Post by NintendoLegend on Feb 5, 2011 11:24:52 GMT -6
Back in the dark and dreary days before the Internet, one of my favorite NES games was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. Of course it appealed to me -- I was a fan of the Ninja Turtles anyway, having the movies, cartoons, and action figures, and thus had an inherent affinity and care for the on-screen characters; the on-screen violence was fantastic for a hyperactive kid like myself; and, overall, it was actually a solid beat-'em-up title on its own gameplay merits.
There was just one problem: I could not beat it.
Despite my best, repeated efforts, Shredder would always, well... shred me. I would inevitably lose a life or two at Krang before him, and certain other bosses or level features gave me fits as well, like the dojo guy with the robotic flying head. That was annoying.
But I kept playing, and trying, and bashing those A and B buttons at the same time hundreds upon hundreds of times.
I would play one-player, or two-player with a friend, or even my sister or my mom, who were decent gamers in their own right. Maybe we were actually terrible gamers overall though, or perhaps there was a learning curve in place (as we know many "Nintendo Hard" games had, but this was certainly no Ninja Gaiden or similar difficulty!), or something, because we just could not do it.
Then, a couple things happened.
Firstly, I figured out a few of the tricks and timings along the way. For example, in the snow level (an addition to the arcade plotline), I had the timing of the boss down (jump kick 'im just before he catches the snowball to watch it fall harmlessly to the ground, move, jump kick again) to the point I could beat him without getting hit. I learned to love the paper tigers rather than hate them. I realized that the game was being really kind by having you face Baxter Stockman twice, albeit in different forms. The Technodrome level seemed rather long and tedious but doable with minimal hits taken.
And, secondly, finally, after reaching him enough times, experimentation seemed to confirm that when Shredder splits into two, the one that loses his helmet is the false one. This seemed counterintuitive to me and people I knew, since we figured the one unmasked would be the real one, but then when you destroy him the battle countinues...
One evening, my mom stayed up with me to play TMNTII rather than help me with my homework and we beat it for the first time and it still ranks as among the most satisfying NES beats I've ever been through. It certainly helps that I was still a prepubescent boy -- it not only lends the games a more magical sense, and makes them more difficult, but makes it a little less shameful to admit that my first time beating it was with my mom.
-- The End.
"TONIGHT I DINE ON TURTLE SOUP!"
There was just one problem: I could not beat it.
Despite my best, repeated efforts, Shredder would always, well... shred me. I would inevitably lose a life or two at Krang before him, and certain other bosses or level features gave me fits as well, like the dojo guy with the robotic flying head. That was annoying.
But I kept playing, and trying, and bashing those A and B buttons at the same time hundreds upon hundreds of times.
I would play one-player, or two-player with a friend, or even my sister or my mom, who were decent gamers in their own right. Maybe we were actually terrible gamers overall though, or perhaps there was a learning curve in place (as we know many "Nintendo Hard" games had, but this was certainly no Ninja Gaiden or similar difficulty!), or something, because we just could not do it.
Then, a couple things happened.
Firstly, I figured out a few of the tricks and timings along the way. For example, in the snow level (an addition to the arcade plotline), I had the timing of the boss down (jump kick 'im just before he catches the snowball to watch it fall harmlessly to the ground, move, jump kick again) to the point I could beat him without getting hit. I learned to love the paper tigers rather than hate them. I realized that the game was being really kind by having you face Baxter Stockman twice, albeit in different forms. The Technodrome level seemed rather long and tedious but doable with minimal hits taken.
And, secondly, finally, after reaching him enough times, experimentation seemed to confirm that when Shredder splits into two, the one that loses his helmet is the false one. This seemed counterintuitive to me and people I knew, since we figured the one unmasked would be the real one, but then when you destroy him the battle countinues...
One evening, my mom stayed up with me to play TMNTII rather than help me with my homework and we beat it for the first time and it still ranks as among the most satisfying NES beats I've ever been through. It certainly helps that I was still a prepubescent boy -- it not only lends the games a more magical sense, and makes them more difficult, but makes it a little less shameful to admit that my first time beating it was with my mom.
-- The End.
"TONIGHT I DINE ON TURTLE SOUP!"