2022 is shaping up to be one hell of a good year if you’re a fan of everyone’s favourite heroes in a half-shell. First they smash it out of the park with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and then developer Konami do the ultimate mic drop with…. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, which features not one or two games from the Turtles past, but has an eye watering thirteen games, spanning a number of consoles and arcade hardware from 1989 to 1993. Yes, this collection is the ultimate retro turtle’s package that is a must for fans, no question about it.
You get a bit of everything from well known and loved titles like TMNT: Turtles in Time to more obscure fair like TMNT II: Back from the Sewers. Plus there is a sort of museum side to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, where you can check out some 250 classic comic covers, listen to any song from the games within the playlist, see stills from every episode of the classic 90’s animated series and check out the digital manuals for all the games too. And… there is a section where you can see Konami’s original design documents for the games, with lots of concept art as well. Though this side will only really appeal to the more hardcore of Turtles fans, whereas everyone else will be here for the games and you will not be disappointed on that front, as you get… deep breath…
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Arcade)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game (NES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project (NES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SEGA Mega Drive)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time (SNES)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (SEGA Mega Drive)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Back from the Sewers (Game Boy)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Radical Rescue (Game Boy)
So there is something there for everyone, plus where it is available, you also get the Japanese versions of the games.
Each game has been well handled and feels just like the original, though with a few modern tweaks along the way – like online multiplayer options and a few quality of life refinements – e.g., stage select, God mode and being able to rewind if mistakes are made. Plus you get the standard fair of a number of custom frames if you’re playing in the original ratio, as well as a number of screen filters to get that old-school vibe going, with scan lines and the like. For the most hardcore you may notice a few tweaks to the difficulty, which is just speculation on our part. However, I remember spending a King’s ransom on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four player game in the arcade, whereas here it didn’t have the hard edge challenge… then again maybe 35 year old me is a bit better than 5 year old me.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is a brilliant package that brings a lot of classic titles to a new audience, as well as some forgotten to time offerings. Add to that the wealth of bonus material, modern gaming features and multiplayer that is buttery smooth and you have a totally Bodacious! package.
An Xbox review copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection was provided by Konami’s PR team, and is available now on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC for around £30 depending on platform.
The Verdict
Stuart Cullen
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