It could have been Secret of the Ooze.
Written: Dec 29 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent use of 8-bit resources.
Cons: The gameplay is similar to its predecessor.
The Bottom Line: Out of the three Turtles games for the NES, this is my favorite.
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| thepremier's Full Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Pr... |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - The Manhattan Project
Designed by Konami
Released: 1992
Players: 1 or 2
As a young lad (and even now) I was very much into all things Turtles. Out of the three NES games, this one is my favorite and the most neglected or forgotten.
Everyone knows about the first NES Turtles game, how it was adventure oriented, about the ability to switch turtles in game, etc. And everyone knows that the sequel, Turtles II: The Arcade Game changed everything - a sidescroll bash-um-up, no turtle switching. For the most part, The Manhattan Project has the same gameplay of its predecessor. The levels and stages are longer, the Turtles have different strengths (this makes 2-player a lot of fun), there's more mini-bosses, and greater variety in the stages.
Story
Hey, fighting the evil Shredder is hard work. The Turtles are relaxing down in Florida. While watching the telecast of their beloved news reporter April O'Neil, they discover that the island of Manhattan has been ripped from the earth and taken away high in the sky by their nemeses Shredder and Krang. They race from Florida to get to New York.
Gameplay
ATTACK!
At the start of the game, you are asked to select your turtle. Choose wisely, he is yours for the rest of the game. As added spice, each of the turtles has their own strengths and weaknesses (More on that shortly). Each Turtle has 4 methods of attack. Each Turtle can slash at the enemies (and most of their projectiles) with their weapon with the B button (ex, foot soldiers die with two slashes). They can also "stab-and-toss" most enemies with their weapon and throw them over their shoulder by holding down and B together (easier to kill foot soldiers, but you receive less points). The Turtles can also jump kick their enemies, A to jump, aim left or right then B. (The animation when they fail and get swatted back is appropriately fun and painful to watch). Finally, each Turtle has a powerful special attack that when used by mashing A and B together, consumes one point of health (except their last health, at which point you can use your special move indiscriminately until you do die).
THE TURTLES
Each Turtle has his own special attack. Additionally, each Turtle's weapon's range (and possibly it's strength on bosses) is different, but the differences are very subtle (as in a few pixels or fraction of seconds) and are only discernable after playing for a while. Once you get good at the game you can learn to take advantage of these subtleties but if you’re new to the game, you won’t notice.
Leonardo is the leader of the bunch and balanced in everything. His Katana has a pretty good reach and speed. His special move can be called a "blender", where he spins around with his swords. This almost always inflicts multiple hits on bosses, but leaves him vulnerable afterwards because he's stationary. Good for when you’re surrounded.
Raphael (sometimes my fav) is the speediest. His sai doesn't have much range, but is quick - sometimes a little to quick for the program to process a hit! His special move is a head first ram that propels him a good distance across, but doesn't do much damage to bosses. It does get him very much out of harm's way though.
Michelangelo (my least fav) has okay reach with his nunchucks (his "toys" as I call them...) but is not as fast as Leo or Raph in his slashing. His special move though, a kangaroo kick is very powerful - if you manage to connect with the enemy - and it usually moves him out of harms way.
Donatello (my fav) has the best reach with his bo, but this is balanced by the slowest attack speed. His special attack is a bowling ball roll that often inflicts multiple hits on bosses and does propel him across the screen, but not as far as Raph or Mike.
THE SCENE
The view is from above at something like a 45-degree angle. A side scroller, yes, but there is also width as well as length to walk around in. At the end of the stage is a boss, (some longer stages have mini-bosses).
Each Turtle has a health or energy meter. You loose points when you're hit, if you fall somewhere you shouldn't or if you use your special attack. Find a slice of pizza and it replenishes all of your health. Extra lives are earned when you reach certain point levels.
Over 90% of your bad guys are going to be the foot soldiers of some kind, and there are lots of them, with different methods of attack, many throw things. You'll also encounter stone warriors, mousers, robots, canons, as well as obstacles you can't attack and must avoid.
In some stages, you can ride a vehicle or fight from a vehicle. For example, on the second stage, you're on a surfboard of sorts on the ocean on your way back to New York.
All of the stages are big, colorful, and vastly different. You'll go everywhere from the sands of Florida, the ocean, the streets of Manhattan, the sewers, the Technodrome, rooftops, and onboard a spaceship. Dimension X would have been cool, but a plot stretch.
Everyone's favorite bosses are here, like Rocksteady, Be-bop, Leatherhead, Shredder, and Krang. There are also some newer bosses, like Tokka, Rahzar, and Super-Shredder. Mother-Mouser and Slash make cameos as mini-bosses. A notable exception is Baxter Stockman (previous game). Fighting them is challenging and it makes good use of the entire screen.
And there's enough of an ending in the end to make the whole thing satisfying once you've bested Super-Shredder. The final battle with him, I might add, is fierce but very fun.
Technical
The response time between you pressing the controller and what you see is very good, and the control is fluid and natural. Konami did some good things with the limited 8-bit resources in this game, reflecting its creation during the waning years of 8-bit and the dawn of 16-bit Super Nintendo. In some stages, you'll see the background and the foreground move at different speeds (which wouldn't become standard until the next console platform). Image break-up is not too big an issue, which is a rarity in Konami games. The pixilated characters are pretty good in size. The sound effects are pretty decent. If you know me, you know I love when they put effort into video game music. The music here is excellent. Each level has a different track, and these tracks are long, so repetition does not become an issue. The track to the final stage is a humble, but enjoyable rendition of "Heroes in a Half Shell". The boss battle music tracks are very engaging as well. All in all, it is a commendable soundtrack for an 8-bit game amidst good overall technical work. Spelling and grammatical errors in the text due to translation from Japanese to English are rare. (Few, if any, NES games were close to flawless!)
The Rest
Modern video gamers take for granted that at the start of the game, there is an "options" screen. However, back in the olden days of 8-bit Nintendo, the programmers considered such things as privileges to be granted only to those with sacred, forbidden knowledge (and a fast pair of thumbs). To access these benefits, one was required to enter a sequence or series of commands on the control pad at a designated juncture in the game, frequently during the beginning or during the title screen, though not always. For those who may have forgotten or sadly never knew, this time-honored ritual was illustriously called entering "The Code". Many Konami games have access to bonuses by entering a variation of "The Code".
"The Code" for many Konami games (that had one) was very similar, but slightly tweaked for some games. In The Manhattan Project quickly enter the following sequence at the title screen (after the opening cut scene) before you choose 1 or 2 player...
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start
You'll go to an option screen where you can change the number of lives you start with, difficulty, what stage you start from, and even listen to the music tracks. I would have loved the bonus chance to play as Master Splinter or Casey Jones but hey, it's only 8-bit! I don't know how much they can cram into those cartridges.
I've seen The Manhattan Project priced anywhere from $9 to $18 at game stores that sell used NES games, but it is not a common occurrence to find one, which might warrant that price for such an old game. Emulation or a yard-sale scavenger hunt may be your cheapest bet. This is one of my favorite games in the NES library and I believe the best in the Turtles series. It's also a lot of fun to play with a buddy.
Cowabunga.
The Premier
Epinions - December 2003
Recommended:
Yes
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thepremier
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Member: Constantinos Kolios
Location: Rochester, New York
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