.
Shame we never saw it iterated on. The beat em ups are linear and shallow, and on the Famicom the first one is a flicker fest.
It's a great and very ambitious game for the time of release with multiple play styles, great graphics, awesome music and some interesting design. Some issue with enemies being actually somewhat randomised and too hard a difficulty curve. No idea why the water level is considered hard either, it's really in the lower rungs of Famicom game difficulty, it's only after that that becomes very hard. I think the reputation is also somewhat damaged by the home computer ports all being various flavours of crap, some of which are literally broken and most of which should not have been attempted given the limited capabilities of those platforms.
Shame we never saw it iterated on. The beat em ups are linear and shallow, and on the Famicom the first one is a flicker fest.
I remember how much i loved the game for what it is, but absolutely hated it because the controls sucked so much that it was basically impossible to enjoy it for long sessions. I understand how a lot of era members just don't like nes stuff, this is a good example.
So many NES games dismissed because of him. I can't stand the guy.
It's honestly something worth playing, there's a lot going for it and it's not just another beat em up.
When I first got my NES in May of 1989, My parents went to the video store and brought back three NES game rentals, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Ghostbusters II and TMNT. And While I found TMNT to be the best of the three, I still remember thinking it was just merely ok and found myself just wanting to play Mario more than any of those games. And I was obsessed with Ninja Turtles so I should have loved it. I appreciate it for it's ambitions but it falls just short of greatness and I had way more fun with TMNT II the arcade game, which I actually got for my birthday the following year.
Agreed. I played this game a lot with my friends and none of us really struggled that much with the underwater level. But always struggled with everything AFTER that as you said haha. I was no expert but I actually thought the underwater level was fun.
I actually like this one. I was almost an adult when it came out, so I wasn't crushed by the difficulty. I just adapted and learned how to play.
I also discovered that the game is easy as hell to break if you spend half an hour loading each turtle up on scrolls in the third stage. Becomes a total cakewalk.
I also discovered that the game is easy as hell to break if you spend half an hour loading each turtle up on scrolls in the third stage. Becomes a total cakewalk.
Great work, as always, Dark1x and Audi (who I just found out is also on this forum)! Although, I gotta say, I wish that you guys touched on the history of Ultra Games a little bit, while discussing the game. I was always intrigued by that company, as, for a long time, I assumed that they were the actual developers of the games they published (like the infamous Snake's Revenge). I thought of them as Konami's poor cousin.
Wikipedia mentions that Ultra Games is a subsidiary of Konami of America, created to "bypass Nintendo policies". Apparently, NOA had very strict licensing rules for the North American market at the time, and one of those rules was that a third-party company could only publish up to five games per year for the NES in the US. However, there's a big ol' "[citation needed]" right next to that statement. So, is it true or not?
Another thing: I assume that the different choices in cover art, for the Japanese and Western markets, was due to the American Kirby is hardcore trope? Which is weird, considering that the TV show was arguably more popular than the comics, at least in America.
Also, funny how you started the video by saying that the game wasn't really that difficult and, by the end, were calling it "brutal". :P
To the cool kids in this thread trying to pretend that the game is a breeze and not inherently flawed: thank goodness that none of you work in the industry. John and Audi made it perfectly clear in their video (and in one of John's comments here) how there are some major design issues with that title. Some are borderline nonsensical, like the gap which you have to cross by running, and the fact that jumping (in any of the three possible ways) makes you hit the ceiling most of the time, which then causes you to stop midair and fall down. Super Mario Bros., this is not.
Finally, there's no way in hell you can go through some of those seaweeds in the water level without taking damage, right? I know I could never do it.
Wikipedia mentions that Ultra Games is a subsidiary of Konami of America, created to "bypass Nintendo policies". Apparently, NOA had very strict licensing rules for the North American market at the time, and one of those rules was that a third-party company could only publish up to five games per year for the NES in the US. However, there's a big ol' "[citation needed]" right next to that statement. So, is it true or not?
Another thing: I assume that the different choices in cover art, for the Japanese and Western markets, was due to the American Kirby is hardcore trope? Which is weird, considering that the TV show was arguably more popular than the comics, at least in America.
Also, funny how you started the video by saying that the game wasn't really that difficult and, by the end, were calling it "brutal". :P
To the cool kids in this thread trying to pretend that the game is a breeze and not inherently flawed: thank goodness that none of you work in the industry. John and Audi made it perfectly clear in their video (and in one of John's comments here) how there are some major design issues with that title. Some are borderline nonsensical, like the gap which you have to cross by running, and the fact that jumping (in any of the three possible ways) makes you hit the ceiling most of the time, which then causes you to stop midair and fall down. Super Mario Bros., this is not.
Finally, there's no way in hell you can go through some of those seaweeds in the water level without taking damage, right? I know I could never do it.
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Something about the mechanics felt off to me in comparison to other OpenBOR games, not to mention the other Turtles games.
Still had fun what little I played of it, though.
Please show whoever in the thread said the game is a breeze? You will not be able to because absolutely no-one did, you have completely made this up.
What has been said is complaints about the water level are overblown. The game gets very hard after that but the water level itself is relatively easy by Famicom standards.
This was the second game I ever got from a retail store (the first was Bionic Commando) and the third video game I ever played!
I kinda liked it as a kid. And to be honest, I've never understood why the underwater level was so tough for so many people. 5 year old me was able to do it, and I was still a newbie at the time!
I kinda liked it as a kid. And to be honest, I've never understood why the underwater level was so tough for so many people. 5 year old me was able to do it, and I was still a newbie at the time!
Same. It's one of the tougher games for sure though. But specifically the underwater bit just wasn't difficult once you know where all the bombs are. Before then sure, you're gonna run out of time, as this is one of those memory based sections. Once you've figured out where all the bombs are then it's kinda harder not completing it.
To those asking about other Turtles games, John and Audi mentioned in their video that they're working in a complete showcase for a future DF Retro episode.
It was mostly in reference to the comments about the water level. Ever heard of a figure of speech? I counted six instances in the first page alone, with one user mentioning that they could beat it without taking a single hit (which I'd honestly love to see).
I don't think it's easy by any standards, but, then again, I'm not one of the cool kids.
Edited to add "mostly" to the first sentence after the quote. I also dispute any revisionist arguments that this game is only considered bad because of the AVGN. I've had it since I was a kid and absolutely hated it, even though, as most '90s kids, I loved TMNT. I didn't know disappointment until I expected to play the arcade version of the game at home and ended up with this monstrosity.
It was mostly in reference to the comments about the water level. Ever heard of a figure of speech? I counted six instances in the first page alone, with one user mentioning that they could beat it without taking a single hit (which I'd honestly love to see).
I don't think it's easy by any standards, but, then again, I'm not one of the cool kids.
Edited to add "mostly" to the first sentence after the quote. I also dispute any revisionist arguments that this game is only considered bad because of the AVGN. I've had it since I was a kid and absolutely hated it, even though, as most '90s kids, I loved TMNT. I didn't know disappointment until I expected to play the arcade version of the game at home and ended up with this monstrosity.
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Why lie?
You did not say that, there is no figure of speech, you flat out said said 'the game'
and referenced only things outside the water level in that entire paragraph.
Even in the video they say the water level is not that crazy and not unfair. Literally everyone else who spoke about it said the water level was fine but the game gets hard after that.
Nobody said what you said they did, you were wrong, and your name calling of those who said it as 'cool kids' is extremely childish.
Awesome news! Hope there will be some C64 stuff. That was my childhood
AVGN and similar youtube "personalities" have probably done more harm than good in regards to retro gaming. This one being an obvious example. It's probably why there are a fair amount people who think NES era games are "unplayable" and nonsense like that. It definitely has its flaws, but there's a lot to like about this particular Turtles game, and it's one of the more unique experiences on the platform. A few tweaks, better performance, a bit easier, and it would probably looked on as a classic. Honestly I've always felt like this would be a great game for a remake.
On a side note, I never managed it, but my brother beat this game on the original hardware so it was certainly doable.
On a side note, I never managed it, but my brother beat this game on the original hardware so it was certainly doable.
"The game" includes the water level. And, as I made it even more clear in my edit (done before your post), the issues pointed out are related to flaws in game design, which some people also chose to ignore (including a few who breezed through the water level).
Reading comprehension goes a long way at avoiding useless discussions, which I'm not here for, especially not about a 30-year-old game that I never liked in the first place. If you don't have any issues with it, great, you're a more radical Turtle dude than I'll ever be.
I'd still love to see someone from this thread going through all those seaweeds without taking a single hit, though.
I always found this to be a very underappreciated game. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but even replaying it a few years ago I had fun playing it. The music's pretty great, the controls are decent enough and even though the game feels messy (enemy placement, especially later on is awful) the core-game works.
Also I never found that underwater part to be difficult at all, never understood why people feel that way.
Also I never found that underwater part to be difficult at all, never understood why people feel that way.
for the time TMNT 2 was kind of mindblowing as an arcade port, which is mostly its claim to fame i guess. at that point i don't think anybody even bothered "porting" arcade games to nes except for double dragon but i never played those at the arcade, dunno how that conversion pared out
can't speak to the game's quality as it's been forever but i didn't miss the first game's direction at all
Yeah, this was the first console game I ever owned. I can't recall how long it took to complete, but I got the console bundle for Christmas and wouldn't be surprised if winter was in its dying days before I finished it.
It's likely due to being based on the NES sequels. I've yet to see an OpenBOR TMNT that replicates Turtles in Time.
It's fine as a game, but a shallow linear beat em up and suffers from so much flicker in two player it's crazy. TMNT3 (or 2 on the Famicom) is a lot better technically but still a shallow game in a shallow genre. The original game, while flawed and odd in many ways, is the only Turtles adventure with a sprawling world to explore , ala Mario or Zelda, with multiple styles of gameplay to boot.
There were a truckload of arcade ports to Famicom/NES though, maybe multiple hundreds. From the earliest era like Donkey Kong and Pac Man, Bubble Bobble, Gradius, Life Force etc.
The best arcade to Famicom ports were ones that adjusted the game for the platform. Contra Famicom is a significantly better game than the arcade. See also Super Contra, Jackal, Ninja Gaiden, Punch Out, Double Dragon II etc.
I used to always draw the cover art of the game... never understood them having same color eye bandanas.
I can't watch the video, but the game had Amazing Graphics for its time imo.
And no I never beat it. Always had a love hate relationship with this game... back and forth of getting excited to get back into it, then stop playing it out of frustration lol.
I can't watch the video, but the game had Amazing Graphics for its time imo.
And no I never beat it. Always had a love hate relationship with this game... back and forth of getting excited to get back into it, then stop playing it out of frustration lol.
I'll try to record something on Monday or Tuesday if no one beats me to it. I'll use my phone to record and either an actual NES or the NES Mini, depending on how easy it will be to dig my NES out. I just moved this month, and a lot of stuff is still packed.
In either case, I won't be able to use save states to cheat.
They used to have only red masks in the original comics. The game's cover was the cover for one of the issues. They were given different colors around the time they started making the property kid friendly.
I got this game for my 12th birthday in June of 89 when it was a new release. Me and my childhood friend (we still game together to this day) played this all fucking summer and we eventually beat it. It's a hard hard game but not impossible, if a couple of 12 year olds can beat it on release it can't be that hard right? Lol I would never attempt to play this game today.
I'm glad people are enjoying the episode since it's a pretty new thing for John and I to do this sorta thing. I have no idea how people can stream, chat, talk and play at the same time every day, huge respects to streamers out there.
I'm wondering if I should do some supplement live streams of the other versions of TMNT 1 since I have all the versions here (I actually own every region version of all TMNT games ever made, don't judge me)
I'm wondering if I should do some supplement live streams of the other versions of TMNT 1 since I have all the versions here (I actually own every region version of all TMNT games ever made, don't judge me)
I think it is beatable but I didn't have fun playing the game.
I got to the Technodrome and got rocked. I think i only stuck with it that long because the Turtles were red hot at the time.
One of my favorite NES games. Every "area" feels entirely different from the next. Yeah, it's difficult, but it's fair. And the music can be quite catchy. What more can you ask from an NES game?
Also, the dam area is relatively easy. The game gets much more difficult later on.
BTW, if anyone is genuinely struggling and wants to make the game substantially easier, there is a "trick". Simply do a bit of grinding the first time you come across the ninja scrolls until each turtle has the maximum allowed. Now you have four equally usable killing machines. It almost makes the game too easy once you've been through the game, so only do this if you're frustrated and want to get to the end. Just be VERY careful not to pick up a replacement weapon by mistake. That will mess you up. Anyway, for repeat playthroughs, skip this tip and feel the intended difficulty by just grabbing scrolls in a normal way as you come across them.
Also, the dam area is relatively easy. The game gets much more difficult later on.
BTW, if anyone is genuinely struggling and wants to make the game substantially easier, there is a "trick". Simply do a bit of grinding the first time you come across the ninja scrolls until each turtle has the maximum allowed. Now you have four equally usable killing machines. It almost makes the game too easy once you've been through the game, so only do this if you're frustrated and want to get to the end. Just be VERY careful not to pick up a replacement weapon by mistake. That will mess you up. Anyway, for repeat playthroughs, skip this tip and feel the intended difficulty by just grabbing scrolls in a normal way as you come across them.
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No doubt it was hot, the cartoon had been going for over a year at that point and there was word in the wind about a live action movie coming the following year. I always assumed the game was based on the cartoon because the movie didn't release until the following year, am I remembering that correctly? So many decades ago.
Oh, we will judge you... as an awesome guy!
Can't speak for everyone, but there are 3 reasons why I enjoy this stream:
1. the subject matter: I have a bit of nostalgia for TMNT and this game in particular, since I had it as a kid and could never get past the part with the rooftops and the ropes at best. And I'm always partial to games from the 8- and 16-bit eras in general to be honest.
2. John's ever-enjoyable commentary and soothing voice
3. Your thorough knowledge of (and passion for) the game and the series, as well as your great gameplay; you say it's hard to play and stream at the same time, which I can totally understand... Yet you managed to almost get to the Technodrome with relative ease in less than an hour. The majority wouldn't be able to do that period, let alone while streaming and commenting. You're underestimating yourself :).
That's a winning formula if you ask me. You and John make a great duo. So yeah, bring on the TMNT streams, and I hope you'll feature prominently in the DF Retro episode.