Three-MNT - Episode 1: Original Famous Shrink Rays
0Originally recorded: January 26, 2025
---
So, this is going to be a bit weird. Bacon requested that I play three different games from The Cowabunga Collection -- a TMNT 3-Peat, if you will -- and I happily obliged. First on the docket was The Hyperstone Heist, originally released on the Sega Genesis. Honestly, I had planned on playing this one on my own... considering I finally managed to beat the SNES version of Turtles in Time for the first time last year in the very same compilation. Needless to say, I knew exactly what I was signing up for here.
Honestly, it was to the point where I pre-emptively decided that if I managed to finish the game on Normal quickly enough, I'd lock in and try Hard Mode. After all, much like how I did two runs when I streamed Vectorman last year, I would have literally nothing to lose by that point. For my first run, I decided to stick exclusively to Leonardo -- my main in the Konami-era TMNT beat-'em-ups. Before I really had a sense of the Turtles' personalities, Leo was always my favorite by default, by virtue of having the coolest weapon. But in the games, he tends to be the most balanced character: more range than Raph or Mikey and stronger than Donnie. But once I got into Hard Mode, I decided to experiment with the others. The extra range of the bo staff is definitely more helpful than I expected, the nunchaku felt awkward... and somehow, the sais' range didn't hamper me nearly as much as I figured. In the end, Leonardo still felt the best to control, though.
Next on the docket is going to be The Manhattan Project, the third (and final) numbered title for the NES. This one is going to be rough: KI did a quick playthrough after I finished streaming and told me that they only managed to beat the game on the final hit point of their final continue. Fortunately, I have a back-up plan. While I'll attempt beating the game once on the standard US release, the collection also includes the Japanese version, which is way more forgiving. Sure, I won't be able to understand any of the cutscenes... but a win is a win, right?