Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. And it’s time once again to display some much needed turtle power, and look at another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. We’ve covered the previous two games, with the consensus being the first one was clunky, and a pain in so many ways, while the 2nd game was a faithful, albeit dumbed down version of the arcade classic.
So, with that said, can the third time be the charm for the heroes in a half-shell? Or is this game akin to a stale slice of pizza? Let’s find out with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992
PUBLISHER: Konami
GENRE: Beat-Em-Up
By 1992, Turtle mania was still going strong, although it’s safe to say the peak had passed quite a while before the release of this game. The franchise had seen a long running series that was still airing, two theatrical movies, and toys. LOTS OF TOYS. I think this was around the time that they were dumping out anything with the turtles mugs on them (There were Star Trek turtles at one point).
And when it came to video games, there were certainly a good bunch of them. On the NES especially. The first two Ninja Turtles games were best sellers on the console, and suffice is to say, that a third would come. Also, by 1992, Konami had finally ditched their Ultra Games brand, so no more games would be released under that umbrella.
Right before the release of TMNT III for the NES, the arcades would see a 2nd turtles game in the form of the classic Turtles in Time. So, I would assume the general thought would be that Konami would either go right into porting it to the NES, or forget the NES and go right for the Super Nintendo. However, that wasn’t the case, as Konami would release a completely new and original Turtles beat-em-up for the NES in The Manhattan Project.
The game would be released in February of 1992 to North America, while the console still had some life left in it. Interestingly, this game was never ported to Europe for some unknown reason. While it wasn’t as super a seller as the previous two, it was still a major hit for the NES, even earning the title of best NES game of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. But how good is the game? Let’s go a bit further in.
COVER STORY
Of all the turtle covers, this is easily the best. Great artwork, lots of action, and just a real eye catching cover. However, there’s one teensy issue I have with it. See the triceratops guy on the box? There are actually no Triceratons in the entire game, which always confused me as to why include him on the cover in the first place. But despite that oversight, it’s still a very awesome cover.
STORY
After years of fighting Shredder and his goons, the ninja turtles decide to finally take a much deserved vacation. The shell heads head down to Palm Beach to bask in the sun and surf. However, their vacay gets cut short, when they learn that in their absence, The Shredder has once again kidnapped April (surprise, surprise). But this time, capturing April is the least of the turtles problems.
The Shredder is lifting the entire island of Manhattan off the ground, and is challenging the turtles to try to foil him once again. So, our heroes now must find a way to return to New York, save April, restore Manhattan, and stop Shredder once again.
GAMEPLAY
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project is a 1-2 player beat-em-up. You control one of the four ninja turtles as you have to make your way from Florida all the way back to new York to rescue April and restore Manhattan. You move yur turtle with the D-Pad, can jump with the A button, and attack with the B.
There isn’t too much different from the controls of TMNT II: The Arcade Game and TMNT III. You still use B to attack as always, and pressing B after lumping executes a dropkick. But now you can also hold down while pressing B to lift your enemy over your head to do more damage. It works in a pinch when you have plenty of foot soldiers to deal with.
But the best new addition to the game are the special moves. When pressing A+B together, your turtle will do a special move that does more damage. Finally, this game gives the turtles more diverse special moves that keeps them all feeling a bit more unique, unlike TMNT II where no matter what turtle you picked, they all played the same. The moves include Leonardo’s tornado slash, Donatello’s somersault spin, Raphael’s drill attack (AKA the best move of the bunch), and Michaelangelo’s handspring attack.
However, unlike TMNT II where the A+B move did more damage without any repercussion, in this game, every time you use your special attack, you use up one point of health. This means that while these are essential when dealing with the tougher bosses of the game, you also have to be strategic, and know when to use them, so you’re not just setting yourself up for an easy death. Or if you’re really good, and only have one hit point left, you can just spam the special move constantly.
Another major thing about this game is its length. Where the other two turtle games weren’t really that long, this one is massive. There are eight levels, and each of them can be pretty long to get from point A to point B, and sometimes even point C. You’ll start at the Florida Keys, and have to surf your way on to one of Shredder’s ships (which makes for one of the coolest stages in the game as you surf the ocean, dodging foot soldiers and electric mines). You’ll get to the island of Manhattan, and have to battle on the streets, sewers, find your way to the Technodrome, and traverse rooftops as you make it to Shredder’s spaceship in the sky.
The game has a ton of bosses, it really runs the gamut of the turtleverse. You’ll face Rocksteady and Bebop, Slash the evil turtle, Groundchuck, Dirtbag, Leatherhead, Tokka, Rahzar, and finally Krang and Shredder. Oh, and of course the final battle is with Shredder’s ultimate form, the Super Shredder. So, if you were looking for the ultimate turtle battle with their ultimate rogues gallery, this is definitely one of the best.
Just as long as you have no problem facing hundreds of foot soldiers. Though they have a far better palette and differing abilities depending on the level. They use swords, whips, throw shuriken, throw kunai, throw boomerangs. Hell, they even throw themselves at you. It’s always fun to see what crazy way they’re trying to defeat you next.
You’ll also face the familiar stone warriors and mousers, as well as plenty of robotic annoyances in the spaceship and Technodrome levels. It’s definitely a far better variety than in Turtles II, while not resorting to weird choices like in the first Ninja Turtles game. So, if you were looking for flying eyeballs, and men on fire, look somewhere else.
And one little thing I love is the variety of ways the foot soldiers will appear throughout the game. Breaking through windows, hiding behind signs, pretending to be statues. Even being assembled inside of the Technodrome. That’s just one of the many really nice touches of the game. You never know how they’ll show up next, and what type.
One of the really nice touches to the game that make it feel more well built from the others is that should you lose a life at any time in a level, you are given the ability to select what turtle you want to play as. So, if you’re not feeling too keen on using Donatello, and would rather Michaelangelo, you get your chance after losing a life. And trust me, you’ll be losing plenty of lives.
You start with three lives, and three continues. full restore Pizza is a bit more scarce in this game than in the previous two, and you only earn extra lives after certain increases in points. 50,000 then 100,000 then 200,000 and so on. Though there also seems to be a cap on how many points will earn you extra lives. There are also no passwords or game save options, meaning that this will be one of the most challenging turtle quests ever.
The game also adds two different two player modes, which is in the form of 2 Player A and 2 Player B. The main difference being that A mode will let both player be able to hurt one another. Because, you know, that’s what made Battletoads so much easier on 2 player (rolls eyes). There are really no other complaints though. Hit detection is perfect, and there’s no real flaws in the controls.
GRAPHICS
This is not just one of the best looking Ninja Turtles games, but one of the best looking NES games. Graphics are top notch in this game. Characters all look really great and look excellent in 8-bit, levels are massive, and are often chock full of detail. And there are plenty of well drawn cutscenes that capture the look and feel of the cartoon.
They also have the turtles look a bit more diverse. Their bandanna colors are far brighter, and their idle animations have them handle their weapon differently, which are just really nice little touches. The game even opens with an 8-bit version of the cartoon intro, as shown here.
Konami put a lot of effort into the game and it shows. It really uses the NES color palette to its full potential, and comes off as one of the last good looking games on the console.
MUSIC
Konami never disappoints, and this is yet again another quality soundtrack. Although I still prefer the first Turtles game when it comes to soundtrack, this one comes very close to topping it. There are so many great tunes here including the surfing area, the sewer level, the Technodrome, and all three boss tunes. This also has the best 8-bit rendition of the classic theme song as well. This is definitely a soundtrack worth checking out in my opinion.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This is the best Turtle experience on the NES bar none. Graphics, gameplay, control, music, all are knocked right out of the park with this attempt. I will say that the oft-annoying difficulty and even the length may turn off some gamers, but if you are looking for one of the best challenges on the NES that doesn’t feel as cheap as, say, Battletoads, then look no further.
While they may have had some shaky areas on the NES, it’s safe to say that the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles have definitely had the best run for any cartoon to video game adaptation. And this is definitely the one worth picking up. There’s only one turtles game left to talk about for the NES, that being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters, but even that game doesn’t come close to touching the greatness of TMNT III. This is a must have for any hero in a half-shell.
RATING: Thumbs Up
: Thumbs Up