COMPELLING & FAST LEVEL DESIGNS
If you haven’t already heard, there’s a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game in the works based on the most recent Nickelodeon animated series. If you’re going to make a TMNT game of any kind, or any arcade beat ’em up for that matter, you need to ensure the action remains fast and frenetic. The best arcade games, the original TMNT included, keep things moving along at a brisk pace even at the early stages, especially with four players at the helm.
More importantly, you’re going to need some solid level designs, especially from the outset. Remember the very first level in TMNT arcade, running through a burning building with boulders crashing down and foot soldiers surrounding you from all sides? It’s an iconic moment that set the tone, something this new edition would do well to emulate.
Another option would be branching paths. The best kinds of arcade experiences are those that provide something different for your hard-earned dollars every time you play. Either having branching paths within levels or the option to choose which levels to play would give you a reason to come back and play more, to see all the possible places to go and maybe fight different bosses or bad guys in the process.
NEW PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
You’ll always get the chance to play as one of the four Turtles, that’s a given. But very few TMNT games allow you to play as other characters from the long running franchise (TMNT: Tournament Fighters and TMNT: Smash-Up being the obvious exceptions). Allowing you to take up the role of Casey Jones, April O’Neill, or Splinter would add some enjoyable diversity to the roster, allowing for some awesome possibilities in combat. Because as much as we love the Turtles, we’ve had a number of games over the years that have already afforded us that opportunity, so why not change things up a bit?
There’s a ton of other characters from the Nickelodeon series that deserve some game time too; Metalhead, Slash, Leatherhead, and Karai are just a few potential options. Of course, they only make sense if you’ve seen any of the animated series over the years, but to TMNT fans they are just as iconic as the big four. A cameo or two would also suffice if proper playable types are out of the question, especially given the talented voice cast that have lent their time to the series (including everyone’s favorite, Nolan North).
To really throw it out there, how about the option of unlocking villains like Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady or Kraang? That might be a bit of a stretch, but it would make for nice bonus for anyone who puts a decent amount of time into the arcade cabinet.
CREATIVE BOSS BATTLES
This new TMNT promises to appeal to all ages, but that shouldn’t mean it can hold back on being somewhat creative when it comes to its boss battles. At the very least, a gradual uptick in challenge with each major fight would be a appropriate, but it shouldn’t just be a big character like Shredder running back and forth throwing ninja stars at you.
Take indie darling Cuphead for example. Yes, it is challenging and sometimes a little too hard, but there’s no doubting how enjoyable and unique many of its bosses are. Whether it’s strange attack patterns or a unique use of the environment, as long as each fight doesn’t feel the same as the last and makes you think on your feet, it should make the journey to get there even more rewarding.
The turtles have plenty of adversaries they can throw down against. Mixing up the battles across multiple paths or having more than one bad guy at a time would be mad. Of course, a shot out to the classic would go down a treat too, so why not have Bebop and Rocksteady with their trusty weaponry as the opening salvo?
UNIQUE SPECIAL & TEAM UP ATTACKS
With four players at one time, the action will certainly get hectic on screen. No doubt there will be moments where you’ll feel overwhelmed by the number of enemies on screen, which is why you’ll be able to bring out a special move to help clear rooms out with relative ease. Back in the day, though, those special attacks were executed by pressing jump and attack at the same time, to which your turtle jumped into the air and swung away.
These days, that’s kinda boring, so how about some unique special moves that make the most out of each Turtles abilities or personalities? Donatello could make use of his creativity to bring out some kind of technical marvel to use on his foes, or Raphael could go into some kind of rage mode for a brief few seconds to get in some stronger attacks. Or, just for a laugh, have Mikey throw down a little humor to break up a tense fight.
A few team-up attacks would add some much-needed variety to the action too, something that’s been used in a number of the modern console TMNT titles (most recently TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan) but never really featured in the original Konami produced games. A quick flick of a special button by two players could have Leo and Don throw down together, or Mikey hold a foot solider back for Raph to quickly take down. Little things like that would also add a little strategy to the combat side of things, breaking up the occasionally monotonous nature of button mashing.
PIZZA POWER
No list about a TMNT game would be complete without mentioning the greatest, most important dietary requirement for the fab four. If pizza isn’t laying around to help you regain health or provide some kind of stat boost, it wouldn’t be the same … just hold the anchovies.
Whether any of these ideas do come across, there’s no doubt it will be exciting to see a four player Ninja Turtle arcade cabinet again after all these years. We’ll know more about it when creators Raw Thrills brings a demo unit down to this year’s International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions event in Orlando this November.
