Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
Genre: Compilation / Arcade Brawler / Fighting Game / Action-Platformer
Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online), 2 Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online)
.
Review:
Needless to say, 2022 has been an outstanding year for fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, or at least fans of videogames based on the franchise. Earlier this year, we saw the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a game that was both a loving tribute to the classic Ninja Turtles games while featuring superbly-crafted new gameplay in its own right. Then, a mere few months later in 2022, we got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, a collection of many of those games people think of when they think of the franchise at its best.
Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:
| Game | Genre | # of Players | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade) | Arcade Brawler | 1-4 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | B |
tl;drOne of the most iconic arcade games of all time, the original Ninja Turtles Arcade game still looks great, has an outstanding soundtrack, has some truly memorable stages and bosses, and some solid gameplay. Having said that, there are definitely frequent occasions where it seems like there’s no way to avoid getting hit (gotta’ make sure the game sucks up those quarters, I guess… though this is something rendered moot with unlimited “credits” this release gives players). Still, even with this issue, this remains one of the greats of the genre, even to this day. One other problem with this version, though – there doesn’t appear to be any way to change your character after you start. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Arcade) | Arcade Brawler | 1-4 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | B |
tl;drMuch as with its predecessor, Turtles in Time is an iconic Arcade game, and much like its predecessor, it’s a bit unfair in how difficult it can be at times. This time around, the Turtles have a much-expanded move set based much on timing of button presses, that can make executing the moves you want to be particularly challenging. Still a fun game, but in retrospect perhaps not as great as it seemed back when it first released. Oh, and once again, it looks like you can’t change characters after you start the game. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Super Nintendo) | Arcade Brawler | 1-2 Co-Op / Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | A- |
tl;drThe Super Nintendo port of Turtles in Time has some changes to some stages (most notably, the Sewer Surfers and Neon Night Riders stages), the sounds are changed somewhat, and the 4-player co-op play of the Arcade version drops down to 2-player. However, in exchange for these concessions, the game gets reworked controls that make it much easier to execute the moves you’re attempting, and there’s even a fun versus mode thrown in for good measure. The result is a game that’s much more well-rounded than the Arcade game, and much more fun to play. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Super Nintendo) | Fighting Game | 1-2 Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | C |
tl;drThis is a pretty mediocre attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Street Fighter franchise, with somewhat lacking controls, and a roster that boggles the mind. Seriously, instead of Casey Jones, Splinter, Bebop, and Rocksteady, we get… Wingnut, Armaggon, and Aska? Who the heck is Aska? Definitely some questionable choices being made all-around for this game. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis) | Arcade Brawler | 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | B |
tl;drHyperstone Heist isn’t exactly a port of Turtles in Time, but it recycles a lot of gameplay and assets from that game to produce a somewhat different but similar experience. Like the Super Nintendo port of Turtles in Time, this game’s controls are much easier to handle than the arcade game, but Hyperstone Heist’s enemies feel much more like damage sponges, and apparently to make up for this, they’re much less aggressive than in other Arcade Brawlers in the series. The result is one of the easiest games in the Ninja Turtles franchise, for better or worse. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Sega Genesis) | Fighting Game | 1-2 Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | C+ |
tl;drWhile it’s still nowhere near as good as the Street Fighter franchise it’s riding the coattails of, this Fighting Game fares much better than its Super Nintendo counterpart, thanks to better controls and a somewhat better roster of fighters (no Shredder this time, and I’m not familiar with Ray or Sisyphus, but both Casey and April are playable in this game). | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nintendo Entertainment System) | Action-Platformer | 1 | D |
tl;drBrutal in a way only a true masochist could love, the Ninja Turtles have never felt as weak and vulnerable as they do in this game. Unforgiving gameplay combined with claustrophobic level design, plentiful respawning enemies that often don’t recoil from hits, and a punishing life system that makes your Turtle unplayable when they run out of health unless you find a rare 1-Up. It all adds up to a game seemingly designed to punish the young fans of the Ninja Turtles franchise rather than delight them. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (Nintendo Entertainment System) | Arcade Brawler | 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | B- |
tl;drThe port from Arcade to NES required a lot of concessions. Naturally, the graphics and sound got a huge downgrade, and the gameplay is somewhat reworked, with hit detection that can be a bit spotty. On the bright side, this version adds two entirely new levels with new bosses. Ultimately, it’s not quite on par with the Arcade version, but it’s a decent take on the Arcade experience despite its flaws. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (Nintendo Entertainment System) | Arcade Brawler | 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | B |
tl;drMuch more polished than the prior game on Nintendo Entertainment System, this game adds a few additional mechanics (such as a special attack that saps your life and an overhead throw maneuver), but is otherwise simply a solid version of the Ninja Turtles Arcade Brawler formula. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Nintendo Entertainment System) | Fighting Game | 1-2 Competitive (Local, Local Wireless, Online) | D+ |
tl;drUgly graphics, terrible controls, an extremely limited move set, and a tiny roster of only 7 characters make this by far the worst of the Tournament Fighters games. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy) | Action-Platformer | 1 | D |
tl;drSlow and clunky gameplay, poor hit detection, and boring levels that just seem to consist of a gauntlet of enemies. Plus, just to make things worse, you’re stuck with the Game Boy’s monochrome display, with no way to add color (a la Super Game Boy). Ugh. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From the Sewers (Game Boy) | Action-Platformer | 1 | D+ |
tl;drOnce again, a clunky, repetitive trek through a gauntlet of enemies. At least this time the pace and hit detection are a bit better, but that doesn’t save this game from being a miserable experience. | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Game Boy) | Metroidvania | 1 | C |
tl;drFor the third and final game on the original Game Boy, this series goes in a different direction to be a Metroidvania, which makes for a huge improvement over the prior two games. It’s still a pretty mediocre Metroidvania though, with repetitive level design, respawning enemies aplenty, and seemingly endless corridors with nothing interesting to find. | |||
In short, out of 13 games, the best of the bunch by far is the Super Nintendo version of Turtles in Time, though both of the Arcade games are worth playing for those looking for 4-player action, both Hyperstone Heist and the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the Arcade game have some good qualities to offer, and Manhattan Project may well be the sleeper of the bunch. On average, the Arcade Brawlers in this collection have mostly aged pretty well, though they’re not the flawless classics many revere them as.
On the other hand, you’re probably better off skipping anything released on the Game Boy and anything bearing the title “Tournament Fighters”… and avoid the original Nintendo Entertainment System game like the plague.
Each of these games offers a selection of screen filters and aspect ratio options, borders, and the ability to change button assignments. Games originally released on the NES and Game Boy still bear graphics that preserve the flicker those games had, for better or worse. In addition to these options, players also have a nice rewind feature, and save states for each game.
In terms of extra content, Konami rarely disappoints in its Compilations, and Cowabunga Collection is no exception. Included in the extras are all US and Japanese game manuals and box art, various magazine ads, promo materials, nearly 300 comic book covers, countless screen grabs from throughout each major animated TV series, some behind-the-scenes videogame concept art, complete soundtracks for all included games, and some brief but cute pieced-together “strategy guide” excerpts (that can thankfully be accessed for each game within the pause menu). As collections go, this is a pretty extensive lineup of bonus content.
All of this is packaged within a colorful presentation that combines 2D still images, video footage of the games playing, and even a 3D room to show off all the game’s extras. None of this is necessary, but it’s nice to have all the same. However, I will say that I don’t like the generic electric guitar-heavy menu music, and found myself muting the Compilation until I got into the individual games.
The final question here is one of value. At $40, this seems a bit steep for a Collection of games. Yes, there are 13 games in this Compilation, but more than half of those are simply not good games, and many of the remainder are variations on each other. In other words, what you’re basically paying for here is every version of the original Arcade game, every version of Turtles in Time, and The Manhattan Project. Is that worth $40 to you? The answer to that question is really going to depend on how much you like Arcade Brawlers, and specifically how much you like the Ninja Turtles games.
Questions of value aside, this is an excellent and surprisingly comprehensive collection of Konami’s Ninja Turtles games. I can nitpick and point to a few changes and additional features I would have liked (such as the ability to swap characters in the Arcade games), and I can argue that the games in this package that aren’t Arcade Brawlers are pretty bad. But even with all of that being the case, this is still an excellent Compilation of classic games, and Arcade Brawler fans should make it a point to snatch this up.
tl;dr – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a Compilation of 13 of Konami’s classic Ninja Turtles games, with the highlights being 2 different versions of the original Arcade game, 2.5 versions of Turtles in Time, and the frequently overlooked NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project. Add to this a massive collection of extras and behind-the-scenes content, and this is a must-have collection for Arcade Brawler enthusiasts… even if it’s padded out with a lot of non-Arcade Brawler games that range from mediocre to outright terrible.
Grade: B+
.
This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:
Runner-Up: Best Arcade / Party Game, Best Compilation / Collection
.
You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!
This month’s sponsors are Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!
eShopperReviews 
Leave a comment