Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze

Genre: Metroidvania

Players: 1

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: Activision Blizzard

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Master Splinter’s Training Pack, along with Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

After [the abysmal first attempt at bringing Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles computer-animated TV show to Nintendo 3DS in videogame form](LINK), Activision Blizzard wisely went with a different developer in the game’s follow-up, Danger of the Ooze. This game, released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo 3DS in 2014, is a Metroidvania rather than an Arcade Brawler like the previous game. And while this takes the game away from the Ninja Turtles franchise’s videogame roots, this may have been for the best, as it makes it less likely to invite comparison to those roots, and the nostalgic haze that surrounds them.

Despite the change in developer and genre, some elements of this game remain similar to the prior Nintendo 3DS game – this game still makes use of 3D visuals for its characters and backgrounds, and is still a bit too dark for its own good (though not nearly as bad as the prior game). This game also features the return of the voice actors from the TV series, though this time at least the writing is a bit better. However, one element of the presentation has had a clear improvement here – the music, which uses some really catchy synthesized beats that fit this game well.

There is one other issue the prior game had that remains an issue here, and that is an issue with hit detection. While not game-breaking like in the prior game, it can frequently make for moments where you don’t land a hit when you should have, or end up taking damage from an enemy you should have felled.

Beyond that issue, this is a fairly standard Metroidvania, albeit one with a map that’s a bit too repetitive, and a bit too stretched thin. Again, it’s not horrible, but this is far from one of the better games in the genre. Other than this issue, Danger of the Ooze doesn’t really break the mold of the genre in any noteworthy way, save for its character-swapping, which is useful mainly for allowing players to optimize having four separate life bars.

I may not be terribly enthusiastic about Danger of the Ooze, but make no mistake – this game is far superior to the dumpster fire that was the first Ninja Turtles game on Nintendo 3DS. The change in developer and change to the Metroidvania genre has resulted in a game that’s far more enjoyable this time around, though this is still far from a great experience. If you absolutely need to play a Ninja Turtles game on Nintendo 3DS, this is probably the way to go. Just don’t expect the same sort of magic as the best games based on this license.

tl;dr – Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze is a Metroidvania that has some graphical and hit detection issues, and things are a bit too samey and stretched out, but otherwise this is a decent but unspectacular entry in the genre.

Grade: C-

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