Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES/Genesis/NES)

[Nz17]

Back in the day, I saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters advertised in a lot of game magazines. I always wanted to get a copy of that game, both back then and now. The version which held particular interest to me was the NES version. It was released in February 1994. The problems (then and now) were of course 1) I didn't see it in any of the local game stores and 2) I was too poor to afford it. In 1994 when I was about 11 years old, the other problems were that most people, myself included, didn't have Internet access, and even if you did have some form of 'Net access, you probably weren't going to find an online video game store from which to buy this game; and the other problem was that brick-and-mortar stores and rental stores had "moved on" from the NES to the 16-bit consoles by then, making finding new NES games difficult. And of course, I had no newer consoles. I didn't (and don't) understand why people abandoned their NES's and other older consoles for the newer ones. I was left wanting for more NES games back then with no real way to make it happen as I was living in a rural community at the time.

Part of the intrigue about this game for me was when I was around 11 years old, I was "big into TMNT," but even moreso, this was the height of the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat craze, so there were lots of 1 versus 1 fighting games... but practically none of them were for the NES. Now some might consider Urban Champion to be one, but considering it is an earlier game with fun yet simple gameplay with no combos or special moves or any of those things that made 1990's fighting games particularly interesting, I didn't classify it in that category. So to me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters is the only 1v1 fighting game for the NES of which I'm aware.

So with space and financial considerations, it will still probably be some time yet before I finally collect a copy of this game. eBay listings for it (and not those damn "custom cases") are few and far between. Thankfully for such a late release NES game, its price isn't too crazy, but it is still much higher than your average common NES game. Yet I don't mind too much as it is probably worth the price... at least to me.

What about you? Do you own a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters? Which version (SNES/Genesis/NES)? Are you from one of the regions where it was called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters? And how is the game anyway? (That's probably important to know before I buy a copy. )

[Greg2600]

I got it for SNES from Funcoland. I may have it for Genesis too floating around, don't remember. One of the few fighting games I bothered with, since I was a fan of the franchise.

[Tanooki]

Part of the intrigue about this game for me was when I was around 11 years old, I was "big into TMNT," but even moreso, this was the height of the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat craze, so there were lots of 1 versus 1 fighting games... but practically none of them were for the NES. Now some might consider Urban Champion to be one, but considering it is an earlier game with fun yet simple gameplay with no combos or special moves or any of those things that made 1990's fighting games particularly interesting, I didn't classify it in that category. So to me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters is the only 1v1 fighting game for the NES of which I'm aware.

So with space and financial considerations, it will still probably be some time yet before I finally collect a copy of this game. eBay listings for it (and not those damn "custom cases") are few and far between. Thankfully for such a late release NES game, its price isn't too crazy, but it is still much higher than your average common NES game. Yet I don't mind too much as it is probably worth the price... at least to me.

What about you? Do you own a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters? Which version (SNES/Genesis/NES)? Are you from one of the regions where it was called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Tournament Fighters? And how is the game anyway? (That's probably important to know before I buy a copy. )

I was into TMNT until the last 1-2 years of the cartoon when it got really really stupid like the writers ran out of ideas, but the games I kept up with. Unlike you I had access to a used shop that had games mostly for $5, some for $10 and little else up over that in the last half of the 90s into the start of the 00s before I left the state. I never actually had seen nor heard of the NES version or forgot about it because I do remember the SNES one but I got SF2 and MK1 at the time so I didn't bother as TMNT went off TV. Urban Champion doesn't count, and you'd honestly have to look to the famicom to find another 1v1 game in both Yie Ar Kung Fu from Konami which has moves, and also Joy Mecha Fight from Nintendo.

If you really want it on a cart, get it, but it's expensive for a very poorly made game that can't even detect direction and button presses right. You'd be better off getting that 150in1 cart I noted in that other thread for 29.99 shipped from etsy if you really are wanting to just play it as it's called Turtles 4 in the menu. The game plays rotten on NES. You can only control the 4 turtles, and there's just 6 fights with each turtle (mirror turtle) one boss, then the shredder. The controls if you look up the stuff are basically like street fighter 2 with back forwards, forwards, or a quarter circle and B or A to do stuff, but most the time you do it, it won't register and just do a punch or a kick getting your ass beat by the computer. I beat it once or twice, failed hard every other time as it's not consistent. I had the cart back when it was going around $50-60 online in a trade deal, held onto it maybe a year and got rid of it as it sucked and the money was more worth it to me than a wall trophy that dirties the good TMNT name of console games from the era. Now if you wanted the SNES and Genesis versions they play accurately, buttons and controls work, obviously better looking/sounding, and there's a notably larger roster of characters and fights to the end on the order of SF2/MK1 in size.

The Hero name is from England, as I understand it some uptight wig wearing trolls in their government decided that Ninjas were too evil and scary for little kids so they got censored out of everything including the TMNT. That's why other games over there carried that removed too like NInja Gaiden got another name. They also trolled pretty hard on violence in video games with humans, so CONTRA got redone with robot bodies as Probotector.

[Steven]

Fond memories of this game. Second game my parents bought for me. After really wanting Clay Fighter for Christmas 1993 and my cousins getting me clothes instead, my parents suddenly grew super generous. Still vividly recall them taking me to Good Guys to buy SNES Tournament Fighters in January 1994. Loved it then and still like it now, although it was a lot more awesome 22 years ago. The colorful visuals and excellent music still sticks in my head all these years later!

[SparTonberry]

The Hero name is from England, as I understand it some uptight wig wearing trolls in their government decided that Ninjas were too evil and scary for little kids so they got censored out of everything including the TMNT. That's why other games over there carried that removed too like NInja Gaiden got another name. They also trolled pretty hard on violence in video games with humans, so CONTRA got redone with robot bodies as Probotector.

I heard it was actually Germany (where Nintendo of Europe is headquartered) that was super-concerned about "violent" things.

[Tanooki]

That doesn't surprise me either as they've been very anti violence as far as their desired public image goes after you know trying to wipe out an entire race back in the 40s. They still can't have a Wolfenstein game out there anymore and any of that classic imagery is highly limited to certain educational outlets. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted robots instead of people and heroes to look up to instead of 'evil' scary ninjas as stupid as that all sounds being one giant over-reaction.

[E Nice]

I own and have played all three versions of TMNT Tournament Fighters. The reason the SNES version is the best is obvious on gameplay.

TMNT TF on the NES wasn't that bad. Considering it was made on the NES it was pretty good. The bgm was pretty decent. The moves are all simple to pull off. You were able to play as Casey Jones and Hothead, as well as Shredder. Casey was just death with his cyclone attack. Rapheal had a mean Mike Tyson move where he'd bite the opponents head. This is also the only TMNT game that includes Hothead and he's a huge sprite, lots of flicker here. Because of that problem you can not have a Hothead mirror match, though there is a way to trick the game into doing it. All characters can do an ultra attack but it requires grabbing that red ball that Splinter drops down, get it before your opponent does. I'd rank the game above the Genesis in controls.

There's a reason why the Genesis version is found so cheaply. It doesn't play very well. The Genesis TMNT TF had some stiff controls, plus it only used two buttons for attacks. The C button is used for taunts, which does have a use to refill some life in the endurance mode. Your moves also come out so slowly, while the AI can move faster and pull the moves off flawlessly and counter everything you do. And good luck beating it on max difficulty. If Triceraton landed one hit on you before hand and then grabs you his attack will kill you. Then there's the final boss Karai. You thought the enemy couldn't move any faster? The positive aspects of this game is the game's story (no Shredder - thank heavens!), settings/visuals, characters and music. Some stages can drop you down into another one beneath, and the stage music also changes for them if I recall. You can play as Casey Jones and April O'Neil in this game. Ray Fillet also makes an appearance in this game and is the character to use if you want to beat this game the cheesy way. Most everyone else is to slow or you need proper timing and NO slip ups. A Triceraton is the first of the boss trio and dangerous to go up against due to that grab move. The second boss is Krang, his stage has a hidden stage beneath. And despite the game case (US back cover) showing Krang in a mirror match you can not play as the bosses in this game at all. There's no legitimate way to do so that I'm aware of.

[bangtango]

They may not fit the mold you are looking for but the NES did have other one-on-one fighting experiences:

-Best of the Best Championship Karate
-Karate Champ
-Double Dragon (versus mode)
-Track and Field II (taekwondo and fencing)

It was also fun for me growing up to clear a screen of enemies and go head to head with the 2nd player in either River City Ransom or Double Dragon II. Try it sometime, it's better than you might think. Especially if you have two fully powered RCR characters, or if one person is a lot better than the other you can deactivate some of the power-up books for feet, fists, weapons, etc.

It may not be perfect, but you can get one-on-one fighting without picking up Tournament Fighters NES.

[bangtango]

TMNT TF on the NES wasn't that bad. Considering it was made on the NES it was pretty good. The bgm was pretty decent. The moves are all simple to pull off. You were able to play as Casey Jones and Hothead, as well as Shredder. Casey was just death with his cyclone attack. Rapheal had a mean Mike Tyson move where he'd bite the opponents head. This is also the only TMNT game that includes Hothead and he's a huge sprite, lots of flicker here. Because of that problem you can not have a Hothead mirror match, though there is a way to trick the game into doing it. All characters can do an ultra attack but it requires grabbing that red ball that Splinter drops down, get it before your opponent does. I'd rank the game above the Genesis in controls.

Agree. Wanted to play the NES version from the moment it was announced in EGM when I was a teenager. Took me ten years to get the chance and I did it via emulation. Played it a few times and the game was perfectly fine considering the platform. If you have the money to spare, I'd say go for it. If nothing else, it'll be a good conversation starter for friends or family of yours who are TMNT fans, NES fans or both.

[Niku-Sama]

I have the SNES version, I found a complete copy some where...probably the as-is store. I don't remember paying very much for it either

as for the game it self I thought it was kinda meh.
by the time I had come across it I had put many hours into marvel vs Capcom, dark stalkers, playstation and newer fighters basically. tournament fighters felt slow and not all that fun.
I've never been a fan of ANY snes or genesis fighters for the same reason, street fighter or mortal kombat are fine on any other system (or in a cabinet) the 16 bit consoles never really did it for me though