Review: Yes folks, there IS a good TMNT game out there!

I was a Ninja Turtles kid. The toys, the show, all that stuff. I never thought twice that the concept of amphibious lizards who know karate and eat pizza was ridiculous. Anyway, that series went gracefully into the night, or so it should have. The recent attempts at reviving TMNT fell hollow on today's Pokemon and Hilary Duff infused youth, while also managing to destroy older fans' image of the series, however inaccurate or undeserved.

But wait! Ninja Turtles have always been good concepts for a videogame, right? 4 turtles, four players, lots of beating up enemies and ninja moves! But no, aside from the re-release of the classic arcade game, Ubisoft seemed to have put out a mindless Prince of Persia lite for every home system ever conceived. (they may have forgotten the Colecovision, I'm not sure) Even the DS, which is often like a glittering fantasyland made of licorice whips for good games got a watered down version of the crappy home game.

Is the nouveau TMNT a complete wash? Is there nothing good to sift out of the steaming piles of childhood memories? No, dear reader, for the Game Boy Advance saves the day, with an excellently crafted and incredibly overlooked ninja beat-em-up.

The game basically has two objectives. Kick ass, and move right! Aside from that simplicity, the game does have a good combo and air juggle system using launchers and combo strikes along with roll/dodge moves that adds a lot of depth. Weapons are placed throughout the somewhat repetitive levels. The whole game has a very solid feel to the engine and physics that I haven't seen in this style of game since River City Ransom.

River City Ransom comparisons don't stop there though. Each of the four turtles can accumulate experience points and improve their abilities. Enhancements also can be purchased with money that enemies drop. There is a hub-like overworld from where you select levels, buy upgrades, and play an abundance of minigames with Casey, Splinter, and April. Last on TMNT's extensive feature list is the medals (read: Achivements) for doing things like a 50 hit combo, juggling someone 10 times, accumulating money, and other creative goals.

Sprites are clean, clear, and animation is very expressive. The levels are a bit repetitive, and the game is over before it really should be. It should go without saying, but if you hate these type of beat-em-up sidescrollers, TMNT won't be for you. However, for fans, GBA is by far the best way to go for TMNT gaming this time around.

The game hasn't been very widely shipped and you might have to do some worthwhile searching. (I found mine at a best buy, and have only seen copies at a local department store otherwise, every GameStop/EB and GameCrazy got NO copies in, morons)

I give TMNT an 8 of 10 for the very solid game engine, ample bonus content, and very impressive graphics. It loses points for the number of stages in the game, and lacking classic TMNT villians. (yeah, the movie was too, but that's another problem)