TMNT for NES

[Ska_music_fan83]

I've been playing the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES the past few days and was curious, has anyone ever beaten this game WITHOUT using an emulator for save states or a game genie??? The game is so ridiculously hard! It doesn't seem possible...

The only time I ever beat the game I remember literally having to save the game every few seconds after I defeated each enemy just to have a chance in the final stage...

[BassGuitari]

Sure, a bunch of times. With enough practice, it's not so tough (I've been playing it for 25 years, ha); even the inside of the Technodrome really isn't *that* bad. The trick there is to know how the enemies work--namely the jetpack android trooper things--and how to get through "The Tunnel Of Death" right at the end (see YouTube for help). Try to load up on Kiais in Level 3 or Level 5 (I give them to a lesser-used turtle like Raph or Mike to mitigate the risk of accidentally picking up some common-ass shuriken or something and wiping them out). Boomerangs are the next best thing.

Some general tips (some of these are kind of obvious, but they're things I think of when I play through this game):
-Master Donatello; be able to take out any and all enemy types with him, no matter how small and pesky--it's good practice for tougher/flying/projectile-firing enemies
-Know which characters to use against particular enemies--even Raph and Mike have their strengths (Raph is good against those flying bug things in Rocksteady's warehouse lair, for example)
-A turtle's attack strength doubles(?) if he is at or below 50% health
-Don't try to fight the jetpack troopers in the Technodrome; learn how to pass by them or get them to back off the screen
-Spread out subweapon types among the turtles according to strength/frequency of use; I like to distribute them as follows:
...Leonardo : Triple Shuriken
...Raphael : Kiai
...Michaelangelo : Boomerang
...Donatello : Shuriken
-Don't be afraid to use those subweapons, especially on bosses or when you're Raph or Mike and you're squaring off against one of those fire-breathing samurai androids with the heads that fly after you when you kill the body
-Don't enter the Technodrome without a healthy complement of subweapons; aforementioned mastery of Donatello will ensure that you don't have to use too many subweapons beforehand and go in short-handed
-Learn enemy placement, especially in jumpy places where you can get knocked into water or off of roofs
-You can just walk across gaps one block wide
-Learn the rhythm of jumping attacks
-There's no shame in using exploits (again, see YouTube for help)

My challenge is to beat the game using on Raph, with no subweapons; so far I can get to about the end of Level 3.

[Ska_music_fan83]

Wow! Thank you so much for your in-depth response! I am motivated to try to beat it without save states now.

On a side note, I REALLY HATE the jetpack troopers in the Technodrome.

[0078265317]

I lent my copy to my friend back in the day. He never beat it. But he said he made it to the technodrome.

[0078265317]

I don't have it any more but I am bidding on a copy right now and if I win I will try again and see how good I can do.

[Opry99er]

Never could 'use' the rope.... I seembto remember that was as far as I got as a 7 year old...

[Asaki]

I always hear people complain about the dam level, but it's not that hard after you practice it.

 

I could never beat the level after that without cheating, though.

[BassGuitari]

Never could 'use' the rope.... I seembto remember that was as far as I got as a 7 year old...

The rope isn't a usable item the way the subweapons are. You just need them to cross certain rooftops. Think of them like keys.

[+jeremiahjt]

I was only ever able to beat it by using the freeze Shredder glitch. I beat everything up to that legitimately though.

[Ska_music_fan83]

I always hear people complain about the dam level, but it's not that hard after you practice it.

 

I could never beat the level after that without cheating, though.

Yeah, the dam level isn't too bad. The level after is just sooo long... with all of that driving around.

 

The last two levels are the worst for me between the enemies that roll on the 2nd to last level that are impossible to kill and the jetpack troopers in the technodrome that are equally as difficult to kill.

 

 

 

I was only ever able to beat it by using the freeze Shredder glitch. I beat everything up to that legitimately though.

 

I'm not sure what the Shredder glitch is, but after getting past the "Tunnel of Death" Shredder was a piece of cake lol.

[BassGuitari]

Yeah, the dam level isn't too bad. The level after is just sooo long... with all of that driving around.

 

The last two levels are the worst for me between the enemies that roll on the 2nd to last level that are impossible to kill and the jetpack troopers in the technodrome that are equally as difficult to kill.

I don't think Level 3 is that long if you know where you're going. Although if you're loading up on scrolls--which you don't really *have* to do until Level 5, but it's probably easier here, even though you have to go through more to get to them-- it's really tedious. Otherwise there are only three buildings and one sewer in the whole level that you have to go into. It's a big level, though, with lots of places to explore (none of it really necessary unless you need to rescue a lost turtle). IMO Level 4 takes longer to get through.

 

Level 5 suuuuucks. I don't even try to fight the rolling alien guys (wtf are those, anyway?); just jump over them or let them roll past you off the screen. The porcupines are the REAL pain in the ass here. They're tough, fast, agile, deal a lot of damage, and they always seem show up in places where you can't avoid them. You WILL take damage from pretty much any porcupine you encounter. If you've got boomerangs or kiais (which you should), don't be stingy with them on porcupines. If you're on a safe ledge and kind of pinned there, be patient and swing down with Donatello (or if push comes to shove, Leonardo) when they jump up. If you're lucky, the Technodrome will be in the easiest cave.

[Ska_music_fan83]

I don't think Level 3 is that long if you know where you're going. Although if you're loading up on scrolls--which you don't really *have* to do until Level 5, but it's probably easier here, even though you have to go through more to get to them-- it's really tedious. Otherwise there are only three buildings and one sewer in the whole level that you have to go into. It's a big level, though, with lots of places to explore (none of it really necessary unless you need to rescue a lost turtle). IMO Level 4 takes longer to get through.

 

Level 5 suuuuucks. I don't even try to fight the rolling alien guys (wtf are those, anyway?); just jump over them or let them roll past you off the screen. The porcupines are the REAL pain in the ass here. They're tough, fast, agile, deal a lot of damage, and they always seem show up in places where you can't avoid them. You WILL take damage from pretty much any porcupine you encounter. If you've got boomerangs or kiais (which you should), don't be stingy with them on porcupines. If you're on a safe ledge and kind of pinned there, be patient and swing down with Donatello (or if push comes to shove, Leonardo) when they jump up. If you're lucky, the Technodrome will be in the easiest cave.

I usually end up spending a lot of time on Level 3 getting weapons and health and the fact that it's so huge makes that task a pain. Otherwise, it's not a difficult level.

 

I think "rolling alien guys" is probably an accurate description. Oh yeah, almost forgot about the porcupines, those are really bad too!

 

So yeah, that game is extremely tough for me and without save states I still can't beat it... but maybe someday I'll get lucky! lol

[Cynicaster]

I remember completing the game back in the 80s, but that is about all I remember about the game because I haven't played it since.

 

I can definitely see myself viewing the game as effectively "impossible" if I attempted it for the first time today, though. As a kid I had only a handful of games available to play, and all the time in the world to play them. Now, with the preponderance of computers, emulators, devices, and consoles I've got the inverse situation; that is, all the games in the world available to play, with only a handful of minutes per week to play them. That situation makes it hard to muster the will to really dig into a game like this; as soon as it starts to get frustrating and/or a dead-end is hit, the tendency is to turn it off and play something else.

 

This probably explains why I've gravitated toward high-score games as an adult, even though I strongly preferred the "finish-the-game" games for most of my early gaming life.

[BassGuitari]

 

I can definitely see myself viewing the game as effectively "impossible" if I attempted it for the first time today, though. As a kid I had only a handful of games available to play, and all the time in the world to play them. Now, with the preponderance of computers, emulators, devices, and consoles I've got the inverse situation; that is, all the games in the world available to play, with only a handful of minutes per week to play them. That situation makes it hard to muster the will to really dig into a game like this; as soon as it starts to get frustrating and/or a dead-end is hit, the tendency is to turn it off and play something else.

 

This probably explains why I've gravitated toward high-score games as an adult, even though I strongly preferred the "finish-the-game" games for most of my early gaming life.

I definitely understand the feeling. I've had it myself when I've tried to dig into games like these that I didn't have or play a lot growing up. I get to the first really challenging part, where you're kind of forced to decide whether it's worth it to you to figure out how to get past it, and most of the time I feel like, "okay, I think I see where they were going with this game, but I've got a lot of other games, too..." Ninja Gaiden is actually one of those. I never owned it BITD, and recently I was playing it and "hit the wall" at level 3 or 4, and decided that I don't care enough to pursue it further.

 

It occurs to me every time I play games like TMNT that if were playing it for the first time in 2016, I'm sure I'd get nowhere, I wouldn't get it, I'd shut it off in frustration, I'd hate it, and I'd never learn its intricacies or finer points. On the other hand, that makes me think I should go back and try to give some of those other "eh, I get the idea but I think I've seen enough" games more attention.

[Cynicaster]

On the other hand, that makes me think I should go back and try to give some of those other "eh, I get the idea but I think I've seen enough" games more attention.

 

Heh, I often find myself thinking the same thing. I'll randomly think of games that I'll try to sink my teeth into just to see if I can get through them, but for whatever reason, I never get around to doing it.

[BassGuitari]

I found this cool guide to damage stats in TMNT you may find interesting or helpful. It overviews how many hits it takes each turtle to kill every enemy in the game, including "half-health damage boosts" and subweapons. It has some interesting findings, such as that Raph is actually stronger than Leo and Mike, but doesn't get a half-health damage boost, or that, at half-health, Mike is almost as strong as Don.

[mbd30]

I definitely understand the feeling. I've had it myself when I've tried to dig into games like these that I didn't have or play a lot growing up. I get to the first really challenging part, where you're kind of forced to decide whether it's worth it to you to figure out how to get past it, and most of the time I feel like, "okay, I think I see where they were going with this game, but I've got a lot of other games, too..." Ninja Gaiden is actually one of those. I never owned it BITD, and recently I was playing it and "hit the wall" at level 3 or 4, and decided that I don't care enough to pursue it further.

 

It occurs to me every time I play games like TMNT that if were playing it for the first time in 2016, I'm sure I'd get nowhere, I wouldn't get it, I'd shut it off in frustration, I'd hate it, and I'd never learn its intricacies or finer points. On the other hand, that makes me think I should go back and try to give some of those other "eh, I get the idea but I think I've seen enough" games more attention.

 

Act 5 in Ninja Gaiden is where the difficulty really ramps up.

 

I frequently rented Ninja Gaiden as a kid, and played it off and on for years, but I never learned how to beat it until a couple years ago.

[0078265317]

But finally beat it this afternoon with 3 game genie codes. Took like an hour. Its too hard without.

 

http://bsfree.org/?s=2&d=2&g=1618

 

Never take damage and from non killing seaweed. And walk/drive through walls. Makes it super easy. Go to the last stage of each level in seconds instead of playing the whole thing.

 

GXSOUAST

SXVZGSOO

AOSNTOAU

[totallyterrificpants]

I've beaten it legit on a NES. It's an easy game for me now.

[madhatter667]

I've had this game since I was like 8. I still haven't beat it. Probably give it a go again here in the near future.

[DuggerVideoGames]

I first beat this game when I was about 10 years old and beat the game many times since then. With enough practice, you can get better at the game. I can understand why people say it's a difficult game, but it's not the impossible game many make it out to be.

 

You should primarily use Donatello for virtually the whole game. Keep him strong and healthy and use his bo staff for its range. Stock up on scrolls (I like to have one turtle keeping boomerangs, however). If you have a hard time finding the technodrome, don't forget to go back into the buildings and feast on the pizzas.

 

On the final level: use Leo, Raph and Mike before you even think about using Don. If your turtles are strong and you stocked up on scrolls, then you should be able to get near the end with Donatello having plenty of energy. As for the room with the flying spacemen: I like to use the boomerang in that room and then duck down. If you time everything just right, the spacemen will fly back away from you.