Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (v2023.04.04)

Konami’s arcade-era Turtle games still deliver the simple pleasure of smashing Foot Clan soldiers with friends, and The Cowabunga Collection preserves that energy across thirteen titles. Its lineup spans side-scrolling brawlers, one-on-one fighting games, and several very different Game Boy adventures, all drawn from the bright, chaotic spirit of the 1980s cartoon and comics. New York streets, sewer tunnels, alien strongholds, and time-traveling stages provide the backdrop as Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo chase Shredder and Krang through wave after wave of enemies. The result is unapologetically retro: colorful, fast, occasionally punishing, and built around cooperative arcade action.

Most of the collection’s highlights are belt-scrolling beat ’em ups, where players pick a Turtle, master his attack range, grab weapons, throw enemies, and clear busy stages packed with familiar bosses. Arcade favorites Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Turtles in Time remain the main event, while The Manhattan Project and Hyperstone Heist offer excellent console takes on the same formula. Tournament Fighters appears in three distinctly different versions, giving fighting-game fans a chance to see how each platform approached the roster, pacing, and special moves. Modern additions make the older design far easier to enjoy, including save states, rewind options, adjustable difficulty, button remapping, strategy guides, and a watch mode; selected titles also support online multiplayer, while local co-op keeps the couch-arcade spirit intact.

What makes the package valuable is not merely the number of games, but the care given to their differences, regional versions, and historical context. Museum material, artwork, and development documents turn it into a lively archive of an era when licensed games could dominate arcades and living rooms alike. Some entries naturally feel rougher than others, especially the early NES and Game Boy releases, but the rewind function helps soften their old-school friction without erasing their character. Fans of Streets of Rage, classic Capcom arcade brawlers, or Shredder’s Revenge find a rewarding history lesson here, while newcomers get the most convenient way to sample the Turtles’ foundational games.