Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, review of the classics collection

try our hand Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection review It was once again a trip to the past between tokens that helped fuel the popularity of Ninja Turtles in the early 90s and more or less faithful conversions for home consoles of the time.

bundled collection by Konami It nominally includes thirteen titles, even if the experiences are often somewhat repetitive: from two famous scrolling fighting games for arcades to their transmissions on the SNES and Mega Drive, to wild encounters and sorties through reinterpretations in a fighting game, 8-bit NES and Game Boy regions .

Structure and content

The setting of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is traditional, despite some solutions that leave a little baffled. You can access it from the main menu thirteen games The ones we’re talking about are:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (arcade)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Warriors (SNES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hyper Stone Heist (Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Warriors (Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Arcade Game (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Warriors (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (Game Boy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Return from the Sewers (Game Boy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Game Boy)

Because it is easy to spot, many names are repeated, not by chance: almost always reinterpretation of the same product, although there are sometimes notable differences. In general, the whole saga begins with coins and then lands on consoles (with the exception of TMNT for NES), somehow trying to cope with the inevitable technological limitations of machines of that time, especially 8 systems. a little.

Each title can be played with different viewing options (framed, fullscreen, extended up to 16:9) and filters, by saving systems that weren’t originally available, or even choosing one, as well as starting levels and difficulty levels. rewind function which allows you to rewind the action in case of problems.

We have already mentioned some confusing solutions, such as the idea of ​​adding a preselection about the selected character, as if it were not possible to do it in the original menu, even without starting a game from the collection, and, likewise, preselect multiplayer for two or four players, local or online, if available, i.e. arcade games and 16-bit consoles.

Then, as with any self-respecting classic collection, there’s a virtual room where you can consult someone. large amount of material It’s about the games included in the package: from packaging to guides, from commercials to comic book covers, from prep sketches to episode frames of various television series dedicated to Ninja Turtles.

Gameplay: between the highs and lows

As expected, the experience that the Cowabunga Collection has to offer turns out. highly variable for its robustness and ability to entertain even today. It’s the two arcades that set the pace, and despite all their limitations they still prove to be very pleasant, fluid and colourful. Of course, the characters’ repertoire is limited to say at least in the first of two episodes, but Turtles in Time proves (we’ve mentioned) that the rival is now more complete and mature by bringing iconic launches to the screen. Not surprisingly, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge review), improved animations and sound effects.

Being able to play them fours is of course an extra not to be underestimated, but it’s also impact efficiency and detection clashes they cry out for vengeance, giving conflicts a slippery and inconsistency that is still hard to swallow even after all this time. So, from this point of view, it’s very interesting to note how the SNES of Turtles in Time’s transformation is so much better, improving each shot and giving a significant sense of impact while making concessions on animations. In that sense, The Hyperstone Heist is a bit of a middle ground.

The fighting game Tournament Fighters represents a unique rather than rare situation: it’s the same game, not particularly brilliant, but changes significantly Depending on the platform, the SNES version, which we frankly do not like much, with the more aesthetic and also the Mega Drive as a lineup, and the NES version, which finally turned out to be too limited to compete with any “sisters”.

In general, the transition to classic 8-bit is perceived as traumatic: the age and limitations of the original experiences are also very much felt in terms of collision detection, while graphics glitches and slowdowns can eventually be eliminated through a check. ‘ option. If it’s not out of curiosity anyway, you’ll barely get started with four NES episodes and three Game Boy episodes.

Update: The article has been updated to mention the existence of options that allow you to fix the slowdowns and glitches found in the original versions of the games.