A playthrough of Konami's 1992 license-based beat 'em up for the NES, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was a fantastic bookend to the TMNT trilogy of NES action games. Turtles III was built on the foundation laid by TMNT II: The Arcade Game (   • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The ...   ), but instead of producing another conversion of a game that was originally intended for much more powerful hardware, Konami created a brand new game tailored specifically to the NES hardware. As excellent as the previous game was, it was a balancing act of compromises that was necessary to keep things as faithful to the original arcade experience as possible. TMNT III greatly benefits from the lack of any such restrictions tying the hands of the development team.

The biggest improvement comes in the gameplay. While there were differences in how the turtles played before, the differences in range and speed are now much more pronounced, and now each character gets his own unique special move. These distinctions inject a lot more variety into the gameplay, and they imbue these 8-bit sprites with a healthy bit of personality.

The stages also change things up often. Enemies can drop into the playfield from the background or leap up through the floor, and there are a load of hazards to deal with - be careful not to get shoved off the side of a bridge or electrocuted by a giant neon sign!

The graphics and sound are top notch, too. The stage graphics look fantastic (there's so much color!), each boss makes a dramatic and memorable entrance, instances of slowdown and flicker are far less common and less severe than they were in TMNT II, and there are a load of new cutscenes that link the stages together. The music is a fantastic compliment to the visuals, too. It's upbeat, insanely catchy, and peppered with small voice clips that give it a fun sense of 90s cool. There's not a bad track in the game, and it's one of my favorite soundtracks on the NES.

Overall, The Manhattan Project is an absolute blast to play, it's one of the most stylish and modern-feeling beat 'em ups on the platform, and it's my favorite game of the NES trilogy. As the bridge that spans the gap between The Arcade Game and Turtles in Time, one could hardly ask for better.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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