The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been relying on its 80s cartoon for too long and needs to move on if it is looking to be more ambitious with TMNT video games. While modern Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games have been hit-or-miss, the old side-scrolling beat-em-ups of the franchise's arcade era are remembered fondly by fans. Set in the world of the 80s cartoon, these games have set the standard for TMNT games going forward.
As can be seen from the recently announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, the majority of TMNT titles in the catalog are side-scrolling beat-em-ups. The upcoming release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a side-scrolling brawler like Turtles in Time, is just another example of the franchise continuing in that same direction. While recent TMNT games have attempted to branch into other genres, such as fighters and 3D squad-based beat-em-ups, most have been panned critically and commercially.
It is disappointing that TMNT games have not moved on from the classic beat-em-ups associated with the cartoon. TMNT games could be so much more than the same old thing. The games have seen little growth, essentially being only the same things remade time and again, and the reliance on the 80s cartoon is part of the problem.
Going Back to TMNT Comics Could Make For More Interesting Stories
However, it does not have to be this way. In much the same way God of War saved its franchise from irrelevancy, a new approach to the turtles games can breath new life into the TMNT franchise. While the overwhelming presence of the 80s cartoon in TMNT games is apparent, there is a wealth of comics that developers could use as inspiration for future games. IDW has been publishing TMNT comics since 2011 and has employed many artists and writers of different styles to compliment the already impressive catalog of titles.
As an example, the original comics, published by Mirage Comics and written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, saw the turtles with a grittier, darker tone and more heavily featured themes of death and loss. In one of the most recent TMNT comic lines, Eastman and Laird returned to pen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. The story sees the return of a Michelangelo seeking revenge for his TMNT brothers as he wages a bloody war against the Foot clan in a futuristic, neon-lit New York City, his brothers having perished in their fight against the descendent of the original Shredder. This comic has much darker themes than any previous TMNT installment and was well-received by fans and critics alike. With such a comic as inspiration, it is possible that a more mature, single-player-driven story could be made and that is just one example of an acclaimed comic that could be used.
With the library of content TMNT has, there is certainly a bevy of different takes available for inspiration. An Arkham-style game involving TMNT could take the turtles in a new direction that does not necessarily have to give up its light-hearted humor and could hybridize several comics sources to bring something entirely new. Perhaps even an game with TMNT in the style of Elden Ring would be enough to revitalize the game franchise in a new direction. TMNT is not solely made up of its work in the 80s and leaving out the rest of its impressive comics would be a squandered opportunity. If Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is to grow, then it must move on.