The ever-popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, or TMNT for short, has had countless video game titles in the past, as early as the NES. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown marks yet another instance of a new game being developed by an independent studio, and it is clear that they did their best to please PC gamers. Despite this series being based around a comic chock full of action and dynamism, Tactical Takedown took quite the unexpected turn. Strange Scaffold, the developers behind it, opted to tone down the action and create a puzzle-like experience that is a mouthful of fun.
Many people would think that TMNT games are often action-based affairs, and they wouldn’t be wrong; the vast majority are. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown is actually a Strategy RPG, but quite the unique one at that, one that uses the action point system. Strange Scaffold wanted to adapt the brawler experience into a more methodical one, and the speed is still there, just in another form. The game is laid out in a map that changes as turns pass, and your objective is to survive different levels, each with a different turtle as a protagonist.
Each turtle has a specific kit along with a super move gauge that gets filled up as you kill units and it all makes sense with the identity of the characters. After all, they are based on the Nickelodeon cartoon iteration. Each of them have their 4 unique abilities, most of which cause damage but others are mobility based and buffs. Leonardo is easily the strongest turtle, and clearing levels with him is a breeze. To balance this, you can’t actually pick which turtle you use.
Despite Leonardo levels not existing in abundance, the game is very easy. Playing it regularly and reading your abilities is enough to actually score 100% and unlock all of the achievements. There is a shop in the game that allows you to buy abilities with the coins you get from earning high scores by ending a stage perfectly. It is clear that this exists for the sake of replayability, but the game is so easy that you probably won’t use them; you will buy them solely for 100% completion.
If you are a big strategy fan seeking a challenge, this game isn’t for you. But if you are seeking something that oozes style, this game might be a must buy. That’s what I would say if the game was longer, however. It ends rather quickly, only requiring a single 5-hour session to complete. It is really good, but a way to summarize this would be calling it a mouthful of warm pizza that leaves you craving more of the fun that it provides.
This can be fixed by implementing some free updates. The game has huge potential when it comes to additions, and a level editor would make the game worth it instantly. At the current price point of 20 dollars, not counting the current 10% discount, I can’t really recommend it at full price. It’s not that the game is bad, its a pretty neat game in fact, but the game needs something extra to boost it even further.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown is littered with familiar elements that both fans and newcomers with minimal knowledge of the series can appreciate, as there’s no need to be a fervent fan of the franchise to enjoy this title. In this continuity, Splinter and Shredder are dead for good after a final battle between the two. However, the famous Ninja Turtles still have to defend New York from the remnants of the Foot Clan, led by Master Karai.
Our story starts with Michelangelo trying to hold off a raid from the Foot Clan on the Turtle’s headquarters. The youngest brother, alone, tries to do his best to fend off the invasion, but fails to stop them from stealing Shredder’s kabuto. The other turtles are also busy trying to stop the reinvigorated Foot Clan under the orders of Master Karai, who seeks to restore the clan to its former glory.
The story is divided in small chapters, and it truly feels like a mini arc of situation that would occur in the comics. There’s some minor twists and turns, but there’s nothing particularly mind blowing happening. Simple things can be good and, while the narrative has you hooked from beginning to end, the game is quite short to finish and the story easy to digest. Strange Scaffold has truly nailed the aspect of reading a comic or watching a Saturday morning episode of the show.
Adding more to the comic aspect, the aesthetics do justice to the topic in question. TMNT being a comic-based franchise really needs media that represents this fact. The coloring, styling, and even the user interface properly reference that fact, and it oozes with a style that feels akin to those nostalgic browser based games in Newgrounds. A lot of the visual elements make you feel at home. The people creating these elements really outdid themselves in this aspect and it is a joy to experience.
Many expect that the action in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown would be non-existant, but it is with surprise that I announce that this is far from the truth. Despite tactics games being quite stiff when it comes to animations, this 3D rendered TMNT adaptation packs quite a punch for a game that feels like a TTRPG. While the maps are laid out in the usual grid fashion, and the characters are represented as figures, each time you pull an action the figures of both your turtle and the enemy will react accordingly. The weight of the action is still felt, as the sound effects embellish the experience.
The music is fitting, and it really feels like it does justice to the medium. The tracks by RJ Lake can also be bought in the Shop menu of the game with in-game coins, similar to those nostalgic unlockables that you would see in retro games. The synthesized drum and snare rhythms carefully crafted, brings a sense of “street smartness”, which truly fits into the butt kicking that ensues in the streets of New York. The soundtrack could fit a brawler game, but it also somehow fits the slightly slower yet aggressive pace of this strategy title.
If there’s a way to describe all the soundscape of this game with a word, I would say “punchy.” There really is tons of energy that help make things that look seemingly static as something more profound. While there really aren’t any tense situations in the game, as all your turtles are overpowered from the get go, the sound department really makes the experience feel different.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown Review Verdict
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown is clearly a work of love from an indie studio, and all artists involved in it really knew what they were doing. However, at the current price point, the experience itself clearly sells for its quality rather than its quantity. Even still, there is some issues in the difficulty aspect of the game, if this was a harder experience, it wouldn't matter if it was short since it would take some time to clear it. Tactical Takedown is a quality title, some minor improvements like increased difficulty and a level editor can make it into a must get. – Hiro
[Editor’s Note: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown was reviewed on PC and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]