TMNT

The Good
The first thing that struck me about this game is quite simply how fun it is. Do you remember that first rush of glee you got when you played Konami's TMNT arcade game for the first time? It's captured here. Much better than Konami's more recent Turtle efforts since the relaunch. It plays like a nice, well-done update of the original arcade game.

The graphics are well done with bright, recognizable and detailed sprites for all the Turtles, each with their own distinct animations for attacks. The cut-scenes are pulled from the recent movie, and while they don't match the gameplay's look, they don't feel out of place, either. In beat 'em up games such as this, you are guaranteed to get generic bad guys, and you do here, but at least they are well-detailed generic bad guys, again nicely animated.

The music is also good. Kind of generic hard-hitting rock music. Nothing outstanding, but appropriate for the gameplay, and reminiscent of the old Turtle games. Plenty of good grunts, "oofs", and fighting sound effects abound.

The game controls like a dream. The controls, are fast, responsive, and you don't feel like you pulled off a move but it didn't register on screen. The Turtles are given the basic attack/jump button combo, but can pull off a few special moves and charges. The framerate is also smooth and easy. No choppy animation here.

The updates? You can strengthen your Turtles to make them stronger by purchasing power-ups and equipment in a free-roaming hub. April, Casey Jones and Splinter each offer you various challenges of skill. There's a "trophy room" that gives you awards if you meet certain requirements. The level backgrounds are quite interactive and allow for some destruction. You can find and use weapons along the way. There are even attacks where you can call in your brothers for some temporary extra help, and surprise! They're actually helpful and competent, removing an annoying bad guy too many, or dropping a pizza your way. The game also offers battery save. It's all good stuff that doesn't clutter the main focus of pounding endless villains.

Basically, this game is the old arcades games. Same vibe. Same feel. Same reasons you liked them, but with all these little added bonuses that actually feel useful and work.

The Bad
The joy of the arcade games were to co-op modes, where the whole team went out to fight. This is a one-player game. If Ubisoft had somehow found a way to implement that, this game would have been the greatest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game ever created. No exaggeration.

You also get the "flaws" of the arcade. A lot of semi-unintelligent, relentless bad guys who have fairly easy patterns to exploit.

You lose all your lives, you start over from the level. If you buy power-ups in between levels, you have to beat the next level in order to keep them. A little frustrating, but bearable.

The game is not a major challenge to go through. This is remedied, however, by being just a well-done game. You can find replayability by doing some of the levels over to unlock more awards or earn more money.

The Bottom Line
At this stage in the life cycle of Game Boy Advance, with the DS reigning supreme, this is the phase where we are supposed to get mediocre kids titles, and budget games from publishers that we've never heard of. It's the death knell of any game system, and you stop expecting "good" games because everyone's moved on to the next big thing.

Don't let this game slip you by. Even if you no longer have your GBA, it will work on your DS just fine.

The online sites were calling all the other version of the new TMNT game average at best, but were going crazy over the GBA version. So I decided to check it out, and it turned out to be well worth it.

Someone at Ubisoft clearly loved the old arcade games, more than the Konami programmers who worked on the later TMNT games for the last-gen systems. The update feels fresh, even though the gameplay is easy enough to remember and pick up. It doesn't break new ground. It just refines it. And there is a genuine sense of cheery nostalgia playing through this title.

In the last two years, I've seen some great "updates" on classic games. Mega Man: Powered Up. New Super Mario Bros. Ultimate Ghosts 'N' Goblins. And they've all been on portable game systems. Add TMNT to the list. It keeps what you love about the original game, and just gives it a bit of modern flourish.

If this is the last new Game Boy Advance game you get, then your purchase was a good choice.

Highly recommended.