Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown proves that generally the wildest mash-ups simply work. You’d by no means count on sure genres to mix, but after they do, the outcome might be pure magic. That was the case in 2024 when Metallic Slug Techniques revived its franchise by way of an unlikely fusion, and it’s occurring once more this yr. Developer Unusual Scaffold has labored wonders by throwing the heroes in a half shell into their very own turn-based technique title—one which, surprisingly, nonetheless performs like a beat-em-up.
Behold, for I offer you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown!
In time-honoured Turtles custom, the Foot Clan are mucking about and inflicting hassle all throughout New York Metropolis. With the Shredder out of the image, his daughter Karai has come to city to make life depressing for everybody. The Turtles have their very own points as they’re at the moment separated from one another, making the battle towards the Foot an uphill battle. Will they have the ability to type their brotherly points out and are available collectively earlier than the Foot’s ultimate plan is realised?
Tactical Takedown takes you from the rooftops of NYC, to its traffic-filled streets and down, down into its mucky sewers for a rock-em-sock-em brawl towards legions of evil Ninjas. And legions is the key phrase right here because the Foot throw the whole lot they’ve at you in an exhilarating, tactical battle between offence, defence and outright survival.
Every degree drops you into the shell of one of many Turtle boys with the objective of constructing it from one finish of the extent to the opposite or surviving a specified variety of rounds. In fact, it’s not that simple because the Foot flood the display with every flip, and you need to handle with a certain quantity of hit factors and Motion Factors per flip. You’ve received three lives per degree, however much-needed recent pizza pops up from time to time to refill your well being factors.
The builders haven’t simply gotten the Turtles characters down pat within the sport’s writing, but additionally in how every character performs with a expertise load-out that enhances their personalities. Mikey travels round on a skateboard, which provides him additional motion vary than his brothers whereas letting him deal harm to enemies when kick-flipping over them. Raphael offers in heavy-hitting assaults and AOE’s. Donatello is extra offensive-oriented with a bunch of devices that may electrify sections of the playfield, for example, and Leonardo offers in swift KOs that gasoline his dodge potential.
Initially, you solely have a small load-out to select from, however as you progress, you’ll earn factors to purchase new expertise to combine and match to your play-style. Moreover, every Turtle can replenish a assist gauge that pulls in a drone to deal harm or stat results relying on which Turtle it’s meant to emulate. Sadly, the sport misses out on the chance to have you ever commanding a full squad of the brothers, however it does have the added wrinkle of constructing certain every degree is a tightrope to stroll between offence and defence. You may’t play particularly to both excessive, or you’re going to get pummeled.
Stage design is a key spotlight right here, because the world might be simply as lethal or useful should you handle it proper. The sport’s arcade brawling roots additionally present up right here within the type of environmental results reminiscent of dashing vehicles, useful pedestrians, falling objects and large “Go” indicators nonetheless pop as much as preserve you shifting ahead. Essentially the most attention-grabbing facet of the world is its mutational design that ties into the sport’s boardgame-like visuals.
You begin off on small elements of the board, with the extent dropping new board items in or out as you advance by way of a stage. There’s all the time a rush to be shifting ahead as new items of the extent drop in as a result of should you or any enemies are on the elements that drop out, it’s instantaneous KO. This facet can be utilized tactically as properly by both knocking enemies off the board or getting all of them to line up in entrance of a dashing automotive or a tile that’s about to fall earlier than shifting to a brand new area in your final motion.
All of those design selections, together with a excessive rating counter per degree and a combo meter that you may construct up for defeating enemies in a row, actually reinforce that beat-em-up really feel, even when it’s one through which I’ve to weigh my choices beforehand.
The sport’s visuals are one space through which I wasn’t initially thrilled. The visible look is that of a stripped-back again sport with every character represented by miniature standees that change poses for every motion carried out. Initially, I wasn’t thrilled with this design selection and the fundamental degree of element afforded to the sport’s tilesets, however the extra I performed, the extra it grew on me and the extra I appreciated simply how a lot it suits the Change.
I actually ended up having fun with the way in which the fashions change poses for every motion or flip to align themselves to whichever tile you’re shifting to. There’s one thing irrepressibly charming about watching Mikey’s mannequin swap right into a kick-flip pose after a transfer, or the way in which through which enemies get knocked off the board, their bases and character fashions flying in numerous instructions once you knock them out.
How troublesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown is is one thing that will probably be up for debate. As a novice technique title participant, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown had me enjoying by way of levels a number of instances earlier than I beat it (admittedly, a part of that was me not greedy the perfect methods to make use of the move-sets initially), which gave me a reasonably respectable issue exercise and play size. I can’t think about veteran RTS gamers being too closely vexed by it, but when, on the prospect that you simply’re in search of a stiffer problem, there’s a Remix mode that ups the problem whereas altering up the enemy units.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tactical Takedown could also be a comparatively brief (relative to your expertise that’s) dive into the ways style for our favorite reptilian mutant heroes, however it’s one which I totally loved and hope to see expanded upon with future video games.
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