'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The NES Trilogy' (RETROSPECTIVE)

Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were every where when I was a kid. This cartoon, Mighty Moprhin Power Rangers and Batman: The Animated Series were as vital to day to day life as air and water, believe me. The Turtles predate their titular cartoon, with the team’s big debut coming in the shape of a comic book all the way back in 1984, but the Turtles overall history isn’t out focus here this time out. Today, we focus on a trilogy of Ninja Turtles video games, all of which released on the Nintendo Entertainment System between 1989 and 1992. From Shredder to the Technodrome, from the sewers to the city streets and from Bebop and Rocksteady to Tokka and Razar, it’s all here. Pick up the phone and order a pizza, DanDans. It’s Turtle time.
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[@616Entertainment]

We're only 18 new Patreon supporters away from hitting the GTA Vice City retrospective goal! 18! We can do this! Sign up now at any level, even the cheapest level, and let's knock this out! Edit: NOW ONLY 13 AWAY! See? We can do this!!! Edit 2: NOW ONLY 11 AWAY! This is how we get these done! Sign up at any level! You can be the one who puts us over the edge! www.patreon.com/616Entertainment

[@LawrenceRussellSaturnSelection]

Remember playing turtles arcade at enchanted castle and in Yorktown and Schaumburg. From Lombard myself.

[@LawrenceRussellSaturnSelection]

Part 3 was played on super Nintendo mostly and we would play things like the avengers and whatever was multiplayer for friends.

[@AndSaveAsManyAsYouCan]

The original TMNT ranking higher than Zelda 2 is pure blasphemy! It's almost like Nintendo Power was doing everything it could to make their game makes as much money as possible. 😅😂🤣

[@jtszabo1691]

I got the cowabunga collection for Christmas last year, I’ve been able to relive these games as well as the arcade games and turtles in time for snes

[@auronsin1]

As an 80's baby born in 84, my brother and I played this game to death! My god the Tmnt games were awesome! Some of my greatest memories and yes the licking yohr face red smile was a huge part of my gaming childhood as well lol! Nostalgia vibes are strong with this one!

[@TroyJr_22]

Classic TMNT games, childhood unlocked

[@NinjaTylerBlack]

Why was your childhood locked?

[@TroyJr_22]

@@NinjaTylerBlack haven't played these classics in a long while.. And seein' these games really brings me back, from when I became a gamer to my 1st introduction to the NES!

[@616Entertainment]

Yessir yessir

[@tylerdenaro3365]

My childhood has been restored 😊

[@mkendall8393]

Wow such a original comment. Never seen that one before.

[@MitchQuadrupleTree]

The first NES game might not be looked back on that fondly, but at the time it came out it was HUGELY successful. It stayed on Nintendo Power's rankings page for months, and I want to say it spent most of that time holding one of the top three spots.

[@thisisnotachannel]

I still have my original TMNT cart that I got for my 9th birthday in 1989... and I still haven't beaten it! Probably never will! I played a lot of TMNT in the arcade, so naturally I got TMNT II for my NES when it came out. But after I had it for a little less than a year, I let a "friend" borrow it... never saw either of them again. I didn't play TMNT III until I was in my late 20's, and started messing around with emulators. Played through the game with my daughter and my nephew... but we didn't beat it. Awesome game though. Felt like a natural evolution of TMNT II. I've been waiting for this one for quite a while, Ian... and once again, you deliver! Good stuff, buddy!

[@616Entertainment]

Dude it's so hard, it's out of control.

[@jeremymadison3030]

My memory of tmnt 2 was in my grandmas garage playroom when i was around 6 or 7 just having a blast. Great memories unlocked

[@smokinjoe3000]

I had a good friend who was the only person I knew who could get through that underwater level in TMNT. I'd invite him over, get him to get me through that level, and then I'd leave my NES on pause for hours while we played with GI Joes or Transformers or whatever. He'd then go home and I'd get to enjoy some TMNT in areas I could never get to on my own. Thanks Mark, I still owe you for that.

[@Psmgamer]

TMNT Cowabunga Collection definitely brings back memories as a kid playing these games with my brother. Great retrospect of the TMNT trilogy on NES.

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching!

[@vonrictor12]

I’m really nostalgic for the original game. The music and sounds hit hard. But never made it far and forgot how crazy unforgiving the game is.

[@anfromanx1981]

My dad got me a Nintendo with arcade game on top in a box, most magical Christmas I ever had

[@Djordje_Jovanovic]

I remember playing TMNT 2 & 3 on my FamiClone with my best friend & no matter how much we tried we couldn't beat them. Good times. Cowabunga Collection is a Godsend.

[@DarthEldniw]

I have gotten further on the original TMNT because of the Cowabunga Collection than I ever did at any point before it. Even with a Game Genie.

[@616Entertainment]

It is indeed!

[@bMt5553]

Ian: it’s turtle time. “Why am I trying to make this a thing?” Also Ian: continues trying to make it a thing, lol.

[@616Entertainment]

Ridiculous writing lol

[@robertalbright6708]

I was listening to this in the shower, and when I heard "Turtles 3 sucks" I missed the ".... just kidding" and just about lost my shit lmao

[@mvjbc581]

Only played 1 & 2. Could never beat 1, but beat 2. Loved popping these in and no matter what, always had a good time.

[@CaptainMcKayRandom]

Hell yeah, it’s turtle time! Love the shoutout at the beginning of the video, thanks as always for the support! That first game was such a difficult thing back in the day. I wanted to love it, but I spent way more time with TMNT2 on NES because that was much easier and had the multiplayer. The first game lives on in infamy because of the Dam level and the soundtrack for sure, though. I can appreciate as an adult how each turtle has different abilities and styles, too. You had me VERY intrigued and ready to retroactively reevaluate TMNT3 when you said it sucks, but then the joke kicked in and I was back on board haha. I remember really liking that one a lot, I played it a ton once I got it. I should really give the Cowabunga Collection another shot, I bought it a while back and haven’t messed with it too much. Really loved this one, man. Great to hear some old school memories mixed with modern critique on these old favorites!

[@616Entertainment]

I mean I HAVE to shout out the real master of Turtle Time, right? Dude hell yea, thanks for watching. Turtles II is fun and III is right there with it. I did the "it sucks" fake out because they're so similar, I needed some way to break up the compliments, lol

[@purplezebrahoover]

The music on the original TMNT NES game is straight fire. Over 30 years later it remains burned into my brain. There was a vinyl release of it recently enough and I’m regretting not picking it up.

[@616Entertainment]

Absolutely.

[@Coolman13355]

That 8 bit guitar riff.

[@mlort923]

Manhattan project was the best game I ever played co op with a friend when I was a kid …. Unreal game , soundtrack and memories!

[@616Entertainment]

Excellent game!

[@LawrenceRussellSaturnSelection]

Remember playing turtles arcade at enchanted castle and in Yorktown and Schaumburg. From Lombard myself.

[@costasspartan1894]

Awesome tip: when you obtain the sai weapon in tmnt nes keep going back and get as many as u can with each character best cheat weapon to kill bosses with 😉

[@PatrickVRegan]

TMNT was one of my all time favorite NES games. So much fun. Even bought as NES about 10 years ago just to replay and beat it as an adult. Just as fun as I remembered.

[@sbigshaun]

The original TMNT game was one of the first games I owned for the NES. There is one section in the sewer that I was never able to get past. It was ridiculous. 😊

[@tthheettrraasshhppiitt]

My absolute favorite thing about this channel and particularly these retrospectives is it's so clear to see the love and fond memories you have for a lot of these games, and the passion to talk about them. Age wise we grew up in roughly the same time frame so I also have connections to a lot of these things so it's really cool to see you put a shine on these classics. Great work as always!!

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it.

[@AndrewFantasia]

Love how personalized & nostalgic your retrospective is. Great stuff, man!

[@luisortiz1203]

Retrospectives are best when you experienced them in real time. For example you remember where you were you when the game, movie or topic was released, you remember the landscape of the world, you have 1st hand experience on how big of an impact a movie or game made. You remember the toys, the movies, the cartoons, the blankets, all in real time.

[@Fla5thgenTryMe]

But he doesn't remember any off that. He was 3 when the last game released wtf

[@616Entertainment]

You didn't listen at all when I talked about owning the game and making memories with it as a child, huh? Relax, dude. Relax. It's okay.

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching, dude. Glad you identified with this one!

[@CoffeeNToys]

I owned TMNT 1 and despite it being super difficult, I loved that game. I also mastered the swimming level to the point of getting through it without any damage. I was around 7-8 years old…still my greatest accomplishment ever in a video game 😂 Great retrospective! Thanks for it!

[@616Entertainment]

Hahahaha

[@Mankey619]

Konami's TMNT games from the 80s and 90s are absolute righteous. The Cowabunga Collection is one of the best that Konami delivered for us to revist those classics, and I've played all of them.

[@616Entertainment]

You already know.

[@Mankey619]

@@616Entertainment yep. As soon you about to show the TMNT retrospective, I got hyped.

[@joeyfarris2543]

You're saying it's Turtle Time because it's a TMNT video, well you could say it's Morphin Time but it's not a MMPR video but it's a great retrospective video Ian👍👍 TURTLE POWER!!!!!!

[@alec2000]

Now this was an awesome retrospective on TMNT on the NES😊. I learned so much here and now you got me curious to try these out myself, and I hope to soon get the Cowabunga Collection so I can play these for the first time. I also hope one day in the future if we can get a retrospective on Turtles in Time cause that will definitely be amazing. But that’s for another time. Very great one today, Ian. I hope you and all the DanDans have a nice weekend and I love you all.😊❤️

[@616Entertainment]

Dude play them for sure!

[@alec2000]

@@616Entertainment You got it, my dude.😁👍

[@johnmeehan6444]

I remember playing the arcade version at my local Pizza Hut. This is an awesome callback to my childhood. And the first one I owned was the last one on the Super Nintendo

[@616Entertainment]

Turtles in Time!

[@brandoncolis3841]

Me too. I was there a lot just to play it. I remember one night my mom and I were in the city and we were driving back home and my mom took her time just to take me there because she knew how badly I wanted to go there. I was always grateful for that.

[@Shintigercurl]

tmnt3 isn't just the best turtles game on the NES. it's one of the best turtles games, ever. for me, its up there with the OG arcade game, SNES turtles in time and shredder's revenge.

[@Paul-uo1vw]

Thoughts on Hyperstone Heist?

[@TonyGearSolid]

The underwater level has always been my favorite part of the first TMNT game and really isn't all that bad, it's the rest of the game that's a problem for me.

[@Nicholae006]

I sunk countless hours into TMNT 1 as a kid and never actually finished the game. It wasn't until recently in life that someone told me you can actually pause the game and switch turtles before they die! My childhood was wasted!!!

[@TWJP99]

Watching this video inspired me to buy the cowabunga collection for my PS4! Also, you should definitely do a video on turtles in Time at some point!

[@616Entertainment]

Hell yea dude, enjoy it.

[@jbilltx]

Ian, as an OG patron, I must respectfully demand that you do not dare replace History of THPS. Respectfully. 😘

[@616Entertainment]

Hey man, I'm trying. I can't leave it on there forever. I have to try and find something that is going to work!

[@chrisbiggs5415]

Childhood, personified. Teenage mutant ninja turtles was everything to my brother and I back in the day. They still mean a lot to me today. The Cowabunga collection is a MUST have for turtle fans and those new wanting to experience the greatness of both TMNT 2 games and Manhattan Project which is my favorite of the series. Awesome retrospective, Ian.

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching!

[@tigmo55]

Thanks for sharing your TMNT NES memories my friend! I was blessed to play all three TMNT games growing up so I have immense nostalgia for all of them! You had fair points on all three games and I have to say that TMNT III: The Manhattan Project is my favorite of the bunch. I actually have come to appreciate the original game although it has its warts for sure. Fun story on TMNT II btw. One night when I was in college, a buddy of mine and I played the game and I didn't lose a single life!!! My friend and I were in the zone and, while he played great as well, he had to wind up borrowing my lives until we each had only one life left. We literally beat Shredder with me hanging on for dear life with one little sliver of life left. It was a moment I will never forget. A true team effort! :) Moments after we finished, I fired up Mega Man 3 randomly and went on to beat that game without losing a life either! It might very well be the finest evening of gaming in my entire life.

[@collinmichaelkahn3918]

New to your channel. Loved this retrospective. Great job. I subbed. I was born in 83 so I was the prime age for living through each of these releases in real time. So hard to explain their endless allure to the younger generations. Equally hard to explain the excitement of getting a new Nintendo power in the mail. I can still remember my excitement over one of my Mega Man robot masters getting honorable mention in their contest to design a new Mega Man robot master (winner drawings were included; runner-ups just named). Glad to see people who are younger like yourself archiving these old gems to educate the youth. ❤️

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching! There's a playlist on the channel of some of my best retrospectives, and you'd probably like any of my 'History Of' series as well. Thanks for being here!

[@Metal_Forever666]

Ninja turtles was one of my first cartoons i ever seen, also as game on nes system. HIM is also such a cool rock band, so you presented bunch of cool things and details in the video. Great job🤘

[@Tariqthasandy1]

As a Native New Yorker you lost me at the part where you said we have "real" pizza in Chicago 😢😵‍💫🤢

[@616Entertainment]

You and so many other New Yorkers (and people from other places too) have gotten triggered by me burying Pizza Hut. Why is that? Why are you guys so sensitive about your pizza that anyone even mentioning the food is enough to make you insecure… when I never said anything about where you're from?

[@Y2Jerms]

5:45 You almost killed me. I did a spit take of my drink. It was a mess. Lmao! Fantastic video as always man!

[@616Entertainment]

Glad you popped for that, hahahaha

[@misanthrope22]

TMNT got me through my He-Man withdrawal. It was my first all-encompassing franchise (comics, cartoons, movies, toys, video games, cereal, hostess pies…). I had the original ‘89 Ultra NES game… furthest I ever got without a Game Genie was the level after the swimming section.

[@PowerPandaMods]

As a TMNT 8-year-old superfan, who wouldn't get an SNES until many years later, TMNT: The Manhattan Project was amazing. I bought it on sale at Toys R Us with my birthday money, and played the crap out of it. It was the only TMNT game that I owned on the NES, and it was the only one I needed.

[@greek1237]

As a kid I own all 3 games, lol. Never did beat the first one until I was about in my 20's. I did not notice April was naked lol.

[@SingerBoxerMartian]

I was like you, Ian, except I had TMNT 3 instead of 2. And MAAAN did my brother's and I love that game. I'm so glad to hear you out it over despite not growing up with it. It means it still goes hard 30 years later. 🤘 Excellent retrospective, as always. 👏

[@markbalor7227]

I love watching your videos and I also love TMNT it’s my childhood favourite and watching a video of you talking about TMNT is fantastic Thankyou so much 😁😁

[@616Entertainment]

Thank you for watching!

[@falconer-ts8fq]

Tmnt tournament fighters for NES was vibes, man. Playing as that giant dragon was something else

[@616Entertainment]

Dude insane game.

[@afterglow-podcast]

Great trilogy of games! I played the first two in my childhood, than the third when I started getting used NES games during the SNES and PS1 era.

[@BurnoutInc]

TMNT 3 The Manhattan Project is my favorite game on the NES. It’s the very first video game I ever got for Christmas. I remember being a kid and my present in the stocking was this. I was in love the second I saw the box art. Wish I knew to take of those things when I was younger. I still have the game. The stages were all fun and creative. I loved the super moves and music was incredible. The boss fights get me hyped every damn time. Groundchuck and Dirtbag were figures I had and I loved seeing them in the game. TMNT 2 The Arcade Game I played every chance I could. If I found it at an arcade or Godfather’s pizza place, I was there. The home port was a lot of fun. My dad hosted a house party once and a friend’s kid brought this with him. Me and the group of kids played it all night. Good times. The first game I played last. It wasn’t for me then and isn’t now lol. Really happy this vid took off. Good shit, pal.

[@AsianSignGuy]

another great video! fond memories of these games gorwing up. I am so glad they came out with the Cowabunga Collection a while back and glad to be able to relive my childhood over and over again and play the games i never got to play.

[@Valentine82]

I owned both TMNT 1 & 2 back in the day. TMNT 3 wasn’t released in PAL regions as far as I know. One of my proudest memories as a kid was beating TMNT 1 as it was such a tough game. I completed TMNT 2 lots of times with my younger brother. I was always Leonardo and my brother was always Donny.

[@Juria316]

Good lord, I was 7 in 1992. I remember the 2nd and 3rd games, I must have played those before the 1st one. Ah, memories.

[@616Entertainment]

Memories memories memories.

[@markjohnson8191]

I’m from Evergreen Park. Remember Fun Time Square in Alsip very well. Nice to watch a fellow South Sider. Great show. Keep up the great work.

[@616Entertainment]

Hell yea dude. Thanks for watching.

[@PhuryousOne]

Classic trilogy with each game better than the previous. I still own all three.

[@GregPYatesJr]

I have fond memories of Alsip IL. My very first apartment was there, I have family that still live there off Keeler Ave, and I used to work at that Funcoland back in the 90's.

[@briangiles8979]

Loved how you talked about specific memories linked to the games. TMNT 2 was one of my favs to play with a couple of neighborhood buddies. I mostly just watched them but still loved it. I even wrote a short essay about this in 8th grade because I couldn't think of any other memories to write about. Also good point about sounds/images that trigger forgotten memories. I'll have to think about that one. For me, it's mostly music that does that. Oh how I wish all the soundtracks to these 8 bit classics were on streaming services. I've only found a few though. The Duck Tales remastered soundtrack became one of my most listened to albums in 2016 on Apple Music.

[@LucaBlight25]

The definition of childhood core memory unlocked right here. Not kidding, the very 1st video game I vividly remember playing, maybe as a five year or four year old, is TMNT 3, at a friend's house. Because the opening beach stage stuck with me, and the fact that I was actively controlling something on a screen with a joystick. Just... mind blown right there.

[@ethanlaborde]

Wow, the graphics and animations in Turtles III are incredible for the NES! I guess the developers had really learned how to make the most of the hardware by '91!

[@616Entertainment]

They really are! Had to shine a light on them.

[@loganmichael2491]

I can remember when i was 5 years old, 27 now, and my first console was an NES. I was also a huge Ninja Turtle fan at the time (grew up with the 2003 series). This takes me back to my childhood majorly. I can remember playing this in the toy room of my mom's small apartment everyday after school before i got a ps2 and had the 2003 series game.

[@616Entertainment]

Great memories, man.

[@furrybogard9724]

When the first game released I was eleven and had surgery to remove early stages of cancer. When I was recovering my grandparents visited and gave me the game as a get well present. Horrible or not that game will always hold a special place in my heart and be my favorite.

[@616Entertainment]

Shout out to you for being UNDEFEATED against cancer!!!!

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

I often listened to LIVE Sweet Samadhi when playing number 3. Never forgot the codes for 2 and 3. Fun times.

[@JHook2dafullest]

@8:35 not gonna lie... I LOL'ed and spat out my pancakes 😆😆😆

[@616Entertainment]

Hahahahaa

[@limegreensquid]

After we had moved to a new town, in Summer 1989, my parents had rented an NES and a Genesis with some games, to ask me and my sister which system we wanted. They had only rented Super Mario/Duck Hunt (NES), Space Harrier 2, and Altered Beast (Genesis). Though i enjoyed those Genesis games more than Mario 1, i KNEW that only Nintendo had a Ninja Turtles game, so i begged for that. Coming home after the last day of school, in summer 1990, i was greeted in the living room by a brand new NES, already connected to the TV! With Mario/Duck Hunt of course, and a Rented copy of TMNT! I had to learn what "rented" meant, but i came to terms with it, and played the hell out of TMNT! I couldn't get very far, but i rented it often. I may have passed the seaweed level a couple times as a kid, but it was both fun and frustrating. I was also disappointed that they didn't have the song, but i loved the music they had! I almost prefer the NES main theme to the 80s-90s tv show theme, and THAT one's still the best turtles theme! In my 20s i discovered ebay, and bought TMNT, Double Dragon 1, 2 nd 3, Mario 3, Mega Man 2 and 3 FOR LESS THAN $3.00 EACH!! Ahhh, the 2000s were a wonderland for NES and SNES games in pawn shops and ebay... I also picked up TMNT 2 and 3 for about the same to test them out. In my 20s, i finally beat TMNT 1, it was a lot deeper and more interesting a game thahn i had thought! I smashed Shredder with the laser beam weapon, in like 3-5 shots, but i loved it! Trying TMNT 2 (the NES version) for the first time in my 20s had me kinda put off. the controls were clunky, major frame dropping, and flashing, the levels ran WAY too long, and the boss fights were awkward. I couldn't get into it, i hated beating it. But 3 fixed most of the problems i had with 2. Though it had a less interesting premise to me.

[@nanasapartment]

I didn’t even know I wanted this video until this popped in my feed, so excited to hear your thoughts on this trilogy.

[@Bandana_Assault]

Man transported back in time in my living room on the worn out carpet. My brother making his 3 year old brother (he was 7 at the time) play these games with him.

[@616Entertainment]

Heeelllll yea dude. Glad this one struck a cord with you.

[@Klippenschubser]

Another feelgood video. Thank you very much Ian.

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching.

[@StephenWilds]

Excellent to see you cover these. Glad you're branching out into some more retro stuff. I may have missed it in the video, but did you tell us who your favorite turtle was?

[@616Entertainment]

I didn't say. Growing up I was a Raph guy.

[@summeronio9751]

TMNT Arcade Game was incredible Me and my cousins put so many hrs into it as little kids, both at the skating rink and at home.

[@veridian4]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything in your background. I am right there with you with the Superman and Supergirl stuff.

[@matthewmcneill5320]

all these years i had no idea ultra was a capcom company, great info here even for a lifelong fan, keep up the great work, liked/new sub!

[@616Entertainment]

Not Capcom, Konami! Hahaha

[@matthewmcneill5320]

6Entertainment I'm an idiot, that makes more sense! Thanks for the follow up info, great content 😄

[@616Entertainment]

@@matthewmcneill5320 Hahahahaha

[@devonschwartz6456]

Just got the cowabunga collection last night. Lookin forward to playin some TMNT. Great video man.

[@jasonshouseoffunandvideoga7169]

Another excellent retrospective! I have a ton of memories with all of these games. The first one i would rent from the local video rental store. Such a great trilogy and part of a different time for me as I'm sure many others. 🙌✨️

[@wusaint]

I remember renting the original TMNT from a local video store. My cousin and I were so excited as Turtles fans. Holy crap it was so bad that we turned it off after 15 minutes and went back to playing Master Blaster instead lol

[@henry_crossley]

The first tmnt game I played was the arcade in the arcade. I loved the arcade version. My best memory of playing this in the arcade was me playing as Leo (my favorite was Mikey) and leading 3 other kids my age (all kids i just met) from beating level 1, to saving April. We all thought the game was over after saving April, then we all got picked of until I was the last one. When my cousin to me he had tmnt at his house I assumed that t was the arcade port, and man was I disappointed. So glad the arcade version got ported later.

[@616Entertainment]

Dude it was a lifesaver.

[@AaronC143]

I always liked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I never can get enough of the arcade game. I used to play the arcade game in arcades everywhere. Donatello is my favorite turtle. And besides, he's got the weapon with the furthest reach. I actually have that whole trilogy on my NES. Even have Turtles in Time and Tournament Fighters on my SNES. Also have the first 2 Games on my Game Boy. I got the Cowabunga Collection on PS5 and Switch. I'm always playing it along with Mortal Kombat. When the Cowabunga Collection was announced in 2022, I knew they'd remove the Pizza Hut logos in TMNT 2 due to licensing. I also have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles countercade from Arcade1up. It's got both the original and Turtles In Time. They're both the 2 player versions.

[@Craplatte]

Awesome video, there's just one thing I don't get... is that April bit about her being naked supposed to be a joke? Because she's clearly wearing the same outfit as she does a few seconds later when you talk about her wearing the jumpsuit again XD I'm a fan of the first game btw., could just be nostalgia though 🙂

[@616Entertainment]

Yes. It is a joke about the outfit being the wrong color.

[@jameskuhn432]

I still love the original game. I was 9 years old when it first came out. I'm 43 now. I still love playing it. Even though it's still hard as Hell 💀🤣🤣

[@doubleHLabs]

It's Turtle time!!! 😂

[@616Entertainment]

Darn tootin'.

[@EddieJorgeDrummer]

Man I WISH the original NES TMNT cover looked like it did in the thumbnail. Even as a kid I hated the cover not knowing it was from the original comic. A classic to me now but as a kid I wanted the different bandana color

[@hunteremison524]

Rolling your thumb across the an and b does a 1 hit kill and every 200 kills gets an extra life. We would map out our extras lives across the levels in order to beat it

[@Incense3]

I just recently bought the cowabunga collection to experience these games again. I grew up with this trilogy and absolutely adored it. People crap on the first game, but it’s a solid and very difficult game. As frustrating as it can be, I loved it. The music, getting to use all four turtles and the somewhat open nature of the level design just made this a big adventure. It was fun playing the arcade game at home. Such an impressive port. And as everyone else has said Turtles 3 was just fantastic. Love these games!

[@616Entertainment]

I don't like the first one, not much nice to say about it, but I'm glad there are those who do enjoy it. Thanks for watching!

[@Incense3]

@@616Entertainment I totally get it, and I know a big part is that I have a ton of nostalgia for this game. We were also just happy to have a TMNT game and played this to death until the arcade game came out.

[@hunteremison524]

My granny got me II for my 6th birthday. Still one of my all time favorite games

[@nomienoman9232]

i have fond memories of playing all 3 while growing up and i 100% agree as usual on your perspective of that the people that can relate to these games are usually the ones who grew up playing them. I owned part 1, never beat it, but borrowed pt2 and 3 and played the hell outta them at various times. Hearing about then seeing shredder multiply in tmnt2 was stuff of legends! Also didn't know youre also in chicago, we should meet up and get some food sometime! would be fun to chat!

[@ZeroCashProductions]

As a kid I had the first and third games. I never got more than halfway through the first. Once you get to the airport, it would just end me. Turtles III, I can't even remember how many times I played through that one, alone and with friends.

[@psychjerich0]

The first turtles game was like a lot of licensed games. Was like yay we get to play it like Ghostbusters but then you play it not so much gun but the Arcade game and Manhattan project is amazing lots of memories playing them with my Dad! Great video Ian!

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks man!

[@iRox4Life]

LONG LIVE PATCHES!!!

[@616Entertainment]

Always and forever.

[@reptilez13]

I used to have chapped mouth super bad as a kid too from obsessively licking my lips, playing games or otherwise. Im still Obessive Compulsive, and have dry lips but i dont lick half my face like when I was a kid haha. Also the first couple TMNT games, along with Mario and Zelda on NES, were my youngest game playing memories in 1991 or so, at an extremely young age, memeories of memories type of thing given it was my first memories at like 3-4 years old. Manhattan Project was my fav of the trilogy tho i love them all really, even outside nostalgia (love retro games but not a big nostalgia guy, maybe cuz my child hood wasnt top notch lol) Great vid man!

[@RE-vy4wn]

I am SO happy that we got this trilogy, thanks so much Ian! And, since you asked so nicely, my memories of the first game, both in nostalgia and the most recent time that I played it, are not that good either. I give them points for establishing a different formula than the arcade original, TMNT 2, and TMNT 3, but there were so many flaws, and the difficulty was intense. It was far and away the most difficult NES game ever (Hello, Silver Surfer and Battletoads), but the slowdown, the lack of invincibility/recovery time, and the dodgy as all hell hit detection made it hard to play and hard to beat. But ironically, like you stated, Shredder is very easy to beat if you know how to cheese the fight. TMNT 2 the Arcade game was a good game when I was younger (and the free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza, I mean come on! COME ON!) but as I got older, I kind of turned into a lemon on it. I like the addition of the snow level in Level 2 and the entirely new level 6, but it only added to the frustration of what I felt was an underwhelming offering. I know that they weren't going to recreate the entire arcade experience (neither did Final Fight in its SNES port), but I expected maybe just a little bit more. TMNT 3 The Manhattan Project, now that's a game that I enjoyed then and still do today, still play it on the off hand. I loved having unique special attacks for every Turtle, being able to switch between them when you lost a life as you saw fit, and having a flip attack to go with your arsenal helped the gameplay. Not to mention, Konami dug deep into the Turtles' rogue gallery for guys like Dirtbag, Groundchuck, Leatherhead, and the inclusion of the TMNT 2 film debuting baddies Tokka and Rahzar. Really enjoyed it, probably more than the first two NES TMNT games.

[@SuperD0077]

Got my son the TMNT collection for his XBox One, (Christmas 2022), told him if he beat the original ninja Turtle game by his birthday (Sept 2023), I'd get him a PS5 for his bday. I ended up getting him a PS5, but I just wanted to show him the cruel and unusual punishment we went through.

[@Meshonik]

The first game isn't that bad. The dam is a puzzle where you realize you just sacrifice Mike when your turtles are all low on health going through the coral. I chugged through that game when I was 6.

[@redgreen-s3d]

I love the turtles! New subscriber here: Thanks for making these!

[@616Entertainment]

Thanks for watching! There's lots of let's play style stuff on the channel but I intend to shift my focus primarily to these scripted style retrospectives here in 2024. I've collected most of these in playlists on the channel, enjoy!

[@Gravity999.]

Loved this. As far as patron goes I signed up because I love ya! However the video I want most is a tony hawk retrospective ❤

[@616Entertainment]

Dude thank you so much! Let's hit that THPS goal!

[@Kickingit06]

The NES TMNT games were epic. To me, they're better than most fancy games nowadays.

[@evanscott9473]

Turtle Time - where time doesn't go by fast.

[@dareolson]

did the Arcade Game nes port really have those missing scan lines on the sprites or is that an emulator thing?

[@616Entertainment]

Scan lines aren't natural on modern screens, as I'm sure you know. The footage is recorded from the Cowabunga Collection, with is a perfect copy of the NES game. They even offer the option to clean it up and get rid of the issues of the NES days. I left them on for the sake of staying faithful to the time.

[@patrickrusso9919]

I'm convinced TMNT 1 was originally a different game that got retro-fitted for the TMNT thematic

[@acceptable1609]

I remember in 2012 when the newest adaptation of Ninja Turtles had just came out and I was obsessed with them. I couldn’t get enough, and one day my stepdad had a homebrewed Wii step up so I went scrolling through the games and saw the TMNT games for NES. I played them and got my ass handed to me. Every time I played I got a bit further but these games were hard especially for a 10 year old who hasn’t played anything before PS2.

[@dylanogg347]

01:40: You're right, man. It's Ninja Time!

[@jasonphelps5681]

I played the first TMNT game when it first came out and while it is hard once you get the hang I appreciate the difficulty. One of my personal top 5 nes games.

[@angelagwen1818]

This is my favorite PSP video you've done

[@616Entertainment]

That's awesome, glad you liked it!

[@tonyrosario1940]

I think almost any NES game played today is brutal, serious NES games were no joke, no casual gameplay here. 🍻