Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES)
Ever wonder what Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro and other popular magazines thought of your favorite 8-, 16- and 32-bit games? Now you can find out, thanks to Review Crew! This is the only show on the internet that is willing to go back in time to find out what old school critics thought of retro games at the time. Did they pan your favorite game? Did they love something terrible? Find out every week as Defunct Games presents Review Crew!
Grab a slice of pizza, because we're right in the middle of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles week at Defunct Games! After receiving
mixed reviews from their first 8-bit outing, the Turtles are back with this watered-down port of the smash hit arcade game. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game had the stages and the action, but it all came at a cost. Was the price too high for Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Nintendo Power and CVG? Find out now when we go back in time to see what critics thought of TMNT II: The Arcade Game back in 1991!
(NOTE: Although we occasionally cut for length, no other edits are made to the review. Defunct Games does not change any of the wording, grammar or punctuation use. Also keep in mind that our score is the average of all critics at the time, not just the sample that is reprinted on this page. If you still have more questions, I recommend you check out the
Review Crew FAQ, where we address the review guidelines, converting scores, magazine covers and more.)
GAMEPRO (December 1990)
"TMNT: The Arcade Game is sure to be a monster hit. The heavy-duty faithful-to-the-arcade style game play (and it's a long game!) are real crowd pleasers, and the radioactive mutants are as personable as ever. The music could have been better but, hey, you can't have everything. If you've had a bad day, bashing Foot Clan boffos is a radical way to lighten up. Go for it, dudes and dudettes!" -Johnny Arcade
(5 out of 5)
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY #15
"The turtle quartet never looked better than they do in this super sequel! The action is much more straightforward than the previous NES game, but as an action game, Turtles has the perfect blend of graphics and action!" -Ed Semrad
(9 out of 10)
NINTENDO POWER (February 1991)
"Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the arcade just took a Mutant Module to your NES. All those righteous scenes are here, plus two "excellent" new stages. The Foot Clan foes you love to hate are back too, not to mention the evil masterminds who would like nothing more than to snack on Turtle Pizza. So grab your Bro for the two-player game or challenge the Shredder alone for some mega kicks."
(3.7 out of 5)
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY #15
"Konami is pushing the NES to its limit, with this hero in a half-megabyte! Excellent graphics with smoothly animated characters and detailed backgrounds straight out of the arcades. Fun as 2 player if you can put up with flicker!" -Martin
(8 out of 10)
COMPUTER & VIDEOGAMES #125
"Everybody's ben holding their breath for aaaages for Turtles II on the NES -- and now it's finally here! Initially Turtles II is a treat and a half, but eventually its shine does wear a little thin and the repetitive gameplay becomes a bit of a chore. Recommended if you're one of those people who's stil pumping his change into the machine or you're completely nuts for the Turtles themselves, otherwise have a good look at the Battletoads before deciding where to splash your cash." -Tim Boone
(88% out of 100%)
VIDEO GAMES & COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT (December 1990)
"Take the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles out of this cartridge -- what little of their humor and personality is present to begin with -- and you're left with a spectacular-looking but repetitive action game. My advice: Unless you're the rabid sort of TMNT fan who'll buy anything with their logo on it, try before you buy. That way, you can't go wrong." -Joshua Mandel
(6 out of 10)
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY #15
"Take away the Turtle characters and how would this game rate? The same! Nothing left out of this now classic arcade game except the other two players! Konami amazes me! This is no turtle soup! Cowabunga, dude!" -Sushi X
(7 out of 10)
REVIEW CREW AVERAGE: 78% -
Although the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's first foray into 8-bit was
met with mixed results, critics were willing to forgive. Sure, this questionably titled NES game is little more than a watered-down port of the four-player arcade brawler, but the critics didn't seem to mind. Some complained about the reduction to two-player co-op, but their scores suggested they weren't as bothered as they might let on. On the other hand, there were a couple of outlets that had real misgivings with TMNT II: The Arcade Games. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment complained that the cartridge is too repetitive, an argument that can be leveled against most brawlers of the time. But TV's Johnny Arcade disagreed; the GamePro freelancer called the game a real crowd pleaser and gave it a perfect five out of five. But even with that score, this arcade port only averages out to 78%.
