The half-shell heroes are back with arguably the best retro collection ever made, but do the games themselves deserve the spotlight?
Video game compilations aren’t that common, but when they do appear, it’s always frustrating how incomplete they usually are. Not only do they usually miss all but the most mainstream entries in a given franchise, but they often lack context, in terms of behind-the-scenes information and other museum content. Sonic Origins and Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium are typical recent examples and surprisingly it’s up to The Cowabunga Collection to show how it’s done.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a long and storied video game history, one that was recently revamped with the retro-inspired beat ’em-up Shredder’s Revenge. It was heavily inspired by Konami’s original 1989 arcade game, but it had nothing to do with Konami itself – except that it was presumably the inspiration for this retro compilation of all of their earlier games.
And for once we really mean it all the games, because The Cowabunga Collection includes not only the arcade game and its contemporary sequel, but also all the Turtles-related games that Konami has ever released on the NES, SNES, Mega Drive and even Game Boy. Konami got the license back in the 2000s, for a few largely forgotten connections to the then-current TV show, but everything here is based solely on the original 80s cartoon.
Developer Digital Eclipse has been handling retro game remasters for decades, but this is arguably their masterpiece. Not because of the games themselves, which we will go into later, but because of the many extra content. There’s a very distinct section of the game called Turtle’s Lair, which is filled with scans of instruction books, comic book covers, stills from the cartoons, magazine ads, soundtrack collections, and box art (though only US and Japanese versions).
There are concept art and style guides for each of the bigger games and even faux strategy guides presented in the style of physical books of the time. It’s a fantastic amount of effort, especially since most of the stuff behind the scenes is in Japanese, which is exactly what most other compilations lack.
A lot of effort has also gone into adding extra value to the games themselves, with all of them having quality of life options for things like extra lives and level selectors. You can rewind the action at any time, but there’s also an option to watch a video of someone else playing, if you just want to see the game all the way to the end. Additionally, four of the games (the original arcade game, Turtles In Time, Tournament Fighters, and The Hyperstone Heist) have new online multiplayer options.
You really couldn’t ask for more, mainly because, and this is the only problem with the collection, none of the games are really that good. That’s no one’s fault, especially not Digital Eclipse’s, but as well remembered as some games are, it’s because of a combination of nostalgia and/or love for the Turtles themselves.
Playlist Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Corabunga Collection
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time (arcade)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles In Time (SNES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Mega Drive)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Game Boy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Back From The Sewers (Game Boy)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Radical Rescue (Game Boy)
The original arcade game has been re-released a few times over the years, but like almost all scrolling beat ’em-ups, it’s incredibly shallow and purposefully dishonest in parts. Shredder’s Revenge modernized some aspects of the concept, but even then the main draw was the novelty of it all and the beautiful pixel art animation.
The same goes for the sequel, Turtles In Time, but at least it’s still fun, unlike the miserable NES game (also simply called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). The 1989 NES game was a very important release for the Turtles franchise as a whole, coming out just as the cartoon was gaining popularity and cementing the half-shell heroes as a pop culture phenomenon.
That doesn’t mean it was a good game though, and even for that time the graphics were very basic and the side-scrolling platforming clunky and unfairly difficult. That may seem like a sacrilege to say, but it was true even then, if you took away the allure of the permit, and it is doubly so now.
There are 13 games included in the collection, but many of them are alternate versions of each other. So you have the NES version of the original arcade game, the SNES version of Turtles In Time and three versions of cheap one-on-one fighter Tournament Fighters, for the NES, SNES and Mega Drive.
Many of the versions are quite different from each other, to the point that they’re almost separate new games, but it does highlight that this collection is really just for hardcore Turtles fans – especially considering the price is more than the all-new Shredder’s Revenge.
Three of the other games are Game Boy titles, which are actually quite good given the portable player’s limited capabilities – even if playing them on a massive modern TV screen seems a bit perverse. Then you have The Manhattan Project on the NES and The Hyperstone Heist for the Mega Drive, which, despite excellent graphics, still play the same way as the arcade game.
The Cowbunga collection may be one of the best retro compilations ever made, but it’s not thanks to them despite the quality of the games it contains. The arcade game is very stupid, but it’s incredibly shallow and, like the three Game Boy titles, over very quickly. Most of the other games are just minor variations on the same theme, and the ones that aren’t – the first NES title and Tournament Fighters – are easily the worst in the collection.
If you already have strong opinions about these games, and are currently crying in protest at our comments about them, don’t worry: this compilation is everything you want and you absolutely should get it. If you’re even remotely familiar with it, we suggest you keep it that way and hope Digital Eclipse is put to work for a range of games worth checking out.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cobabunga Collection review summary
In short: One of the best retro compilations ever made… for a collection of games that, despite the nostalgia, really don’t deserve the attention.
Advantages: A new gold standard for retro collections, with a mountain of behind-the-scenes information and extra content, despite the obscurity of many of the titles. Online options for key titles are welcome.
cons: Most games aren’t particularly good, especially the original NES game and the three different versions of Tournament Fighters. Not cheap.
Score: 6/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S and PC
Price: £34.99
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Digital Eclipse and Konami
Release date: August 30, 2022
Age Rating: 12
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