Top 10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Video Games

Most of the TMNT video games we grew up with were based on the classic cartoon series. “Manhattan missions” was different. Released exclusively for the PC, this game was based on both the Mirage comics and the first movie, you know, the one where the turtles swear, and Raph almost dies? Yeah, this game ditched the goofy fun in favor of a darker tone, from characters resembling their movie counterparts, to everything taking place at night. The plot is still the same formula you’d expect: save April, fight bad guys, stop Shredder, but told in a way that looks like you’re flipping through a comic book.

No, we still haven’t beaten this game, and no, we don’t know anyone who has. The very firstninja turtles game is one of the most difficult titles in the NES library. Your goal is to get the Life Transformer Gun from Shredder because it could potentially restore Splinter to his human form. Along the way, you have to save April, deactivate bombs -- ugh... that’s about as far as we got. That’s about as far as anyone got. Despite our controller throwing rage over this game, we can’t help our warm, nostalgic feelings for it. After all, you always remember your first, right?

The second turtles game released on the Game Boy followed the beat-em up formula that the franchise was establishing for itself, but with a couple of twists. There were stage hazards to avoid like boulders, and, most importantly, skateboarding, one of theturtles’ favorite pastimes besides eating pizza. Much like the NES game and its Game Boy predecessor, running out of health led to your turtle being captured, but at the end of each stage you had a chance to rescue him. There were also more villains this time around such as Super Shredder, who was definitely more difficult than his movie counterpart.

While only 3 versions of this game were made, you an skip the NES and Genesis versions – cuz the SNES version is where it’s at. So, imagine Ryu finding four turtles covered in that green ooze instead of Splinter. We’re sure he would’ve taught them the ways of the Hadouken so they could enter a tournament to take on M. Bison... um, we mean Shredder. Yes, there is actually a 2D fighting game that looks like a hybrid of “Street Fighter 2” and turtle power as they enter a tournament of all things to take on Shredder and other fighters, Or go on a story quest to rescue April and Splinter, because the game needed a bit more plot beyond “Round One: Fight!”

This was the very first handheld turtles game... sort of. There were a few electronic handhelds before it, complete with their monotonous beeps and lack of a coherent goal. “Fall of the Foot Clan” was the first handheld to contain some semblance of a story and a variety of levels -- which you could complete in any order you wanted. Overall, the game was simple, but entertaining, with the predictable goal of rescuing April and familiar foes like Foot Soldiers, Shredder, and Krang. It was a good first step in the handheld direction and perfect for bandana wearing fans with Game Boys.

Before Michael Bay, but after the nineties feudal Japan adventure, our heroes in a half-shell had a CGI big screen adventure in 2007. This, of course, led to a video game tie in, and we all know how well video games based on movies do. Ubisoft’s first foray into the sewers was o.k. at best, with cooperative gameplay and acrobatic segments similar to “Prince of Persia. ” However, the Game Boy Advanced game went back to the brawler roots of the Konami TMNT games, and the 2 style was a perfect way to update the graphics and reminds us how bossa nova the games could be.

Ah, the nineties, when we were at war with our friends over which console was better: the SNES or the Sega Genesis. This meant that we’d boast about the games we played: Mario versus Sonic, the SNES Aladdin versus the Genesis one, and “Turtles in Time” versus “Hyperstone Heist.” “Hyperstone Heist” was the Genesis’ answer to a NinjaTurtles game. As soon as the opening starts it’s easy to compare it to its SNES counterpart, from its similar story to its gameplay, but it does manage to stand out with longer levels and different enemies, including Tatsu from the first two live action movies.

Hey dudes, who wants to go out and catch some waves? That’s exactly what our heroes had planned at the start of our #3 pick . Clearly, they’re not meant to ever leave the city, because they don’t get to stay in sunny Key West for long before Shredder hatches one of his nefarious schemes. This time, he’s turned Manhattan into a floating island. Oh, and he’s captured April, yadda yadda let’s go surfing! If there’s one thing we remember about this game -- besides the bodacious amount of action, of course -- is how we managed to have gnarly battles while surfing across the water . Cowabunga!

Let’s be honest. This game set the standard for what we expected from TMNT video games, not just for the arcade, but for console as well. Up to four players could play the arcade version, which meant that you could complete the ultimate squad goals by having all theturtles fight together. With your friends and a roll of quarters at your side, you could battle against classic villains like Bebop and Rocksteady as you set out to... save everyone’s favorite yellow jumpsuited reporter and rat master. What can we say, it’s a ninja turtles plot from the eighties. Besides, it works for Mario, right? Same reward and everything.

Before we finish off this totally tubular list, let’s hold the anchovies for these honorable mentions:

“TMNT Smash Up” (2009)

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue” (1993)

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare” (2005)

While “The first Arcade Game” got the ball rolling for the side scrolling beat-em up formula for our heroes in a half-shell, “Turtles in Time” perfected it. For some reason it justs clicked in all the right ways Was it because we got to travel to different historical eras? Was it the tweaks in gameplay? The improved graphics? The Pizza Power ? Well, one thing’s for sure - it perfectly captured the fun of the show, and was oozing with energy and style . “Turtles in Time” kept everything that worked with its predecessor and made improvements and enhancements where needed. Simply put, it’s still the most radical turtle adventure we’ve been on.

Do you agree with our list? Which Ninja Turtles game did you have a shell of a time with? For more most excellent top tens published everyday, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com. We’ll save you some pizza, we promise.