#11: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

Released In: 1991
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Ultra

      Shredder and his Foot Clan are causing all sorts of trouble around New York City, including the kidnappings of April O'Neil and Splinter. It's up to the Ninja Turtles to rescue their friends, then fight their way to the Technodrome for a final showdown with Krang and Shredder. Along the way, they'll also face off against mousers, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, and two of Krang's Stone Warriors, Lieutenant Granitor and General Traag. While this game lacks the crisp graphics of its arcade counterpart, it does offer two brand new levels not found in the arcade as well as tons of Pizza Hut product placement.

Syd Lexia: One of the benefits of being project leader for the Top 100 NES Games is that I got to personally select the screenshots for each game myself. For this game, I picked Krang because the Krang battle always pissed me off. While you actually get to "kill" every other boss in the game, Krang survives the destruction of his robotic body, taunts you, and escapes. I always found that to be the most annoying thing in the game, even over Shredder's instant kill move.

Valdronius: Turtles in Time for the SNES may have the pinnacle of TMNT video games, but this title isn’t far behind. Lots of diverse levels, familiar enemies and bosses, and an easy-to-remember level select code all add to the games overall playability. This was one of those games that you could always find someone to sit down and play through with. Working off of the ridiculously popular TMNT franchise, it made its way into most young gamers hands. I doubt there are many people out there who didn’t like this game. These are the reasons this game remains as one of the best NES games of all time.

Dr. Jeebus: Ninja Turtles II was a fine entry into a classic genre: the fake 3D punching game. My advice for this game is the same as it would be for any of other game within the genre: jump and kick.

DarkMaze: Without the existence of this game, would I even ever have owned an NES? Well, yeah, probably – but nowhere near as soon. When the original arcade game came out, I was determined to financially tap out my parents in order to get enough quarters to beat that game. But when I discovered I could actually OWN the game – AT HOME – I realized my folks’ wallets could do me an even greater service. And so, one Christmas, I awoke to find a Nintendo Entertainment System and a shiny new copy of TMNT2 of my very own under the tree.

I loved that game, but damned if I could beat it on the three lousy lives and three continues the game gave me. But some time later a friend showed me the code for 9 lives, and at last that end credits sequence was mine to behold – watching the turtles appear on that big skyscraper screen over and over and over and over as the blimp crept its way from right to left!

Eventually I did beat the game legitimately, and it was one of my greatest gaming triumphs. But I still kept trying to knock all the foot soldiers out of their car in the street level and ride the car to the secret bonus stage, just like my friend told me I could... That guy was a dick.

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