At the very beginning of the 90s, Palcom Software and Konami launched in Europe the official video game of Ninja Turtles on NES. To the delight of fans? Not sure…
The game Ninja Turtles from our childhood?
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In the early 1990s, we were all (yes yes, even you) fans of an iconic cartoon: Ninja Turtles. In addition to the animated series and figurines, we could then enjoy a ” true »Film, directed by Steve Barron, and which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary (the film, not Steve Barron).
Of course, the series was also declined in video game, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… or rather, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. Here…?
The French version of Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on NES
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Indeed, for the anecdote, in Europe, the game was renamed in order to avoid the term ” Ninja “, Then considered unsuitable for a young audience.
Quality word games in the instructions
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” Proud and elegant »Perhaps, but Raphael is especially uninteresting!
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I think that there are many who, like me, only had one desire after having unpacked their brand new NES, accompanied by this TMHT… TO PLAY ! Indeed, what could be more exciting for the fans than we were at the time than being able to play Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo or Raphael in the official video game Ninja Turtles !
The beginning of hell …
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” In fact, to be completely honest, like you probably, I have always hated Raphael, with his weapon at short range and which does too little damage … Only Donatello and Leonardo were worthy of interest , and generally I selected (or rather sacrificed) Raphael in the submarine level … You too? “
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At the time, we were (very) numerous to play this Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, and in particular its first level, which remains today anchored in the memories of many of us. The level also ended with a double boss fight, since it was necessary to kill both Bebop and Rocksteady.
But back to basics: Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles is a 2D game, with a rather classic scrolling although tainted by many visual bugs, blinking and other slowdowns … But whatever, we have fun eradicating everything that appears on the screen with katana , bo or nunchakus. That’s all we wanted!
The advertisement of the time, in American version, with the word “Ninja” and not “Hero” as it was the case on the European version
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Initially, if Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles is not extraordinary in technique or precision, it still allowed us to slip into the skin of our favorite turtles (not Raphael so), which was already enough to make it a “ good game In our eyes!
But all that was before the drama of course … Before we dive from the top of the dam to discover the water level.
The level of anxiety?
How can we forget this inertia in controls? These electrical traps that affect you almost every time? Those electric algae that you can’t avoid because of the inertia in the controls ?! And this agonizing music which comes after having lost too much life, because of the electric algae which affects you almost every time because of the inertia in the controls & nbsp? !! Aarrrgh … !!!
Perhaps THE most feared passage of the players of Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on NES …
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To this are obviously added bombs to defuse in a given time, again with ultra-stressful music that starts when the countdown dangerously approaches zero.
And of course, there was no point in relying at the time on a map (of the “readable” type) or on any indication on the screen to indicate the location of the bombs … We are still very (too much) today many have experienced a horrific ” game over »Just a few meters from the last bomb …
No, trying to get this pizza is a very bad idea (and it is impossible, moreover …)
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” Ninja Turtles was also a game full of vicious traps … I remember in particular this pizza impossible to recover in level where peaks come to crush the player, of these enemies who respawn to infinity as soon as we take three steps back, or the countless failures when trying to jump over a tiny void between two platforms, when it was enough … to keep walking. “
A missed jump, and we fall to the ground floor, to (re) stuff all the way, and all the enemies too (otherwise it’s not funny)
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Without forgetting that in the event of failure, requires the 90s, no password, no backup, only a ” keep on going ? “Allowing you to start a level from the beginning … Choose” game over »Sent us directly to the game’s start screen …
Not even ” thank you for playing “, Just an immediate return to the title screen, returning at the same time its mediocrity to the player’s face … and it hurts (to live like this)!
Towards the end of the game, we evolve under the airport … And between the peaks, the fire, the countless enemies, it’s really anything
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Traumatic memories?
So if Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles shines with certain resolutely cult passages, it inevitably evokes some bad auditory memories. Indeed, how can we forget this unbearable sound which is triggered when our hero is short of energy?
Especially since it was then pointless to hope for any passage through the box ” Options To modify the audio settings … We were therefore entitled to this traumatic “BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP” until finally recovering a portion of saving pizza (for the ears).
Of course, the solution consisted in changing heroes when the energy bar decreased too much, to avoid a certain and final death … Unless all the heroes were running out of energy: anxiety ensured … Those who have played the game (and who have passed the jump-off) also necessarily remember these millimeter jumps that we missed once in two, forcing us to start the course again at the lower level.
Video game trauma to which is added a very special hitbox, totally improbable enemies, horrible outdoor phases, elements (fire, spikes …) that kill our turtles in one fell swoop, enemies that we mentioned previously, reappear endlessly … Raaaaaaaah!
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However, despite the (very) many rages caused by this Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, the game receives the precious distinction of ” Game of the Year 1989 “, Awarded by the magazine Nintendo Power. In the early 1990s, the title was indeed (and contrary to what one might think today) ultra-popular, selling more than 4 million copies, well helped by a nice highlight from Nintendo, since supplied as a bundle with the manufacturer’s console.
Two sequels on NES, before a legendary Super Nintendo game!
His welcome is such that Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles has had no less than two sequels, still on NES, including The Arcade Game, the faithful adaptation (all proportion kept) of the arcade version of the time. American and Japanese players were also able to play a third installment, subtitled The Manhattan Project, which however never saw the light of day in Europe.
Paper advertising Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles I: The Arcade Game, in French version. (Via Nintendo Player N ° 3 -1992)
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Two opus which then adopted a side ” beat’em all »Much nicer than the style of Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, and which foreshadowed a certain TMNT: Turtles in Time, released a few years later on Super Nintendo, and which still ranks today as one of the best titles of its kind.
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But if Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles is full of faults, I appreciate (strangely in the end) relaunching it at regular intervals, for the beauty of the gesture no doubt, and for crying over and over again when faced with certain passages, as I did in the early 90s. It’s probably a bit like that too, nostalgia, right?
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