TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection Announced

[Storm Eagle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-78FD9xvc0

https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/03...tures-13-games

With this, I'd especially look forward to playing the TMNT Arcade Game and the arcade version of Turtles in Time. The former was unlockable in TMNT 2: Battle Nexus that came out for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and X-Box in 2004, but the music was changed.

Now if the earliest Ninja Turtles movies get released on 4K this year, I'll have it made.

[Leo656]

Wow, that's awesome. And all that extra stuff makes it an even better deal. All that for forty bucks? Rad.

[CyberCubed]

It's mind boggling I dreamed of a collection like this since like...I dunno...maybe 2008? This is something I always wish happened for like 15 years. And even in my mind I had hoped they would include both the Arcade versions of TMNT II and IV and the console versions...and we got those as icing on the cake! Plus all 3 tournament fighters and all 3 Gameboy black and white games.

I'm literally crying right now. This is the happiest day of my life. Now I know what people feel like when they get married.

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

It's not really piracy if you even once owned an actual copy of the games.

And how many people nowadays own all home console games for 4 different systems, not to mention arcade games, which are quite expensive?

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I also remember Tournament Fighters on Genesis being hard as hell in the single player, so the save states/rewind fetaure will be help to get up to Krang who is a secret boss in that game. A boss rush mode is excellent.

AFAIK, Krang is a regular boss in this game and not even a final one. And I've never heard about secret bosses in TF on Genesis.

You mean "amazing" boss rush mode, which consists out of 88 fights in a row, after which you are rewarded with a simple "Congratulations!" text?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Sumac

And how many people nowadays own all home console games for 4 different systems, not to mention arcade games, which are quite expensive?

Well, I do, but what I'm talking about is if I once owned a physical copy of Hyperstone Heist for Genesis, I don't feel one bit of guilt in downloading a ROM for it and playing it on my PC or laptop with a controller. And I don't think anyone else should either.

[Coola Yagami]

I was completely blown away by this.

[Leo656]

From what I understand, much of the Genesis TF game's difficulty came from the controls being busted. But I confess I never played that one. I do have a few magazines that reviewed all the different versions side-by-side upon release and the Genesis one was pretty thoroughly trashed. Still pretty excited to play it for the sake of it, though.

SNES version had a few difficult characters, but nothing that can't be cracked with enough practice. Always loved that game despite not really being a "fighting game guy", and even less so back then. I did manage to beat Karai several times over the years, though. Oddly she's not even the most frustrating character to fight; I think Shredder cheats worse, but that's me.

I played the NES version... Once, I think? My buddy rented it but we barely messed with it, and then he got rid of his NES. So no real memories of that one but it will be neat to mess with it.

[CyberCubed]

I have this weird thing where I don't mind watching movies/tv shows for free but it makes me sick doing it with videogames. I know it's a strange double standard, but I have never pirated a videogame in my life.

[Tuxedo Moroboshi]

Originally Posted by Jester

So which of the classic Konami games require this to have a T for teen rating?

Aska in the Japanese version of Tournament Fighters aside, the fighting games might still get that rating anyway since that's what most fighting games get rated as, including the Street Fighter games (of which the TMNT TF games are sorta aping).

[Dask]

If this game becomes a runaway success, there may be hope for a TMNT Tournament Fighters II on modern consoles!

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Dask

If this game becomes a runaway success, there may be hope for a TMNT Tournament Fighters II on modern consoles!

Incredibly doubtful. But I'd like to see it. The Injustice 2 stuff shows how awesome such a thing as a TMNT fighting game could be if done well.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Dask

If this game becomes a runaway success, there may be hope for a TMNT Tournament Fighters II on modern consoles!

There's nobody to make it unless Netherealm studios does it, but they're likely too busy making Mortal Kombat 12 and Injustice 3. At least the Turtles are playable DLC in Injustice 2.

[sdp]

Credit where credit's due, this is indeed a dream collection and they deserve getting praised for it. They could've easily given half of what they did and it would've still been a great compilation I mean I'm sure a TMNT I-IV collection of just the NES/SNES versions or just the two arcade games would've been praised. No one expected the fighting games since they're obscure, or even the game boy games which are forgotten even in the fandom, but they decided to give us all, the genesis version which is a romhack, the arcade versions even if the others were included and they thought, no that's not enough, the Japanese were able to see Aska's ass, let's give those TMNT fans fanservice and raise the rating just to please them with some pixelated animu 16 bit boob jiggle by including the Wapanese versions. I don't think the other Konami collections got this much love, they were decent but they were missing some titles, it wasn't a complete collection.

I don't even know why they included all the Japanese versions of the games, I mean most likely since it doesn't cost them anything to include them since they already have the emulators but the only one that I think has any differences is the SNES Tournament Fighters or am I missing some other cosmetic differences in other games (outside of menus/title screens)?

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

This is every classic TMNT game made by Konami for the original cartoon. Maybe in the future we could get a 2k3 collection with the Gamecube/PS2 and GBA/DS games, but that's probably a pipe dream.

won't happen because manchildren on the internet only have a boner for the FW show and the 2k3 games were torn apart by critics for being beat em up games which was a "dead' genre.
Granted I wouldn't say they're classics either but they're fun games to play through, I'd buy a collection of them and they're certainly better than every other TMNT game that came after it (exception being GBA version of 2007)

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Well, I do, but what I'm talking about is if I once owned a physical copy of Hyperstone Heist for Genesis, I don't feel one bit of guilt in downloading a ROM for it and playing it on my PC or laptop with a controller. And I don't think anyone else should either.

It's still piracy, especially now that it's being offered a legit way to purchase the games. Granted I feel most people who would get excited for this release likely already gave Konami enough money to pirate these games forever whether you owned them or not, or just put hundreds of quarters so I don't see a problem with it but I mean it's technically still piracy. Morally wrong is another thing. I don't have a problem with it but I'll be buying the game because of how awesome it is to have everythign with extras.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Good question, I bet it will be around the time of Shredder's Revenge's release, I would imagine they release this one week prior to it, That way people can play those games to get them ready for it.

They wouldn't do that as one would cannibalize the other's sales.

[Tuxedo Moroboshi]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Well, I do, but what I'm talking about is if I once owned a physical copy of Hyperstone Heist for Genesis, I don't feel one bit of guilt in downloading a ROM for it and playing it on my PC or laptop with a controller. And I don't think anyone else should either.

What if you had owned those before, but sold them and made back the money you initially paid for them (or more)?

Similarly, if you ever owned a movie on VHS, would pirating it on a different platform (DVD, bluray, digital, etc.) also fall under the same stipulations? And again, if you sold your VHS, would you still be entitled to a recorded copy of it?

Not that I'm against having/using ROMs, mind you (I asked that hypothetical mostly because I'm curious where you stand on the issue if it involves relinquishing physical ownership), but even if I do use ROMs myself, I do still like re-buying these collections for modern platforms. Partially because they're really good games and I like to show support and have them conveniently available in a legal way, but also in the hopes of...

Originally Posted by Dask

If this game becomes a runaway success, there may be hope for a TMNT Tournament Fighters II on modern consoles!

It's hard to say, but I've been wanting a sequel for ages.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

There's nobody to make it unless Netherealm studios does it, but they're likely too busy making Mortal Kombat 12 and Injustice 3. At least the Turtles are playable DLC in Injustice 2.

As cool as it was to have them in that game, I think I'd rather have an actual sequel to Tournament Fighters, gameplay-wise. Netherealm games don't play anything like Street Fighter (or in this case, a game that heavily copies Street Fighter).

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Well, I do, but what I'm talking about is if I once owned a physical copy of Hyperstone Heist for Genesis, I don't feel one bit of guilt in downloading a ROM for it and playing it on my PC or laptop with a controller. And I don't think anyone else should either.

Me neither, but, once again, most people don't have all of those games at home.

Originally Posted by Leo656

From what I understand, much of the Genesis TF game's difficulty came from the controls being busted. But I confess I never played that one. I do have a few magazines that reviewed all the different versions side-by-side upon release and the Genesis one was pretty thoroughly trashed. Still pretty excited to play it for the sake of it, though.

Its not problem with controls, they are fairly responsive, IMO.
The problem with collisions - they are awful, like in Pit Fighter or other early fighting games. They just feel wrong.

Originally Posted by sdp

I don't even know why they included all the Japanese versions of the games, I mean most likely since it doesn't cost them anything to include them since they already have the emulators but the only one that I think has any differences is the SNES Tournament Fighters or am I missing some other cosmetic differences in other games (outside of menus/title screens)?

They did it with Castlevania collection as well and their regional versions have even less differences. Guess, it is for purists / completionists sake. And people who get used to play certain versions of the game.

[Tuxedo Moroboshi]

Originally Posted by Sumac

They did it with Castlevania collection as well and their regional versions have even less differences. Guess, it is for purists / completionists sake. And people who get used to play certain versions of the game.

I'm just amazed that they actually just put all these games in one collection. It's a pretty massive collection. Compare it with the Mega Man collections from Capcom and how some of them are split into volumes rather than having all the games from said series together in one collection.

[CyberCubed]

Yeah there's 13 games in this collection, it's pretty insane. I am just so surprised they included the Arcade versions too, especially since TMNT II Arcade is basically an almost completely different game than the NES version despite some similar locations. Turtles in Time Arcade just has a Clayface boss in the Dinosaur stage instead of Slash, and it's missing a few levels like the Technodrome and Sewer Stages the SNES version has.

I wonder if the Tournament Fighters games will include the input moves for the special moves in the pause menu, some of them are pretty obscure to use...otherwise time to pull out gamefaqs to look at the special move guide as if it's 1997!

[Zulithe]

They could have left out many games... or skipped alternate versions, or worst of all, decided to split all the games across multiple collections to get more $$$, but it genuinely sounds good. I hope to pick it up on Steam if it comes there.

Things like this are valuable for preservation and more convenient than emulation. Happy to see it.

I'm still really sad to see the current state of Konami compared to where they were back then. Even what happened to Squaresoft (now Square-Enix) and similar publishers is a much stronger continuation than what they have.

[Prowler]

A collection of 80s of 90s TMNT video games had always been a dream of mine somewhat. But I've always felt it was never going to happen.

But colour me surprised, it is happening. And, naturally, I'll buy it. Being able to play the original Arcade game, Manhattan Project, Turtles in Time and SNES Tournament Fighters on the go all in the same system sounds pretty damn great to me.

And I'll also finally give the Game Boy games a try.

Would have been sweet if the GBA games of the 2k3 series were also included, but I can see why they are not.