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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Ultra.
I got it
for $39.99 locally. (That's around $70 in todays dollars!)
Story: Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, and Raphael are the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles (hereafter referred to as TMNT). They are mutated pet
turtles who learned their ninja skills from their master, a rat,
Shredder, who is a mutated human (though the comic book origin differs).
Each Turtle is highly skilled in the use of one specific weapon;
Donatello, the Bo (stick), Leonardo, the Katana Blades (swords),
Michaelangelo, the Nunchukus, and Raphael, the Sai. Shredder, an evil
ninja is the lifelong enemy of Splinter and is the main baddie.
Object: There is a different goal for each level of the game. Some of them
are: save their female companion, April, save the Dam, and rescue
Splinter from Shredder's clutches. Eventually, you have to defeat the
Technodrome and beat the evil Shredder to win the game.
Game Play: You are able to choose one of the four Turtles to fight with, and
can change at any time. Donatello's Bo is the most powerful, but
also quite slow, Leonardo's swords are good for clearing out
enemies, Michaelangelo's chuks are good for hitting low, and
Raphael's Sai are the quickest, but weak. Each Turtle is also
able to jump (quite high I might add, like true Ninja
).
There is a map screen (which doubles as a Turtle select screen) that
tells you where you are and where you can go. Splinter or April
can give you hints on these screens.
Graphics: The graphics are neatly done, but the game often runs into the common
flickering screen. I like how each Turtle has a different colored
head band, armband, and knee pad (like the TV cartoon). This minor
effect makes it a little bit easier to tell just which Turtle you're
playing with. I like that, when the Turtle jumps high he does
somersaults a la Metroid and Ninja Gaiden.
Sound: Some sound effects are OK, like how each Turtle's weapon makes its own
distinct sound. Otherwise, sound effects are not impressive. There is
not enough variety and are not too interesting. The background music
could have been a lot better also, it didn't add to the game at all
(though it didn't take away either).
General Comments: I'm not sure how this review is reading, but I really like
this game a lot. I can't say, though, that it's a really great game,
because it isn't. The flickering screen can become annoying, and the
game can get really annoying when you keep falling into the same "trap"
a hundred times in a row (which happens much too often). Don't get me
wrong, it is defintitely an above average game for the NES. It's the
first game in a long while to offer me the all too rare combination of
fun and challenge.
Rating: Highly recommended, definitely give it a look.
Personally, the furthest I've gone without codes is when I killed the final Stone Warrior mini-boss in the room right before Shredder, seemingly at the same time his life bar hit zero, I was hit and my turtle got killed!
I give it a 9.0 (out of 10).
This reviewer was from an Ivy League college, so I'll trust him.