Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Size: ??
Battery Backup: Yes
No. of players: 1
Got it for: $12.99, new
Based off the new cartoon series(I'm guessing here, I've not ever seen it), the turtles are off on various quests to protect the city from the multiple evils that seem to be roaming at any given time. Each turtle has their own story line, which contributes to the overall picture that is generally revealed the closer to the end you get. It's pretty much starting from the beginning as, through the quests, the turtles run into April and Casey for the first time...and learn of Shredder's existence.
What's it all about?
It's a sidescrolling beat'em up. Action takes place on one plane(think Two Crude Dudes, ThunderFox, etc.) as you control one of the four turtles through their character-specific four levels. To keep things from getting too monotonous, each turtle has some sort of racing or shooting section where you'll ride one of the "turtle vehicles" in a sidescrolling or 3D-ish level. Like the other TMNT games, each turtle has a multitude of ass-ripping attacks. To add to their basic button-tap combos, each turtle can now initiate air combos, sweep combos, juggles, special attacks and even super attacks. Each of these new attacks are incredibly easy to pull off as you just hit down(sweep combo) or up(air combo) while attacking, press two buttons at once(special) or simply hold down the attack button to charge up(supers).
To add even more variety, each turtle is actually quite different, with varied abilities and attacks that work perfectly for their specific levels(no doubt the levels were built around this). After all sixteen levels are finished, you'll head off the Shredder's hideout where you can use any of the four turtles in an attempt to make it all the to, and through the Shred-head...

Graphics - Fucking nice. The turtles themselves have a very cool kinda-anime look, complete with a generous amount of slick animation to accompany it. All of their attacks are just done with such style and, to add to it, have a cool weapon trail that follows. The enemies are also very colorful and have a decent amount of animation, though most times you'll only really see them flying across the screen as you tear them apart. The variety in enemy models is also very nice, and ranges from the general street punk, to the larger punk muscles, to foot soldiers(with various weaponry) and even big-ass mutants!
Sound - The soundtrack consists of...and it's hard to describe...it just sounds like Turtle music. You've got your wailing guitars, synthesizers and other stuff going on in a relatively upbeat fashion. Sounds effects are pretty good with a few digitized voice tracks, and a good assortment of other effects that don't grate on your nerves.
Control - Really depends on the turtle, oddly enough. For the most part, they all control very well, but certain turtles like Raph are much quicker and can seem to get things done much more efficiently(back attacks, etc); then there's also Mikey, who is just a maniac when he gets to running, and can be very tough to slow down(he's got this habit of doing back flips whenever you switch directions really quickly during a run). Once you get used to the four turtles though, you begin to compensate for their heightened abilities(or lack there of).
AI - Pretty mindless...they see you, they either come rushing at you, or throw something. You jump to a higher/lower level, they do the same, etc. It makes for some nice crowd-control combos, but as for presenting much of a challenge......then again, there's always "Hard" mode. I actually prefer Hard mode, the enemies can take more damage, they're a bit quicker and some actually seem to have new attacks(like throwing stuff).
Replay value - High. It's pretty arcade-like, so the action is fast and the levels go by pretty quickly. Also, you've got the four turtles, who all have four unique levels...and on top that, you can even try to find the five crystals that are hidden within those levels. There are three difficulty levels to mess with past all of that, and of course the final level with Shredder...
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Remember, all of the turtles can air juggle enemies *until they are dead* so make good use of that when you've got a group cornered. Also, after you get knocked down, your momentary bit of invincibility will last long enough to charge for either of your super attacks...so break'em out if you need to. As for combos, your turtle can usually perform one to two regular button-tap hits before you begin to hold the direction of the combo you'd like to perform, this can dramatically improve the amount of damage you inflict on a given enemy.
Before I get into the turtle-specific supers, I'll remind you not to ignore your turtle's special attack(A+B). Though it does sap a small bit of energy, it doesn't require any charge time, so you can pop it out at any time to get out of a bad situtation...

Leonardo
His first super isn't that great, but in a pinch it'll do. Now, his second super is the absolute best in the game! Not only will it allow Leo to go through projectiles and other attacks, but the damage it does is incredible! Leo is about the only character I can take Shredder with, and it's only due to that second super(use it NON-STOP).

Donatello
Unlike the other turtles, Don's first super is his best. It's a great push back and clear out move that hits pretty much anyone that attempts to get around it. His second super is ok, but only in certain situations(like when an enemy is on a level above Don)...it's really tough to plan anything around it.

Michelangelo
Mikey's first super is a decent clearing move, can even be used in some juggles(like pretty much all of the turtles' first super). His second super, however, is awesome...assuming you can get some distance between you and the enemy. Mikey will throw a pair of 'chucks at the enemy that will hit them twice and return to him. A quick word of warning: Mikey can't move once the weapon has been thrown.

Raphael
Like Leo's first super, Raph's isn't all the great, but if you're getting your ass handed to you, it's not bad for the short charge time it requires. Raph's second super really whips some ass, but is only really effective when you've got the energy to take the hits that'll be coming to you as you charge it up. Use Raph's second super on Casey, he won't know what hit him...

My rating: 91(out of 100) - A rockin' bit of old school sidescrolling with slick graphics, a relatively deep and fun combo system, great control, jammin' music and some surprisingly cool shoot'em up sequences. Its only real fault lies in the fact that it's just all over entirely too soon(there's only seventeen short levels)...

Hot-ass April's Report: These reptiles rock! Though I wouldn't have minded a remake of the first two arcade games, this will certainly do! Now I'm off to tip my hot-ass around in this cute, little cutoff top...
Raph's busting some punk ass with his rockin' air combo.
Taking care of the Mousers...
These guys must be reading the abridged book of ninja fighting.
Yeehaw, ninja cowboy!
Leo just cannot get away from those damn mousers!
Patrolling the skies with Don...
The more the shell changes, the more it stays the same:
In a very hip stroke of old school genius, Konami has kept with a lot of the original moves from past TMNT games(Raph's "Sai spinner" combo finisher, Don's super move from TMNT2, etc), even some of the old TMNT music makes its way back to the game in remixed form.