Ironically, the first modern game to do the franchise justice hearkens back to the classic TMNT beat 'em ups
For fans of the previous Turtles beat 'em ups, this game is an excellent and logical extension. The graphics are livelier, with highly detailed sprites and terrific combat animations. The music manages to be just as catchy and memorable as the previous entries. But most notably, the combat is deeper and much more free-flowing and skill-based while managing to retain the intuitive two-button control scheme of the earlier games. This isn't the blind button masher it might appear to be on first blush. Deliberate, skillful play is rewarded in this game. You might encounter an enemy with a large blunt weapon who breaks your combo with a block, forcing you to foot-sweep him to the ground, pick up his carcass and heave it into the next batch of thugs. When surrounded by enemies, you might leap into the air - not for the standard jump kick but maybe to repeatedly hit the "jump" button, making your turtle knee-stomp off the heads of several enemies, bouncing from one to another without ever touching the ground, racking up big numbers on the combo meter. Your turtle can tuck into his shell and roll away from enemies with a double-tap of the directional pad (some need to level-up before gaining this ability), adding a much-needed evasive maneuver. Parking meters can be smashed (an homage to the previous games) but also picked up and used as weapons, shurikens can be batted away with
a well-timed attack and also picked up and hurled back at enemies. It all makes for an extremely entertaining beat em up - true, enemies will come in thick waves, but the combat is so much fun, I don't think fans of the genre will mind one bit.
All of this is bolstered by an interesting RPG-style experience point system, a shop to buy helpful items and abilities, diverting mini-games, and an Xbox 360-style achievement system - GREATLY increasing the longevity of what is, front to back, a fairly short game. Make no mistake, this IS the best game of its kind of the GBA (eclipsing even FFone) and is easily the best Turtles game to come out in over a decade.