Producer: Ultra
System: NES
Year: 1991
Overview: The Turtles' second NES venture brings the greatness of the arcade game to the home console! Let's check it out:
Story: Yeah, yeah. Shredder's got April again... Stupid broad just can't stay out of trouble...
Graphics: Certainly an improvement over the first game. Only one thing is slightly annoying; see, Ultra worked out some kind of deal with Pizza Hut when promoting this game. As a result, Pizza Hut signs are strewn all over this game like they were wallpaper. Other than the corporate whoring, however, the game looks nice.
Sound: Music sounds good. No real complaints here. In fact, I think the music is a bit more varied than the arcade game.
Gameplay: The game plays much differently from its predecessor. Eliminating the exploration aspects, this game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up spanning about 7-8 stages. They even added a couple levels that weren't in the arcade version. It uses a lot more from the TV series than the last game did, with familiar faces like Bebop and Rocksteady (althoguh they did manage to make it into the last game as well), Baxter Stockman, Krang, a few new faces, and hundreds of effin' Foot Soldiers coming out of the damn woodwork. This game, unlike the first, has a two player option as well. One thing that I miss from the first game, however, is the variation between the Turtles. In this game, all of them seem to play exactly the same. It's all a matter of personal preference here.
Challenge: This game is tough, but not quite as bad as the last one. Again, there are limited continues and no save option, but the controls just feel a lot better this time around.
Final Rating: 8/10 Definitely a step above the first game, but not quite perfect. Still, it's a good game worth looking into.
