Friday, March 3, 2023

Video Game Review #427: Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!

Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!
Nintendo DS




Nostalgia Factor:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this has to be the longest title for a video game I've reviewed, right? If it is, blog history has been made: not once but twice. In addition to being such a long title, it's also my first Nintendo DS review. What a monumental occasion! This day will go down in history forever.

All joking aside, I've strayed a little bit from Mop Up Duty so I decided to get back on track by tackling a shorter game for the year 2012. I had intended to play through Far Cry 3, but that game is way too long. I've heard this one can be beaten in about five or six hours. Don't tell anyone, but I'd like to get Mop Up Duty over and done with so I can go back to playing whatever the heck I want, when I want. What a good way to get things sped up.




Story:

If you've ever watched a single episode of Adventure Time, you should know coming in that this game's story is going to be all over the place. The basic premise is that the Ice King has stolen your garbage and has begun building a princess out if it. It's your job to track him down and stop him from what he's doing. I mean, how DARE he touch your garbage!

As you explore the world of the game, you'll get caught up in all kinds of zany side quests, like finding missing panties or tracking down instrument-playing insects so they can open a door for you. If you've never seen the show before, this game is going to throw you for a major WTF loop. If you have, nothing you see here should come as any kind of surprise.




Gameplay:

I came into this game expecting it to be a standard 2D platformer, but it is a lot more than that. There's definitely a ton of RPG elements to be found here. The game has an overworld map, where you travel from location to location. When you enter an area, it switches to the 2D perspective. If you're in a town, you can talk to people and get clues as to what you need to do next. If you're in a dungeon or "action area" (I can't think of a better term for it!), you progress through the area - running, jumping, and hacking at your enemies.

Your inventory is located on the bottom of the screen, and collectibles are added to the list as you go along. Use your DS's stylus to select the item and use it without having to pause the game. You can combine items, like if you have a bottle of ketchup and a hot dog in your inventory, to make more powerful healing items. Other items give you abilities like invincibility, increased attack power, or the ability to temporarily fire projectiles at your enemies.

The overworld map is broken into four major areas, each of which are blocked off until you complete the previous area. For example, you can't enter the second area of the game until you complete the first - at which point Jake learns the ability to stretch himself across broken bridges, which allows Finn to walk across him to the new area. Each area you complete unlocks a new ability that you need in order to progress through the game. It's like a lite version of Zelda.

The game is filled with secret areas for you to discover. These secret areas offer magical chests that allow you to level up your character's speed, health, or power. For what I assumed to be a simple 2D platformer, this title has a surprising amount of depth to it.

All that said, this is a very easy game. Combat is laughably easy, and even when you do run into tough bosses, health items are so plentiful you should almost never find yourself reaching a game over screen. In fact, this game's biggest challenge is simply finding out what you are supposed to do next. This game is filled with fetch quests galore, and if you put the game down for a few days and come back to it, you are going to be hurting trying to find out where you are supposed to go next.

Overall the game is indeed about five or six hours long. Perfect length for if you are looking for a short, fun game to occupy some time.




Graphics:

If the game's map doesn't make you think of Zelda or Super Mario World, I don't know what will. In fact, the whole game has a very Paper Mario feel to it both graphically and tonally. It isn't as bright or vibrant as the Adventure Time cartoon, no, but it definitely delivers a cartoon-like performance to your screen. 

The character design is great. I always look forward to meeting the residents whenever I enter a new town. The enemies are varied and creative, as are the game's landscapes and settings. Everywhere you go in the world of this game, there is always something fun and interesting to look at.

The game looks much better on the small screen. When playing it on a big TV, the graphic quality really begins to suffer and the jagged edges rear their ugly heads. Play it on the small screen, if you can.




Sound:

My initial reaction to this game's sound was that it was going to be terrible. The opening scene has the most godawful rendition of the Adventure Time theme song I have ever heard. Luckily, things get better after that. The game has some really fun and catchy stage themes, and I found myself tapping my toe along with them. My only real issue with the music is how it start over again from the beginning whenever you enter a new room, which can be slightly grating when you're in a dungeon and the music is constantly restarting.

There is no voice acting, which is a shame. Everything is told through text boxes. This is seemingly a game that is made for voice acting. This is my first DS game, so maybe I am misinformed, but I am guessing the DS can't handle it. There are a few teeny tiny voice clips, like when you find a star that levels you up. No idea what they're saying in those clips, though!




Overall:

I did not expect to like this game as much as I did. I expected a quick, easy, and shallow 2D platformer, but this game delivers so much more than that. It's more of an action RPG like a Paper Mario game than anything else. Walking around, exploring the world of Adventure Time, and interacting with its bizarro citizens is a real treat.

The game is short and easy, sure, but it succeeds at what it sets out to do: deliver a fun and engaging Adventure Time experience to its players. If you aren't a big Adventure Time fan, you may not understand the appeal of the game. Although I wouldn't say I'm a "big fan", I'm familiar with the show and its concept, and I still liked it a lot.

I'm not going to say "you're missing out!!" if you decide to give this game a pass. I can't imagine that in 5 years I am going to remember much about this title, like I would with an all-time classic like Castelvania or Metroid. In other words: you'll live if you never play this game. But if you have the means to do it, I'd advise checking it out. You probably won't regret it.

Probably.



THE GRADE:
B-



40th Birthday Mop Up Duty Celebration Tour:




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Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! (The review you are reading)


Up next we're moving onto 2013 with:
Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy


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Friday, February 17, 2023

Video Game Review #426: Quake

Quake
PlayStation 4


Nostalgia Factor:

I have always been a big fan of the Nintendo 64 version of Quake. I've never been able to play Quake in its "true" form, however. The Nintendo 64 version was missing some stages and all of the expansion packs that have been added to the base game over the years.

When I saw that Quake was being remastered for the PS4, with ALL of the extra content included, I immediately knew I had to play it. I love the N64 version. I even gave it an A when I reviewed it. But Quake in its full glory? Yes please.




Story:

This game has a story? Honestly, you can skip through the slow moving walls of text that explain what is going on and still not miss a single beat of enjoyment this game has to offer. The story is filler that is completely irrelevant to the action taking place onscreen. Just worry about blasting enemies and finding keys and forget this game even takes a stab at giving you a storyline to follow. You aren't missing anything.




Gameplay:

This is all that matters. The gameplay.

This game is incredibly easy to pick up and play. The controls are so smooth. Walking, running, looking up and down, strafing, jumping over gaps: like butta. The combat is fast and furious. I already broke down how the game works in my review of the N64 version of the game, so I won't do it again here. But everything is just as fun as I remember.

What makes this version of Quake special is all the added content. There are four expansion packs included, and each one is a little different from the base game. I was appreciative of this, because the game would have gotten repetitive pretty quickly without those little changes. It did start to eventually get repetitive even with them, I hate to say.

Most of these changes mainly have to do with weapon variety, new enemies, and stage design. I also found that these expansions were much more challenging than the base game. They are still undeniably Quake, however. Having only played the N64 version before, it was a real treat getting to play all this new Quake content.

That said, I still feel as if the game overstayed its welcome a bit. Everything looks the same, it sounds the same, and it plays the same. By the time I was finished with the first or second expansion pack, I was done. And there were still several more to play through!

I'm not going to knock the game for offering too much content. I could have just stopped after the base game and still had a great time. But I didn't. I kept playing. I'm not going to fault the game for that.




Graphics:

Even though this is touted as an HD remaster, you can still see all the pixels and jagged edges that were likely present from the original game. I mean, I never actually played the original Quake on the PC, so I guess I can't say with certainty it looks like the original game. But I imagine it does.

And the game holds up! The fast paced action is very smooth. The levels are creepy in their design and impressive in their depth. This is one of those games you should play in the dark with headphones on. It is very immersive.




Sound:

I have nothing bad to say about this game's sound. Like the graphics, it is very atmospheric. Some stages are quiet and eerie, while other stages have rocking musical scores that really ramp up the intensity level.

I love the audio cues as well, and all the little sound effects that your enemies make as they spot you and come after you. You know just from the sound you hear what kind of enemy you're about to deal with, and I think that's pretty awesome. Shout out to that clanking sound of the grenades that those chainsaw-wielding enemies are constantly lobbing at you. After hours and hours of playing Quake, I'm going to hear that sound in my dreams.




Overall:

My only complaint about this game is that there are too many levels, and things start to get repetitive after a while. Is this a real complaint, though? I could have simply opted not to play all the expansion packs. But I did.

Quake in any way, shape, or form is an awesome game. Definitely one of my top favorite first person shooters of all time (I still think it takes second place to Half-Life). If you are looking for a fun, fast paced shooter that never takes its foot off the gas, this is the game for you. It's wonderful.

I can't recommend this enough. If you missed out on Quake during its 90s heyday, here is your perfect chance to play catch up.



THE GRADE:
A



If you liked this review, check out some of these other reviews of first person shooters:



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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Video Game Review #425: Alan Wake Remastered

Alan Wake Remastered
PlayStation 4


Nostalgia Factor:

I've known of  Alan Wake for a very long time, and it has always appealed to me. The problem? It was an Xbox exclusive. For the last ten years I've been a PS3/PS4 kind of guy. The only way I was ever going to play Alan Wake was if it was ported over to another system. 

And wouldn't you have it. This game is now available for the PS4. I finally get to see what all the fuss is about.




Story:

My one glaring flaw as a player is my uncanny ability to zone out and completely lose track of what is happening as I'm playing. It was just never going to work out between Alan Wake and me. It started out promising, but by the time the ends credits began to roll I had no freaking idea what I had just played.

Things begin like something you'd read in a Stephen King story - and I love Stephen King. Alan is an author who comes to a small town with his wife for a retreat at a lakeside cabin. She's taken by dark creatures in the middle of the night. The lake house disappears into thin air. The police don't believe Alan's story. He discovers manuscript pages that are describing what is happening to him as it is happening. These pages seem to be written by him, although he doesn't remember writing them.

That's the basic premise of the game, and that's really all I can say about it. Alan fights forces of the dark, which have taken over this small town. He has some allies in the sheriff and his friend Barry. We never really know if this is all happening in Alan's head, or if it is real. I completely lost track of what the heck was going on very quickly, and only focused on the gameplay and on surviving from objective to objective.

I understand that some people may enjoy this game's ambiguous storytelling and how it is open to interpretation, but I've never enjoyed this kind of thing. I'm an answers guy. That's why I'm not a huge David Lynch fan. If you like him, you'd probably like this game. It's much more Lynch than Stephen King. Sai King's storytelling is much more straightforward and coherent. He'd never write something this messy.




Gameplay:

My expectations for this game were way off. Maybe it was because I knew coming in that this game was episodic, but I expected it to be something like a mixture between Silent Hill and a Telltale game. Alan Wake is neither of these things. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be a faster paced behind the back shooter such as Resident Evil 5 or Shadows of the Damned.

Most of the action consists of simply making it from point A to point B, while you fight enemies in between. Don't let the first hour or so of the game fool you: this isn't survival horror. In fact, I didn't even find this game to be scary one tiny bit. It is way too action oriented for that.

The main twist in Alan Wake is that you can't simply shoot your enemies. Each foe you fight is protected by a dark shield. In order to damage them, you have to shine your flashlight on them until the shield breaks. Then you can begin firing at them with your weapon.

There's a bit of a learning curve, here. I don't think I quite understood the whole shield mechanic my first few attempts at playing this game. I was shining my flashlight and firing my gun at the same time. That's just a waste of bullets. Firing your gun does nothing until that shield is gone. As a result, I kept repeatedly running out of ammo and getting demolished by the enemy. It was very discouraging. I kept thinking: what the heck am I doing wrong, here? I don't give up on games, but I was starting to want to with Alan Wake.

I pushed through it and eventually I got the hang of things. And once I began to fully understand the game's mechanics, I began to enjoy it a lot more. Running through stages, shining enemies with your flashlight, throwing flashbangs, and using flares is a lot of fun. I began to feel like the ultimate badass. Every once in a while, however, the game will throw some cheap deaths at you to keep you on your toes. Nothing worse than getting caught in a combination of enemy attacks and dropping from full health to dead in two seconds flat.

You know what else is annoying? How quickly Alan runs out of breathe. He has to stop and rest very frequently as you're playing, which can be a major pain when you're in the middle of battle or trying to put some distance between yourself and an enemy. I get why they do it, to make it more realistic, but it is totally unnecessary here. This seems to be a common complaint about the game online. Another online complaint is how quickly the flashlight runs out of batteries, but I didn't mind this as much. I viewed the flashlight almost as a secondary weapon next to your gun, and I didn't mind having to "reload" it as much I did.

As I said earlier, the game's story quickly became secondary to me. I stopped paying attention and instead just focused on enjoying the combat and having fun. It's a little disappointing, because I really wanted to like the game's story, but it is what it is.

I felt a sense of satisfaction when I finished with Alan Wake. The game can be tough at times, and I won't lie it is repetitive with the constant enemy ambushes. All in all I can say I enjoyed it. It's not going to go down as an all-time favorite, but I certainly enjoyed my time with it.




Graphics:

For a game that was initially released over ten years ago, it holds up very well. I know that this is the remastered version, but aside from making everything "sharper" I can't imagine they changed too much of the game's design. The diner, the cabins, the woods, the whole "up north" motif of the game is very well designed and authentic. Details abound everywhere.

My one complaint? Everything is too dark. I think they fell in love with the whole flashlight gimmick a little too much. There were times I literally couldn't tell where I was or where I was going because it was so dark and I couldn't see a dang thing.




Sound:

The voice acting is good, I suppose. Alan Wake doesn't strike me as a game that takes itself too seriously. The dialogue is campy and fits the tone of the game perfectly. It's not Resident Evil for the PS1 levels of campy, but you can tell the voice actors are having fun and really digging into their roles.

I wish I could tell you anything about the game's music, other than that I enjoy the little folk tune that plays at the end of each chapter. As far as actual in-game music, I got nothing. It does its part.




Overall:

I've been going back and forth with how I feel about Alan Wake. If you had asked me when I first started playing this game, I would have said it was terrible. But the more I played, the more I liked it. By the time I was done, I was a pro at this game.

All the pieces are here to create an epic game, and I can see why it has such a cult following. I feel like it didn't quite fit together as well as I would have wanted it to, however. The gameplay is fun. I liked the combat. I liked running around and finding hidden things. I liked the creative ways you have to dispatch your enemies, like using explosive barrels and focusing spotlights on them.

I feel like the game whiffed horribly on its storyline. It started out like something I really thought I was going to enjoy, but then it quickly fell apart into a twisty, convoluted, and confusing mess that I feel was attempting to be too clever for its own good. Like I said before, this game feels very heavily inspired by Stephen King. It's shame they couldn't keep the story on the rails, or we could have had something truly great.

Instead, I feel as if Alan Wake is just something truly good. Not great, but good. It's definitely too good to fall into the C range on my grading scale, but it simply can't go any higher than that. This is a fun, entertaining game that definitely falls into the top 50% of games I have played in my life. I just don't ever see myself coming back to it.



THE GRADE:
B-



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Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Ranking my top ten favorite movies watched in 2022

You ready for this? For those unfamiliar, every January I do a movie ranking from the previous year, where I place everything I watched in order of worst to best. When I began doing this back in 2014, it started out as a very ambitious undertaking. I would keep a meticulous list of ever single movie I watched and when I did my ranking, there would be more than a hundred movies on the list. But ever since the birth of my son, my movie watching has gone WAY down. I stopped keeping track. I also do not have time to break down each and every single movie I watched, so my rankings have been noting more than a few sentences long. You can tell I've been paring back slowly year by year. Last year in 2021, I only ranked my top five favorite movies.

This year I'm upping it to my top ten. Woot! I'm even throwing in a couple of honorable mentions. How fancy. My goal for 2023 is to go back to keeping track of each movie I watched and try to restore this yearly ranking to its past glory. Until then, please enjoy my 2022 ranking.


Honorable Mentions:


I really wanted to like this movie, but it was bad. Laughably bad at times. My wife and I kept exchanging looks as we watched this movie, like "WTF is this shit?" It's a shame how far the MCU has fallen since Avengers: Endgame. It only gets a nod for honorable mention because of a lack of other options.




Another movie that only gets an honorable mention due to a lack of other options. I liked parts of this movie. I didn't mind Pattinson as Batman. They take Batman to darker places they usually don't in other forms of media. I'm all for darker movies, but this film takes itself way too seriously - and is also waaaayyyy too long for its own good. I found myself drifting off so many times as I watched this. It took me multiple installments just to slog through this. They were so close to hitting the mark with this movie. It is a shame they didn't.



This movie exceeded my incredibly low expectations. It's very similar in tone to the original Mortal Kombat, but far superior in many ways, such as its storytelling, acting, and visual effects. This movie was close to making the top ten, but will fall short only because I was distracted while watching this and can barely remember much of it when I think back on it. I'll definitely have to watch this again at some point in the future.



These Jurassic World movies aren't anywhere near as good as we want them to be, but this one wasn't bad. I saw it in the drive-in theater, which was a fun experience.... except for the part where our battery died in the middle of the movie and we had to get a jump - and ended up missing a good 20 minute chunk in the middle of the film. Good times. Like Mortal Kombat, this is one I'll definitely have to rewatch at some point in my life.




Prey is a major return to form for the Predator series. I like how they scaled back and took the action to an earlier time in Earth's history, where there aren't machine guns and grenades being used to fight back against the Predator. It's very man vs beast. Or in this case, woman vs beast. Like a couple of my honorable mentions, this is something I'll have to rewatch again at some point, due to the fact that I was multitasking as I watched this and feel I didn't get the full experience. Also, I watched this much earlier in the year and I can barely remember what happened in the movie aside from its basic premise. 



I watched this in preparation for the new Willow series on Disney Plus (which is not a great show, but that's a topic for a different discussion). I loved this movie as a kid, and it still holds much of the magic for me that made it so special back in the 1980s. It's a fun movie with a simple yet engaging storyline. What little you see of the world of Willow makes you want to see and experience more. It's an enjoyable frolic but I wouldn't rank it up there with Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or anything like that in terms of being an all time favorite. The only reason it doesn't make the top ten is because I've already seen it a million times before - and I think it is only natural that when you've seen a movie so many times it makes it harder for it to engage you.



On to the top ten!!



#10:

It's a sad state of affairs for the MCU when this movie was the best one I saw over the course of a calendar year. Keep in mind that I have not seen Wakanda Forever, but I hear that one is only so-so as well. What's up Marvel? Have we seen you at your peak already?

Anyway, this isn't a bad movie, as evidenced by its ranking, it's just not as great as the standard that had been previously set. It's a perfectly fun, entertaining little romp with some good moments of humor and sadness mixed in. I feel it is completely forgettable, however, and will go down as a mere footnote when the MCU is all said and done.


#9:

Barbarian probably isn't as good as its #9 ranking would indicate, but I was starved for good horror movies last year and this one more than hit the spot. It keeps you guessing, it has some genuinely scary moments, and it is something that stayed with me after I watched it. I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of all time great horror movies, but it is better than most movies I've watched in recent memory. It has some similarities to Don't Breathe, so if you liked that, you'd probably like this.


#8:

This is not a movie I ever would have sought out in a million years, but my wife wanted to go for our anniversary to support it, and who was I to say no? I actually ended up really enjoying the movie. I am not one for rom coms, but Bros has enough shocking adult humor in it to keep it entertaining for all mature audiences. It's not just some schmaltzy rom com with gay people - think The Hangover, Bridemaids, etc. and you are on the right path.


#7:

How can you go wrong with the Shawshank Redemption? You really can't. I tried to nitpick this movie in my head as I watched it, but I just couldn't. It's almost a perfect movie. The only reason it doesn't rank higher is because I've seen it a million times already, and towards the end of the movie I whipped out my cell phone and stopped paying attention, so much of the emotional impact was lost on me. Still a classic, though, and I'd encourage anyone to watch it. Even at about 65% strength, this movie still manages to nab high honors on my ranking.


#6:

I first saw this movie about ten or so years ago. It was before I started this blog, actually. But I used to do similar movie rankings at a message board where I was a big poster, and Spoorloos, to the surprise of many, ended up snagging the #1 spot. It blew me away as a "youngster" with its mystery and its shocking ending. One of the best gut punch endings in movie history.

I didn't have any intention of revisiting this movie until I listened to a podcast about it (Staff Picks by Mario Lanza - check it out if you haven't already), and the deep dive the hosts went into really got me interested again. There was so much stuff I missed out on, or didn't pick up on the first time through - and watching it again only helped enrich the experience for me. It won't rank #1 because the ending is no longer such a shock to me, but I still think it ranks as one of the best mystery/suspense/horror movies of all time. Don't let the foreign title and the subtitles keep you from this masterpiece.


#5:

Just as Knives Out was a terrific homage to the murder mystery classics of yesterday, The Lost City is a terrific homage to the old jungle exploring/treasure hunting adventure films. I never expected to like this as much as I did, but it is so fun. It's got humor, heart, some good action, a solid storyline, and a star studded supporting cast. If you passed on this movie, as I almost did, you are doing yourself a disservice. This movie is a blast.


#4:

This movie has no business being as good as it is. I initially turned it on to keep the toddler entertained, thinking if anything it would be a good background movie for me instead of the usual Blippi or 44 Cats. Turns out, I ended up watching it closely while he wandered off to play with blocks or some shit. If you are a child of the 80s/90s like me and you grew up with this cartoon, you are going to like this movie. It is filled with a ridiculous amount of Easter Eggs, cameos, and pop culture references. There is ALWAYs something to look at on screen, and never a dull moment. The movie is hilarious too, and has some good action scenes and a plot that keeps you guessing. I can't say enough how much you need to check this out. It is brilliant.


#3:

I used to like this movie when I was younger, but I have never watched it through the lens of a parent or an actual adult with responsibilities. Watching it at age 40 really opened my eyes to how heartbreaking and real this movie is. So much of it hit home for me. Not only is it a very emotional movie that tackles hard hitting issues like suicide and mental illness, it is also a wonderful period piece as well - which I had completely forgotten about. It brings the 60s to life in a way that I'm not sure I've seen before - focusing on the sadness and the confusion of its youth rather than glorifying hippies and counter culture. The acting in this movie is out of this world as well. I still think this is Angelina Jolie's finest moment.


#2:

Am I copping out by counting all four films as one? Yes, and I'll admit to it. I hate when people do stuff like this on their rankings. But I really enjoyed all four Hunger Games movies, and I think it would be a very boring list if four of the ten films ranked were from the Hunger Games series.

I've always enjoyed these movies, but at the same time I have always felt myself caring less and less about them with each passing installment. By the time the last Mockingjay movie came along, I was pretty much mentally checked out. The long gaps between movies probably didn't help. This time, I watched them all in order within the span of two or three weeks.

It was my first time watching these movies from the perspective of a father, and holy crap they are grim. I didn't realize just how dark this was my first time through the series. It made my most current rewatch a lot more intense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I don't remember crying so much the first time I watched these movies. This time, the tears they were a flowin'.

 This is a great series of movies, and it is kind of a shame how quickly they've been forgotten.


#1:

Never in a million years would I have thought Apollo 13 would ever sit atop one of my movie rankings, yet here we are. I am not sure what prompted me to watch this. I have never been a giant fan of the movie. I remember first seeing it in the drive-in when I was a kid, and being bored out of my mind.

This time through it, however? Magic. I was invested from the word go. The music, the acting, the great cast, that feeling of heightened tension that kicked in even before the Apollo 13 ever took off... I was in love. How did I not like this as a kid? The movie is amazing, from beginning to end.

Even knowing what was going to happen, the feeling of suspense this movie builds is astonishing. Couple that with the wonder and the mystery of being in outer space. The loving detail that was put into making this as authentic to the time period as possible. The great cast and the amazing acting.

My wife doesn't really care for this movie, but she came in at the end and watched when the shuttle was coming back into the atmosphere - and the families reactions during it. I could tell just from ten minutes she watched that she was invested too. We both were wiping away tears by the time the credits began to roll.

There you have it folks: Apollo 13. The single best movie I watched in 2022.



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Saturday, January 14, 2023

Video Game Review #424: TMNT II: The Arcade Game

TMNT II: The Arcade Game
Nintendo Entertainment System


Nostalgia Factor:

This game was absolutely huge when I was a kid. It came out in 1990. Turtles fever was at an all-time high. Most people in my life didn't enjoy the first Ninja Turtles game for the NES, but they loved the arcade beat 'em up. When the arcade game was ported over to the NES, the original TMNT game quickly became an afterthought to many.

This was a destination video game. If you went over to a friend's house and they had this game, chances are you were going to drop whatever you had planned to play this. Oddly, I never owned this game. I loved the Ninja Turtles. I still had my NES. I loved the arcade version of the game. Not sure why I never got this one! I likely asked for it for Christmas, but never got it - for some reason or another.

I remember that my stepbrothers had this game. They didn't live with me and my dad, but they did come over to visit every other weekend. One time they brought this game along with them. We played it all dang weekend. Right before they left to go back to their dad's house, I hid this game from them so that they'd go back home without it and I could play it for two weeks straight. My plan worked like a charm. Well, for a few days at least. My brother walked in on me playing it and was like: "They were looking all over for that game! I knew you took it!"

He ended up taking the game from me and holding it until my stepbrothers came back, and then gave it back to them. They barred me from playing it ever again. I was so mad. But at least I had gotten a few days worth of play time out of the game and had been able to beat it.

I wouldn't play this game again for about 15 years or so, when I met a girl named Jessica that I dated for a while. She had an NES and a copy of this game. I remember sitting down to play it, and all the fun memories came crashing back.

Again, I wouldn't play this game for an extended period of time, probably another 15 years. In fact, it was just last week that I got the TMNT: Cowabunga Collection for the PS4. One of the first games I played on the collection was this game. Again, the memories came crashing back. I instantly fell in love with the game, despite some frustration with the difficulty level of the last two bosses.

Before I spoil too much about my feelings for the game, I suppose we should dive into the official review.




Story:

There's not much to see here, but really, who plays these kind of games for their stories? You play as one of the Ninja Turtles as you battle through a series of stages, looking to rescue April and Splinter from the Foot Clan. Your battle takes you through sewers, city streets, burning apartments, and a frozen version of Central Park as you make your way to the Technodrome for the final battle with Krang and Shredder.

Again, the story isn't much to write home about, but I have to say that this version of the game does a much better job of capturing the spirit of the Ninja Turtles than the original NES game ever did.




Gameplay:

If you know beat 'em ups, you'll know how this game works. D-pad aside, there are two buttons you can use: the jump button and the melee attack button. I quickly discovered while playing this that the way to go is to hit jump and attack at the same time to unleash a super powerful attack that kills your enemies in one or two hits. Unlike other games, using this attack does not diminish your health meter, so I used it freaking constantly.

At the end of each stage, you will fight a boss character. The stages themselves aren't too difficult, it is mainly these boss encounters that will drain you of your extra lives. That said, most of these bosses are fairly easy once you figure out their attack patterns. The only super difficult bosses are Krang and Shredder. I abused the crap out of save states in order to beat this game. This is a relatively long game with a lot of button mashing involved. I didn't mind playing through this game dozens and dozens of times as a kid in order to be able to beat it, but in my wise old age I simply don't have time for that.

This is a two player game, but for this review I only played through it in single player mode. When my son is older you can bet your sweet patootie that we're going to spend hours and hours playing this and all the other Ninja Turtles games out there.




Graphics:

Obviously this game isn't going to look as good as its advanced arcade counterpart, but it looks really good! Never once when I was playing through this did I think the game looked ugly or outdated. The levels are well-designed (love the product placement!) and the characters look really nice. Visually, everything comes together quite well to create a really fun and authentic TMNT experience.




Sound:

This game has such a great soundtrack. I miss this era of gaming music. The NES produced so many games with banging soundtracks. I don't think there's a song on here I wouldn't put on my retro gaming music playlist. Really stellar audio design in this game that still stands up after over 30 years.




Overall:

I had SO much fun with this game. Everyone says that Turtles in Time is the definitive TMNT beat 'em up, but after playing through this again, I would have to beg to differ. Maybe it is just those rose-tinted nostalgia glasses talking, but I don't think so. I enjoyed this game in a much better way than Turtles in Time, Hyperstone Heist, the Manhattan Project, and really any other Turtles game out there. Aside from those last two boss battles, there wasn't a single second of this game that I did not enjoy. 

And I am sure it will only get better, too, when my kiddo is old enough to play this with me. Man, I can't wait. I don't know if I can give this game a perfect score due to its repetitive nature, but it comes dang close. Dang close.



THE GRADE:
A



All my other TMNT game reviews:



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