First thing I ever bought off eBay was a Hero Turtles arcade machine years ago, Some of the UK machines like mine are odd as they're converted Gauntlet machines. I've also put The Simpsons in it since.
mrmarlboro80 Man everyone of those games was good titles & not to mention other games from other platforms in 1990. My favorite year, just take me back already lol
Being in the UK I had first hand experience of the watered down HERO turtles. Not only was the name changed but the title theme omitted any line with the word ninja ( Splinter taught them to be ninja teens changed to fighting teens)and any scenes with nunchucks were removed. Like katana swords, bo staffs and deadly Sai daggers were fine but nunchucks are a no no lol. Madness ! A fine documentary Pat 👍
The ban on the depiction of nunchakus in the UK was, I found out a little while back, an order from Home Office dating back to 1979. When Bruce Lee became a massive superstar earlier that decade, London’s youths were reportedly finding that weapon really attractive and appealing, so HO took that stance of ordering the BBFC to remove every last glimpse of nunchakus in order to discourage its spread. People were even adding counterweights to those toilet chains, which essentially was a homemade nunchaku. In 1999 there was a weapons rethink at the BBFC and, from around June of that year, the BBFC not only were no longer required to cut the use of that weapon from films submitted to them, but films were gradually getting resubmitted under these newer guidelines with all of those previously-prohibited nunchaku scenes reinstated. Even in 2004 the UK DVD début of the original 1990 live-action _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ film was finally released completely uncut with all of the once-cut nunchaku footage restored. The original 1980s TV series has also been re-released on DVD (circa 2009) and even here in the UK the DVD box-sets have it under its original _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ title, which may also mean that Mikey’s nunchakus could be back in those versions.
The ban had far reaching issues for TMNT worldwide as the producer ended up removing Mikey's weapons and giving him a grappling hook to avoid having to cut the show in the UK or any other ninja sensitive countries like Germany.
I must say.... You’re one of the most eloquent commentators on the platform.Your way of narrating and informing viewers of this gem(my childhood right here!!!) is exquisite and relaxing.... Hope you find great success,respecting the games of yesteryear.
It wasn't until MAME that I discovered that Konami actually made an Asterix arcade beat 'em up too!!! It was released in 1992 for the European market (maybe in Canada too but I'm not sure about that). Loads of fun. It captures the spirit of the comics and cartoon VERY faithfully! It's definitely a hidden gem outside of Europe and worth a try!
Huge part of my childhood. I remember spending $10 in quarters beating this game for the first time. Money well spent. I flipped out when I saw turtles in time in the arcade. Good times indeed.
I played this a lot back in the day. The local cinema had a machine and it was easy to find 3 other players to join in. I loved the "Cowabunga!" it says when you put in a credit
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I'm 24 and I used to play this game at the dentists' office I went to as a kid. I loved this game! This dentists' office had arcade video games that you could play for free, and this was the best one and I played it the most. It was a blast whenever I got to play it, especially when there were other kids playing alongside me. I've been a TMNT fan since 2003. As a kid, I watched the first 2 live-action movies from the '90s, the first 5 episodes of the 1987 TV series(which is the entire 1st season) via renting a VHS from Hollywood Video, and a few episodes of the 2003 TV series, plus I got to see the 2007 movie in a movie theater the day after it came out. I have since seen the entirety of the 2003 TV series, plus the movie "Turtles Forever", the 2012 TV series, and the 2014 live-action movie and it's sequel. Needless to say, I love the Turtles.
Still have my copy of TMNT Turtles In Time for the SNES.I always used Donatello.Don't know if it was his character's ability to throw was better than others.But I mastered the throw and it made the game so much easier.You dispatched the enemies so fast.You're right on the sound and graphics.They were phenomenal for their time.Great times.
Turtles in Time is still the best SNES game. I had chosen Raphael cause of his speed. Beaten the game on Hard, was a virtual badge of honor. I would love to play it once again on the Switch.
I can't believe I was 11 when I played this game, that also get me into the videogames until today. I'd never knew this game was so popular back then. Your channel is great! keep up!
I still remember beating this game at a bowling alley with 5 dollars in quarters from my parents as a kid. I felt rich as hell. Definitely burned in my memory. Your descriptions of the ports are hilarious. Great video!
Anytime I play TMNT 1, I can't get over how simple the AI is, and how it would have been possible to show off in the arcade without getting hit. This is one of the few games I can play through on a single credit....although it requires what I call a patient play through.
My wife bought me the Arcade 1up Cabinet and it's truly incredible BUT for me the SNES Turtles in Time is the superior version by adding the Technodrome level (which makes the timewarp scene make more sense than having it happen randomly in the sewers) and better bosses for each level like having Beebop and Rocksteady be pirates on the pirate ship.
@@johnlimoli124 - I prefer the tighter controls, double-tap dash option, throw on stunned opponents, & button customization of the SNES version vs the arcade. Replacing that generic blob boss with Slash was brilliant, as were Pirate Rocksteady & Bebop. I always thought Shredder should have had both his (arcade) normal & Super Shredder forms on the SNES, though..... missed opportunity.
John Limoli always wish Nintendo could manage to utilize the mutitap adapter & have 4-player mode but it would probably take a huge hit on the gameplay
You are right about the button combination allowing for anyone to play. I literally just saw this display at Walmart with my 5 year old daughter and she played with me for about 20 minutes. It may not seem like a long time but she had never seen anything about the turtles or even seen this game before
Something small and weird that I always absolutely loved about this game was how on the cabinet, Michelangelo wore yellow instead of orange. His buttons and joystick were yellow, too. I dunno why, but I always really preferred that to orange and wish it was how he was colored in everything.
My mom had my 9th birthday party in the local mall's arcade. I got like 50 tokens and my friends and I beat the game. One of my favorite childhood memories.
Aladdin's Castle at Northpark Mall had this one front-and-center near the entrance for the longest time. The Turtles License actually was a giant seller for Konami at one point, to the point where the Castlevania series (now far more respected) actually had funding + personnel pulled from it.
Northpark mall in Davenport? If so I can recall that fondly. Do you recall the giant arcade in the new section they built in the early 90s? It was fantastic with the huge number of games they had
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Of course, in the food court. There was Daytona USA, Soul Edge, Virtua Fighter, an Ehrgeiz machine, X-Men Vs Street Fighter, and of course the Street Fighter Alpha and Dungeons + Dragons: Tower of Doom widescreens set up on the south wall, which were, I believe, repurposed from the Samurai Shodown widescreen setup that was originally on the south wall of Aladdin's Castle, before they moved. Art of Fighting was to the right of it. Aladdin's Castle, meanwhile, had Night Striker, Buster Douglas Knock-Out Boxing, The Combatribes, Two Crude Dudes, Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja, Fatal Fury, Lucky n' Wild, Simpsons, Terminator 2, VS. Super Mario Bros, a Playchoice-10 machine, Klax (which I never got into), Altered Beast, Shadow Dancer, Strider... and of course, like every arcade in the 90's, every gosh darn version of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat they could get. They also had some pinball machines, but I was never much for pinball. They even had an X-Men machine, but it was the four-player version, not the six-player, multi-screen version.
One of my most treasured memories as an 80s kid was finishing at my local video shop this in front of a small audience. For a brief few moments I was the coolest person in the world. 😂
I remember playing it at a local Pizza Hut. Three other people showed up so we had all four turtles. Ten Foot ninjas came at us at the same time if I remember correctly! Great game.
what a game, what a year.. they had 3 in a row of these at the arcade back in 1989... Cartoon VS Comic TMNT was VERY different though.. Looking back I can't believe 4 people crowded around a 20" screen LOL!
I remember they had this game in the hotel arcade when I came to America on holiday. I loved it so much I always used to play it after breakfast! I remember rushing out after nearly completing it on the last day and running to my table where my mum dad and nans were and shouting QUARTERS NOOWW QUICK QUCIKKK HURRRYY and rushed back just made it in time and completed it lol. I was so chuffed lol aaaahh memeoriess
LOL, that is hilarious. I can recall several times growing up watching the countdown go from 10 to 1 while you scramble to find quarters to continue :-)
This game consumed my life as a kid in the 80s. After school on Friday afternoons my grandad use to pick me up, bring me to a local arcade, and give me two rolls of quarters to play the game. Man I miss those days.
I remember being 3 years old in 2000 and my local Chuck E Cheese had this game tucked in a corner for some reason. I vividly remember kids crowding around it like it was 1989 again, it was always being played. The one time i had it all to myself i was too short for the controls so i had to stand on a chair to play. I’m still surprised that it was constantly crowded back then!
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the SNES port of Turtles in Time, yeah I know it's the only port of it, but it did feature more levels and was close to being arcade perfect for what it was. Yeah a VERY common misconception is that the voices from the TV show were present in the arcade games, they were not. They were voices pretty much hired by Konami themselves. The only games to have the original voice casts would be The Simpsons and Bucky O'Hare. The Turtles themselves may had been conceived in 1983, but they didn't come into print as a comic until May 1984. A BIG coincidence, as Bucky O'Hare came into print around the same time. :D
In 1989: *TMNT* became an arcade blockbuster in Japan, Oceania, the UK and the US during it's peak of changing from dark & gritty to goofy & light-hearted. While Warner Bros. released their theatrical blockbuster *Batman* which was at it's peak of changing from goofy & light-hearted to dark & gritty. Then both would release a tie-in comic turned animated crossover film during their 30th anniversary in 2019.
I have a bittersweet history with this beautiful game... I can still remember that crushing feeling of disappointment I got that chilly 80s Christmas morning as I opened my presents, only to find Santa (the utter bastard!) had brought me the "classic" platformer version of TMNT, and not an arcade conversion for my C64 😟 It would be the 1990s when the Megadrive version of Hyperstone Heist finally gave me some comfort, but alas the superior Turtles in Time remained just out of reach in the SNES section of Toys R Us 😟 Thirty years later... All I can say is; thank you MAME!! Thank you!!! 👍
Thanks for sharing your story. Personally, I hated the original NES game. It was way too hard for me. I thought the hyper stone heist was pretty good but clearly inferior to turtles in time.
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Hey Patman, completely agree! The NES version (which I had on C64) was utterly frustrating. I despised the level where you swim around the sewers defusing bombs! I constantly got zapped by those stupid electric vines?!! I actually thought for a long time that I was the only buffoon who couldn't pass that level, until I watched the episode of the Angry Videogame Nerd where he also had great difficulty getting past it! I felt far less inferior after reading the comments from hundreds of other PO'd 80s kids 🤣 Hyperstone Heist was a breath of fresh air, but like one of my other all time favourite arcade games, Sunset Riders, we Megadrive/Genesis gamers got an inferior conversion when compared to what was released on SNES. I picked up a copy of the TMNT Arcade Attack for my 3DS a few years ago, and was pleasantly surprised. If you own a DS I highly reccomend it, especially as nowadays it can be picked up for a few bucks!
I hear ya, I hated the ULTRA version of TMNT too, never could get past the DAM level because of those stupid electric seaweeds. I didn't start getting a good TMNT experience until Hyperstone Heist, which quickly became my favourite despite the SNES version being the superior game.
@@MetalHeadbanger7 I think you owe it too yourself to go back an replay and beat the ultra version. There is a way to beat the dam but that level is the least of your worries in that game. Before you drop in the water just make sure all your turtles life are full max but it still can be done with 3 turtles at most. You gotta be quick when switching out turles especially if they life is low. Dont risk losing a turtle cause you will have to restart the dam level this time with 3 turtles and little life. Keep switching out between turtles.
I experienced an odd glitch back when this was in the arcade. Normally after defeating Granitor on the fourth level, Splinter is lowered from a rope and drops to the floor. During the four-player game I was in, Splinter never dropped from the rope and continued lowering until he was off-screen. The game couldn't advance and the person working the arcade had to reset the game. I don't know if anything we did caused it to happen, but I doubt it considering it was during a non-playable animation.
I remember 1989 very fondly, the Dallas Cowboys went one and 15 that season. And I was starting to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I remember, quite vividly, going to several arcades near my home at the time in 1989 and seeing the original ninja turtles arcade game and listening to it’s Attract mode. Great memories to be had!
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries We didn't have an arcade locally but the convenience store down the road got the coin-op and it was the talk of the town. Packed every day with kids just watching. There was one kid who was better at it than all of us who could reach the higher levels and we would be talking about it in class for days. I really miss arcade games and video stores for that sort of community involvement.
I remember when my local arcade got the original machine back in '89. It was so popular they had to add a 2nd machine just a few weeks later. Turtles, Final Fight, Stun Runner, APB, and Road Blasters all got plenty of my quarters back in the day.
I happen to have both of these games on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection on the Nintendo switch. I remember playing the first arcade game but not the second one. So seeing the second one in the collection is pretty awesome
Of all the arcade games I played as a kid, this is the one that I remember most fondly, and was always the one I sought out first at any new arcade we visited. Another great video from you Patman - always enjoy watching these and reliving my youth!
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries that flub was only for TMNT 1989, but by 1991's Turtles in Time, Konami was able to get orange buttons and joysticks for Mikey.
Bought the arcade 1up Tmnt game. Comes with the original and turtles in time both identical to their original counterparts. And the cabinet looks exactly like the original tmnt arcade cabinet looked. Worth every bit of the 400 I spent on it.
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries if you buy it which I highly recommend because it's amazing, make sure you buy one with the riser. The cabinet is only 3/4 the size of the original so alone it's pretty small unless you want to sit and play it. With the riser it's about as tall as the original and you can stand and play it. Which is the only way to play an arcade machine haha.
Don't forget, the C64 only had 16 built-in colors available. It was technically possible to blend two colors if you overlaid them and swapped them out fast enough--there was a program from Compute!'s Gazette which did exactly that--but most commercial games at the time made do with the stock palette.
The NES also changed the boss for level five (since the snow level was added between arcade level three and four, the parking lot level was moved one stage ahead), instead of batteling Bebop and Rocksteady (possibly due to hardware limitations, they did get to appear in the SNES version of TMNT 4: Turtles in Time, in the Pirate Ship level instead of Tokka and Rahzar who appear in the Technodrome) you get to fight Baxter Stockman in his fly form.
The show did not air anywhere outside the US until 1988 and Japan didnt begin airing the show until 1989 AFTER the smash hit that was the Famicom and Arcade game in that country. What inspired Konami to make the arcade cabinet was the fact they already had a license to make the game for the NES. There was already a spike of interest in TMNT in the states and Konami liked the idea of the turtles based off the comics they were given as source material by Surge Licensing. When they went ahead with the arcade, they had to make it like the cartoon, so Rocksteady, Bebop, Tragg, Krang and Baxter in his human form were all used because that was all that was available at the time. When the NES game was designed, there wasnt much known about the cartoon so designers picked up ideas from the comic creating a hybrid of sorts.
My little corner of the globe was behind the times and I don't recall seeing the arcade games until early 1990 at the earliest. That didn't matter though because it was da'bomb no matter where it was! It remained super popular up until Christmas of that year. I was really lucky and I got TMNT 2: The Arcade Game for NES that Chirstmas. The graphics and animation took a hit for the port but it still played pretty well and it was worth it. Today I'm really wishing I hadn't sold my copy back in the mid 90s. Thanks for the video.
The arcade version was pretty good for the NES. Like you mentioned the graphics and audio definitely took a bit of a hit but it was still fun to play similar to the arcade game. Thanks for watching
That game really brings back memories literally I was bothering my father for quarters just to play the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game at the arcade man that was an awesome time.
Ahh TMNT Turtles in Time, my old friend. Being a 90s kid, I got to enjoy many arcade games, but Turtles in Time was favorite, then it would be the Xmen arcade game. I subbed to your channel awesome content, thanks for sharing the history of these great games.
I still personally think this is the greatest beat em up ever made and a Top 10 Arcade game all time...I know we like to give extra points to things for being the first of something, but for me the litmus test is "would I play it now?"...this and Golden Axe are the pinnacle of the genre.
Ah, the golden age of both arcades AND Saturday mornings. Today's generation of kids sadly don't know the utter glee of waking up early on Saturday to watch cartoons nor will they feel the euphoric rush of the lights and sounds of video game arcades. Such simpler times indeed.
Great video, I have very fond memories of being part of a four player squad on an arcade cabinet that had the wrong settings applied: for 20p (English money) you got 100 credits and could complete the game twice over. Amazing! (until some fucker fixed it). The way the Foot Soldiers writhe as you hit them, I don't think has ever been bettered in any beat 'em up, usually bad guys just freeze in a sort of squat pose when they get hit. ...One slight correction, it should be a children's "programme" not "program" for the censorship quote, though the quote itself may be wrong. We call shows programmes, though the word "shows" has long been creeping into the lexicon.
This game is pretty much based on the first season of the show -Rocksteady has his helmet -When you fight Bebop and Rocksteady together, they can smash into each other, like in the second episode of the cartoon -Baxter Stockman is human and has his mousers -Granitor -Roadkill Rodneys -Shredder and his holograms -Shredder is an actual threat All of the previous is exclusive to the first season And no, the voices are not from the cartoon.
This game had great music. It was loud, in your face and awesomely composed. In fact, this and Konami’s other huge game series, Contra, both had amazing music.
I started this game at five (I had to stand on a box to reach the controllers) IT was at an arcade upstate where we used to camp. Finally at 16 I had a summer job and spent 15 bucks, but beat the game.
I was playing the MAME rom of this only yesterday on my Nvidia shield. My favourite ever arcade game. Loved this, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and Final Fight.
I never knew about the two player cabinet of the game that’s crazy. The arcade in my area has a hybrid cabinet of this game that lets you pick between TMNTA and The Simpsons arcade game.
As someone born in 85 I was obsessed with the turtles. I had turtle everything lol I remember going to Pizza Hut and being glued to this game. Always had to be Mikey and I was never able to pass Rocksteady lol I wasn't until I got older that I was able to play through the game. I used to love the artwork on the cabinet. That and the fire in the apartment on the first level are my main memories of it.
Back when Pizza Hut still had arcade games. I wasn't really into the cartoon but a friend of mine's son had an extreme turtle obsession to the point where I was hired to paint a large mural of the four on his wall. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it. The fire on the first level made a big impression on me to for some strange reason.
I was around 14 years old when this machine came to our arcade and i was obsessed with it. I was lucky that the owner of the arcade assumed i was 16, the minimum age to be there ;-) Some of my friends got kicked out. I cant remember an Amiga version, which was my main computer at home then.
Every event I attended at Peter Piper Pizza me and my friends would team up for this. The only problem was everyone fought over who got to be Michelangelo.
Had a blast watching this. I remember going to video rental stores to watch everybody play this and final fight and it was mind blowing just watching and hearing the sounds and the music. We grew up in good days i think.
You know what, I didn't expect you to include the Amstrad version. Americans normally have their blinkers on and don't realise there was a massive 8bit micro computer boom in the 80s. So I doff my hat to you sir 😊
I like how matter of fact you are with your asking for likes. I think you're the only person to ever explain the real reason people ask for it just straight up.
I have this very arcade machine for people to play in my shop! So if anyone is in Wales (UK) this is one way you can enjoy it as it was meant to be played, I also have the turtles in time, simpsons and sunset riders boards for the machine also. Google Retrobution Llanelli to see a map to the place :) It is a Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles 4 player cabinet. Some extra trivia for you to enjoy is that the game is based only really on the first 5 episodes of the original cartoon so that what you see enemy and location wise is usually all contained within that 5 episode release, the pilot episodes (with some inspiration also from the comic book (Aprils building being on fire etc). Back when they were licencing this out, apparently they pushed out early footage and concept art etc of the cartoon and figures to all of those which bought the licence (including Konami) and because of this - Michaelangelos joystick, control panel art and bandana on the arcade machine itself is YELLOW and not orange because they had early access to the concept to begin work on the game. However this could be either due to that they had very early concept footage and art where it was undecided whether he will be yellow or not, OR that yellow was cheaper to print and get plastic buttons for and was a case of "close enough, lets get this game out already" and put it out with yellow. only recently i added orange and purple buttons to my machine as michaelangelo has yellow buttons and donatello had black originally! Great video, came up in my recommended and subscribed for more! I will enjoy going through these videos!
I hope that you up load more videos. Your presentation is straightforward and not gimmicky something that i truly appreciate. I subscribed just watching your first video today which is something that I rarely do!
I remember playing the first TMNT at our old arcade but once Turtles in Time came out, I played that one the most. When Arcade1up came out with their TMNT cab, i bought it instantly. Havent regretted doing so either. :)
I remember playing the turtles arcade at roller rinks, 7/11's and of course arcades. It was a great time to be a kid an now i have introduced my son these games on nintendo an loves to turtles arcade game an turtles the manhatten project.
I was playing it days ago to remember my childhood, but the interesting thing is that my son is obsessed with ninja turtle and I never motivated him to like it. He is only 5 years old.
The Turtles games were all pretty good. First 2 NES games were good and the gameboy Turtles was great. The arcade with 4 players was such a classic. Great memories. Great content!