Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers

"More than "bland", a radical game. Cowabunga!"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers (here after referred to as Back from the Sewers) is not only a step up from it's predecessor, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan, but it is also a true gameboy masterpiece.

Like any Ninja Turtles game, it's fairly straight forward: pick your favourite Ninja Turtle, then save April O'Neil by destroying everything in your path. Sounds easy doesn't it? Well, thanks to the geniuses at Konami, there's a lot more too it than that.

In Back from the Sewers, you'll find many of your favourite Ninja Turtles characters: Leo, Mike, Raph, Don, Splinter, Shredder, Krang and Rocksteady and Bebop. Still, it's more than a standard Ninja Turtles game.

Graphics:
Back from the Sewers's graphics are a large step up from Fall of the Foot Clan's. The sprites and backgrounds are all very detailed and reflect perfectly the Ninja Turtles universe. For 1991, this game's graphics are superb.

10/10

Sound:
Wow, voice samples in 1991, and in a Gameboy none the less. This game has multiple Turtles voice samples, like ''Cowabunga'' and ''Turtle Power!'', a nice treat for any Ninja Turtles fan. The music in this game is also perfected. Though, it's arguably only gameboy quality, it still features classic Ninja Turtles tunes that are all very ''hum-worthy''. Well done.

10/10

Control:
In a word (or two, whatever): Spot-on. Yeah, I know it's a hack and slash game sidescoller, so the control can't possibly be bad, and it isn't. Also, the non-generic levels which include events such as skateboarding feel very comfortable. Another triumph.

10/10

Gameplay:
This is where other reviewers tend to deduct marks, but when I sit down and play this game (or when I did in '91), I ask myself: ''Why?''. Sure, it's not revolutionary, but it sure is fun. It's much generic than normal beat 'em ups. This atleast has Bonus Levels, vehicles, and other maze-like coolness. Konami + Ninja Turtles = Good gameplay.

9/10

Replay:
Back from the Sewers has only six levels. It sounds small, but each level is fairly long, and they each have a level-end boss. The game itself will likely only take a couple hours to complete, but it's simple, yet fun gameplay will keep you coming back for more (11 years for me).

8/10

Final Verdict:
Back from the Sewers is by no means perfect. But, it's so much better than Fall of the Foot Clan, and such a blast to play over and over again. A must-play for any Ninja Turtles fan or fan of the Beat 'em up genre. Another triumph from Konami.

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/02, Updated 10/05/02