Review: Turtles in Time

Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

One of my all-time favorite co-op games, Turtles in Time is an arcade-port co-op sidescrolling beat-em-up game. You play as one of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, each of whom has slightly different stats – speed, power, range, hp. You are assaulted by enemies of various types – color-coded for your convenience, naturally, followed by a boss at the end of each level. There's a token plot about Shredder stealing the Statue of Liberty, and the later sending you in to a time warp (which he just happened to have lying around?), but the plot is mostly in the background for the course of the game. Of course, these things could describe virtually any co-op beat-em-up. What is important is what sets Turtles in Time apart.

1) Fast pace. This is the number one thing any beat-em-up game needs. Not just hurling enemy after enemy at you (though that’s a start), but making them have different abilities so that you have to think on your feet, and still making it feel like you progress through the level at a speedy pace. This is what a good beat-em-up game needs – diversity among enemies, and a fast pace. Additionally, the characters themselves move quite quickly, which adds to the definite feeling of fast-paced-ness. Slow characters are the devil.

1a) Good pacing, time-wise. Levels do not drag on – they each last a fair amount of time, but you don’t feel cheated, nor do you ever say “ugh will this level just END.” The game itself, as well, is a quick beat - ~45 minutes from start to finish, but it doesn’t feel rushed. It leaves you wanting more, sure, but only in the way that everything good does.

2) Differentiated characters. Of course, most games these days have this in spades, and I have to admit it’s not a huge factor in this game. But it’s there, and that’s important. The four turtles are not carbon copies of each other – each plays slightly differently. Like I say, it’s the little things.

3) Adjustable difficulty. Every game should have this, or virtually every game, anyway. Turtles in Time does it well – there are noticeable differences between difficulties, in bosses and mooks, and not just “damage x2.”

4) Good, customizable controls. You’d think this would be a gimme, but even these days, this sort of thing can be screwed up.

5) Lots of different moves. There were the grabs (2 kinds), normal combos, super attacks, power-ups, aerial attacks, and two kinds of running attacks. And yet, you can pretty much always do the attack that you want at any given time, and the attacks are all useful. Much, much better than punch (into a combo) and jump that some other games have.

6) Sound. From the “Oh, shell-shocked” and “Cowabunga” to the background music, it all fits the atmosphere brilliantly, and keeps the spirit of the cartoon.

7) Good level design. The obstacles all fit the themes of the various levels, and none come off as really annoying. None are too hard to dodge, but they definitely have to be kept in mind while you fight. Plus, the backgrounds are well done, and you get the feeling that you’re moving through an area and making progress.

Lessons to be learned from Turtles in Time:

With arcade-style beat-em-ups, and arcade-style games in general, (and all games!) it’s all about the pacing. Additionally, differentiation among enemy types helps greatly to keep the game going, where other similar games might fail – especially if none of the enemies are super-annoying.