TMNT RESCUE-PALOOZA
Original Release: MersoX, 2019, PC
A detailed fan game that draws on many elements of both the classic 8- and 16-bit Turtles games as well as the original comics, cartoon and toy line
TMNT Rescue-Palooza (PC, MersoX, 2019)
Where to Buy: Freeware (official download site)
Review by: C. M0use
Rescue Palooza is a free-ranging (and freeware) tribute to all things '90s Ninja Turtles, incorporating aesthetics and elements from the original cartoon and toy line in addition to all the games from the 8- and 16-bit eras.
In terms of gameplay, though, it's more like a tribute to the NES games specifically. One reason I say that is the Turtles play like they do in TMNT 2 or TMNT 3 NES, rather than in the arcade games or the 16-bit games. That's not really a good thing, with weapons that don't extend much beyond the "core" of their sprite for lack of a better term. They're also basically just cosmetic swaps of each other; Don's bo feels and acts exactly like Leo's katanas.
Another is that it isn't just beat-em-up levels; occasionally you get replicas of the god-awful sewer levels from TMNT 1 NES, and even the oddly Mega Man-ish platform jumping contests seen on the Gameboy.
I think, we all think, a tribute to the 90s Ninja Turtles with this much attention to art and character detail was a good idea. But, not pointin' any fingers, the gameplay and level design coulda been done better. The weird insistence on including the worst elements of the 8-bit era is far from the only example of this.
The game has a few different gameplay modes, but starting fresh you're railroaded into the Story Mode (which must be completed to unlock anything else). This doesn't make a great first impression with an irritating forced "training mode" first that seemed entirely unnecessary; if you sought this game out, it's a pretty safe bet you know how to play Turtles beat-em-ups and don't need this.
The game does pick up some as you're dumped into a re-imagining of the TMNT 1 NES overworld map, representing the Turtles' little tiny corner of NYC. It's not nearly as elaborate though, each location is just a discrete level, there aren't like interlocking sections to explore via the sewers and all that. Most of the levels are beat-em-up style, lifted from one of the 90s-era games with some updated assets and new twists. A small amount are TMNT 1 NES style, and they're the worst of the bunch as the fundamental frustrating jank of the original crashes into an OpenBOR engine that really wasn't designed for flat side-scrollers (it's kinda like trying to recreate TMNT 1 NES in Super Smash Bros).
Most of the beat-em-up levels are at least pretty decent, though, and sometimes have some highly amusing new twists. Voice clips from the cartoon were also liberally added to spice things up, and the use of music from the original games is very well done. Another positive is that you recruit a whole pile of new characters as you go, both heroes and villains, who then become playable.
But, here again, we run into design issues. It turns out a big chunk of these characters just aren't very good and seem kinda sloppily added to the mix; most don't have throw or A+B moves, and a bunch don't have special moves either. You have no idea what you're getting until you try them out in a level, where you may find out they either just plain suck or can't handle a particular bosses shtoyle (and lose a ton of lives in the process). You do get something of an "out" for these situations, to be fair, in that you can simply quit out of the game before the level ends and progress will not be auto-saved.
Your life count is extremely important if you want to clear Story Mode and unlock the other stuff. You start out with nine, but that's all you get to beat the entire game save what you can earn from bonus games that pop up after every few levels. And, yet AGAIN, our old friend Shortsighted Design rears its head here. The bonus games vary greatly in obnoxiousness and difficulty, and going into them cold you have no clue what each one is when you're asked to pick. A quick tip, always pick the Raphael "raining pizzas" one where he's hanging in a harness, it's by far the easiest and you need every extra life you can muster to beat the game.
Another weird thing is that some of the Turtle-alikes, like Slash, have weapons that extend farther and feel more like playing one of the arcade games. So apparently it was an intentional choice to have the core Turtle group be the most gimped NES version of themselves? I don't get that one.
The game is wonderful to look at and as a pure nostalgia trip, but left me often rolling my eyes at how sloppy or obnoxious some gameplay or design element was. Like really obvious stuff that should have been seen and ironed out. Looking good was good enough, apparently. But how much can you complain about a freeware title with this much work put into it, really - Turtles fans will probably want to give it a cruise just to take in all the sights if nothing else.
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