Is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk

[@kevinfredericks2335]

I have a deep relationship with this game: My older brother is fiercely competitive, and joined a Major Video video game tournament. He had 2-3 weeks to train. I was terrible at fighting games, but he needed a human opponent to experiment and train on. He wrecked me 4-5 hours at a time. It was the most SNES I was ever able to play as the younger brother in the house, so I felt it was a good trade-off. He won the tournament btw.

[@marcellofunhouse1234]

what did he win?

[@thehound1359]

That’s awesome

[@jevonjackson4236]

Best Little Brother Ever in fairness you did your part.

[@dtdimeflicks6708]

Oh, man. Major Video. That's a name I haven't heard in years. I still remember going in there every weekend.

[@nasserrachedi5238]

Younger bothers who barely got to play… UNITE!!!

[@nvisioned_be]

It was a very good game, still have mine from back in the days. Never regretted asking for the game when it came out.

[@EdsRetroGeekOut]

Can't go wrong with TMNT gamezz :-D

[@thunderchild1083]

When TMNT Tournament Fighter first came out I thought it was one of the best fighters around, I was so disappointed that Beebop and Rocksteady were missing

[@ExaltedMarauder]

Same.

[@Black-Rat]

Feeling the same way when I first played this game, and where did Aska came from ?? Never heard of her before, unless she was from the comics books she was a complete newcomer, and I hardly ever heard about Karai either, they made her the final boss and even above the Rat King....

[@jayNicks10]

They weren’t missing completely as they’re seen as background characters. Along with the likes of Fly Baxter Stockman, Casey Jones, April and Splinter. They’re just not playable characters.

[@Dzumeister]

this game is pretty popular for fighting game fans, actually! there's even a community mod called Champion Edition with over 100 new selectable palettes for each character, including the bosses :)

[@adrew7799]

Where can I find the champion edition!!?

[@jessragan6714]

Yeah, I suffered from Teenage Mutant Ninja Burnout around the same time as well. However, this game was released when I was just starting to get into versus fighters, and it was one of the best I'd played on a 16-bit system. It's loaded with little details, and features some great Konami brand music.

[@Caelum_NLD]

Had this game too. Was one of the games I kept insisting to play with my friends. Great music, fast gameplay, great to combo in and awesome characters and backgrounds. Aska is still one of my fave fighting game characters. The hits in this game felt and sounded super!!!

[@benadrylthundercrotch7144]

PSA: the turtles were just announced as dlc characters for injustice 2!

[@gregorypappas766]

Seriously, love your content, never a bad video, thanks please keep up the great work!

[@worsel555]

Oh man, I remember playing this for the Blockbuster World Video Game Championships, I was one point away from going to the State playoff. Best part? I didn't own a SNES. My parents were against my siblings and I playing video games and it was not until the tournament came along that someone finally asked them "Hey, your kid is pretty good! How long does he play?" and they sheepishly replied "Um... we don't let him play more than an hour or so. We don't own a Nintendo." did they realize they should MAYBE endorse this hobby. I was borrowing my friends SNES and copies of the games he had in order to train for the competition, he had this and Clay Fighter but not NBA Jam so I didn't do too well on that game.

[@followmeintothecommentsect4476]

Ken Williams hahaha

[@jpesicka492]

Ken Williams never stifle a kid's energy. Glad you didn't accept the brainwashing and played anyways. Alot of kids simply miss out on games if somone doesn't fork up the cash it's that simple. I hope i can have kids that enjoy it like i do and i will reward them when they do well or do well in school with games or whatever they are into. As long as it keeps you out of trouble and hey, who doesn't want to create your own gaming buddy? =D

[@pvsweetypie]

Sounds deep brah. DEEP

[@soupboy-yn8oz]

damn wow

[@nayyarrashid4661]

You were lucky that your parents realized this. Mine were not that open minded. I played TMNT on famicom chinese clone but didn't have any other system after that. Now my 5 years old plays video games but he is special needs so....

[@Sanchezjeffrey33]

First time I ever played this I rented it from blockbuster and didn't return it for like a month lol

[@GeorgeZimmermen]

Dude same! My family even forgot we had it and went to rent it again and the lady at blockbuster said “somebody rented a copy and never returned it” and my dad just looked at me and my bro and discreetly said “that was us!”

[@LowellLucasJr.]

DUH ITS WORTH PLAYING! Give me that controller! I was pumped at age 11 and still am 22 years later!

[@rubynall80]

Came to post after seeing the Cowabunga Collection trailer. Now we'll get to try all 3 versions.

[@juanoliveros8168]

Me too

[@JamieBainbridge]

Rumor has it the female character was supposed to be Mitsu from the TMNT3 movie, but there was some problem with licencing or using Vivian Wu's likeness and it didn't happen, so Konami just pulled Aska out of nowhere at the last minute. Also modern fighting game tournaments still include TF as a special competition game, you can find it played at gatherings right up there with the latest Street Fighter games. Those guys generally consider TF to be one of the best fighting games of all time.

[@Shinmsl]

There were even sprites from a prototype calling her Mitsu. From what I read Konami got cold feet on associating the game to that movie as turned out a disaster in the box office.

[@VincentHexx]

This is true I literally just read about it.

[@grk70s]

With a code you can also play with the rat king and karai which is the boss of the game. Rat King kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3TYo4t-ecdpeqc Karai kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYrFlappZ7usepY As the link states "On the main menu title screen use Controller 2 and input this: X, Up, Y, Left, B, Down, A, Right, X, Up. If you've done it correctly you'll hear Aska's voice. Rat King & Karai can now be used in VS Battle or Watch mode."

[@parker_aug2]

So it has the four turtles, Shredder, and a bunch of characters I've never heard of before? lol Would have been awesome with Splinter, Casey Jones, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady.

[@agonleed3841]

Parker Brooks maybe that was the point. That you SHOULD'VE seen those characters before

[@ogshifterz]

TF on Sega > TF on Super. THAT GAME IS 🔥🔥🔥 . Casey Jones is in the Sega Version - MORE 🔥🔥🔥 !!!

[@MateDrinker33]

Parker Brooks: My memory on this isn't good, but where it matters, I believe Casey was in the NES port.

[@CBelmont73]

You could play as Casey in the genesis and NES version.

[@Soft-Shell]

Ikr freaking bs

[@theinfinity7s]

The Sprite itself is arcade worthy. The detail into the characters shine. Love this game. Wish Konami still made games that were turtle games. :/

[@ExaltedMarauder]

My parents finally caved in and bought my brother and I a copy of this game after it became apparent that every time we went to video connection to rent a game and movie we'd rent this game most of the time lol. The turtles was big in my house growing up. I'm stoked about the latest reboot that is supposed to be coming out soon.

[@DoomRater]

Oh yeah. I use SNESAmp with XMplay (it's a Winamp plugin) to slow all the songs to 75% and boy do they sound stellar that way. Give it a try some time.

[@MrBroken030]

The answer is yes, its the best sf clone on the system and it also adds some new game mechanics, i would say its in the top 3 of fighting games for the system.

[@elbitxo5945]

it's really good, but top3? there are great fighting games on the SNES, like SF2Turbo, SSF2, Fatal Fury Special, Killer Instinct... and specially SFAlpha2 and Gundam Wing, those games are beyond what the SNES is supposed to do.

[@MrBroken030]

Yeah i thought about all of those, Gwed would be my number 1, its exclusive, has the best graphics of all of them and has the most unique engine of them all. My number 2 would be Turtles Tournament Fighter cause the engine is basically a sf2 clone with added game mechanics like supers and backdashes. So SF2 is actually just my third placed fighting game on the snes, its inconic and still super playable but its kinda lacking game mechanicwise compared to the other 2 games i named.

[@triflingmatter]

There's also a good SNES port of World Heroes, which is as street fighter ripoff as it gets.

[@elbitxo5945]

World Heroes 2 has a really good port on the SNES, yep.

[@duffduffington843]

This one is way underrated. Tournament Fighters was & still is one of my favorite fighting games.

[@ScottyPhoton]

Great review as always! Funny, I just picked up a cart of this on Monday at my local resale shop on a whim. It is on my list of carts I missed out on but wanted back in the day (due to money more than anything else). I also had limited time with it at release. Might have rented it once or twice and played it emulated in the early 2000s. It is a really solid title.

[@Spyke3585]

I remember falling in love with Raphaels theme. My friend and I wanted to make a band to recreate music sounding like that 😅😅

[@derpursmachinest9445]

One of my favorites; had this cart since release

[@dtdimeflicks6708]

Aska has a weird history that connects her to the third Turtles movie. I think she might’ve even been in it, but it’s been years since I’ve watched it.

[@ShinParisu]

I remember Michaelangelo's reg fireball "Dragon Breath" XD

[@MrQ12elve]

don't forget 'rising thunder!' haha

[@Ditcher2]

@@MrQ12elve Donnie's ground claw stuck with me all these years. Forgot all about rising thunder!

[@SnowNinja]

loved this game as a kid, rented it so many times along side Double Dragon!!

[@ricksanchez9899]

Asuka was supposed to be that chick from TMNT's third movie but since that one BOMBED , they changed the name .

[@NoWhereToRun22]

The music at about 3:05 oddly reminds me of the Dark World Theme from A Link to the Past

[@bryce9596]

I finally got the Cowabunga Collection for my Switch today, this is one of the ones I want to try the most. I remember seeing this at the video store but the card bust have always been gone from behind the box because I never rented it. Cant wait to try it! Love the videos btw, can always count on you having a video about pretty much any game you can think of

[@DiegoMatias]

the first game I ever played on an arcade center-like place here in brazil where you paid to play for a certain ammount of time (30min, for example). Played it on a faulty TV that made the whole screen look pink and loved it.

[@lamalien2276]

My friends and I played the HELL out of this game. I discovered most of the game's codes on my own, and we used to hold mini tournaments that would go on for hours. Cool shit we found: Aska can do uppercuts without recovery frames, Raphael can recharge his power bar with 1 combo after getting down to 10% health, Chrome Dome has an always dizzy combo, and Karai has invincibility frames that make her even more insanely OP. My favourite character was shredder cause he was + on just about everything.

[@maxyrobbin]

Man! I really love this game. It's one of my all time favourites!

[@tollban]

As SnesDrunk, I nearly ignored it at the time... But it is quite good. The stuff I prefer from the TMNT are the ORIGINAL black & white 1984 comic books... That was some evolution in action & adventure comics... By the way, I love even the first game for NES.

[@JReed7560]

tollban I love the Mr. Miracle pic man. Epic

[@Aztyph]

Funny that you should mention that: The final boss is Karai, and as far as I know, *this* is the first time that she ever appeared outside of the comics.

[@rolandof7413]

Me and my brother rented this from Safeway and we absolutely loved it. I love the music in the game. This game will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️

[@toaker]

That Circo Porto sign is also in Gokujou Parodius

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

still have it in box, best thing ever? knowing the code to get RAT KING and the end boss (forgot her name) , btw, i only got this because it was my birthday, dad told me i can pick any game from the store and they were out of STREET FIGHTER 2 and i really wanted a game......this caught my eye and never regretted buying it ever....really a cool cool game :)

[@JReed7560]

The Lebanese Unboxer Karai was the female secret character. Tough to beat when people used her move where she jumps in from the top of the screen and punches the shit out of you lol

[@chrispacheco8590]

This one actually surprised me on how well it was put together back when it was released, just a testament at how hard it was for Konami to do wrong on the SNES

[@Black-Rat]

Konami was still making great games back in the 90s and Late-80s, they also made some during the 80s on the NES, unlike the Konami we have nowadays.... Capcom was also pretty good, in making fighting games was their specialty...

[@Justforvisit]

@@Black-Rat Konami was good until they decided to do Hideo Kojima dirty. Ever since they're just Nonami to me.

[@retrohero8770]

Soundtrack for this game is awesome as well! I remember renting this game a lot back in the Blockbuster days.

[@huecobros]

You forgot to add the hidden characters KING RAT and KARAI, they make the game fantastic

[@AlexElectric9001]

Love this game! Played it a ton with my bros growing up and love it as an adult!! Thanks for the review SNES drunk!

[@JohnSmith-td7hd]

Also April looks hot in this game, and you can also play as the Rat King and the final boss Karai in multiplayer mode with a code. And you play for huge amounts of money which sounds stupid but feels amazing :D

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

that code was awesome.....

[@DaddyGamerDiaries]

Loved the video man, thanks for the entertainment!

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for watching Diego

[@sonicmario64]

Does anyone else think it's ironic that Michelangelo was the only Ninja Turtle to not be featured on the box art for each version of the game? Leonardo was featured on the box art for the NES version, Donatello was featured on the box art for the SNES version, and Raphael was featured on the box art for the Genesis version, which means that there was no fourth version made, and Michelangelo ended up being left out as a result. :(

[@battlefox8460]

I remember playing this game as a kid back then, easy to learn the moves, very memorable soundtrack and the sound effects where just bone crushing PERFECT 💯

[@jarrettpennington4579]

I got this game for Xmas when I was 12 and I loved it. I really enjoy your vids, Ive been binge watching for a couple hours now. Definately subsceibed.

[@ahzekahriman5840]

Whoa! Blast from the past! I still have this cart but I lost the manual for it! I remember there being a could unlockable characters for this game as well. One of them was this guy called Rat King and I forgot the other secret character. I had a blast with this game at the time, probably because I had very few options due to being a bit younger and not working at the time.

[@jameslizardo]

I picked up a cart last year to play in my model 001 SNES!!!! Awesome game!!! I played this as a kid!!!

[@dtdimeflicks6708]

I LOVED this game as a kid. One license fighting game I sadly never played was Godzilla: Monster War. That was a Japan exclusive I believe.

[@zedeighty]

I personally like the Mega Drive one the best, but they are all solid fighting games. I love that they're all totally unique as well. Konami really put in some effort with these games.

[@davidhill8565]

I first played this game back when I was a teenager. I played it extensively then. In the early 1990s, I watched the 1987 TMNT cartoon show daily.

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

Got the game for Christmas one year and fell in love with it. Still think it's a solid title.

[@Paul197]

are we just not going to talk about the girl character who attacks with her butt

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

I realize I'm hitting this comment a year late, but that attack is pretty common in fighting games. That's why no one was talking about it.

[@Bloodletter8]

Aska? More like ASSKA.

[@peterkrochmalni673]

In the Japanese version of the game she shows a lot more buttcheeks.

[@andrespenalba7846]

*Peach un smash Bros*

[@Jackrost01]

@@ShinAdamSmasher Just like Butt attack from Yuri in Art of Fighting 2

[@natejoe9924]

Ninja Turtles was my favorite cartoon when I was growing up having a lottery games man I never got tired

[@PatriciaCross]

One of my fav fighters on the system. Close behind Gundam Wing Endless Duel and the various SF titles. I have the Japanese version on cart. Picked it up because it has slightly better character balance than the American release. It also has some different game sprites, as the American version was censored a little. Game draws heavily from the Archie comic series, which is surprisingly a good series.

[@oruffryder]

Just bought this game today! Can’t wait to play it!!!!!

[@twanroijmans3840]

One of the better Street Fighter clones I played quite a lot back in the day. That ultimate move meter is what sealed the deal for me. Loved to play as Wingnut as he had the strongest one if executed right. That is in mid air just above the opponent if he isn't blocking so that each soundwave will hit. It would K.O. them even if they had 95% life. Worked well on Karai.

[@StarlinkNova]

I have always enjoyed this game as a kid growing up and am happy to have it in my collection. I was always curious about the Genesis version though, glad I never got around to playing it lol.

[@Diepzeevis]

Favourite SNES fighter ever. Underrated.

[@mateobonavento3939]

Oh, yeah. I love this game. This and Sunset Riders were my favorites growing up.

[@DAZZYVANDAM]

this game also passed me by back in the day...i was strictly Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat back then, shame really game looks half decent.

[@jgmoneymechanics]

Had this game and played it sooo much I remember beating this as a kid multiple times

[@jeremylovesretro]

I bought this game based on your review, and I like it. Thanks! The difficulty is no joke. I'm an avid SF2 player and I got completely rolled the first few times I played Tournament Fighters. I found a manual so I could learn the special moves and finally started kicking ass with Donatello (Ryu/Ken players: start there). But even in my first completion at 0 difficulty setting, I still lost about 3 rounds. Be ready for that, and be ready for the internet heroes to chime in with "I beated dis game on 5300 bro!"

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

I only had a Genesis back in the day and I kind of liked the Genesis version. The controls were not as tight as Street Fighter, but they were passable for the day. I need to try the SNES rev.

[@TMIATC]

I had the genesis version. Even when the difficulty is on the lowest setting, you won't win. The music was pretty bad ass though

[@maldivirdragonwitch]

I was just about to say the same thing. :) I loved the Genesis version for the visuals and the music! I later found out that my favorite VGM composer Miki Higashino made the music. :)

[@squarepainter]

Just discovered your channel! Fantastic work dude!

[@Skullodream]

Love this game and his magnific OST, Shredder's Theme is amazing.

[@crazygoji]

this has my one of my favorite snes soundtracks

[@dkres82]

Did you ever review the SFC Godzilla fighting game? That game always looks like so much fun.

[@90sarcadefighter5]

Superb game, was on to it from day one back in 93. Wish they would make an updated version!!!!

[@TheBloodyNights]

This is actually my favorite fighting game on the SNES, the sprite work, gameplay, music everything about this game was enjoyable to me. And as a fighting game player who goes to meet ups, and occasionally enters tournaments with fairly decent results. I'm also happy to say that it has everything that good fighters have. Footsies, anti-airs, mind games etc. Other fighters at the time usually lacked in these departments like...the SNES Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat 1 & 2, and other less popular fighting games like Clay Fighter. The final versions of SF2 was still great, but I had more fun with this as it felt like it had a bit more variety in the meta game than just a bunch of fireballs, or ridiculously unbalanced single special moves on characters like Vega. lol

[@noop9k]

NES port is arguably the best fighting game on the platform, and the music is awesome.

[@danielshelley6249]

Coming from a fg player, this is a quality title, ahead of its time. The mechanics hold up to this day. Anyone interested in fighters should check it out. His description was nearly spot-on, but he undercuts it a bit. He mentions it not being as difficult as some other fgs, but he's only really talking about combos. There are other aspects that make this game worthwhile/better than most of its time. Check it out asap.

[@marlondaniels7912]

The mechanics are actually super tight for this. My only quibble was that it was a bit too easy to cheese throw, even if you didn't mean to, but in general this knocks your Mortal Kombats and the like into a cocked hat.

[@zackfolkestad8746]

I owned this game and played a lot of it. Every time I played it, I’d ask myself, “Why am I playing this? It sucks.” I kept trying to find what was so great about it, what was I missing. Never found it. This game blows. One of the best things I’ve ever thrown away.

[@cravis123]

I remember playing on snes console and for me it was a really good game. Beautiful sound and music, good graphic!

[@OtisMcNuttIII]

I was literally just thinking about this game. With the Turtles inclusion in Injustice 2 maybe a new TMNT fighting game could be on the horizon.

[@citifielder]

Love that outro audio.

[@carmaggedon666]

I remember playing TMNT TF for SNES and liked a lot. Then I played the same title for Genesis and it was a deception.

[@Jorge_Bleisen]

I love this game. I used yo play it on the SNES of a childhood friend despite I was not good enough. Recently I've found a cartridge and now I own it. It's difficult to master but it's still funny to play. But I think Bebop, Rocksteady and Baxter should be included in the roster.

[@Mrspiderwalk]

Completely forgot about this game, but, man did I love it.

[@dallows3235]

I’d love to see a version of this game given the same treatment as the upcoming TMNT shredders revenge.

[@mayssm]

I have fond memories of playing this at my granny's house with my brother and cousins on the weekends.

[@michellelincoln9987]

I first played this game with my cousin back in '97 lol I had no idea it existed before that and while, like SNESDrunk, my interest in the Turtles had died off at that point (TMNT 3 and Next Mutation smh) but this game renewed my interest in the series that was also my first time playing Street Fighter Alpha 2 and being introduced to my favorite character in the series....gee wonder who that might be

[@Kai0nTheMoon]

I don't know how this missed my radar but it looks awesome. Thanks for the review.

[@KWKBOX]

And Krang is not a playable character why?

[@Anon9729X]

KWKBOX Neither is Casey Jones for some reason.

[@i.still.function3463]

I could be wrong but maybe most the cartoon characters weren't in the comics? I dunno?

[@manichispanic999]

KWKBOX I think it's based on the comics, not the cartoon

[@icantnamebatzarro]

maybe could be because some characters weredistrbuited between the SNES version and the genesis version In the second one apil o¿neill, casey and the turtles had to fight krang in the dimension x, if i remember well.

[@Shinmsl]

I don't know if either Sega or Nintendo requested it or it was just Konami's doing, but they used different characters for each game. Maybe they thought the uber fans would have to get both games that way? Who knows... So the Genesis version has Krang, Casey Jones and April... but no Shredder or any of the other Snes characters. The Nes version is a bit of a mix, apart from the 4 turtles it has Casey Jones , Shredder and some wierd dragon monster called Hothead.

[@djgiga2]

I don't think I thought about this game for about 20 years. I spent all weekend playing this when I rented it as a kid. I remember it being an amazingly good game. Those were the days the pinicle of gaming was the 16 bit era.

[@gamer_aka_modern4975]

I legit was in a tournament playing this game against many others I got 4 out around 300 people at the time one of my epic gamer feats of my life even when esports wasn’t a thing back then

[@MoonLightWright]

Had this game for NES and SNES. SNES was my favorite and the soundtrack is underrated. I may grab an emulator or SNES and get this again. 😎

[@oxykilldone5113]

After seeing what Netherrealm did with TMNT in Injustice 2, I'd love to see a full blown modern TMNT fighting game. So many great unique characters, it just seems like a no-brainer. Netherrealm knocked it out of the park with everything from character design, the turtles personalities, movesets and even have the best pizza physics I've ever seen in a game. I'd love to see what they could do with a TMNT fighting game, especially the story they'd come up with.

[@jackp.3605]

All I remember from this game was the chick character who would do a special move which I forget but it sounded like she was saying "what's on tonight?" Which made sense at the time since every night I was trying to determine if I was watching cheers/mash/coach/empty nest or some other bs I didn't care about at all

[@EulalioMagana]

Unlocking Rat King and the other boss was my biggest accomplishment growing up

[@Bada4ever]

I consider this game a classic and an essential game for everyone to own. Love this one!!

[@andrewpresley908]

I played this when it came out. Its a damn good game and powerfully addictive to play. Shredder is a beast in this game.

[@grandgojira8182]

I saw this game on sale on a retro game site and it interested me for 2 reasons the title and the cover art of Don's massive head and him fighting the shark guy and the nes version and Sega versions have different turtles on on them the NES version has leo on the cover and the Sega version has raph on the cover

[@Marzimus]

I adored this game as a 4th grader. Cass and I rented it many times and my favorite was Wingnut. Also, OMG Rat King is in this! He was the Zangief 😍 and the true boss is a girl dawg. Being in Wal Mart with $30 in hand, and looking at games I spotted the Genesis version for twenty bucks. Thank you GamePro for helping me make that purchase, as tempting as it was to swoop a cheap game, fighter no less, even then I knew better... 🤠

[@rickytickytimbo9182]

I actually really liked the Genesis version. It was one of my favorites growing up

[@waymonboyer5969]

Nailed it. Especially about the Genesis port

[@rcsmiths]

Everything made from Konami for supernes was amazing, incredible!!! Soccer, fighting, adventure, etc

[@MonsterKollector]

I would’ve preferred a fighting game based off the cartoon, even tho I really liked this game. It needed Krang Android, Baxter, Casey, April, Leatherhead, Rat King and maybe a few more iconic playable characters. Like TMNT in time graphics/style.

[@Rusaarules]

I remember renting this game because all I saw as a kid was 2 players (my brother and I were the gamers). Didn't read much farther than that, got home, loaded it up and man, we were disappointed it was a fighting game.

[@Gamers266]

you know what when I first heard about this title I was kind of iffy but now when I'm higher the kite when I'm playing this game is one of the best fighting games that ever played that didn't bug me that much