Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time

aka: TMNT 4, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles IV: Turtles in Time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Moby ID: 6655
Arcade Specs
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Description official descriptions

Doesn't this Shredder dude ever take a break? Now he's gone and "kidnapped" the Statue of Liberty itself, and just as the Ninja Turtles were about to kick his butt, he tore open some kinda time portal thingy and flung them back into the past!

Now Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo have to fight their way through time and tons of Foot Soldiers, mutant wackos, and more in order to bring liberty back and slam Shredder's butt all the way to Dimension X! Go, Turtles! Kick some shell and save us!

Spellings

  • ティーンエージ ミュータント ニンジャ タートルズ/タートルズ イン タイム - Japanese katakana spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

13 People (9 developers, 4 thanks)

Director
Game Programmer
Character Design
Graphic Design
Visual Design
Sound Designer
Music Composer
Hardware Design
Special Thanks
Produced by
  • Konami

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 21 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 92 ratings with 5 reviews)

Awesome 16-bit Turtle Power!

The Good
The original TMNT arcade game perfected the art of turtle power! It did so by building on the play mechanics of Double Dragon and Final Fight, while also adding its own, uniquely "cowabunga", comic book style.

The sequel did likewise, and I'm happy to report that this 16-adaption of the turtles second arcade game is equally praiseworthy.

Our fabulous, funky, kick-butt ninjas look and sound awesome. Game play mechanics are easy to learn, responsive and the ability to toss bad guys into the background was a cool feature.

The turtles battle the forces of evil in some beautifully designed levels, which once again highlighted the hardware advantages found in the Super Nintendo.

The 16-bit war between Nintendo and Sega were furious in the 1990s, and this is one of those early titles that showed just what the SNES could do.

The Bad
The damsel in distress storyline is a bit overdrawn in the video game franchise. April is a smart, streetwise reporter.

However. The number of times she has been captured does make you wonder if she developed some sort of unhealthy attachment to Shredder or Krang. Ok, maybe she would not be the best ninja warrior, but does she have to keep being the helpless lady?

Lastly, the hack 'n slash format is certainly not going to win any points for originality. It is wonderfully designed and executed in this game, but you are still basically moving left to right in order to hack at familiar enemies and bosses.

The Bottom Line
The turtles first leap into the 16-bit gaming world is an awesome one. It is a familiar sort of fast paced, hack 'n action, complete with a damsel in distress. If you can get a hold of this game, you will be glad that you did. Turtle Power!

SNES · by ETJB (428) · 2014

The seminal Ninja Turtles game

The Good
The final sidescrolling beat 'em up starring the famous ninja Turtles is arguably the finest title in the series, showcasing the best examples of the kickass gameplay that made the TMNT games such a phenomenon. Beyond being just a port of the arcade title of the same name, the game actually is sort of a hybrid between that one and the Genesis Hyperstone Heist exclusive, which essentially gives you the best of both worlds.

With extremely good graphics and sounds, this is the most authentic-looking TMNT game you could have in your home at the time and a near perfect arcade port of the original, which also includes the largest collection of sprites seen in the series as well as an excellent use of sprite zooming that works whenever you throw a character towards the screen (at you!) and also doubles as an interesting gameplay feature, as in some levels you have to hit enemies that are in the foreground and cannot be reached by normal attacks.

As a nice feature, besides the traditional arcade mode (which can be played solo or with a friend) you have a time trial and vs mode, which pits a turtle against another in a one-on-one match a-la Street Fighter, an idea so good that it got fleshed out into it's own game. All features which add a lot of value to an already good game with lots of moves, large and colorful enemies, nonstop action and lots of Turtle-goodness.

The Bad
The arcade mode is kind of short, specially when compared to the NES's Manhattan Project, which while inferior in quality and gameplay, is about 4 times the size of this one. (It's still longer than the original arcade Turtles in Time tough).

One could also argue that by the time the classic mold of 2D beat 'em ups was getting a little stale, and even the lesser titles out there had started to include multiple endings, branching routes and alternative challenges, stuff that Turtles in Time completely ignores.

The Bottom Line
Before Konami was known for it's superlative Silent Hills and blatantly over-rated Metal Gear Solid sequels, it was known to kids everywhere as THE name (along with Capcom of course) for 2D side-scrolling beat 'em ups, and this title is the perfect example of why they made such a name for themselves. Truly the finest title to bear the TMNT banner and one hell of a good time for fans of fast-paced cartoony action.

SNES · by Zovni (10504) · 2004

The BEST TMNT game!

The Good
Lot's of new features have been improved in this port of this game such as the VS. mode, the time attack mode and added a new level. The graphics are close to the 1987 cartoon. They added in newer bosses. It's look's like Konami put lots of effort in this game.

The Bad
The animation isn't smooth as the arcade version. The levels can be long for some people. You can only play a 2-player co-op. You need to play the hard mode to see the ending, so I do recommend a Game Genie.

The Bottom Line
This game is one of the few popular arcade games from the 90's by Konami that's been ported to the Super Nintendo. Aside no port of The Simpsons or X-Men. If you like streets of rage or final fight then you will love this game. You might want to get on the XBLA or the PSN right now.

SNES · by Mario Duenaz (19) · 2009

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

Level design

Turtles in Time contains much of the same level design from the Genesis game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, but with the addition of completely unique Time Travel levels.

SNES version

Though very close to the original arcade version, the SNES game has undergone several important modifications. For example, the turtles now are warped into the prehistoric period after visiting the Technodrome instead of the sewers, and the Technodrome now is the fourth level. Some bosses have been swapped, the stage set in the future now uses the Mode 7 feature, and so on.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Satoshi Kunsai.

Arcade added by The cranky hermit.

Additional contributors: Shoddyan, Mumm-Ra, Alaka, lights out party, François-Patrick Arteau, RetroArchives.fr.

Game added June 14, 2002. Last modified March 3, 2024.