By Elias Dounis on November 30th, 2005

Many gamers like myself have some very fond of memories of playing Konami’s classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game from the 8-bit and 16-bit console generations. They were some of best beat ’em ups of their time and to this day Turtles in Time for the Super Nintendo is still recognized as one of the very best in the genre. Over the past few years, with the rebirth of TMNT cartoon, Konami has decided to put the turtles back into the spotlight but their efforts aren’t half as memorable as their previous classics. Unsurprisingly, these 3D TMNT beat ’em ups have been critically panned, and the latest game in the series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare, also fails to bring back the series to its former glory.

Mutant Nightmare follows the events of the third season of the new TMNT cartoon and it’s clearly a title that only diehard fans of the cartoon will enjoy solely due to the game’s presentation. The voice actors from the series contribute their talents to the game and a good amount of cutscenes are ripped directly from the animated show. This alone should make the game experience somewhat rewarding for younger players. However, not even the nostalgia of past TMNT games, movies, comics, or animated TV series can make Mutant Nightmare enjoyable for older fans, even with the inclusion of a mangled port of the arcade version of Turtles in Time.

The gameplay of Mutant Nightmare is very similar to what has been seen in the previous installments in the series. The four turtles run around levels bashing any enemy within sight and there’s not much else to do other than that, as this process is rinsed and repeated a few thousand times. This repetitive aspect of the game is almost like a staple gameplay characteristic that all beat ’em ups must have, but a good game of this sort makes this repetitive action actually appealing and enjoyable. Mutant Nightmare is not one of these good games. The game’s clunky controls and attack combos prevent it from being anything highly suggestible and it’s a shame given the history of the franchise. While there are more "complex" combo attacks that can be purchased along the adventure with gems collected from fallen enemies, there never feels as if there’s any use for any other combo purchased; only the constant tapping of a single button is all that’s needed.

While going through each of the game’s levels, don’t be surprised if you become frustrated with the game’s camera, as it’s always changing despite your constant manipulation to get the right view. Yes, it’s one of those games in which toying with camera becomes just as great of challenge as fighting a group of enemies, which in return makes fighting enemies a tad bit more irritating.

Duking it out with the game’s baddies is already an annoying process for a number of reasons. For starters, enemies which shoot projectile weapons do a ridiculous amount of damage, and some of the later foes take too long to defeat, and this can also be a tad bit boring due to the game’s simple attack combos. Interestingly, to move forward in a stage you are often not required to defeat every enemy on-screen, but just run through the stage ignoring most enemies to complete it stage easily. Since fighting the game’s enemies isn’t much fun at all, I found myself running through the stages to avoid the torment of

The level design of these stages and the various objectives given to complete them can also be a nuisance. Traveling through sewers, the streets of Manhattan, or the corridors of an alien spacecraft can be a real pain the butt. They’re mazes; and ones that are not easily navigated. Additionally, when you’re given the burden of protecting characters such as Master Splinter and April, you often have to make sure that they aren’t stupid enough to walk directly into enemy attacks-- they are truly idiotic and protecting them is anything but fun.

In order to add variety to the game’s repetitive nature, some mini-games and easy-to-solve puzzles elements have been included. Most of the mini-games involve shooting enemies with gun turrets, with each turtle being in control of one and hover board missions. While they do manage to make the game feel less repetitive, they’re not enjoyable in the slightest; all of the gameplay situations feel like a chore. As for the puzzles, they are way too simple, even for a game designed to appeal to a younger demographic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the yougins’ playing this game felt alienated by the simplicity of the game’s "puzzles."

The addition of Turtles in Time is something I was expecting to enjoy. The gameplay of this classic TMNT arcade game is probably the best of any game featured in the series. However, while the gameplay is retained to a certain extent, the controls do not feel as responsive and all of the sound effects have been completely been redone for the worse and sound muffled. Anyone who has played the original game will tell you that the soundtrack of Turtles in Time is a memorable one, and one of the best featured in a game from that time period; it’s replacement soundtrack is absolutely horrid. Also, it should be noted that the arcade version of Turtles in Time pales in comparison to the extended version of the game released on the Super Nintendo.

TMNT: Mutant Nightmare is indeed a nightmare of gaming experience. The only thing the game accomplishes is proving that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should’ve never left the 2D realm of gaming. Konami should completely scrap all future plans of enhancing this gameplay engine and go back to the series’ 2D roots. Want a good TMNT game? Go find a used SNES and a copy of Turtles and Time and you’ll realize that every TMNT after that has been a complete waste of time.