Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

Honest and Unpopular Reviews No. 56 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES) After Street Fighter II took off, every major franchise in the 90s wanted its own fighting game. Justice League got one, even the Power Rangers got one. A lot of good ones got lost in the pile. Tournament Fighters is one of them. A massively underrated 2D fighter and one of the best fighting games of the 90s. This game had the unfortunate reality of existing at the same time as Street Fighter II Turbo and Mortal Kombat. Both hit the Super Nintendo in 1993, so Tournament Fighters never really stood a chance. I didn't play this one much growing up. One of my friends had it and I only played it a few times. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I finally bought it for myself and played it from start to finish. The learning curve is pretty small. If you've ever messed around with Street Fighter II you'll be fine here, as the controls are easy to learn. There are two stories. The tournament one is just Shredder entering with a bunch of other fighters so the Turtles go to stop him. Story mode has Karai grabbing April and Splinter, with the Turtles flying in the blimp across the country to get them back. Konami filled out the roster with Wingnut, Armaggon and Chrome Dome next to the four Turtles, plus Aska, who they made up just for this game. One of the best things about this game is the super move meter. Once it fills up during a fight you get to unleash a super special move on your opponent, something Street Fighter II didn't have yet. I also have the Sega Genesis version. Same name, though the roster and story are different since Casey Jones and April O'Neil are playable and the Turtles end up in space. Still, the SNES version is far superior. Also, bonus points for this game having the best box art cover for any SNES game made. I rate TMNT: Tournament Fighters (SNES) a 4.5 out of 5.

4. TMNT: Tournament Fighters, SNES (1993) Konami made a genuinely great fighting game and put the Turtles in it. Super meter, story mode, sprites straight off the arcade screen, and a roster deep enough to have Karai and Wingnut in it. Best licensed fighting game ever made.