TMNT II: Back from the Sewers is a big step up from the first TMNT Game Boy game. While the first game was fun, it was a straightforward game. The second game looks better, plays better, and it sounds better.
You’re still doing the same thing in this game. It’s a side-scrolling action game. You play as one of the turtles, and you beat up the Foot Clan.
This game also has more to do with the Saturday morning cartoon than the comics. I didn’t notice this as someone who didn’t know much about the TMNT comics when I was little, mostly because I had no idea there was a darker version of the TMNT.
It does explain why the first movie was a bit more mature than the second movie. I’m supposed to be talking about the games, though. Anyway, let’s get back to the second Game Boy game.
TLDR: TMNT II is an excellent sequel to the first game.
History
TMNT II was released in 1991 in North America and Japan. It was released in 1992 in Europe. It also had a few different names when it was released. The Japanese version dropped the subtitle, and the European game replaced Ninja with Hero.
The game was both developed and published by Konami. I’m glad that Komani took their time and made this game. For some reason, they seemed to care more about making games in the 80s and 90s.
Gameplay
If you played the first TMNT Game Boy game, then you know how this one goes. TMNT II is a side-scrolling action game. You move from left to right and beat up the characters from the cartoons.
This game feels a bit longer than the previous one. The controls feel about the same, which was great. I’m not sure why, but the Konami TMNT games always seem to have great controls. Then you look at the Castlevania games, and the controls feel a bit stiff.
You collect power-ups and health items, but it feels like an underdeveloped part of the game. It’s mostly just pizzas that restore your health.
The last thing that I want to mention is how the characters all play the same. This is one of the things that I understand, even if it feels like there should be more variety. The only difference between the turtles is attack range.
This isn’t a problem; I just wanted to point out that each of the turtles plays the same. They all control well. I did have a few issues with jumps which I think was just a timing thing. I’m getting older, and sometimes I don’t react as fast as I used to.
Visuals
TMNT II looks better than the first game! It is a great-looking Game Boy game, and it seems like Konami put a lot of effort into it. Remember when Konami cared about the video games that they made?
The sprites all look really good. At no point did I look at the screen and wonder what I was fighting. I wouldn’t say I like it when that happens in games. It did get a bit repetitive as you are fighting the same enemies.
Even though the sprites look great, there isn’t a lot of variety in the sprites. There aren’t that many of them. They also aren’t as big as the first game; it felt that way when I played this game.
Replayability
TMNT II is one of those games that you can always come back to. It does what many of the great side-scrollers do as it ramps up the difficulty as you go. This is where replayability comes into play.
Games like this are all about learning from your mistakes. It’s not as bad as a shooter, but the idea is still there. When you die in the game, you are expected to learn from that and avoid what killed you.
This can be very annoying in some games, but here it doesn’t feel that way. In TMNT II, I wanted to try again and get passed the part that stopped me.
Alternatives
This is a hard one to come up with. There are plenty of alternatives to games like TMNT II. I might be overthinking this a bit. I wondered if I should pick similar games or go with games better than this one.
In the end, I decided to go with a handful of games that I think are as good as TMNT II. I haven’t played that many side-scrollers, so this might be a bit repetitive when you look at other lists I’ve put together.
- Super Mario Land
- TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan
- Kirby’s Dream Land
- Super Mario Land 2
- Wario Land
9/10 This game improved on the first. It’s a great game to play and is one of the better side-scrollers.
Pros
There is a lot to like about this game. I like it a lot.
- This is a pick-up and play style of game.
- It’s an easy game but still offers some challenges.
- You don’t need to know anything about the TMNT to play this game.
Cons
These are mostly nit-picks. There isn’t too much that I can say here as I liked the game.
- Lack of variety in the enemies that you fight.
- While the controls are good, there are times when the jumps are an issue.
- There isn’t much variety in the gameplay. It’s just a side-scroller.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the first game, but this one was much better. It’s an easy game to pick up and play, just like the first game. It doesn’t ask you to do anything crazy, and it sticks with a formula that works great for a game like this.
I don’t think I ever played this one growing up. I wish I had, but that could be said about a lot of the video games I’ve played in recent years. It’s interesting to see what games people missed out on and what games people played.
With TMNT II, I think this would have been a fun game to play during the 90s. If I had played it in the 2000s, I might have had a different opinion than I do now. However, I think this is one of the better side-scrollers on the Game Boy.
The games that I’ve played recently might have impacted my decision. Coming off of games like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Swamp Thing, I needed something good to play. TMNT II was good when compared to those two.