Hello everyone. I recently played the 3 TMNT games on GBA and would like to talk about them.
-1- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles GBA (2003)
This is a licensed game based on the 2003 TMNT show (one I really enjoyed watching a kid and remember often being freaked out by because some of those episodes were dark af. That episode where Don goes to the future especially😳).
The game is mostly a 2D brawler/beat-em-up type split into 4 chapters you can play in any order. Each chapter is a self contained story based on season 1 episodes from the TV show where you control 1 Turtle. For example, Raph's chapter consists of him meeting and befriending Casey Jones while dealing with the Purple Dragons. Don's chapter references that one episode where the Foot Clan had invisible Ninjas and kidnapped Raph. The stories themselves aren't told in an amazing way, mostly being quick stills and text boxes so if you aren't a fan of the show or these episodes, you won't enjoy them as much. I won't complain about this aspect too much here. The poor GBA can't exactly go wild with the cutscenes here. And I did find the game's retellings of episodes I watched as a kid rather nostalgic and charming. The artstyle, sound and aesthetic are accurate to the show and well done here.
When I first played the game and saw there were 4 chapters, I imagined it would just be the same set of levels, maybe some alternations here and there for some level aspects or cutscenes for each of the 4 Turtles. Kinda like the old 16 bit Turtle games. But no. Each of the 4 chapters have different levels built around the different Turtles who have different abilities.
The 4 Turtles share the same basic controls. You jump with A, attack with B. Attacking an enemy with B does a basic combo. Holding B charges up an attack indicated by a meter under the Turtle's health. Releasing it when the meter is yellow does a stronger attack. Releasing it when the meter turns red does an even more powerful attack but takes longer to charge. Holding it until the meter is full "tires out the Turtle" and leaves you vulnerable so there is some risk/reward here. Pressing R does a super attack that damages all enemies around the Turtle at the cost of some of the Turtle's health. Good as a last resort option but not one you want to spam. There are some addition moves like jump and direction attacks.
The Turtles themselves have their own takes on these controls and movesets and their levels are built around that. For example, Leo's controls and moves are more standard brawler/beat-em-fare. So his levels focus more on throwing enemies and projectiles at him. Don can't double jump like the others. Instead, pressing Up + A makes him use his staff to launch himself up. And pressing A when running makes him use his staff to do a long jump. So his levels are built more around doing this type of platforming as well as doing some hacking. Mikey is the only one with a ranged attack (charging his attack until red makes him throw is nunchuks like boomerangs) and can wall jump so his levels often throw more ranged enemies across gaps that you can either take out with the ranged attack or jump to avoid projectiles and close the distance. Raph can climb walls with his sais so his levels have a lot more climbing and verticality.
The chapters are also interspersed with "gimmicks/vehicle" sections. For example, Raph's chapter contains a section where he must do a motorcycle race against Casey while also dodging obstacles and collecting fuel in a 2.5 level. Don has a 2D glider section where he must dodge and shoot down missiles and avoid floating mines. Mikey has a skateboarding section that kinda reminds me of Sonic 2's Special Stages.
The general gameplay and controls do work fine. The game is generally fun but I do find it starts to get a bit repetitive as there isn't much variety. I do appreciate the game trying to mix up the experience and make the Turtles have different moves but I feel it doesn't improve the experience enough.
For one, the game doesn't have many different kinds of attacks or attacks. I understand the GBA is limited with buttons but still. There's no cool counterattack or parry system or any kind of grabs. So most fights do come down to spamming attacks and jumping away from enemy attacks. Which is fun but not very deep.
Secondly, many of the Turtle's unique moves often feel more cosmetic rather than add variety. For example, Raph can climb walls. But the majority of his levels are still the same combat shared by the other Turtles. Climbing walls doesn't radically change how you play the level as Raph. It's not like there are secret pathways or routes you can now find by climbing. Instead climbing just becomes something you have to do as Raph sometimes.
Thirdly, some of the gimmicks often make the experience more annoying and frustrating. Don's sections often make him do that running+long jump platforming which I found was rather imprecise and finicky especially when needing to chain said jumps multiple times over spiked pits. Damage often persists for quite a while and checkpoints are pretty infrequent.
Don and Raph's vehicle sections were also really annoying. For Raph, it's hard to see what obstacles are coming up when traveling at high speeds. Making enough mistakes means you can't then catch up to Casey which means you lose and have to retry. I had to spend quite a while replaying this level, memorizing all the hazards and playing near flawlessly to make it through. At least the section was quite short.
Don's section doesn't have any time pressure but the level is quite long, has no checkpoints and very few healing items. Having to dodge so many mines and missiles at high speed with little heads up wasn't fun.
Interestingly, I found Mikey's chapter the most fun as his moveset is versatile enough to give more variety to the gameplay. Mikey having both a charged ranged attack and close range quick melee means you can alternate them depending on the enemy and its attacks. When you're fighting those big lizard monsters, you can come in close and attack them when they're doing their breath attacks, then jump away when they are doing their melee strikes and attack them from range and repeat. Mikey's platforming sections are more fun as the wall jumps ask you to time your jumps properly to make progress and avoid obstacles and enemy attacks. There are even combat sections that combine these. Like, I feel you can make an entire solid game out of just Mikey's gameplay. It's that good.
Even his vehicle section was quite fun. The pseudo 3D approach worked well in showing you what obstacles were coming, it was reasonable enough to react to them, Mikey has both a short move with the D-Pad and a longer spin/dodge with B that helped with this. Like, if you have to play only 1 chapter, Mikey's is the way to go. I have no complaints. It's short and sweet as well (the whole game is like 2 hours max). I honestly wouldn't mind an entire game that uses just Mikey's chapter as the foundation and builds on top of it.
Overall, TMNT GBA is a decent time waster for 2 hours but not one I would go out of my way to replay. I like the charm, aesthetic and set pieces here but the gameplay isn't the most replayable and it has some frustrating sections.
-2- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus GBA (2004)
Released a year after the last game. TMNT2BNGBA, from my research looking online, is generally considered the worst and most confusing TMNT GBA game. When I first started playing it, I thought the same. But now, I might consider it the best.
TMNT2 retains mostly the same gameplay, sprites, controls, and assets from its predecessor but is a completely different genre. Whereas its predecessor was a straight up brawler/beat-‘em-up, 2 is more of a platformer/stealth/action/puzzle hybrid. I know that sounds weird but hear me out.
Unlike its predecessor, there aren’t unique levels or chapters depending on the Turtle you pick. You progress by choosing a level and then which Turtle you want. Meaning you can play or replay any level with any Turtle.
When you choose a level, you start without a weapon. You do have shurikens you can throw but these do paltry damage and are used more for puzzles in later levels. You then have to use stealth and platforming to get past enemies as it’s very difficult to fight them at this point. Once you find your weapons, you can fight enemies normally and then must find the exit to the level.
When I first started playing the game, I found myself agreeing with many of the criticisms leveled at the game. It’s rather confusing to navigate and it’s not very fun as a stealth game as the stealth is quite basic and becomes a non factor when you find your weapons. Nor is it fun as a brawler as there are fewer enemies in fights because of the stealth aspect. Boss fights in particular are odd because you don't start with your weapons but the pickup for them spawns right above you at the start of the level. So I was prepared to say this was the worst game here.
But after a while, I decided to try 100%-ing a level just for the fun of it. And that’s when the game clicked for me. The focus of the game isn’t the combat or stealth, but more the exploration/navigation.
Remember back in my review of the previous game where I mentioned the Turtle’s unique abilities often felt more cosmetic rather than novel? This game aims to rectify that. The same level can be played quite differently depending on which Turtle you select. This is most evident on the level in world 2 that asks the player to escape a vertical area in under 70 seconds. Raph can quickly climb the walls. Don can hack a console to bring down a lift and use his Bo Staff to launch himself upwards. Mikey can use his ranged attacks to break open blocks to create paths. This leads to some nice problem/puzzle solving where you have to analyze parts of a level and decide which Turtles to bring in on subsequent playthroughs to 100% the level.
Even the odd weapon pickup mechanic starts making more sense here. All the Turtle's movement abilities depend on their weapon. Starting without the weapon means you must navigate part of the level with your base movement abilities, noting all the areas you can't reach yet, and then possibly backtrack once you do find them kinda like a Metroidvania.
Leo does fare the worst here however as he doesn't have any unique movement abilities. Ralph can climb walls which is genuinely useful here. Don can hack certain terminals, see in the dark with his night vision goggles and use his Bo Staff launch himself straight up. Mikey loses his wall jump from the last game but can glide and has a range attack using his nunchucks. As a result, whenever I play a new level, I like to play as Leo first as the "hard mode" as I must complete the level in the most basic way. Then usually Mikey to get those crystals that require his ranged abilities, then usually Don or Ralph as they can mop up what few remaining crystals are left. The game also gives you a medal for completing a level with each of the 4 Turtles.
I will say that sometimes, this does work to the game's disadvantage. The later levels tend to be more fun being replayed 4 times as they are larger and have more paths or ways for the different Turtles to play differently. But early on, it can feel rather boring as many early levels don't change much with the 4 playthroughs. This is especially the case in the "gimmick/vehicle" levels that ask you to ride a hoverboard or glider or 3D shooting section as these do not change at all depending on the Turtle. You even get all 10 crystals with Leo. I feel it might be better if the game gave you the medal for completing it with all 4 Turtles when you beat it just once. It's sorta similar for the boss fights but at least the bosses are actually kinda fun and not very drawn out.
Then again, there is nothing requiring you play each level 4 times. The bare minimum the game asks you is to just complete the level once with any Turtle to unlock the next level. You can speed through the game once with just Raph if you want.
But yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with this game. And of all of the TMNT games on the GBA, I feel this is the one I'm most likely to ever come back and replay in the future. I enjoyed its design and approach that much. I really do feel this game has potential with a modern reimagining that takes its concepts much further. I'm imagining a TMNT game where how you complete a level and which Turtle you use unlocks a different set of levels. That would be so cool. As it stands, TMNT2 BNGBA is a pretty fun time for the 2 or so hours it lasts. I highly recommend checking this one out.
TMNT (2007)
The last and final TMNT game on the GBA was the one based on the 2007 CGI movie. And I loved that movie as a kid. So much so that I went and sought out whatever merchandise, books and games I could based on it. I remember getting the PS2 game based on the movie, as well as the PSP and DS versions. The PS2 version was this really good alternate take on Prince of Persia (makes sense since it was made by Ubisoft) with great level design and mechanics. I recommend everyone reading this go try it if you can. The DS/PSP version was.......a game. So I was looking forward to see how the GBA would translate it. I was hoping for an extension of TMNT2 BNGBA.
If I had to briefly describe TMNT2007GBA, it feels the closest we've seen so far to a GBA version of the Turtles in Time game. It's a straightforward and streamlined 2.5D brawler. No platforming. No vehicle sections. No exploration or branching paths. No Collectibles etc. You just pick a level, select which Turtles the game dictates you can choose (depending on the story mission) and off you go.
The first thing I want to highlight are the graphics and artstyle. This game looks great. And I don't mean "good for the GBA". I mean, really good. It uses this really nice and detailed artstyle that absolutely pops. It's gorgeous. Like, with some tweaking, it wouldn't look too out of place in a modern retro style game. I might even go so far as to say this is one of the best looking games on the GBA. Everything from the Turtles to the enemies and environments is some great pixel art.
The game also has a hub world. You start in the Turtles' lair where you can walk and talk to Splinter to play levels and look at in-game trophies and achievements. But you can also leave the sewers and walk around a small street in New York. This street has a few pedestrians moving around that completely ignore your Turtle, and some stores you can walk in to purchase items to help you in later levels like health potions, extra lives, extra exp, temporary weapons and even a wall jump move. And on this street, there is a small section where you can practice your moves on a respawning gang member, and a rooftop that leads you to April who can give you a minigame to spend 25 coins to throw barrels at targets. Like, yeah, all this stuff could be in a menu, but it's still really cool. And a bit funny to imagine Ralph angrily walking across the street in clear view of every pedestrian to enter a gym and buy some candy bars and baseball bats lol.
When you are in a level, the controls and gameplay should sound familiar. You move with the D-Pad, jump with A, attack with B. There are some tweaks to the overall combat system. You can now do a sort of Sonic the Hedgehog style homing attack by pressing A twice. There are no more "charged B" attacks. Instead you just have combos and moves that rely on a direction + B. You can pick up certain items dropped by enemies like weapons and throwables by pressing B and then pressing B again to use them. You can also pick up and throw objects like crates and even smaller enemies you knock down.
You also have "Brother Bond Moves". When you start a level and choose your main Turtle, you can also choose to bring along another secondary Turtle as backup. When in combat, you fill up a green meter by doing attacks. When this meter is full, you can press R to summon your secondary Turtle who will take out 1 or multiple enemies, or drop a healing pizza for you. The more you summon a particular secondary Turtle, the more they will level up and the longer they will stick around when you summon them.
This game also encourages you to get a high score. Moreso than the prior GBA Turtle games. How many hits you get in a combo directly correlates with how much money and XP you get. Getting more XP levels up your Turtle and improves their stats. Money can be used to by items and resources in between levels. You also get a score and time rating at the end of every level.
The game also tells the story of the movie through these stills from the movie. Although, it really speedruns the plot of the movie here. A single 6 minute mission feels like it blitzes through like 30-40 minutes of scenes from the movie. I can't be too harsh here. This is the norm for movie licensed GBA games. Those cartridges don't exactly have a lot of room to spare.
So yeah, if you are a huge fan of Turtles in Time, you might enjoy this game. I personally, didn't really enjoy this one.
For one, I really liked how the past 2 Turtles' games (especially TMNT2 BN GBA) really mixed up the experience with cool platforming and exploration gameplay rather than rely on strictly combat. It kept the game feeling fresh. TMNT 2007 GBA is just 100% combat in every level and I feel that gets a bit too repeitive. The game does introduce new enemy factions that do look visually different and have slightly different moves (and special or larger enemies that require you to really fight them differently) but I don't feel it's enough. I found myself getting kinda bored of the game by the 3rd level. The game even has a wall jump move you can buy and it does work in the lair but there's nowhere to use it in the regular levels which are mostly straight lines as you move through them. Sometimes there are some cool hazards like mines or explosive crates or trains but they only help so much.
Your moves in combat are pretty straightforward and don't feel too different. The different Turtles, despite having different stats, don't play too differently. But you're still encouraged to stick with a specific pair of Turtles because of the XP system as the summon moves are really useful in later levels.
The game's few attempts at mixing up the experience come in the boss fights. And these aren't great. Hush is the first one you fight and feels a bit cheap given his AOE attacks but is otherwise passable. The weird red goblin looking thing from the movie is really confusing at first and his fire attack drains a lot of your health. But then you learn you have to walk into him when he's standing still to dictate where he moves and hit him when he inflates himself for his fire attack where he no longer becomes a challenge but is pretty dull. Karai's boss fight is her doing seemingly undodgeable attacks and then splitting into 3. 2 of which are fake decoys. You have to hit the correct one quickly to damage her or she'll restart her attack cycle. Winters' Boss fight involves him dropping these red laser balls on you that you just have to avoid once and hit them so they fly into Winters who will do a charge attack once that you have dodge and then repeat. The 13th Monster isn't a traditional fight but instead a timed challenge where you avoid falling off the truck and throw fish into his mouth while regular Purple Dragon goons and the monster's breath tries to blow you off. The 4 stone generals repeat the same basic and easy patterns so it becomes less a fight and more a waiting game. I didn't really enjoy any of these while the boss fights in the prior TMNT GBA games were actually kinda fun despite not being very novel. They were good straightforward brawler bosses.
It's a shame because I can see all the things this game does well or novel working in a better game. The artstyle and graphics, scoring system, and hub world are really cool. It's a shame that the gameplay itself kinda gets rather stale too quickly for the game's own good and the game doesn’t really have anything else in its hub world and side content to make up for it. And this game is far shorter than its GBA predecessors. I feel you can beat it in around 1-1.5 hours here. And I didn't feel any rush to replay it once I was done.
Of course, I could be entirely wrong here. It’s entirely possible this game has secret levels or something in its hub world that I entirely missed that are that mix of TMNT2 and TMNT2007 I was craving and I can’t deny that. I didn't find anything like that so I have to conclude for now, it’s not a game I’d recommend. If someone reading this knows if I missed something important, let me know and I’ll reevaluate the game.
In closing, TMNT2BNGBA is something of a hidden gem on the GBA. It’s a bit of an odd game that takes some getting used to, but once you do, it becomes a really fun and engaging 2D Action Stealth Brawler Platformer due to its level design and the different Turtles’ abilities. I highly recommend it.
TMNT1 and TMNT2007 on the other hand, are a bit harder to recommend. TMNT1 fares better due to its more varied mechanics and levels but is rather inconsistent and repetitive. TMNT2007 is drop dead gorgeous to the point of almost feeling more modern than it is but is far more repetitive and flawed.
Thank you for reading. I want to cover more superhero/comic book games on the GBA like the Iron Man and Batman games one day. My next post will probably be on Platinumming Cyberpunk 2077. I hope to see you all then.
