Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) are near and dear to the hearts of so many people in my age group. When I was a kid I had everything branded TMNT, from backpacks to bedsheets. It should come as no surprise that a few TMNT video games were made. Many people consider the best Turtles game made to be TMNT IV: Turtles in Time for the Arcade, which was later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Recently Ubisoft Singapore took this classic co-op beat-em-up and gave it a fresh new look. It was released on Xbox Live as TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled. Should you shell out the cash for a fresh look? Or should you just dust off the old SNES?
VS.
Am I guilty of using a terrible pun? Yes. Is this review going to be like the others? No. I’ve decided that since the 360 and SNES versions are almost the same game to do a versus review. The differences and great things that are the same will be discussed.
Difficulty:
SNES
- Start with two lives.
- After continuing a few times get ‘Game Over’ screen.
- Restart level after continuing.
- Specials take away small amount of health.
- No difficulty selection.
360
- Start with six lives.
- Unlimited continues / No ‘Game Over’ screen.
- Also restart level after continuing.
- Specials can be used with no effect on your health.
- Difficulty selection screen.
Winner: SNES version. You start with four less lives, there’s a finite number of continues, your special moves need to be thought out, and you can’t choose how hard the game is going to be. Those all equate to a more difficult game.
Look:
SNES
- 16-bit graphics.
- Boss character’s name appears onscreen along with their health bar.
- All standard enemies and bosses explode when they are defeated.
360
- HD Graphics
- Boss character’s picture appears in bottom right corner of screen with their health bar.
- All standard enemies still explode, but some boss character’s just fall down.
- Some character models were slightly changed. This is very noticeable with the pizza monsters from level three.
Winner: 360 version. This is the one the 360 version needed to win. The whole point of this release was to polish the look of it, and they succeeded.
Sound:
SNES
- When you hit an adversary it has an Indiana Jones-like punching sound. If you don’t know what I mean watch an Indiana Jones movie.
- Great 16-bit music.
360
- Crunching / Squishy sound when you hit anyone.
- Music seems to be the same.
Winner: SNES version. The music is simply much more nostalgic and there are better combat sounds.
Multiplayer:
SNES
- Up to two players in the same room can play together at the same time.
360
- Up to four players can play together, either in the same room or via Xbox Live.
Winner: 360 Version. The ability to play with people online adds a lot to the game. Plus, you don’t actually have to have friends to find someone to play with.
Gameplay:
SNES
- No turtle stats on character selection screen
- Story Mode is the only mode available
360
- Turtle comparison screen letting you know which turtle is better at each aspect of fighting.
- Story mode as well as quickplay and survival. Quickplay allows you to play any level you’ve already unlocked with 99 lives. Survival tasks you with finishing the game with a single life bar.
Winner: 360 Version. It has two more modes and a nice screen that gives you character information.
So there you have it, 3-2 in favor of Re-shelled. Not much has changed, but there are a few worthwhile improvements. The game can still be completed in around an hour, just to warn people who hate short games, but don’t forget that this is an arcade game port. If you’re a big TMNT fan or if you’re just looking for some beat-em-up nostalgia than this game would be worth $10 to you. If you don’t fall into either of those categories than save that money for something more worthwhile to you. Maybe Shadow Complex will be that, we’ll find out soon enough.
