TMNT IV - Turtles in Time

To me, this game ranks among one of the absolute best games for the SNES. I have played many side-scrolling beat-em-ups before Turtles in Time, but to me, this game defined the genre.

The game looked clean and cartoony which matched with the fun themed time travel levels. Don't be fooled by the kid friendly look, however, because the game managed to stay fun and fresh for any skill level of player. I think that main reason the game was so fun was because of the brilliant control scheme that included running attacks, multiple throws and 4 different kinds of jump kicks. Many people don't know about all of these attacks because Turtles in Time managed to hide the complexity for more advanced players without interfering or confusing novice players.

The brilliant controls made the game and this was proven when the re-mastered version of this game hit the market and was not nearly as fun. The new version matched the SNES version in almost every way but as soon as I picked it up I felt the difference immediately. The slight change in how the turtles moved up and down on the screen really threw off the ultra fine-tuned controls of the SNES and really ruined the remake completely. To this day, I will still pop on Turtles in Time when looking for a great 2 player LAN game or want to kill some time on the couch.