That dam level…

The Ninja Turtles were a massive part of my childhood. So when their renaissance started earlier this year with Shredder’s Revenge I was stoked to have them officially back. While Konami is not scratching the nostalgia itch as often, when they put out a collection it is usually worth checking out. Their latest ticks two boxes for me with my love of TMNT and classic Konami games. Combine that with the fact that Digital Eclipse is at the helm and this was most certainly a slam dunk. Now that I have spent time with the Cowabunga Collection I can confirm, this package is a must-own.

To kick things off I want to discuss the breadth of titles in this collection. There are 13 main games, some with alternate region versions. We have everything from the original TMNT on the NES as well as arcade versions and of course SNES and Genesis titles. Sure there are a lot of repeats such as three versions of Tournament Fighters, but the selection is solid.

MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99

Each game is presented with a comic book panel style selection menu with a bevy of options unique to each game. There are enhancements that can be toggled on before booting into the game. These include things like removing flicker from the NES titles up to stage selects in the arcade games and even infinite lives for some. I like these options but wish I could toggle them from within the game, not just before booting them up. There are also standard screen filters and wallpaper art to fill the screen if you are not one of the people that stretches the screen on a 4:3 game. Monsters.

The best feature of this collection though is a Digital Eclipse staple. It is called watch mode and allows players to watch a playthrough of each game with the ability to jump in at any point. It is amazing to watch a perfect speed run of the original NES game as they navigate the dam level with no errors. Fun fact, even running it perfectly with no mistakes only leaves a few seconds on the timer, which means we were expected to perfect that thing back in the day. No wonder most kids never saw the end of that game.

Your mileage will vary on each game. The NES games for me are interesting. That first TMNT game holds a special place in my nostalgia brain. The music and sound effects will always trigger memories, but man that game is frustrating and just not great. The arcade game fares better and the NES version of Tournament Fighters is…interesting. The SNES and Genesis games all hold up better. It is interesting to see the differences in those two versions of Tournament Fighters. The GBA games are rough at best, but still a cool time capsule to revisit. Finally the arcade games are the highlights and still bring me so much joy.

In addition to the games Digital Eclipse has included a museum chock full of scans and info. There is just so much here including full scans of every single box, both US and Japanese versions. There are strategy guides, artwork, music and so much more. This thing is just jam-packed with Turtle nostalgia. I spent hours going through it all. It is also super cool that strategy guides can be pulled up during the corresponding game to check out moves and strategies. Digital Eclipse always pours so much into their releases, you can tell how much they love and respect the source material.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is an overdose of nostalgia for me. I grew up with TMNT constantly on the brain. These games are a treat to revisit mostly because of the quality of life updates the developers have added. I just spent an entire day digging back into all of it. Playing through both arcade games, and of course watching the video of someone beating the dam level, because I cannot do that. This collection is outstanding and I cannot wait for their release of the 50th Anniversary of Atari later this year.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • The features are endless
  • Museum is packed with goodness
  • Quality of life improvements
  • So many games included
Bad
  • Can't enable enhancements within game
9
Excellent
Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.