Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Master Splinter’s Training Pack

Genre: Compilation / Arcade Brawler / Metroidvania

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless)

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Review:

Master Splinter’s Training Pack, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2015, is a Compilation of two games based on Nickelodeon’s computer-animated TV show about the classic comic book heroes: Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze. Both of these games may share a source material, but both play very differently.

Here is what I thought of each of the games in this Compilation:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Arcade Brawler	1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless)	D-
tl;dr Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an Arcade Brawler that’s terrible in just about every way, with too-dark graphics, characters that aren’t really distinguishable from one another, terrible enemy AI and even worse hit detection. This is about as far as you can get from the classic Ninja Turtles games of yesteryear. Avoid it.
Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze	Metroidvania	1	C-
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.

In short, I didn’t think either of these games was especially good, but Danger of the Ooze is definitely the better of the two, being at least a mostly competent Metroidvania. The other game in this Compilation, Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is a horrible attempt to recapture the joy of the classic Arcade Brawlers the series is best known for, one with abysmal enemy AI and joyless action. And both games suffer from hit detection issues.

Usually in this part I talk about the value of getting these games as a bundle compared to buying them individually, but here that sorta’ thing becomes iffy, because the age of these games means you’re better off getting them used. Judging by current prices, it looks like as I write this it’s a pretty good deal, likely to set you back $12-$15 as opposed to the $20 or so the game would cost separately. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on what’s available where you look.

Of course, all of this is kinda’ avoiding the main issue, which is once again that neither of the two games in Master Splinter’s Training Pack is all that good. Certainly there’s no good reason to feel compelled to spend extra to get the absurdly bad Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and while some may enjoy Danger of the Ooze, there are plenty of other, better Metroidvanias on the Nintendo 3DS worth getting. And if you’re a fan of the classic Ninja Turtles games looking to relive that same sort of joy, trust me when I say you’re better off skipping this collection entirely – you’ll find nothing here but disappointment.

tl;dr – Master Splinter’s Training Pack is a Compilation of two different takes on Nickelodeon’s Ninja Turtles animated series, including Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze. Neither game is very good, though Danger of the Ooze is at least a serviceable Metroidvania. Still, if you’re hoping for even a hint of the great gameplay of the earlier Ninja Turtles games, you won’t find it here.

Grade: D+

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