Konami’s 1989 and 1991 TMNT arcade games stand as two of the most successful co-op arcade games of all time. In 2017, Raw Thrills (makers of the Fast & Furious arcade games) gave the license a shot as well, releasing a third arcade game that was simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That arcade game has finally been ported to home consoles and Steam and retitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants. The home versions come from GameMill Entertainment, a publisher of famously low-frills games. Don’t expect many bells and whistles but do be prepared for a decent helping of beat ‘em up fun.
Wrath of the Mutants is based on Nickelodeon’s 2012 TMNT animated series. While it might seem a bit odd to release a game based on an older show (there have been two new series since the 2012 one), the 2012 series ran for five years and was quite popular during that time. Raw Thrills’ arcade game came at the tail end of that run, and we’re just now getting to play it at home. Better late than never!
The game itself is a beat ‘em up with 2D gameplay and 3D graphics. Surprisingly, the gameplay seems to have been closely modeled after that of TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, Ubisoft’s 2.5D remake of Turtles in Time. The Turtles’ attacks consist of regular slashes, a spinning slash that hits in all directions, two jumping attacks, and a couple of throws. The throws mimic those of Turtles in Time, allowing players to either slam enemies into the ground or toss them towards the screen.
The specific Re-Shelled influence comes from the fact that the Turtles and enemies can attack in 8 directions rather than being limited to horizontal attacks like in traditional beat ‘em ups. While some gamers might favor being able to attack in any which way, it creates “looser” gameplay and makes bosses' attacks harder to dodge. You can certainly get used to the 8-way attacks here, and casual players probably won’t even notice the difference. Wrath does have two new mechanics: throwable objects and “Turtle Power” special moves. Whenever the Turtle Power meter fills, players can unleash a Turtle-specific special move that damages all enemies on-screen.
Most good arcade games have fun power-ups, and Wrath is no different. The turtle shell icon lets a player spin around on their shell, enjoying temporary invincibility. The occasional smoke bombs will stagger enemies, and throwing stars offer temporary ranged attacks. As for health refilling pizzas, they only pop up infrequently – much less often than in previous TMNT beat ‘em ups.
Jitsu Squad-style assist icons appear at specific intervals in each stage. These will summon an ally to clear the screen of foes. The only two allies are Metal Head and Leatherhead, though. Why don’t Casey Jones and Splinter show up? Players will see the same two summons over and over again throughout the course of the game. That lack of variety really diminishes the excitement of calling in the Turtles’ pals.
Wrath of the Mutants has only one game mode. After choosing a save file, players can select from three difficulties. You have to beat Normal to unlock Hard, and all three difficulties have a non-stackable Achievement of their own. Having selected a difficulty, players will arrive on the stage select screen, and then, the character select screen. Wrath supports 4-player local co-op, with each character playing as one of the Turtles. The entire team shares an allotment of three continues per stage. Once those run out, any downed players will have to stay dead until the remaining players beat or fail the stage. Thankfully, continues replenish each time you restart a level, so you don’t lose that much progress on a game over.