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| US Genesis Cover |
Review by ThoRn (@RetroGameRevive)
DEVELOPER: Konami
PUBLISHER: Konami
PLATFORM: Mega Drive /
Genesis
YEAR: 1992
MODE: Single
& 2 Player Co-op
TYPE: Beat
‘em Up
It’s 1991 and arcades all over
the world are filled with the sound of coins being dropped in to machines in
the hope that each credit given will be the golden ticket to arcade fame &
glory, being able to show off your high score on your favourite cabinet – was
there any better feeling?!
The juggernaut that was Capcom’s
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior had just graced the world. Kids, teenagers and adults were flocking to
it in stampedes but just a few months later after it’s release one of Capcom’s
biggest rivals, Konami unleased a machine that would embrace one of
the biggest selling franchises of the time and produce what has been argued as
one of the greatest beat ‘em ups of all time ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Turtles in Time'.
One year later Konami took this
arcade king of Beat ‘em ups and released it on Nintendo’s latest console, the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
This game was praised as being an excellent representation of the arcade
hit with not only arcade quality sound and graphics; it also had extra levels that
were not available in the arcade. It was
a true masterpiece. But what about SEGA?
All of the Mega Drive
and Genesis owners were missing out. Or
were they…….?
Enter The Hyperstone Heist.
_-!-000.jpg) |
| US Title screen |
Story
Shredder has stolen the powerful Hyperstone to shrink New York City and it's up to you to teach that treacherous troublemaker not to mess with the fearsome foursome! Pulverize shrink-happy Shredder before he pockets the whole planet!
Game Play
When playing ‘The Hyperstone
Heist’ at first glance it’s not hard to look at it as an inferior version of
‘Turtles in Time’ but that’s where many people have made their first mistake.
Although there is no denying it
has been cloned from ‘Turtles in Time’
the game has been rearranged with just enough subtlety that it should be
looked and played as it’s own game in it’s own right. One of the things that set this game apart
from its SNES competitor is the length of each level and the difficulty. Granted there are only five stages in
Hyperstone Heist, but each level is considerably longer and enemies move
much faster and are far more antagonistic which helps create a different play
style mechanic players would have been used to from Turtles in Time.
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| Down in the sewers underneath New York City |
Personally I see this is a good
thing as it allows the player to immerse themselves just that little bit
further in to each level without it seeming repetitive with mindless button
mashing. Konami have also added in a few
exclusive for the Mega Drive
/ Genesis version like a boss battle against Shredders 2nd in charge
& ‘Go to man’ Tatsu who has made appearances in the first two original TMNT
movies but has never been featured in an arcade or console TMNT game. The only other Tatsu appearance was in
‘Manhattan Missions’ for PC DOS in 1991.
There are also exclusive levels either brand new direct for the Mega
Drive or updated levels from the original TMNT Arcade game that fit seamlessly
in to the Hyperstone Heist story and game play.
 |
| Walking the street of New York taking on 'The Foot' |
This game has a great learning
curve which really helps you enjoy and get the most out of it. As you start the game you are down in the New
York sewers and although the ‘Foot’ will come at you immediately they don’t
overwhelm you and it just feels like a steady but strong way to start a
game. Before you know it, you are up in
the streets of New York
being consumed by armies of ‘Foot’ but because you have had the time to adjust
you are ready to take them on without even thinking twice about it.
Every now and then a game
series comes along and as soon as you hear the name you automatically think of
something specific to that game: Mortal Kombat had the violence, Castlevania
had candle whipping and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had…… SURFING!
And in true tradition there is a great surfing scene in 'Hyperstone
Heist'. In fact the surfing scene tends
to make more sense in 'Hyperstone Heist' as it’s actually done in open water and
leads up to the next part of the stage which is the boarding of ‘The Mysterious
Ghost Ship’ where ‘Sewer Surfin’ (as fun as it is) in 'Turtles in Time' does not
really lead to anything relatable after you defeat the Rat King as it leads in
to the Technodrome. It’s the small
details like this that help Hyperstone Heist Break away from the 'Turtles in
Time' mould and really show how it can be viewed as it’s own game.
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| Surfin' Turtles |
Graphics &
Sound
Despite the colour palette
limitations of the Mega Drive,
this is an extremely bright and vibrant game.
Konami have always made the most of the Mega Drives hardware and this
game is no exception.
Even though this game does lack
some graphical detail compared to the SNES it makes up for it with more background layers, Parallax scrolling and much
smoother animation for each character.
It also feels to run a little quicker too, but that must be the result
of SEGA Blast Processing Power.
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| Showing Krang who's BOSS! |
The game has some great music
scores and like all Konami games there is a sound and music test so you can
enjoy all the tunes until your heart is content. The game does tend to lack quite severely in
the sound effects. You can definitely
tell what hardware it’s running on when you hear the tinny sound of the Mega
Drives sound chips come through when you attack your enemy. But I found it’s an issue that tends to leave
you as you become more immersed in the game.
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| The Final Shellshock against Shredder |
Controls
The controls are almost identical
to the arcade and SNES version with the exception of a dash button now added. Although you still have to ability to pick up
and slam enemies you can no longer throw them at the screen. However, you still have your ‘power attack’
function which unleashes larger amounts of damage to your enemy but at the cost
of losing some of your own health bar.
Overall
It is unfortunate this game was
over shadowed by ‘Turtles in Time’ as it is a fantastic beat ‘em up and offers
some great features and game play.
The 2 player co-op is everything
you want it to be just like you should expect from an arcade style beat ‘em up
but single player can be just as much fun.
To enjoy this game to its full potential it’s
very important to treat it as its own game and not the inferior port most
people see it as. If you are willing to
do that, it will be a great experience and you won’t regret the time spent
playing it.
Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars
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| Pick your favourite Turtle and 'Kick some Shell' |
The next year a sequel came out (further deepening the Pokemon-a-like image) called Looney Tunes Collector: Marvin Strikes Back! (Martian Revenge! in Europe). The same game engine is employed here and characters could be transferred between the two games, but this time you take on the role of Marvin the Martian. The plot is a fun twist (Marvin is ticked off at being defeated and decides to take it out on Daffy who has gone on TV to claim credit for Bugs' deeds in the first game). While adding nothing truly new, it was more of a great game that should also be enjoyed.
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