The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is having an amazing year within the video game industry, with the release of Shredder's Revenge giving the heroes a massive revival.
But if that wasn’t enough, Konami have teamed up with retro aficionados Digital Eclipse to bring the Cowabunga Collection.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection features thirteen of Konami’s games, which were released on arcades and home consoles between 1989 to 1993.
This was a golden era for Konami which saw the release of epic titles such as Turtles in Time, The Hyperstone Heist, and The Manhattan Project to name a few.
What’s even better is that this collection is filled with new experiences like being able to play the first arcade classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on a home console or having all three different versions of Tournament Fighters in one place
Another perk this collection will offer is having the ability to take all these titles on the go via the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck.
Like Shredder's Revenge fans are treated to a new animated intro that pays homage to the 1987 cartoon series, it’s a lot shorter than the original, but just seeing an updated version is sure to put a smile on fans' faces.
The game has a fantastic UI that’s decorated with panels from the early Ninja Turtles comics with each different mode showing off a new iconic moment.
The collection will allow fans to play all thirteen titles in their original US version plus eleven of them in Japanese.
There aren’t that many notable differences other than the box art and name of the game-changing, but this is still great as it gives gamers the chance to play both versions.
Each title comes with a plethora of customisations that enable players to enjoy the game how they see fit.
There are three different aspect ratios and filters which enable the game to be optimised for different systems.
I would preferably choose to play the games in 16:9 on the handheld as they retain similar quality to the 4:3 and original versions.
But some of the titles, especially the Game Boy games, look far more pixelated in 16:9 on big TVs.
The developers have done a great job at retaining the original experience for each of the titles but they have also included a number of optional settings that will allow players to dictate how they play.
Each title comes with their own specific set of options with the likes of being able to activate a God mode, where characters won’t take any damage and can kill enemies in one hit.
My favourite is Nightmare mode as it dramatically increases the difficulty, which is especially challenging in the arcade games.
These extensive options are fantastic and not only grant the collection extra longevity but allow for a magnitude of different experiences.
Another extra feature that is becoming much more common in these collections is the ability to rewind the game.
This is a fully welcomed feature that allows players to redeem their mistakes and it's optional to use.
The collection can also be seen as a massive celebration of the franchise as it includes a hefty amount of bonus content from across the turtle universe.
Players will be able to view original strategy guides, listen to all the soundtracks and check out cool artwork.
What I did find really interesting is that the game also has archives for all the comic books and cartoon series.
Players won’t be able to watch a full episode or read the comics but being able to see a guide of the franchise's other mediums is a very nice addition.
That being said the game is lacking any form of unlockables or in-game challenges that have been seen in other collections.
There are trophies that can be collected on the Playstation version of the game but nothing for the Switch.
It’s great having access to everything from the get-go but having some unlockable elements would’ve really added another dimension to the collection.
The collection thankfully includes couch co-op, local play and online which is great, as being able to play Tournament Fighters with Rollback netcode is a dream come true.
But the collection limits local and online to only four games which is slightly frustrating as the majority of them are multiplayer, hopefully, the developers will include more in an update.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test out the online or local play whilst doing this review.
Verdict 4/5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is video gamer preservation at the highest level, as all the games remain intact and can be played as originally intended.
The developers have also gone the extra mile to add new enhancements that will also appeal to today's generation of gamers.
There isn’t any form of unlockables or in-game challenges, however, the game-specific additions grant this collection major replay value.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection will be out on 30 August for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S and PC
