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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack (DS)

Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along
I started playing this game on Friday 2 December, 2022  //  I stopped playing this game on: Monday 12 December, 2022
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.

December 12, 2022 04:12:19 PM
Oh!

I forgot to mention that the game has lots of cut-scenes and I was really surprised to see that they feature the original (or at least look original) comic book turtles - so, black and white, they look mean and tough. These are not the smiley pizza-hawking turtles of the first tv show. They ones in the cut-scenes are also NOT the ones from the game's cover. So, there's like a strange mix of turtle visuals?


December 12, 2022 04:08:46 PM
This is such an odd game.

First, it seems obvious to me that they're trying really hard to evoke the original 4P arcade cabinet experience. And the game is sort of that. It's got the "right" things - though it only supports 2 player co-op - in terms of button mashing and pickups and the usual brawler fare. What is different (and makes the experience worse for me) is that the camera is a different perspective (feels more isometric 3D in the traditional sense, rather than side-scroller) AND the camera is really up close, so you don't have that great of a view of the playing area so everything feels a bit cramped, especially in those parts where you have to move forward (to the next area).

The game's structure is also strange - I mean, it's like the arcade where you sort of have to complete the game in a single run (through a bunch of different areas), but this is on a handheld, and it felt weird that I couldn't (afaik) just save and resume later - I basically had to quit, got a score for as far as I got, and that was it. (I quit mostly because it was getting a bit repetitive to fight essentially the same enemies in different areas, so - I got bored with the lack of variety).

It also didn't help that there's a scoring/rating system that I did not understand at all. I was getting mediocre scores, but I don't know why - or what I was not doing as good as possible. It's possible there are special moves I could do but didn't because I had no idea? (don't have the manual for the game)

I did like the team-up moves, you can trigger these standing next to another turtle - but they didn't always trigger at the right moment, so while it's fun when I got them to work, I would not count on them to be a part of a strategy. At least for me.

I do wonder if the turtles, they each have different stats, are actually that different to play? I tried 3 of them and couldn't really say. But again, maybe that's just me.


 
kudos for original design to Rodrigo Barria