Reviewed: November 7, 2004
Reviewed by: Megan Dyer
Publisher
Konami
Developer
Konami Studios
Released: October 19, 2004
Genre: Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen
7
7
7
7
7.0
Supported Features:
There is little that is stranger than a cartoon based on the premise of turtles mutating in nuclear waste only to grow to the size of fully grown men with a talent for ninja skills that have been developed by their master, an oversized sentient rat named Splinter. I'm not sure why, but I think the eighties had a lot to do with it. When I think back to the cartoons I watched as a child, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes up, and at the time, the whole premise was not only plausible to the imagination of a ten year old, but it was damn cool too.
I, of course, had the old arcade game on the NES, and was excited to see if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus held up against the beginnings of this old franchise. In this latest game, you will have the pleasure of not only playing mutated ninja turtles with a love for pizza and a desire to battle evil, but will be playing as mutated ninja turtles with a love for pizza and a desire to battle evil, in outer space! Yeah, it's that cool. Honestly though, I'm happy to say, this game really is a blast to play, even after all these years, as a game that both old fans looking for some nostalgic fun and new generation turtle fans alike will enjoy.
Things sure have changed since the days of NES. I remember when jumping and attacking were the only commands available other than the directional buttons. As is the case with Mario Bros., it has been interesting to watch the Ninja Turtles games evolve over time. There are plenty of old tricks herein this old school, beat ‘em up style game: power up moves that are unique to each turtle, throwing weapons, and the occasionally frustrating wall jumping techniques that allow you to scale buildings like a real ninja.
Over time, in each Turtles game, the things that you can do with your turtles has been expanded upon and refined, although not terribly so. You can break open crates to obtain crystals that power-up your turtles. Throwing weapons are also obtained this way. And of course, what Turtles game would be complete without pizza and soda to refill your life bar? Nothing terribly new here, but it sure is a nice treat to fans. An odd aspect of this game is that each level has hidden antiques (also in boxes) that you can take back to the old reporter friend of the Turtles, April.
Back at home base, you can access other forms of gameplay different from the main storyline (which is, like most Turtles games, irrelevant for the most part). Here you can take antiques found in the storyline to April to have them appraised. While the dialogues between April and the Turtles are cute, they also unlock other things in the game. There is also a tournament mode here, in which you can battle enemies under special conditions. Beating these tournaments also unlock bonuses. The degree of unlockable goodies in this game is a nice touch, and it gets much of its value from this. All in all, bonuses are good for a game that is fun to play like Battle Nexus, but otherwise doesn't offer much in the way of depth.
However, as is the case in past Turtles games as well, One of the biggest issues I had here was the control scheme. It is a little too difficult at times to just make your turtles hit their enemies. This is especially so with the throwing items you can obtain in each level. You have to be lined up absolutely perfectly. And I mean, PERFECTY. You are actually more likely to throw your ninja stars in between the legs of your enemies rather than actually hit them. This was frustrating, to say the least, and if you are going to be playing by yourself, the battlefield overwhelmingly fills up with enemies that you will have a next to impossible time getting past.
There was one point in the game where you have to carry another character through a slew of enemies. I was able to get through this in two-player mode, but have no idea how one is supposed to do it in one player mode. In fact, there were a couple of instances in which two-player mode seemed to not be enough to pass the test. Multi-player mode is where this game truly shines. You can play with up to four players, which makes this a great party game.
Whether you play with four players or not, just be warned that this is an almost strictly multi-player game, that just gets monotonous and frustrating if you attempt to play it on your own. Also, be warned that all of your turtles share one life bar, instead of getting individual ones as they did in the beginning of this series' history. That can also be rather annoying, and this game would have benefited from going a little easier on its players in this aspect.
The visuals in Battle Nexus are decent, but nothing that is really going to blow your mind. The gameplay graphics are crisp and clear, but nothing terribly different from what you would expect. It does look like the show, which is of course a good thing, but I was rather disappointed in the lack of CG cut scenes. Most of the cut scenes are exactly like the cartoon. Some people like this as opposed to CG scenes, so it is strictly a matter of preference. However, we all know what the show looks like. Now we want to see what the game version looks like.
There are a few CG cut scenes that seemed to rather randomly be spliced into the game that are really cool cel shaded-type movies. I enjoyed these, and thought the game would be better off if they had stuck to this style for all of its cut scenes. It doesn't really make sense anyway to just apparently at random switch between the two styles. It looks kind of...sloppy. If the developers for this game had stuck with one style, it would have seemed like a much tighter and more well put together package.
On another, slightly nit picky note, there were some problems with the graphics in the extras that you can unlock. As you play, more character designs and concepts are added for you to simply look at. If you zoom into these pictures they get all fuzzy. The least we could ask from a video game that otherwise proves that it can provide decent graphics, is clear 2D still shots. Still, it's a minor complaint. It is, after all, a game based on a lovably cheesy cartoon. I wasn't expecting Final Fantasy quality.
Okay, maybe I'm just old and out of touch with these youngsters today, but in my day, there was one, and only one song that could possibly serve as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. That song, which is so catchy that I still remember 75% of the lyrics after not hearing it for years, is THE ninja turtles song. This new song is not exactly in the spirit of "Turtle Power," but I digress...
I did like the sound of this game. The voice acting is well done, and fit each Turtle perfectly. Donatello sounds meek, and kind of nerdy, Michelangelo sounds like a surfer, Raphael sounds like he has quite the attitude, bordering on a mobster- like accent, and Leonardo is the confident, somewhat hammy leader. The voice acting, for a game of its type, is fun, and traditional with the show.
As for the music, (disregarding the blasphemous theme song...) it rather surprised me. While it's true that most of the music serves as background noise and is quite forgettable, there were a few gems here that were actually pretty cool. One in particular came from when the Turtles land on their first planet in outer space, which is an ice world. I was pleasantly surprised by it. Overall, the sound in Battle Nexus is solid.
The value of this game depends greatly on how many people you will have to play with you. While there is a lot to unlock, and it is pretty fun, you will have to find three other friends that all happen to be in the mood to play this game. I can see this as being fun for kids at sleepovers and parties, but once all is unlocked and explored, it loses a lot of its value. There may be times when you'll just want to pick it up and mess with it, but when there are other games to just pick up and mess with that are a lot more fun, so I have a feeling that Battle Nexus may just be left on the shelf to collect dust.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always been a charming little novelty. Along with Mario Bros. and Zelda, it is a game and cartoon series that has stood the test of time, as it is a sincerely fun and enjoyable franchise that kids fall in love with, and adults never quite grow out of. Battle Nexus isn't quite as fun as past games or even as fun as the show itself, but it is pretty solid game overall, and is worth picking up for old times sake, or for the new fan.