Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

"This game is very good and "This cave is creepy""

Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Well, I sure do. Growing up as a kid in the early
nineties, it was rare if you weren’t a turtle fan. I had it all, games, cereal, action figures, movies,
clothes, toys, and everything else that said Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it. I remember
when I was little and my grandma would always take me to the theater to see the newest turtle
movie. Those were some good times as a kid. These guys didn’t have shabby games either.
When I was six years old, I entered a coloring contest at a video store, and ended up winning.
The prize for victory was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the regular Nintendo. At the time, I
hadn’t even gotten an NES yet. When I got an NES, I got hooked on the game, and I also
loved parts two and three of that series. Through my Genesis days, I would always run down to
the local Route 30 Video, and pick up the Hyperstone Heist game. It was pretty addicting also,
and keeps up the standards set by the previous games. Although this game was extremely
similar to Turtles In Time for the SNES, I’ve always believed this game was superior. It had a
much better pace, and the controls were better for Genesis. It really is a shame that there hasn’t
been a good kid craze since then. Unless you consider Power Rangers or Pokemon good, this
was the last great kid craze. The games were good, the movies were good, the show was good,
hell even the cereal was great. This is undoubtedly one of Konami’s most successful earlier
franchises, and it certainly deserved it’s success.

Gameplay: 10

Raphael, Michaelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello. We all know them, we all love them. This
game is just plain great. You get four turtles, each with their own weapons, and you get to
dismantle the entire foot clan. The level design is fantastic. Sewers, ghost ships, the
Technodrome, and even surfing in the ocean is where this game will take you. Each characters
has the same basic set of moves, yet they are executed differently due to the difference in
weapons. Basically, there’s the standard attack, running attack, a few different jumping attacks,
and a really cool move where you get to grab an enemy by the arm and slam him on the ground
a few times. This game has a wonderful two player mode also. It’s not different in any way, but
I highly recommend playing with a friend, it raises the fun factor up quite a bit. I remember a few
years I rented this game and invited my friend over, we had a blast all night playing this game.
Another great feature is the option to have your characters look Comic, or Anime. I prefer the
comic style because it is lighter, and more of the details on the characters are more obvious.
Anime is basically a darker version of comic. This game is also pretty funny. Whoever has
placed this game before can’t forget lines like “This cave is creepy” and “My toes! my toes!”
There are a good wealth of baddies in this game to destroy. There is at least 10 different types
of foot clan soldiers which is good for variety. Each enemy is pretty original, and it doesn’t ever
get repetitive, considering new enemies are always showing up each level. All of the bosses are
well selected and fun to fight. Of course the trademark of the series has also returned, the boss
indeed starts flashing red when his health gets low. I love it when you’ve just landed the hit that
kills him, and he starts making all those weird movements before he blows up. That’s pretty
funny stuff. The difficulty of this game is almost non-existent. Although I would have liked to
have more of a challenge, it’s OK, because it’s a very fun game. Great gameplay overall.

Story: 7

You all know the story of the turtles. They were transformed into large, intelligent, turtles by a
green ooze. They soon were taken in by Splinter, the very wise, mutated rat. He taught them
their ninja skills, and they live in the sewers. They love pizza, and are basically funny,
wisecracking turtles. Shredder, their nemesis has recently acquired the Hyperstone, an object
that gives you the power to shrink things. In the middle of one of April O’Neil’s news
broadcast, he shrinks the statue of liberty and adds it to his personal collection. Of course, the
turtle brigade has to fight evil, take the Hyperstone, and ultimately defeat Shredder. Although
simple, it’s what we’ve all come to love from the turtles.

Audio/Video: 10

The music is very catchy and is great to bob your head to. Every level features a different tune,
better than the last. I’ve always thought some of the greatest videogame music has always come
from Genesis games, and this is no exception. The turtles also have some dialogue in this game.
They spit out some pretty amusing lines, and make all kinds of sound effects also. The graphics
are great for the Genesis, and showcase the superiority of the Genesis over the Super Nintendo.
Very nice backgrounds and the characters and the enemies are highly detailed. Everything
moves along at high speeds without a glitch, once again showcasing the faster processor in the
Genesis.
This game looks and sounds great!

Replayability: 9

I’ve rented this game from the same video store about ten times. If this doesn’t answer your
question I don’t know what does. Although you get no rewards for beating the game, it’s still
fun after multiple times playing, and that’s what counts. A few years back, I could beat this
game in about twenty-four minutes. I haven’t times myself since then but I do like to time myself
on games like these. I don’t know, maybe you do too. Your ability to replay this game is all
based on how much you enjoy it your first time around.

To Rent Or Buy:

This game just plain rocks. I highly suggest tracking this down if you still have a Genesis
console, but if you don’t, you can download the rom. Especially if your a turtle fan and haven’t
played this great game, I suggest you get on it. All in all, in terms of level design, music, bosses,
and control, I would have to say that this is easily better than the SNES Turtles In Time. Run
and get this game, and you might as well pick up a pizza while your at it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/01, Updated 05/30/01