Remember the popular rise of 4-player, cooperative, quarter-eating arcade games from the late ’80s and early ’90s? There were some great ones: X-men, Captain America and the Avengers, Sunset Riders, and more, but perhaps the best known of these games was Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or the later Turtles in Time). Well, more than 25 years later Raw Thrills has brought back that classic fun wrapped up in an all new Nickelodeon-licensed package.
The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game brings back everything you loved about the classic version (4-player co-op action, crisp graphics, sweet ninja moves) and adds a few new twists like a special “Turtle Power” super power mode. Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo may be back to battle some of the same villains you remember from the past (Rocksteady, Krang, etc.), along with a few new surprises from the new Nickelodeon cartoon. You can grab stuff, throw ninja stars, and, of course heal yourself by eating pizza. Currently there’s only a handful of levels and the villainous Shredder was noticeable absent, but the game is not fully finished yet, so no word on whether or not there will be other levels in the final version.
Gone is the 25″ CRT Monitor. Instead, a giant flat-panel screen presents crisp graphics surrounded by color-changing LEDs in a slick new cabinet design that will make itself stand out in any family entertainment center and totally immerse you in the action. While Raw Thrills has continued to make some of the best new games out there (Jurassic Park, Cruis’n Blast, etc), this is one of the first I can remember that isn’t a driver or a shooter. With this popular theme and classic gameplay, I have no doubt this arcade brawler will be a huge hit for kids and grown-ups alike.
Although the game won’t be released until Spring 2018, I had a chance to play the new game on the IAAPA exhibit floor in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. I have to say, I was pretty stunned. From what I’ve seen, this game is my favorite pick of the show, and with every major coin-op manufacturer represented, that’s saying a lot. Be on the lookout for this game in your local family entertainment center in 2018, and be sure to watch the current game play video below.
Hope there will be a PS4 port? Doubt it.