They’re back… and ready to fight!

Despite the fact that they are still huge in popular culture after twenty-five years, and still have a devoted fan following across the globe, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a hard time finding a comfortable place in the gaming world. Whilst the classic eighties’ arcade game created by Konami and the memorable fighting game on the Nintendo Entertainment System were undisputed classics for their time, the translation of games, from the past to the present hasn’t been kind to the turtles.

Upon the first look at their latest game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up, it looks like a game clearly borrowing many elements from Super Smash Bros, and well... it does, this REALLY isn’t a bad thing here. While the game may not be the most original one out of the bunch, Smash-Up is genuinely looking like the Ninja Turtles game that the fans have been craving for all these years.

The game is going to be developed by the brainchild of the classic Super Smash Bros. series: GameArts, and several people from Team Ninja are involved in the development of the game as well. When it comes to fighting games, these developers clearly know what they’re doing.

This game is solely aimed at the fans of the ninja turtles and, well, I got to say, GameArts are really keeping to their word on that one. The developers are looking like they really trying their best to provide a really fan-pleasing game.

How the turtles fight

Much like Smash Bros. itself, Smash-Up is all about knocking out your opponent and trying to constantly keep yourself on the stage. The players in the game have to defeat their adversary by depleting their life bar, and they can do this by luring them into traps placed around the levels, or simply beating them off the stage. Each character will be also easily be kept track of by a colour-coded glow effect, so each player can easily identify and follow their own character.

The game also has specific items that the players need to keep an eye out for, such as health recovery items which include pizzas, and one particular item called: “ninja magic”, which will grant the characters special abilities such as fire-breathing and shields. Whilst the game isn’t breaking any new ground here, the developers seemed to have wisely picked a form of gameplay that seems to work well. The lively, frenetic and fast-paced gameplay engine of Super Smash Bros. seems to adapt well here to the chaotic, freewheeling spirit of the Ninja Turtles.

There is a lot to try out in the game besides the main fighting. The game will feature a Tournament Mode, a Battle Royale mode, a Winner/Loser mode and a Practice mode. The title is confirmed to have a competitive online mode, but considering the mixed reception GameArts’ very own: Super Smash Bros. Brawl received, this may be one of the biggest hurdles for the team to overcome for the game. But Ubisoft has promised the online will be efficient, so, best of luck for the online play.

Not every mode in the game has been confirmed yet, but there is a story mode promised, written by the brands’ co-creator: Peter Laird, that has been kept under wraps from everyone, and we will have to wait until the final product to see if it is really there and what it will be like.