Re-Shelling the Turtles
I was pretty delighted to hear that one of my favorite games from childhood was coming to Xbox Live Arcade, and in the form of a remake no less. You can already tell that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is more special than the release of The Arcade Game a few years ago in principle, and that’s really something special for people who fondly remember the game. Of course, its existence is partially attributed to the resurgence of the Turtles’ popularity in the last few years, and how the Arcade Game seems to make it into the top ten nearly every week. But somehow, the more I see it, the more doubts I have about how exactly it’ll turn out.
Part of that has to do with the way it looks. Frankly, it looks disastrous in screen shots, but judging visuals solely on that doesn’t get you anywhere nowadays. It unsurprisingly looks much better in motion, sure, but it does feel like there’s something missing in the way it looks. It adopts a fusion of cel-shading and the usual polygonal treatment for its graphics, but in doing that it loses its classic comic book feel the original had with its style. That won’t affect the gameplay much, but it isn’t as easy on the eyes.
Whether you like the gameplay itself will be up to which version you liked the most: the fast-paced arcade style play or the slow and methodical-though-hard hitting SNES version. This version is a remake of the arcade game, so you might have a problem if you preferred the SNES gameplay. Also, since this a complete remake of the arcade game, all of the extras from the SNES version, including four new bosses and a new level to make the game longer, won’t be present in this version. Yeah, that’s a bummer.
It does still look like fun, though. This looks like a nostalgia trip that you won’t have to enjoy by yourself, as anyone else who’s played the game before will feel the same way while they’re playing with you. From the demonstration on 1up’s Game Night with Re-Shelled, it looks like it will have local multiplayer this time around (unlike the Arcade Game; no, seriously). If the video above is any indication, it doesn’t look like you’ll be jamming to the classic music while you play through it. I’m guessing a rights issue held that one up.
A shame it takes another step back by being 1200 Microsoft Points (or $15. Ouch). For so many people who were on the fence about this, I don’t think that price point is going to do it any favors.
Despite how uncertain of a project it looks, it still has great potential to be a fun time. Personally, I would’ve preferred that they
remake the SNES version with four-player support, but the arcade game is good enough. Also, it looks like it will release on August 5 on XBLA, despite originally being listed as July 22. A PSN version is scheduled to release later in the year.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
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Somehow the screen shots don’t really do this game justice, as you said it really does look better in motion. The video does make me excited about getting the game, although I’ve mostly played the SNES version. I think I might have played the arcade version at times as well, but the SNES version is the only one I finished.
While the music is disappointing, I can easily overlook it as long as the gameplay is solid. And considering the price of a full 360 game $15 isn’t too much to part with. I just wonder how a brawler will play on the 360 and its horrible D-pad. Then again, Castle Crashers works well enough, so hopefully it’ll be okay.
Yeah, they really don’t at all. If you buy it, I’ll definitely get it so we can play co-op online. That would be fantastic. By the way, IGN posted a video preview and it looks really great. I’m actually anticipating it now.
I think I can overlook the music too, especially in co-op. I do think this game would have a better game if it was $10 instead of $15. I think the analog stick would be fine for this game, given how it doesn’t require any precise command inputs like a fighting game. By the way, here’s hoping the netcode is good.
I’ll definitely play the game online with you. And that video preview looks great, IGN is definitely kinder than 1UP.com.
I can sort of hear the old beats in there, so I’m okay with the music. $10 instead of $15 would have been nice, but I guess Ubisoft is banking on old school fans like you and me anticipating and perhaps a few new fans. I’m a bit sad to hear that I can’t use the analog stick but I’ll deal with it.