Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants Review

A modern co-op brawlfest

Reviewed by A.J. Maciejewski playing a PS5 on April 23, 2024 🍕

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is also available for PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch

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It's pizza time because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is here so let's see if it delivers the goods.

│ A.J. has been obsessively gaming since the late '80s and is just as passionate about video games in 2024. 🐻

Arcade brawling

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants originally released in arcades back in 2017 and this console adaptation is just what you'd expect it to be. Plus, this iteration features a couple of brand new stages: Amusement Park and Dimension X. The final level where you face off against Shredder has also been fine-tuned as there are now fewer bosses to fight there which makes it easier. Anyway, up to 4 local players can cooperate as each one plays as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, or Raphael. The controls are incredibly simple so TMNT fans of all ages can easily partake in the beat 'em up shenanigans. 🏙️

Sights and sounds

The first thing you'll notice when you start playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is just how dated it looks. Everything is rendered in 3D which I actually think is a nice change of pace. However, the character models and environments tend to lean on the generic side and don't really have lasting appeal. Meanwhile, the audio is okay with very quiet music that helps set the tone and plenty of vocalisations as you fight. Speaking of which, the turtles' voices are definitely charming and offer personality but they're also kind of awkward and feel like they belong in a kid's show more than a beat 'em up. 🐢

Mash 'n' fight

As I mentioned, the controls in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants are super-simple. You essentially move around in 3D then tap a button to attack and another to jump. Meanwhile, you can perform jump-kicks and if you press both buttons simultaneously, you'll unleash a spin attack that can easily damage all surrounding enemies, especially if they start to crowd around you. On top of that, you can double-jump to perform a descending attack as well as pick up and throw objects such as trash cans. Finally, a Turtle Power gauge increases as you play and once it's full, you can devastate every onscreen enemy with a bomb-like move. 💣

Bosses galore

One aspect of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants that I appreciate is the wide variety of bosses to take on. Each one of the 6 stages has a mid-boss and main boss and you'll end up fighting plenty of familiar faces and some that you may not even recognise. Although seeing these bosses is entertaining, they definitely don't pose much of a challenge. Now that I mention it, the level of difficulty here is surprisingly low in general as you can essentially just mash buttons in order to win. Also, the scoring system isn't that satisfying because I played a level while giving it my all only to get a low score and when I didn't try, I scored high. 🤔

Special moves

Finally, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants features all sorts of ways to devastate your enemies with the aforementioned character-specific Turtle Power move being the most notable. Besides that, you can also pick up power-ups such as shurikens that you can throw around, smoke bombs that stun foes, a tornado that makes you invulnerable as you cause mayhem, and you can even summon allies. These ally power-ups act a lot like the Turtle Power moves and include the characters Metalhead, Leatherhead, and Ice Cream Kitty (whoever that is). I found it weird that using these items tends to summon more enemies just so you can take them out. However, they are a lot of fun to unleash, especially whenever you're facing many tricky foes. 💥

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants provides simple beat 'em up entertainment that can be kind of fun for a couchful of chums. However, its middling nature certainly leaves a lot to be desired.