Turtles in Time, however, seemed to polish hit detection, visuals, and combos as if it was taking cues from fighting games like Street Fighter II. They relied more on exploiting the game with dive kicks to avoid cheap deaths from bosses which were used to suck up quarters from players. But most of all, it was one of Konami's most polished and enjoyable games on the SNES, Arcade, and as Hyperstone Heist, on Genesis as well.įor reference, earlier beat 'em ups like Konami's TMNT, X-Men, and Simpsons games lacked the hit-detection and combo abilities you could use in Turtles in Time. The game was the ideal homage to the hit cartoon show featuring music and boss designs from the source material. The variety of gameplay included your ability to attack, grapple, dive-kick, and earn extra lives by slamming Foot Clan ninjas into the ground and into the screen. It balanced itself well among quality level design, music, sound effects, visuals, and gameplay. To call TMNT Turtles in Time one of the best beat 'em ups of all time is not an overstatement. But this new hit release is being developed by veterans of the genre who want to pay tribute to Konami's classic titles on the NES, SNES, Genesis, and Arcade machines. Beginning with the Xbox Live Arcade port of the 1989 Arcade title, TMNT has seen a failed remake of Turtles in Time called Re-Shelled and an arcade title exclusive to arcades. With that being said, TMNT has had its fair share of beat 'em up titles come out over the last decade or so. Well, with the release of Streets of Rage 4 reclaiming its crown as the best beat 'em up around, nothing excites me quite like seeing a new Ninja Turtles game as well. As such, it might go without saying that, along with the recent releases of Battletoads and WayForward's 2018 title, River City Girls, we're living in a renaissance of beat 'em up titles.Īmong all the beat 'em up throwbacks to the 80s and 90s, however, there are two titles I staunchly believe make up the best of the best: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and Streets of Rage 2. The World: The Game, the hit beat 'em up which recently received a breath of new life thanks to being ported to modern-day platforms.

While the latter is known for publishing a number of modern-day retro titles, such as the recent hit Streets of Rage 4, the former has a resume under its belt as well.Īmong these include the TMNT title for Game Boy Advance released in 2008 and Scott Pilgrim vs.

The upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title, Shredder's Revenge, comes courtesy of developer Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu.

Tmnt 4 boss shredder